That morning’s run had been painful. Her lungs took in the cold, dry air, as she ran the few blocks around her building. Then, huffed and puffed back into her apartment, admitting defeat to the cold before showering and getting ready for her first class of the day. Four hours later, her students shuffled out of the room as they muttered to one another about their papers. Eva picked up her bag and noticed Doug appear in the doorway.
“Doug? I didn’t think you’d be on campus today. Didn’t you have that meeting with the board at Camden?” Eva slung her bag over her shoulder and walked through the row of desks toward the department head.
“I did. It finished about an hour ago. I need to talk to you. Do you have another class right now?”
“No. I have office hours up next. My next class is at three.”
“How about my office?” He motioned for her to lead the way, which she did.
“Is everything okay?”
“Let’s just go to my office. Better to do this when we’re both sitting down and in private.”
The campus of their small college wasn’t large. Most of her classes were in the same building as the faculty offices. They made their way to the elevators and as the door opened, Eva caught Kayla’s eye as she was heading up, most likely to teach one of her classes.
“Doug,” she greeted the department head and then looked back at Eva. “Dr. Dash.” She greeted Eva more formally. Funny. She’d called her Eva the night before and in a much different tone.
“Dr. DeWitt,” Eva replied, and Doug turned to speak with Kayla momentarily until they’d arrived at their floor.
The two of them disembarked while Kayla remained. Eva intentionally did not turn around to look at her. They arrived at Doug’s office and he made his way briskly around his desk and sat in his overly large leather chair. Eva sat down in the smaller chair in front of the desk.
“I’m not going to sugar coat this. I want you to know that I hate doing it. You know the college has lost some of its funding recently and our department specifically has had to make pretty severe budget cuts.”
“Yeah,” Eva gulped.
“I was ordered by the dean to make some decisions regarding the staffing of the faculty,” Doug continued. “You’re the least tenured professor we have on full-time. I know how accomplished you are and I want you to know that I fought for you.” He started speaking rapidly. “I will write you a letter of recommendation. I know your peers will as well. This is strictly budgetary and in no way reflective of the work you’ve put in here.”
“Wait. What?” Eva stopped him. “I’m losing my job?”
“I am very sorry, Eva. I know you and James were close and you-”
“This place is my home,” she interrupted and felt her voice quiver. “I’ve spent eleven years here.”
“Only two of them as a faculty member and those are the only ones that count in these situations. Nearly all professors in our department have tenure and those that don’t are further along the track than you.”
“Kayla just got here!”
“Yes, but she was teaching at our sister school in London for the past three years, and she was here before that. Those three years put her even further along the track.”
“How does this even happen?” She was speaking loudly now, and she was glad the office door had been closed behind her.
“I know this comes as a shock and I feel foolish because all I can say is that I am sorry. This was an incredibly difficult decision. I spent much of the morning trying to find a way out of it, but the college has been struggling to get new donors. New universities keep popping up.” He used air quotes around universities. “Online programs, offering people flexibility and degrees, have changed the landscape. Then, there’s the fact that we’re in Chicago and even though we’re one of the oldest schools in the city, we’re also one of the smallest. We serve a niche market, and two of our most seasoned donors recently shifted their allegiances to other schools and charities.”
“What about my classes? The rest of the semester?” Eva asked.
“Dr. DeWitt will take them. Your TA will teach, and she’ll oversee,” he answered.
“Kayla’s taking over my classes?” She was yelling at this point. “I cannot believe this.”
“One of her Master’s degrees is in American literature, Eva. I’m sorry. She’s best suited for the position.”
“And she gets even closer to precious tenure,” she replied through gritted teeth.
“We’ve worked up a severance to help you get through, since I know it will be hard to find something in the middle of an active semester and like I said, I’ve got a recommendation letter ready for you. I’ll have the others-”
“You have one ready?” She stood. “How long have you known, Doug?”
“Eva…” He faltered. “I knew it was a possibility. I wanted to be prepared. I want you to find something as quickly as you can. This was all I could do to help.”
“What now? Does campus security escort me to my office?”
“What? No.” Doug stood to match her. “No one is going to escort you off campus. You’re free to come back to get your belongings whenever you want.” He paused. “Friday at the latest, though.” His face scrunched up more and more with every syllable and he hesitated with each sentence. She knew Doug. He was a good man, and he didn’t have a choice. “I’ve already canceled your afternoon class. I am sorry.”
“Thanks, Doug,” she replied defeated, her head hanging. She looked up. “I mean it. I know this isn’t your fault. Thank you for doing what you could for me. I just can’t believe it. I’ve been here forever. I thought I’d spend my whole career here.”
“I know James will roll over in his grave and possibly haunt me for having to do this. If I am ever able to hire you back, I will. I printed a few copies of the recommendation letter for you and signed them. I’ll email you the file too. Have anyone contact me. I promise I will do what I can.”
Eva had a hard time focusing on what to do next. She’d only ever known this place. After leaving her parents and the small town she’d grown up in, she’d made her way here and she hadn’t left since. She’d spent years at this place, learning and discovering and planning her career here with Dr. Weston’s help. James had handed her his job on a silver platter along with all his lesson plans, sample tests, and his old papers. He wanted her to take over for him, and in just two short years after his death, she’d been fired. She couldn’t decide if it was worse that she’d lost her job or that Kayla would be taking over her classes. She let out a deep and heavy breath as she left the building with only her bag and purse. She’d go back to her office tomorrow for the rest of her things. She couldn’t do it right now. Instead, she exited the building wearing only her sweater. She’d left her coat in her office. She wrapped her arms around her body and decided not to go back inside. She embraced the cold because it matched her mood. She’d taken the train that day and her stop was a few blocks away. She could make it there and then she’d be fine. As she walked, she contemplated her entire life as it flashed in her eyes in sections.
She’d grown up in rural Iowa. Her parents were fairly uneducated farmers. Her father’s family had a farm going back generations, so when her parents married, her mother helped him work the farm. Eva’s older brothers both worked there to this day and her younger sister, who’d been born when she was ten years old, was still there and about to be married at nineteen to another farmer from a nearby town. Eva was the black sheep of her family, choosing to surround herself with books in her youth as she clung to them and her solitude in the tree house her father had built for her brothers, but that she’d taken over instead. When she’d gotten her acceptance letter along with her scholarship to college, her parents were both concerned and excited. She’d done well in her four years in the city and had remained in campus housing throughout her time there. She’d moved out into her own off-campus apartment for her graduate and doctoral work and had to take out some loans in order t
o continue her education.
As she walked, she reluctantly began doing the math. She added up her rent and other expenses. She only had three more paychecks coming. She had her car payment. She regretted that impulsive purchase even more now and her car insurance, her cell phone bill, her food, and train pass. She would cancel her cable as soon as she got home. She had some savings, but not much. Luckily, she didn’t have any credit card debt, but she did have that pesky student loan debt that required payment.
The cold crept in on her as she approached Big Brother Zack’s, a bar she passed daily. She’d never gone in because, from what she’d seen on the nights she’d stayed late in her office and walked past to get to her stop, it tended to be more of a student crowd. The door was open and, even though it was only 1:30 pm, she thought maybe a drink would warm her up and take her mind off things.
She walked through the door. The chill began to leave her, but she kept her arms crossed anyway. She looked around and realized there was no one in the bar. Tables were to the right, and there appeared to be a space for pool, darts, and what looked like an old shuffleboard table. The bar and its stools were to the left and to her immediate left were three high-top-style tables near the front window. The bar was long and made of dark wood. The entire space felt very much like a college pub complete with TVs that were turned off, but likely played sports. There were beer signs everywhere along with sports memorabilia. Eva had her back to the bar, checking out two lacrosse sticks fastened to the wall.
“We’re not open yet.” The voice came from the bar.
Eva turned and dropped her arms to her sides immediately.
“Sorry,” she sighed.
“No problem,” the woman replied and lifted a case of something up onto the bar. “Are you okay?”
She began removing bottles from the box. Eva stood nearly dumbfounded by the woman who was about ten feet away and realized that the woman didn’t recognize her from the previous night.
“Sorry, what?” Eva asked.
The woman stopped to look at her and Eva caught those definitely electric blue eyes now that she could see them up close.
“I asked if you were okay. You look like you’re freezing. Here. Sit down a minute.” She pointed with one of the bottles at an empty stool in front of the bar.
“You’re not open. I’ll just go.” She turned to leave.
“I remember you.”
“You do?” Eva turned.
“You were with Kayla last night. I was very rude to you.”
“What? How?” Eva took a few steps toward the bar.
“Here. Sit.”
Eva rested her bag and purse on one backed stool and then sat on the one next to it.
“I know Kayla. She screwed over one of my friends and then another of my friends and then another. So, I thought I should warn you about her. It was rude though. I shouldn’t have done it. I just know her M.O., and she pissed me off. I took that out on you. I’m sorry.”
“You know her M.O.?” Eva asked as she felt a chill move through her body.
“She’s a hit it and quit it kind of lesbian.” The woman’s hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but there were a few fly-aways that made her appear less than perfect. That was about the only indication that the incredibly beautiful woman in front of her wasn’t an actual goddess. “I assumed you two were on a date since it was Valentine’s Day, but even if you weren’t and you were just friends, I still felt I should warn you.”
“We were,” Eva said as she watched the brightness in the woman’s eyes bounce a little with the reflection from the overhead lights. “A first date,” she continued. “And the last date,” she finished.
The woman met her eyes and smiled. She stood still for a moment.
“I’m Ember.” She held out her hand for Eva to shake.
“Ember?” Eva questioned. She shook her hand and immediately noticed the warmth and softness of it.
“It’s short for November. I usually just go by Em.”
“Why? Ember’s such a beautiful name.” Eva blushed.
“Thank you. Em is just easier.”
“Why November?” Eva asked.
Ember appeared to be considering if she should answer such a personal question.
“You know the alphabet the military uses? Bravo, Charlie, that kind of thing?”
She dropped the now empty box onto the floor.
“Yeah.”
“N is November. My dad was a Marine. He was on a combat mission once where November was the password they’d exchange in the dark or if they heard someone coming to identify if they were friendly. One person would say November, and the other would say Oscar, and they’d know they were both okay. One time, he approached what he suspected was an enemy location with part of his unit, and he almost opened fire. One of them yelled November and he stopped his team from attacking. It turned out, there were marines stranded there, and they’d lost communication. My dad’s unit ended up rescuing them. He said November had somehow saved lives that day and when I was born, they named me that.” She paused. “No pressure, huh?” She smiled.
“If you were a boy, would they have named you Oscar?” Eva asked with a smile.
“Probably not since we already had a bird named Oscar,” Ember replied.
“Well, it’s a nice name.”
“Speaking of names, what’s yours?” Ember asked.
“Eva,” she replied. “Eva Dash.”
“That sounds like a superhero name. Eva Dash, protector of the innocent.”
“I guess” Eva laughed.
“So, the last date with Kayla, huh?” Ember changed the subject.
“Yes, that will be our last date.”
“Sorry. I still can’t believe I tossed that napkin at you. I promise I don’t normally do things like that. She’s just a bitch, and you seemed like a nice person, so…”
“How did you know I was a nice person?”
“Oh, I-”
“I’m curious. Really,” Eva started and rested her still cold hands on the bar. “I was trying to figure it out last night, actually. Once she basically asked me to sleep with her and told me that was all she wanted, I guessed that was what your little note was referring to, but then I started wondering what might make you assume I wouldn’t be into it or that I didn’t already know what she was all about.”
“Honestly?”
Eva found herself staring at the woman’s necklace. It was a dog tag attached to a silver chain. It must have been her father’s. It was on the outside of a gray t-shirt that bore the Beatles name and the famous image from the Abbey Road album.
“I’m curious. It was a strange night for me,” she admitted.
“How so?” Ember asked.
“I thought I knew Kayla well enough. We work together.” She stopped herself. “Worked,” she added. “We worked together,” she repeated. In the past few minutes, she’d completely forgotten about her terrible day. “She asked me out. I thought we were going on a regular date. I realize that sex is a part of regular dating…”
She felt hot as she’d brought up sex in front of this gorgeous woman. She brushed her dirty blonde hair behind her ears. “I’m not a prude or anything is what I meant.”
“Sure.” Ember laughed.
“I thought we’d go out, and maybe we’d have a goodnight kiss or something and go out again if it went well, but she said she thought we were on the same page. She wanted a hook-up and thought I did too. But you say you thought I didn’t and you dropped that napkin in my lap.” She inhaled after expelling all that carbon dioxide with that ramble. “I went to sleep last night trying to figure out how’d I’d given off two completely different vibes.”
“You work at the university?” Ember asked, and Eva had to take a second to appreciate how easily Ember seemed to be able to change subjects and deflect.
“I did,” she began with a sigh. “I was a professor in the English Department, but I was fired today. After two years on the faculty and nine as a s
tudent, I was let go because of budget issues.”
“Nine years?”
“Four as an undergrad, two in grad school, and three for my doctorate.”
“So, you’re Dr. Eva Dash then?”
“Yes,” Eva answered. “I met Kayla there, and well, that’s how the date happened, but you still haven’t answered my question.”
“You caught that, huh?” Ember winked at her and leaned over the bar. Eva glanced quickly in the direction of the neckline of the loose-fitting shirt before looking away. “I saw you two when you first came in last night. I caught Kayla eyeing the hostess, who is way too young for her, and I watched you sit down next to an elderly couple in the waiting area and pick up the menu the woman dropped before starting a conversation with them. You were smiling and laughing, and when Kayla sat down, you seemed to politely excuse yourself from that conversation and focus on your date. It seemed like you handled the situation perfectly and-”
“Politely?” Eva questioned.
“Yes, and when your table was ready, you even turned to the couple who was still waiting, and it looked like you were saying something nice to them. I couldn’t hear, but they smiled, so I assumed.”
Eva smiled at her and leaned over the bar. Her arms were across the wood and her hands clasped together. She matched Ember’s posture. Their arms were only inches apart.
“I offered them our table,” Eva explained. “They’d been waiting longer than us. Kayla pulled some strings. I think she paid the hostess. They declined though.”
“I was right. You are way too good for Kayla DeWitt.”
“Then why did she think I’d-”
“She didn’t.”
“She said-”
“She wanted to gauge your reaction. She thought that if she told you that you’d given her some signal that it was what you wanted, you’d go for it. Typical player move and Kayla is most definitely a player.”
“How do you know all this?” Eva finally asked.
“Because I used to be just like her.” She leaned back and stood up straight. “How about a drink?”
The Best Lines Page 2
