Sophie was sitting at the kitchen table with Saturn repaired.
Mrs. Delgado from downstairs had collected her.
Ethan thanked her.
Sophie waited until the door closed.
“You’re late.”
“I know.”
“You said you would text.”
“I did.”
“You texted Mrs. Delgado.”
“That still counts as communication.”
“No, it counts as outsourcing.”
Ethan stared at her.
“Where did you learn that word?”
“School.”
“I need to speak to your teacher.”
She studied him.
“Was work bad?”
“No.”
“Good?”
“Complicated.”
“That means bad for adults.”
Ethan put down his coat.
Sophie noticed the business card in his hand.
“What’s that?”
“A job offer.”
Her eyes widened.
“From another company?”
“Yes.”
“Do they pay more?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“None of your business.”
“A lot?”
“Yes.”
She considered this.
“Would we get the house?”
“We might.”
“Then why do you look worried?”
Ethan pulled out the chair opposite her.
Because Sophie was eight, he simplified.
“Sometimes choosing the place that pays the most is easy. Choosing where you want your life to happen is harder.”
“Would you have to work more?”
“Probably.”
“Would you still pick me up?”
“I would make sure somebody did.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Ethan almost laughed.
“No. Probably not every day.”
Sophie looked at Saturn.
“What about the company you have now?”
“They want me to stay.”
“Because they gave your money back?”
“Partly.”
“That seems suspicious.”
“It does.”
“What else?”
“They’re changing some things.”
“For you?”
“For everybody.”
Sophie thought about it.
“Which company knows you better?”
Ethan leaned back.
He had spent the last two days trying to ask himself more sophisticated versions of exactly that question.
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not sure.”
Sophie nodded toward Jonathan’s business card.
“Then maybe talk to both.”
Ethan stared.
“That is annoyingly reasonable.”
“I know.”
On Saturday morning, he called Jonathan Reed.
Jonathan answered himself.
“Walker.”
“You knew it was me?”
“I saved your number three years ago.”
“That seems presumptuous.”
“I run a large corporation. It’s one of the qualifications.”
Ethan stood at the apartment window.
Sophie was at the table behind him working on a reading assignment.
“The offer is generous.”
“It’s also accurate.”
“I’m not calling to negotiate.”
“I assumed.”
“I appreciate it.”