Sleep is a strange thing. When you least expect it, it’ll hit. Knocking you on your ass and keeping you there for hours. But when you try, when you really need it, when all you want to do is fall asleep, it always seems to be shy. It avoids your calls and ducks around corners when it sees you coming. That’s how Amber feels tonight. Sleep just refuses to come.
It’s that job. The one she told her friends she wasn’t interested in. The one she still hasn’t looked into because it’s just too ridiculous. That’s not how the world works. The rules are clear. You go to school, then you get a job, and you work hard. That’s it. Work isn’t meant to be fun. It isn’t meant to be a vacation. It’s work! That should be it. She should be done with this childish notion that it can be anything more, and she should sleep.
She should, but she can’t. The job just keeps creeping back into her mind. What if it really is like a vacation? What if the millionaire is a great guy and they hit it off? What if the check is enough to pay off her crushing student loans? Then she wouldn’t have to work so many hours. She could get a life outside of that hospital. Perhaps she could even travel, see some of the places in her books. And what if she could sprout wings and breathe fire? The idea doesn’t seem any more ridiculous to her than this job being the great adventure that changes her life forever.
She glances at the clock. Two in the morning. She has to be up for work in three hours. Squeezing her eyes tighter, doesn’t bring sleep any closer. Pulling the covers up tight around her chin does nothing. She knows the only thing that will give her the relief she needs to fall asleep, is sitting on the bedside table. She reaches for the laptop and a flash of blue lights her face. One peek at the job offer will prove it’s too good to be true, and then she’ll be able to put the whole idea to rest.
She opens the email forwarded to her from Jess. I knew you’d come around. Have fun! Below the short message is a link, and with a deep breath, she clicks. Instantly a new tab opens, and the front page is an image. The lone line of text, Casa De Los Sueños sits above an aerial view of a beautiful mansion surrounded by jungle on three sides and the clearest blue water Amber has ever seen on the fourth. The little Spanish she remembers from high school flashes into her mind. The house of dreams? That’s either beautiful or ominously scary, she thinks to herself. Hitting the arrows on the side, and scanning through the images, has her leaning toward beautiful.
The location has to be one of the most gorgeous scenes she’s ever seen. The mansion, unlike America’s giant boxes, is fluid and moves naturally through the trees. The jungle is unlike anything she’s ever experienced in southern California. The beach’s sand is pristine and untouched, unlike the tourist and trash ridden ones she’s used to. Somehow all of that is not even the best part. Scrolling down, she finds the message directed to her.
Dear Ms. Amber Klow,
We are very pleased to offer you the personal nursing position for Mr. Banks’ upcoming vacation. Your resume experience and the invigorating cover letter you wrote were impressive. We hope you will accept our offer quickly so that we can get the hiring process started immediately. The vacation is in two weeks, on the 23rd, and we need all the tax forms filed and your bank account information for your initial check. We will also need your passport information in order to buy your ticket to Costa Rica.
Once you accept, we will be in contact with all the relevant information. We look forward to meeting you as soon as possible and getting acquainted. And remember, even though you will be working, the trip is guaranteed to be a lot of fun. After all, Costa Rica is beautiful this time of year, and when your nursing duties are complete and your services are not required, you are free to explore the country. All expenses paid, of course.
Regards,
Alfonso Martinez
The cover letter was invigorating? What cover letter, she thinks. Jess and Jamal must have submitted one along with her resume, but what the hell could they have written for it to be described as invigorating? If it’s anything like the picture they used, she probably doesn’t want to know.
Scrolling through the website, she finds the application and job description. With a quick google search, she finds the job offer on two paid job search engine websites. Despite the thought that this is all some sort of scam, the more she looks into it, the more it looks legit. The website, the letter, the job being listed on multiple high profile job search sites, it all seems to be real. Only seeing the wage and the very minimal nursing work that needs to be done, makes it seem too good to be true. She could do this job in her sleep and she would be making four times what she makes at the hospital. Not to mention, all expenses paid vacation to Costa Rica!
She’s hardly ever traveled outside of the United States, other than a single trip to Mexico Jess and Jamal forced her on. Hell, she’s never traveled inside the United States. Costa Rica would be the highlight of her life. Her mind flashes back to one of her books that took place there. Love Island, Murder Resort. It was a classic whodunit that takes place at a luxury resort on the rocky shores of Costa Rica. Despite the murders, the location sounded amazing.
She thinks. Slow and steady. Not reacting, but ingesting, contemplating, planning, and eventually, she’ll decide…or not. Sometimes it seems half her decisions weren’t hers at all. She simply elects to not decide and see what happens instead. But the more she looks, the more she finds herself wanting this job. Wanting this job that’s already hers. She just needs to accept.
A simple click on the website is all she needs to do and she’s in. The mouse hovers over the button. Her eyes dash to the clock, three in the morning. If she accepts, she could call in sick today. She could spend the whole day researching Costa Rica, looking into this Mr. Banks, and talking with Alfonso Martinez about the job. She can feel her heart racing as she presses down on the laptop’s keypad. ACCEPT. She’s done it. The craziest decision she’s ever made and she’s officially a travel nurse.