Chapter 24

Twenty-Four

Will

Will fumbled nervously at the desk in the hotel room, doodling on a little notepad that was provided in the room. They had just made it to the hotel and checked in, and his phone interview was set to start in three minutes. Jacob had graciously gone downstairs to the bar in the hotel lobby so that Will could have privacy. The day had been a whirlwind, his head ached, and Will just wanted to do his best, and get the interview over with.

The phone rang exactly three minutes later. Here we go , Will said to himself, wiping his hands on his jeans and then answering his phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello. Is this William Stetson?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Hi William, this is Marcy Medgrove with Stellaria Incorporated. You're interviewing for the position of Graphic Illustrator with the new Stellaria Magazine imprint, correct?"

"That's right. Gareth passed along my information," Will said, hoping his voice didn't sound too nervous.

"Gareth? Gareth who?" the interviewer asked curtly.

Shit , Will realized he didn't know Gareth's last name.

"Gareth, from Cleveland. I met him at the art festival and he passed along my portfolio to Stellaria."

"I see. Okay William, I have a few questions for you tonight, it really shouldn't take long. Firstly, how many years of experience do you have with producing designs for media, specifically on a tight schedule?" she asked, her voice clipped and short. Will could hear the sound of her typing something on the other end of the phone, and he wondered if she was even really paying attention to the phone call.

"Oh, well, I just graduated with a degree in Fine Arts, and during my time, I often had to juggle multiple projects at once, all with tight deadlines. I never missed a single deadline throughout my four years," Will said, nervous.

"I see. So, specifically with media, print or digital, for publications, what experience do you have?"

"Well, as of yet, I have nothing published, but my whole portfolio is available on my website. We had many courses that focused on print and digital media, so I'm familiar with what is expected and am very comfortable with quick deadlines," Will said, probably speaking too fast, and feeling like he wasn't really saying anything of substance.

"Alright, William. What can you tell me about your online marketing skills?"

"Marketing. Well, in school I did focus more on the artistic side of the business, making sure that my illustrative skills were honed before delving into marketing. But I do have experience with social media, and one account where I post videos of my illustrations has over fifty thousand followers," Will said. Is social media even considered online marketing? he thought. He felt his heart sinking as the interview went on, and he noticed he was sweating. She asked him a few more questions, and he answered with varying levels of confidence as the phone call went on.

"Okay. Lastly, William, I want to ask how you think your vision as an artist would fit in with our process at Stellaria."

Will answered to the best of his ability, trying to stuff in as many art world buzzwords as he could, hoping to impress the interviewer. He had a feeling he was doing exactly the opposite. She finally, mercifully, ended the call, and he hung up. He put his head down into his hands, resting on the tabletop.

He knew he had bombed. He wasn't expecting the call to be so businesslike, and had expected the interviewer to ask more about his technical painting and drawing skills than his business and marketing acumen. He remembered what so many of his professors in school had said, how art was more about selling yourself than about being technically skilled, and he realized just how right they were.

" Fuck ," he swore under his breath, taking a deep breath and leaning backward in his chair. Oh well , he thought , maybe they'll be desperate enough and I'll get the job . But inside he knew it probably wouldn't happen.

He rubbed at his eyes, thinking of how shitty the day had turned out so far. He had woken up alone in bed with a hangover, then Jacob had dropped the bomb on him about his ex-girlfriend Carrie. Will still couldn't really believe it, even though he had apologized to Jacob. Of course, right after I let him fuck me, he turns around and says he's getting back with his girlfriend , Will thought, feeling his thoughts spiral into sadness again. He took a deep breath, his mind racing.

Screw it , he thought, deciding to go down to the bar and meet up with Jacob. He couldn't be happy, successful, or find a guy who would ever actually commit to him, but he could forget his sorrows through drinking. He knew it was ridiculous, but he didn't know what else to do at the moment. He made a mental note to himself to stop drinking so much once this trip was over.

He went out through the hallway and walked down to the hotel lobby. The hotel was distinctly southwestern, with Adobe-style decor. If it had been under better circumstances, Will thought that he'd probably love being here. He found the small bar and saw Jacob sitting at the other side of it, nursing a beer. An attractive brunette was sitting a few seats away from him. Great , Will thought bitterly , maybe Jacob can hook up with her tonight , but he immediately felt bad for thinking that way about Jacob.

Will sat on the other end of the bar, and ordered a gin and tonic. He knew Jacob could probably see him clearly from the other side of the bar, but after earlier today and then the catastrophic phone interview, he just wanted to be alone.

He stared down at his phone, drinking and mindlessly scrolling through social media. He scrolled through announcements of his friends' new jobs, fun summer adventures, one couple posting pictures from their engagement.

"Well, con-graaatulations," Will muttered under his breath, bitter at the contrast of everyone else's apparent success compared to his own failure. He ordered his second drink and saw a figure sit down at the seat next to his.

"It's a nice night out there, isn't it?" a woman's voice said.

Will looked up at her. It was the brunette that had been on the other side of the bar earlier. Will sighed.

"Yeah, it would be if my day hadn't been so shitty," he said, taking another sip of his drink.

"Aw, shitty? How come?" she said. She seemed sweet and friendly, but Will was in too sour a mood to care about social niceties.

"Well, a guy I was… seeing?--No, not really seeing, just hooking up with-- decided that he's not so interested in me, or any dudes, actually. He told me he's gonna get back with his girlfriend. Then tonight I also happened to bomb a phone interview, making a total fool of myself and ensuring that I'll have an unemployed life all alone," Will said, matter-of-factly. "How's that for an uplifting start to a conversation?" he said, taking another drink and feeling the bracing, bitter gin against his throat.

Will was shocked to hear the girl laugh. He figured after a spiel like that, she would run for the hills.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh at your bad day. I'm more just laughing at the fact that I came over here because I thought you were cute. I was gonna try to flirt, and now I have definitely realized that I'm not getting any action tonight, for more reasons than one," she said, smiling and shaking her head. "I'm sorry you're having a shitty day. I'm Erica, by the way," she said, reaching out to shake Will's hand. Will smiled. He liked how forward and comfortable she seemed. She reminded him a little of Maya.

"Well, that makes two of us not getting any action," Will said. "Can I buy you a drink, at least?"

"Oh, sure. I'll take a drink."

She asked for details about Will's story, and he gave them to her. He felt himself becoming less stressed out as they talked, glad that he could finally get the story off his chest.

"Jeez, it sounds like you've had a crazy past couple weeks," Erica said, shaking her head.

"I guess I really have. I didn't realize it at the time, but it really is wild. But here I am talking at you for so long about my little sob story – what about you? What brings you to Santa Fe?" Will asked.

"Well, I'm actually here on a business trip, believe it or not. I know Santa Fe isn't the first place you think of for business, but I work for an online marketing firm in California, and a potential investor lives out here, so they sent me out. If he invests in the company, we might be able to nearly double in size," she said.

"Online marketing! Ugh , why couldn't I have met you, like, four hours ago? That's what they asked me about in my interview. And I totally botched it. But any way. Where in California?" Will asked.

"In Oceanside. It's like a half-hour north of San Diego," she said. Will felt his heart rate increase slightly when he heard mention of that city, the one where Jacob would end up so soon.

"Gotcha. San Diego is where that guy I told you about is headed at the end of our road trip," Will said, and he stole a glance at Jacob on the other side of the bar. He couldn't believe Jacob was still there – he'd been down here chatting with this woman for maybe 45 minutes now, and Jacob was just alone, nursing beers on the other side of the room. Will felt a pang in his heart, and couldn't help but wonder what was going on in Jacob's head.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Will asked Erica, his voice low and quiet. "You have to promise not to make a scene, and don't look over at him too fast. But the guy with short brown hair in the blue shirt at the other end of the bar is the guy I'm on the trip with," Will said, whispering.

Erica nodded and a few seconds later looked over, casually, trying not to draw any attention to herself like Will had asked. She turned back, raising her eyebrows at Will.

"He is really cute," she said, nodding in sympathy with Will. "I actually considered chatting him up tonight before I came over to you, but he looked too sad, I didn't wanna bother him!" she laughed slightly.

They chatted for a few more minutes. Will was so glad to have met Erica. She was a breath of fresh air on an otherwise shitty day. Before she said goodbye, she exchanged phone numbers with Will, just in case they were ever in the same town again.

"It was really great meeting you, Will. I really do wish you the best," she said, and gave Will a tiny hug and heading back to her hotel room.

A few minutes passed, and Will finished the rest of his drink, which was his third. He peered up at Jacob again, who was still on the other side of the bar.

"Ahh, fuck it," Will said under his breath, getting up to go sit next to Jacob. He sat at the seat next to him and saw Jacob lift his head slightly to look over at him.

"You make a new friend?" Jacob asked. Will could tell that he was slightly drunk as well. That makes two of us , Will thought.

"Yeah, I actually did. Her name's Erica. She seemed awesome, down-to-earth. Reminds me a little of Maya, actually," Will said. He grabbed Jacob's beer and took a sip of it. Jacob laughed.

"You really do have a way of making friends with people quick, Will," Jacob said, smiling at him and shaking his head a little. "I don't know how you do it, but you turn on the charm and bam , you've got another friend. Wish I could do that," he said.

Will shrugged. He ordered one last drink for himself and another beer for Jacob.

"I'm gonna go check out that pool they talked about when we checked in," Will said, feeling the alcohol in his system. "You can come if you want, but you don't have to. You just looked kind of… sad over here, by yourself."

"Yeah. I'm not feeling great. But I'll come outside," Jacob responded.

They ventured out. The deck by the pool was nice, small but cozy, with small twinkly lights lining the deck and tons of plants. Will and Jacob sat on a couple of lounge chairs by the pool. The sun had just dipped below the horizon, and the sky was covered in a pinkish-orange, dusty sunset hue. It was beautiful.

Will looked out at the gorgeous scenery, again thinking of how picturesque and beautiful it was in contrast to how torn up he felt inside. I have my perfect guy, in the perfect place, on a perfect night , he thought, looking over at Jacob, but none of it is really mine .