Since the courthouse is on Main Street, we take a stroll down the cutest section of downtown. This place has adorable shops, and it even has baskets of little purple flowers hanging from every lamppost at the edge of the sidewalk.
Tessa is very,veryslowly warming up to me. And by “warm,” I mean maybe room temperature instead of an outside-in-the-dead-of-winter temperature. She’s mostly been standing on the opposite side of Owen and directing what she says to him.
But after stopping to look in some shop windows, Tessa and I end up walking side by side, so I try to connect with her. I don’t actually know enough about her to talk to her about more than school, her childhood dollhouse, or the injury that has her foot in a boot. I decide to stick with school.
“So… are you hating all the classes related to your major, or just yourBuilding Systems and Codesone?”
She looks over at me, alarmed. “I never said I hated it.”
Okay, so that failed. I stay quiet.
After a moment, she says in a quieter voice, “But you’re right. I do.”
I look over at her, hoping she’ll continue.
She does. “It’s just that instead of letting you dream or imagine, it’s constantly telling you what youcan’t do. I don’t feel creative in the class at all. I feel like a box-checker.” She pauses a moment, then asks, “How did you know I hated it?”
“I read people well.” Which is true. I did even before the CSA trained me. “Plus, while we were eating, you had your phone on the table, and a grading notification came up for that class. You turned your phone over. Which is natural—I know I never wanted to think of school when I wasn’t there. But I saw the expression on your face, and it was more than that. I could tell the class causes you a lot of stress. Does it make you worry you’re in the wrong major?”
Tessa gives a little nervous laugh and glances at me from the corner of her eye as we walk. “You got all that from me turning my phone over? That’s… freakish.”
“Hey,” Owen says. “Watch it.”
“I’m just saying, do you ever wonder if your girlfriend has mind-reading superpowers?”
Owen chuckles. “I have, actually. But I’ve always been amazed and impressed by it.”
Tessa looks at me. “Also, that’s kind of a leap to go from not wanting to think about my class to being in the wrong major.”
I grimace. Inwardly and outwardly. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Because you are right.” Tessa swallows and glances past me to Owen. “I reallywantto want my major. But I keep questioningwhether I’m cut out for it. Even though I’m passionate about design. But I don’t know. I want the freedom to create atmospheres and moods—not just spaces that meet code.”
Owen says, “You’ve never liked being boxed in, not even when you were a toddler. So, I can see how you’d feel that way. Is there a different major you’ve been considering?”
Tessa lights up when she says, “Design, Technology & Management. They have a concentration in Theater Design & Technology that sounds so cool! I’d still be using spatial creativity, but for storytelling and visual impact. They’ve got classes on things like stage layout, theming, and even art direction.” Then her face falls, and she says, “But I don’t know.”
She stays quiet for long enough that I know she’s not going to offer more on her own, so I give her a nudge. “You’re unsure because you don’t want to disappoint your dad? And Owen?”
“Again, freakish.” She looks at me for a long time before she says, “Exactly.”
“I’ve got five older brothers. Four went into fields related to business solutions. But not my brother, Blake—he’s a dentist. Do you want to know what has made me super proud of each of them? When they’ve found the career that most perfectly suits them. The one that really allows them to shine.”
Tessa stops walking and turns to Owen. “What do you think?”
“I want to see you shine in a career that perfectly suits you. I’m betting Mom and Dad do, too.”
“Really?”
Owen nods.
“You wouldn’t be disappointed?”
“Nope. I’d be proud of you for figuring out what you most wanted.”
I smile at Owen, and he gives me a little smile back.
Tessa looks forward again, smiling like a woman whose whole world just opened up to her. She links her arm in mine, and we start walking again. Then she says to me, “You’re really easy to talk to, you know?”
