The plan was for Jonathan to pick her up and take her to his apartment. His place was in Mesa, so he said he could take her to his house to get changed and then head to Scottsdale just in time for her two p.m. interview. Zoey had to be back on a plane that night at eight twenty-five.
“Let’s go,” her mother said. Zoey loaded her small carryon with the garment bag into the backseat and sat down in the front. It was so silent this time of night with the sky still ink blue. No one was on the road on Lillyvale Parkway as they headed toward Highway 80.
“Do you have your prepared anecdotes?” Rachel asked.
“Yes. I have a few stories prepared and examples of my successes,” Zoey said, looking out the window.
“How are you feeling?” Rachel asked.
“I feel so nervous I could throw up,” Zoey confessed, looking out the window. Concrete retainer walls, large box stores, and warehouses lined the freeway. Nothing great to look at, but if she looked at her mother, she might start crying and ask her to turn the car around.
“That’s a good feeling.”
“What?” Zoey asked. “I don’t feel good right now.”
“Feeling nervous or anxious about something big is part of being alive.”
Her mom watched the road as Zoey looked out the side.
“I’m glad you are taking a chance,” her mom said after a long silence.
“You are?” Zoey asked.
“Yes,” her mom said. “Ever since you quit teaching, I’ve been worried about you. You were so tired and so stressed. You lost your sparkle. Until that boy came back into your life.”
“Oh, Mom.”
“I think he’s good for you. I’ll miss you. I might move into a hot singles retirement community down there and meet a man with a Viagra prescription. If you give me grandbabies, of course.”
Zoey laughed, covering her face with her hands. “Stop it right now. You’re ridiculous. I’m not getting married. I don’t even have the job yet.”
“I think the job is yours to lose, to be perfectly honest,” Rachel said. “As long as you express your passion to them and show it, there’s nothing stopping you.”
“You’re not dying, are you?” Zoey asked. This version of her mother who praised her and trusted her had to be an alien in disguise.
“No,” her mother said with a laugh. “You going to Phoenix proves I’m right. That you need to get out of Lillyvale.”
“Well, then, I’m not going if it means you’re right,” Zoey deadpanned.
“I will throw you over my shoulder and put you on the plane myself.”
“I would like to see you try.”
Her mother patted her on the leg, and they drifted back to silence.
“If you have any doubts about Phoenix, it’s a good thing you’re going in July,” Rachel said. “Your father and I once went to there in the summer, and I almost melted.”
“You can just visit us in the winter, then,” Zoey said. I really hope I like it, she thought. She had already looked into how to get her vehicle reregistered and an Arizona driver’s license. She had started going for walks during the hottest part of the day to acclimate. She had watched the forecast religiously, and it was only going to be a high of one-hundred twelve in Phoenix with a light breeze—totally doable.
When they showed up at Arrivals for Southwest in the B Terminal, Rachel got out of the car with Zoey, although there was a security guard watching to make sure no one parked and sat.
“Knock ’em dead,” her mother said. “Say hello to Jonathan for me.”
Jonathan stood at arrivals in front of an ad for the Phoenix Zoo, waiting for Zoey to appear. It was seven thirty, and she had just texted him that the plane had landed. Jonathan bounced on the balls of his feet. This visit made him ten times more anxious than any important sporting event he’d ever participated in. The woman of his dreams was considering moving down to Phoenix to be with him. Earlier in the week, he had gone to the gym and on a five-mile run to burn off some energy so he could relax. He had even lost all semblance of chill the night before when he created his masterpiece, a welcome sign for Zoey that was utterly ridiculous.
It had glitter. The font was bright orange. His handwriting was horrible. He didn’t measure the font size correctly so the “e” and “n” on his sign were squished and barely visible. It was done on a cheap poster board from the dollar store. Children passed, curious on what he was holding, and people rubber-necked to read the sign, some looking at him with pity since his handwriting was so bad.
Still, when he saw Zoey appear on the escalator, wearing all black athletic wear with a gray ballcap on her head, he held up that sign, just for her and no one else.
It said, “Welcome Home, Zoey Benton.”
She cocked her head in recognition when she comprehended the words and laid her shaking head in her hands. When she stepped off the escalator, she walked toward him and gave him a one-arm hug, while she held up a garment bag with the other.
“Hey, stranger,” Jonathan said, kissing her.
“Hey, yourself,” Zoey said. She smacked him on the butt. In public.
“I volunteer to be your personal chauffeur today,” Jonathan said.
“What about your PTO?”
“I’ll have to do a little bit of work remotely. Not before breakfast, though.”
“Breakfast sounds good,” Zoey said.
They walked to the parking garage, and Zoey stripped off the light jacket she had worn out of the plane. “Dang, it’s already hot.”
“Oh, this is nothing. This is cold for us,” Jonathan said. It was probably around eighty-five degrees already at seven thirty in the morning. Jonathan found his car, and they climbed in after Jonathan put her stuff in the trunk, laying the garment bag flat.
They headed out of the airport toward Mesa. They stopped at his favorite breakfast spot, the Runny Egg, the restaurant he promised to take her to. Jonathan opened the door for Zoey and she entered, looking around. The Runny Egg was practically Phoenix’s Sunny’s. The booths were egg-yolk yellow accented with eggshell white, and the tables were yellow-speckled Formica. For a Friday morning, it was crowded with limited open seating.
“This place is so...yellow,” Zoey said.
“I’m egg-cited you’re here,” Jonathan said. Zoey turned with an unimpressed expression and then she huffed out a laugh.
“You’re not the only one good at dad jokes,” Jonathan said. After they got situated at the counter and coffee was poured, he asked, “How are you feeling? About the interview?”
“I feel good. Prepared,” Zoey said. “Can you ask me some typical interview questions so I can get in the zone?”
“Okay,” Jonathan said, turning his whole body to face her. Jonathan lowered his voice, grumbling with his roleplay. “I see on this résumé that you live in Lillyvale, California. Why do you want to move to Phoenix? You know it’s hot here, right?”
“Well,” Zoey began. “I realized I feel stifled in Lillyvale. I grew up there and I’m comfortable, but I’m ready for a change. The market for marketing and social media is not large there, so I decided to apply in markets where there was more opportunity.” Zoey paused and then said, “Plus, there’s this guy who lives in Phoenix who’s okay.”