“Samantha’s busy. Right, Sam?”
“Yes, busy. But it’s nice to see you, too.”
“Thanks for the time in the conference room.”
“You don’t have to thank me for that. Harlow begged until I–”
“Okay. We’re going to the room now,” Harlow interrupted.
“What is your deal?” Larissa asked as they walked down the hallway and Harlow swiped the badge that led them into the main part of the building that was members-only.
“Nothing. Samantha is busy.”
“She was literally sitting at a desk, staring at a computer.”
“Yes, doing work. As someone who is usually staring at a computer screen doing work, you should recognize that for what it was: busy. Anyway, this is room E, which is the one we reserved, so you go on in, and I’ll get us some water or coffee or something. Want a snack?”
“I’m okay.”
“If I see them out there, I’ll escort them back,” Harlow said of the two people they were going to interview.
“Okay. Thanks,” she replied before she pushed open the door and walked into the room that had been the best for the type of work they’d be doing.
She’d been able to see the floor plan and layout of the room online, which had been very helpful because she hadn’t wanted to use a room with a giant conference table or a big dry-erase board. The interviews needed to be more intimate or, at least, less stuffy. In this room, there was a small round table in the middle and four chairs around it. There was also a thin table lining one of the walls that held things like the remote for the TV, should they need that, some tissues, and other odds and ends that looked as if people had simply left them behind.
Larissa placed her bag on that table next to the tissues, pulled out her notebook and pen, choosing to worry about her computer later, and grabbed her phone from the side pocket. Everything was placed on the round table, and she thought about leaving the room to get her soon-to-be guests something to drink since she wasn’t sure if Harlow was grabbing the drinks just for them or for everyone, but just as she was about to do that, Harlow returned and opened the door, letting two teenagers into the room.
“Hello. I’m Larissa,” she greeted the two of them and held out her hand to the girl with a blue baseball hat, which she wore backward. “Are you Murphy and Della?”
“Murphy, yeah,” the girl said and shook Larissa’s hand.
“I saw them out there, so I introduced myself already. I’m going to go get us all waters and be right back,” Harlow said.
“Thank you,” Larissa replied and smiled at Harlow, who smiled back softly. “And you must be Della?”
“That’s me,” Della said and shook Larissa’s hand next.
“It’s nice to meet both of you. Since Harlow is getting us something to drink, would you like to sit?”
Larissa motioned to the chairs.
“Sure,” Murphy said.
Della didn’t say anything, but Larissa watched as Murphy sort of pulled a chair out by a few inches, let Della take that one, and then went to the one next to it and scooted it over to be closer to her before she sat down and placed her hand on her girlfriend’s thigh.
“So, this is a study of some kind?” Murphy asked as Della took her hand and pulled it in close to her body with her own.
Larissa observed the nervous gesture and smiled before she picked up her notebook and pen and said, “Sort of. It’s for a book I’m writing about love.”
Della then smiled over at Murphy as if hearing the word ‘love’ had immediately made her think about her girlfriend.
“Harlow, whom you already met, is my research assistant today, and I should tell you that while I’m not a doctor yet, I do have my master’s degree in clinical psychology. I earned that a while ago, and I’m currently nearly done with my Ph.D. I’ve decided to switch my focus and will likely teach when I’m done, but this is just an informal interview. I’ll be conducting several of these to add to my book.”
“What’s it about? Just love?” Della asked.
“How long it takes people to fall in love; what brings people together; that kind of stuff. I’ll ask you some questions to guide the conversation, but you can feel free to take it wherever you want to, and if there’s something you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to,” Larissa explained. “Now, before we proceed, I know you said in the questionnaire that you’re both eighteen, but I just want to make sure.”
“I’m eighteen.” Murphy motioned toward herself with her free hand. “Della is nineteen. We have our IDs on hand if you need them.”
