His Number Changed So I Changed My Life Chapter 13
“Trash it.”
I only took what was mine.
A few boxes of books, my clothes, and the bone china tea set my mother had given me for our wedding.
I rented a small apartment in Astoria. In the afternoon, the sun streamed into the living room.
After I put away my books and my tea set, I opened my laptop and revised my résumé.
I hadn’t held a formal job in five years.
When Parker’s career was first taking off, I’d managed his emails and scheduled his auditions. Later, once he had a professional team, I stepped back.
That left a five-year gap on my résumé.
I spent the whole afternoon sending out applications. Almost no one replied. A few recruiters spoke to me briefly, said they’d get back to me, and then went silent.
Finally, I dug up the number for my college mentor, Professor Hart.
I had majored in journalism and worked for two years at a local paper after graduation.
Professor Hart once told me I was one of her most promising students. After I quit, I visited her every year, but she’d been cool to me ever since.
I wasn’t sure she would be willing to help.
But she didn’t lecture me.
“Send me your latest résumé,” she said. “A former student of mine runs a digital media company. I’ll make an introduction, but the interview is on you.”
On the day of the interview, I put on a suit I hadn’t worn in five years.
I answered every question and brought a portfolio of my old investigative work.
The editor read two of my pieces, then closed the folder.
“Charlotte, you can start tomorrow.”
I didn’t let my shoulders relax until I was out of the building and down the street.
When I got back to my apartment, I changed into a sweatshirt and ordered Cajun crawfish and a six-pack of beer.
As the beer warmed my face, I felt like I was twenty-two again, seeing my byline in print for the very first time.
The city hummed with noise outside my window.
I sat on the floor among the open boxes and felt, for the first time, that it wasn’t too late to start over.