Claire sighed again and flopped back onto her pillows, taking her laptop with her. "I don't know." She paused and thought about it. "Okay, here's the thing. We agreed to tell the team about us two weeks ago. Then he got that job offer last week and hasn't said a word to anyone. It's been two weeks! Has he changed his mind? Is he waffling? Is he not telling the team about us because he's actually considering taking this job? I don't know what's going on in his head right now, and I'm kind of panicking."
They sat a moment in silence, thinking it through. Claire pulled at a string on her skirt, listening to Lucinda sip her drink through a straw.
"Also," Claire continued, "we've been so busy with work, we've hardly seen each other this week. Like, we went from hanging out together every day to just passing in the hallway or trading random texts. He hasn't spent the night once this week. And this came after this job offer."
Lucinda took another bite and Claire chewed her thumbnail.
After an unbearable pause, Luce spoke. "He's always been kind of in his head, though, right? Like when you first met him and you had to pin him down to get answers?"
"Yeah, but that was because he viewed me as the enemy and was actively avoiding me." Claire grimaced. "Right?"
Lucinda shrugged. "That could be part of it. But maybe deep thinking is part of his process when he's working something out. Didn't you say he did woodworking stuff?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Think about how you approach coding. You draw up your flowchart, you list out your testing scenarios, you write up your pseudocode with comments before you ever type a line of actual code. You have a rigid, solitary process that no one else can help you with. It's how you solve problems and get your mind right. Maybe the woodworking thing is his. And he's in Houston right now, away from his tools." She shrugged. "Or maybe it has nothing to do with anything. What do I know?"
Claire let her friend's words sink in. Noah had spent much of his free time in England refurbishing his home. Lucinda could be right. His woodworking and remodeling activities were his thinking time. And he'd been spending all his time here with her. Time off this week might be a good thing.
"Okay, you've made me feel better. I'm too up in my head about it and I need to trust that he cares about me and is just figuring it all out."
"There ya go. Ninety-five percent of the things we worry about never come to pass," Lucinda quipped.
"Is that a real statistic?" Claire's lips twitched.
"Of course. Here's another: seventy-two percent of statistics are made up."
"You totally made that up."
"One hundred percent true. Now, what movie are we watching tonight?"
Noah put the last glass in the dishwasher and closed the lid. Rick handed him a beer, and they headed for the couch. Tonight had been Noah's turn to host this week's Wednesday night poker game. His temporary apartment was pretty basic, but had room enough to handle entertaining a few guests. Larry had won the pot tonight, so they'd have to listen to him brag until someone else beat his ass but overall, they'd had a good time. Everyone else had departed earlier, and Noah had asked Rick to stick around.
"How's Peggy?" Noah asked. Rick had been flying home every weekend these last two months to spend time with his very pregnant wife.
Rick smiled. "Ready to pop. Her due date is Sunday."
"Sunday?" Noah perked up. "Are you giving me the inside track on the betting pool?"
"Ha! Much to my surprise, the due date is an approximate 'anywhere within two weeks of this date' kind of deal. There are no guarantees."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously. I bought a standby ticket last month, just in case. Although Peggy insists she's going to arrive right on time."
"She? You're having a little girl?" Noah smiled. He could see Rick being completely wrapped around his little girl's finger. "Geez, I knew we were getting close, but it kind of snuck up on me. You must be very excited."
"Yeah. That's why I stayed this past weekend. I finished up the last of my big-ticket items on Sunday and Claire's been helping me with smaller jobs." Rick scratched the back of his neck. "I keep reminding everyone Friday is my last day, but they keep adding to the list. I just keep shuffling everything over to Claire." He smiled. "Anyway, what'd you want to talk about?"
Noah's heart skipped a beat at Claire's name. He tugged at his shirt's collar. "I have a complication. Claire and I are together. Officially. We made it official." He stopped stammering and waited for Rick's reaction. When the other man took another sip of his beer, Noah realized this wasn't news to him. And we thought we were so careful. Although, to be fair, Rick always was a keen observer. It's why he was so good at managing his team.
"Jackie offered me a job in IT. A managerial position reporting to Simon and taking over several of his direct reports."
Rick was quiet while he absorbed the info. "I can see it. No more operations stuff for you, huh?"
He shrugged. "It's a giant shift for me not to be in operations. I got my start on the manufacturing side. I've loved the challenge of figuring out how to produce the latest and greatest designs, working out production schedules, and all the rest. Until recently, that is." He paused and took a drink, considering his next words. He hadn't really talked to Rick about his growing dissatisfaction with his day job. "The thing is, I like what I'm doing on the project too. Working with all the plants and seeing what they're doing. What they're screwing up and, more importantly, what they're getting right that we can apply elsewhere. I love that, too. And I think I could make a difference by being able to see the entire picture. There have been a couple of times this past year where we've fixed some issues unrelated to the project because we had someone in this elevated position who could see the misalignment."
"You're good at it, too." Rick picked up the TV remote and absently flicked through the muted channels, but Noah knew he was listening. Rick was one of those guys who needed to move while he processed. "And the complication?"
