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Shane
Hey, how’s it going?
Leo
Figuring it out.
Shane
…?
He doesn’t say anything else.
Babe and I go to Dublin over the weekend, and while we’re
there, I open up to her about everything: Pilot, his girlfriend,
the internship going wrong, my parents—everything but the
time travel. She shares some of her own family issues in
return. She has an older brother who’s dealing with some
alcohol issues, and it’s taking a toll on her parents. I’ve heard
bits and pieces about this over the years, but never in as much
detail as she shared this weekend. I’m sad I was too caught up
in my own drama during London: Take One to have been
someone she could talk to about it.
It feels great to chat so candidly with her. It’s almost like
having 2017 Babe here with me.
When we get back Sunday night, I write up a post in
Horcrux Ten (Nine overflowed) and borrow Babe’s computer
to type up and publish: “American Girls Do Dublin.”
On Wednesday, March 16, I come into work and find the white
MacBook already powered up at my station. When I get close
enough, I see that Safari’s open to an article on the
Packed!
site. I drop my purse when I read the headline.
The Top 25 Things to Cram into Your
London Study Abroad Experience … Before
You Go Bankrupt
by Shane Primaveri
“Tracey, this is my piece!” I yelp toward the front desk.
She smiles at me. “It is.”
“It’s up?” I squeak. “Wendy said … she didn’t say when it
would be—”
“It’s up. Surprise! Congratulations!” she cheers.
“Congratulations, Shane!” Donna shouts from across the
room.
“Congratulations!” Jamie, George, Declan, and Janet all
echo after her. Wendy’s door is open, and she emerges from
her office to lean against the doorframe in a sleek, teal power
suit.
I watch her, still frozen with delight, by my table.
“Good morning, Shane!” Wendy greets. “Congratulations
on being our first intern to get a piece published in
Packed!
”
Donna whoops from her seat as Wendy strides over to me.
“Hey,” she says more quietly, “I’m really proud of you.
We’re all taking you out to drinks later, so don’t make other
plans.” She grins before walking back to her office.
I immediately email a link to Babe and Sahra. They both
text me within minutes.
Sahra:
Congratulations, Shane! This is so great! I
know how hard you’ve been working on it.
Babe:
YAYY!!!!!!! AHHHH!!!!! YOU DID IT!!!!!! (100
MORE EXCLAMATION POINTS) AHHHHHH!!!!! IT’S
BEAUTIFUL! OH MYLANTA!
I can’t stop smiling.
Wendy, Donna, and Tracey take me out to their usual pub
down the street. We sit around a high table near the bar. They
all tell me how appreciative they are of all the little things I’ve
been doing around the office, and I start to cry right there at
the table.
“Darling!” I look up at Wendy with a sad smile. Her brown
skin is glowing in the low light. “What’s wrong?” she asks.
“Nothing. I’m just really excited! And grateful.” I laugh-
cry. “And really sad that this is all going to be over in a few
weeks.”
“We’re all going to be sad to see you leave us!” Donna
smiles.
“Especially me!” Tracey laughs. “I’m going to have to go
back to working alone. I have so much more time now.”
“Who the hell’s going to anticipate my daily 3:00 p.m.
caffeine needs? It’s been so long since I made my own tea, I
barely remember how to use the kettle,” Donna teases.
“Seriously, Shane, we’ve never had such a hardworking,
efficient intern. You’ve been brilliant.”
I huff a sad laugh. “I just hope I can find another job like
this back in the US somewhere for the summer.”
“Have you started looking?” Tracey asks. My stomach
drops. Back in 2017 I have those eight other residency
interviews lined up for internal medicine. I haven’t been
thinking long-term here.
“No, not yet,” I reply. I make a mental note to buckle down
and start researching tonight.
“Do we know anyone looking?” Wendy directs to Donna
and Tracey.
Donna turns to me. “I have a friend who works at
Seventeen
in New York, and an ex-boyfriend at
NatGeo
. I’ll
send out some emails first thing tomorrow.”
I raise a hand to my chest. “Thank you so much.”
“Of course! I can’t guarantee anything, but I’ll ask my
contacts.”
“And I’ll keep my ears open,” Wendy adds. “We don’t
have an office in New York yet, but we’re in the process of
expanding to the States.”
I gape at the three of them. “You have no idea how
appreciative I am.”
“You’re going to land on your feet.” Tracey squeezes my
shoulder.
Wendy’s phone sends a vibration through the table, and she
picks it up excitedly.
“My husband’s coming to join us!” she exclaims, before
placing it back down with a brilliant smile. My mouth falls
open. “He had a meeting that finished up a few blocks from
here!”
“You have a husband?” I blurt in blatant disbelief. All
three women laugh.
“Why are you so surprised?” Wendy asks, not without
amusement.
“I’m sorry, um, I don’t know,” I fumble. “You’re … so
independent and successful and young, and I figured it’s so
hard to maintain a relationship and also be such a—badass.”
She chuckles. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s tough
sometimes, but Spencer’s my partner. He makes my life better,
so I keep him around. It’s really nice to have someone to share
my success with.” I nod absently, trying not to think about
dessert foods.
When Wendy’s husband joins us ten minutes later, I almost
choke on my wine. I recognize him immediately because I’ve
seen his headshot on the back of all the Broken Beaker books I
have on my shelf back at home. Her husband is Spencer
Matthews, the YA mystery novelist.
“You own your own successful magazine company and
your husband writes one of the most popular YA series?” I
start as Spencer leaves the table to get us a new round of
drinks at the bar. “How do you guys find time to be a couple?”
Wendy snorts. “I mean, the series hasn’t happened yet, but
he’s on that path. Book two’s out soon. I guess you’ve read
Broken Beaker
?”
Oh lord, I almost just had a major time traveler slipup. I
nod and she continues, “It’s all about patience and support. I
would have gotten here myself, but I’d like to think my
journey was a little less rocky because I had him to lean on
when things were really stressful, and vice versa with his
books.”
Thursday night, Babe and Sahra go out, but I decide to stay in.
I want to use the time to write a blog post about my
Packed!
article and borrow Babe’s computer while she’s not using it.
Babe, Sahra, and I are leaving for a trip to Prague tomorrow
after class, so I won’t have another chance to write before
Sunday.
I set to work, delving into the process of putting the article
together and of course what it means to me that it exists. The
post goes live at 10:00 p.m. I link it on Facebook for people to
see, and then head to Gmail.
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