Well, my darling, how did the interview go?” Nana had a full pancake breakfast on the table by the time Sabrina made her way downstairs.
Sabrina shrugged. “I wish I knew for sure. It seemed like it went well, but I can’t help but think that part of what prompted this second round of interviews is my illness. Whether or not they think I can handle the job, I can’t say.”
“Isn’t there some kind of antidiscrimination laws for that kind of thing?”
“Probably, but I certainly don’t want to start out my career with a legal fight. I want to be hired because I’m the best one for the job. Period. Not because my lawyer forced them to take me.”
“Yes, but it seemed like they wanted you just fine back when they thought you were healthy.”
“True enough.” Sabrina poured syrup over her pancakes. “Luckily I wasn’t limping much yesterday, which is more than I can say today. And my nose is looking better, so . . . I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Will your heart be truly broken if you don’t get the job?”
Sabrina started to give the flip answer, but then paused to actually think about it. Finally, she shrugged. “I don’t know, Nana. I mean, no one wants to be rejected, right? Especially if the reason for the rejection is not my fault. And this job is such an amazing opportunity. To begin my career there would give me the experience I need to go anywhere and do anything.”
“Where would you want to go and what would you want to do?”
Sabrina took a bite of pancakes, more to give herself time to think than because she was actually hungry. “I don’t know, but having lots of choices available is always a good thing, right?”
“Sure enough. I’m just thinking, though, it seems to me that one choice is enough, if that’s the choice you want to make.”
“You’ve been talking to Mom, haven’t you?”
Nana smiled. “Maybe a little. And I’m afraid she might be right. But”— she reached for the butter and put a sliver on top of her pancake—“it’s your life. You’re the one who is going to have to figure all that out.”
“Mom is so convinced that I’m supposed to be doing some other kind of work, I know she is. But the thing is, by beginning my career at somewhere like Grace Rose it gives me the background I need to work somewhere else eventually.”
“I’m thinking beginning your career at the place you’re supposed to be would be even better. Don’t you?”
“I think more options are better. I really, really want this job.”
“Sabrina, if that’s the case then I hope you get the job of your dreams. You know what my biggest concern is?”
“What?”
“You have such a competitive spirit, I’m afraid that you want this job so badly because you think you might not be able to have it. It’s sort of like that silly show on TV . . . what’s it called, where all those girls try to get that guy to propose to them?”
“The Bachelor.”
“That’s it. Thing is, if most of those girls met that same guy at work, or church or wherever, they would all think he was nice looking most likely, but after a date or two, probably half of them wouldn’t want to keep seeing him. Yet, when they get put in this high pressure situation pitted against other girls, it becomes more about winning than actually finding a person they want to spend the rest of their lives with. You know what I mean?”
“I guess so. But that’s not the case with me.”
Nana nodded. “Good, I’m glad to hear it.”
The two of them finished the rest of their breakfast in silence. Sabrina picked up her plate and carried it over to the sink. She rinsed it and then loaded it in the dishwasher. “I’m going to go over to the campus to study.”
“All righty.” Nana stood up with her own plate in hand. “Oh, I almost forgot. You got some mail yesterday. I never did make it up to your room to put it on your desk. I’ve got it right here.” Nana picked up a large envelope from the far counter and brought it to Sabrina.
Sabrina looked at the return address. Rita Leyva.
Out of curiosity, she opened the envelope. Inside was a calendar for the current year, each month showing the smiling face of another orphan who was being helped through the Bridges program. One picture, a small girl with braided pigtails, seemed to look right at Sabrina. She did not want to admit to herself how much it moved her.
She finally slid the calendar back inside the envelope. “I’ve already got a calendar for this year.”