"Yes, ma’am. Thank you." Allie hung up the phone.
"I have to break the news to Stacy," she said to herself, "and my bosses."
Her bosses handled it better than she expected.
"Find a husband," Bert told her after giving her a hug. "Not one of these no-count marines that hang around here. You need a real rich husband with a college degree. Don’t forget where you came from, but don’t let it tie you down and drown you, either."
"Thanks, Bert," she said, her eyes tearing up.
"Don’t cry, girl," he told her gruffly.
Stacy did not take the news well.
"Holbrook," she said, her eye twitching. "I thought you said you were done with Carter."
"It's not about Carter," Allie said, exasperated, as she packed her meager belongings.
"I have to do this to earn my degree," Allie explained. "I don't want to be a bartender the rest of my life."
"What's wrong with being a bartender?" Stacy asked, a pouty look on her face.
"Look," Allie told her, pulling out a wad of cash, "I'm leaving you my portion of rent for the next two months. There’s people in and out of this town, so you should be able to find a roommate easily."
"So you aren’t coming back? Ever?" Stacy asked.
"I don’t know," Allie said, letting the frustration show on her face. "But I don’t have the mental capacity to keep one foot here and another in New York City."
She finished packing in a daze. Where was she going to park her car? What was she going to do about Margot?
She didn’t sleep at all that night, just searched online for a room to sublet in New York City. She messaged a few people but wasn’t sure how it would turn out.
The next afternoon, she received confirmation from the Holbrook representative that she would be put in the internship program. A quick call came as well, confirming Allie's receipt of the email and that she did in fact intend to participate in the internship program.
"The program starts next Monday," the woman said.
"Okay." Allie’s voice sounded faint to her. She thought she would be allowed a little more time.
"There’s a welcome party that night," the rep continued. "There’s onboarding all day."
"I'm looking forward to it," Allie said with more enthusiasm than she actually felt.
20
Carter
Carter was not looking forward to the internship. He spent the weeks before tagging along with various family members to gather all the things he would need.
His uncle forced him to buy several suits and nice shoes.
"You look great!" Walter said as Carter tried on his new business attire.
"Make sure you don't stop exercising. You don't want to lose your figure," Mr. Lee, the tailor, said to him. "I see you already got a little fat."
His uncle stifled a laugh. Carter blushed. He hadn't been working out as he should have been and as he was used to.
When he returned to the estate, he forced himself to be active. Then even though it was cold, he saddled up a horse and rode around his uncle's property. After a chilly ride, Carter arrived at the cemetery where his cousins were buried. He wished they were still around. It wasn't fair. Sometimes he wished he had been killed in the war so he could be with them.
His mother would have been sad. He wasn't sure about his father.
