Page 88 of Paradigm

Arlowe wasn’t sure what to do because she still needed to at least put the cold stuff away, but she wanted to follow her, so she quickly shoved the refrigerated items into the fridge and closed the door without organizing anything before she walked into the living room and sat down next to Eline on the couch.

“Talk to me,” she requested, taking Eline’s hand into her own. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“I don’t want it to be like this. I’m sad, angry, embarrassed, stressed, worried, concerned, and I just… I want to be happy and excited because I finally found you again.”

“I know. Me too,” she said softly.

“Earlier today, when I was talking to my dad, he asked me why I’d come here to begin with and why I wanted to stay so much. I like it here, but my parents don’t get that, especially now that the reason I moved here is no more.” Eline sighed. “I haven’t told them about you yet. Well, I did initially – I told my dad that you were here and that we were going to hang out. He probably told my mom, but they haven’t brought it up. I honestly think they might have even forgotten all about it, with me losing my job and them being so worried about me. I hope it’s okay that I haven’t told them we’re doing this again.”

“Oh,” she said. “Yeah, of course. I wasn’t sure if you had or not, and I didn’t want to pressure you or make you feel like you have to, with everything else going on. It’s fine. We can wait.”

“Arlowe, I had no reason to move here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was ready to leave my old job, and I guess I wanted to start over somewhere, but I wasn’t specifically planning on the US until I found this company, and you know I’m not at all passionate about people buying or selling their gold.”

“Okay…” Arlowe said, not understanding where Eline was going with this.

“Then, I saw the name of the city where their office was, and for some reason, something stood out to me. I researched it, so I knew that this area was growing and has been for a while, but I still had no reason to leave Holland, my family, and my whole life behind. I don’t think it hit me until today.”

“What?”

“I think I… I knew you were here. Like, maybe I knew you lived in the area or worked in it somehow. I know that sounds impossible or maybe far-fetched, but since I thought about it, I can’t stop thinking about it. I think I came here because I knew that we’d meet again if I did. I can’t explain why. I just feel it.”

Arlowe smiled over at her and replied, “I really like that idea.”

“I feel like we should’ve been able to have the new beginning that we both wanted, and we haven’t. We also can’t now because you’re buying me groceries and pretending like you’re doing it because you’re living here. You’re living here because we want every moment we can have together before I have to leave. I’m giving you a key because–”

“I get it. I know you weren’t exactly ready for that.”

“It’s just a key. That’s not about readiness; that’s practical. But I didn’t want it to be practical. I wanted it to be because we were ready for that step. I wanted to put the key in some silly box and give it to you over dinner, where I paid because I could afford to take you out. I wanted to date and ask you to be my girlfriend officially because we could take our time and move through all those stages the right way. I didn’t want to be confused on whether or not we’re actually girlfriends now.”

“You’re confused about that?” Arlowe asked.

“We went from going on one date to almost being engaged in an evening. Can you blame me?” Eline replied with a little smile.

“I’m your girlfriend, Eline. We’re together. No confusion.”

“I’m glad, but what I’m about to tell you might change things for you, so hold on to that.”

“What?”

“My father knows someone who’s starting his own software company. He met him on his university campus, and they got to talking about how he needed people for it, including an engineer.”

Arlowe’s heart rate increased, and she swallowed.

“It’s an encryption software with some pretty broad applications. This guy is one of the best in his field, and not just according to my father. I looked him up and talked to him.”

“You talked to this guy about a job?”

“I did, yes. I sent him an email, and he responded right away, so we were able to connect despite the time difference.”

“And he’s offered you a job, I take it, by the way your face looks right now.”

“He did, actually. We talked for over an hour. He needs to send me the specifics, but the verbal offer was more than what I was making at GoldStash. It’s a good opportunity, Arlowe.”

“And he’s going to let you work from here?” she asked, hopeful, because this could not be happening again.