"Sandy, you're smarter than this. You have to pack and leave right now."
She thought back to when she had started with Walde & Walde as an unpaid intern. They liked her and gave her a paid position. All the partners worked ten-hour days, and she worked hard to keep up with her field support. It paid off when the firm offered to finance her remaining tuition, so she could finish her law studies at Penn part time. She'd be on her way. She'd have it made. Her dream was there on the other end of the line, right there in her hand.
"Do you want to keep this job? Yes or no?"
She wanted the job. She would go back. She had to. But somehow she was reluctant to say, yes. "I need to sleep on it. I'll phone you in the morning."
She looked at her watch. She'd go back to Raymond's apartment and pack. A few hours of sleep and she'd be ready to head north on I95. If she drove straight through, she'd make the meeting on time. There would be two awkward situations: Raymond and Chip.
She knew that her brother would accept her leaving without complaint. He was expecting it at anytime. However, visiting hours weren't until the afternoon. There was no way to see Raymond before she left town. She wanted to explain how she wished she could stay. She wanted to tell him that she had grown to like him, and that her leaving had nothing to do with him. He not only would be lost without her, he would discover that she left without even a goodbye.
Chip was another story. A story that never really got started. Now it never would. She punched speed dial #1.
He was in Chief Oehlert's office. "Hi, Sandy, we're working late. What do you want?"
"Get the edge out of your voice, Chip. I have something important to tell you."
"Well, I'm going to be tied up for most of the night. Call me in the morning, okay?"
"Chip...I'm leaving. This is goodbye."
"What, wait let me step out into the hall. Go on."
"I just got an ultimatum from my employer. I have one day to get back up there or I'm terminated. I know my brother appreciates my efforts, but I don't know if I'm doing any good or not."
"He does appreciate you. Don't say I told you, but I think you're making great progress."
"I can't give up that job, Chip."
"I know you have responsibilities up there."
"And I'm supposed to trade all that for...whatever might happen down here? I don't mean you, Chip. I don't know if I'm the answer to my brother's problems anyway."