The Long and Short of It

“Thanksgiving was terrific,” Brad said. “I actually enjoyed having less people there. It was more quiet, cozier, and the food was better.”

“Katherine was ridiculous with her mask,” Calista said. “I mean, caution is one thing, but behavior like that is just attention seeking.”

“She’s always been like that.”

“Yeah.”

“Your pies were good,” he said, touching her hand lightly. “You can tell that because I didn’t get any of the chocolate custard. It was crumbs by the time I got to the dessert table.”

“Your bread was good.” She was watching his hand massage her fingers and wrist. “It always is. It was gone, too.”

“The same old bread. I think they like it because it is good tradition, not because it is so spectacular. I would do it better if I did it more often.”

“I don’t really want you to do it more often,” she said, a mischievous look on her face.

“Why?”

“God, I’d be so fat. I'm getting fat enough as it is. One of our problems together is that we both like to cook, and then we eat it!”

“Well,” he said, changing the subject, “tomorrow is Monday. Back to work.”

“What is consuming you so much at work?”

“A project. We are trying to develop some software that interacts with medical devices in medical offices. I have a sequence that imports data from ultrasound machines directly into the Epic medical record. So far, it is progressing well. What I have found out is that the output of ultrasound machines is different not only between manufacturers, but between different products of the same manufacturer.”

“That’s a nightmare.”

“It would be better if the output were uniform across all makes and models. Then, no matter where the instrument came from, it would put a flat file into the record and appear. Once it’s in the medical record, calculations of data, graphs, and projections can be displayed any way the user wants or needs.”

“It sounds like you are making a lot of progress.”

“Yes, and it might get me a promotion.”

“Really?”

“Yes. With a nice pay raise.”

“And ̶ ̶ “

“And a move to the San Antonio office.”

She was silent for a moment. “I knew something like that was coming.”

“Don’t you think it's wonderful?”

“Everything except the San Antonio part.”

“Calista, you love San Antonio.”

Her face crumpled up. “For a visit, a vacation, as a tourist. I wouldn’t be unhappy living there, but I don’t want to leave my family. Especially now that Cori is coming.”

“I’m excited about Cori coming.” He stood, and walked around the room to release some tension, then returned at sat next to her where he had just been. “l can’t wait to see her, to get to know her. I wonder what she will become, what she will be like, what color hair she will have.”

“Black.” She rolled her eyes. “what other color did you think? We all have black hair.”

“Yeah.” He was staring off into space. “You don’t want to move to San Antonio?”

“No. I want to stay here with my family. I’m going to need advice from my mother and babysitting from my sister.”

“It is a short flight from there to here.”

“Not really. By the time you load up a baby, get all the things organized that are required, get through TSA, and then drive from the airport to here, the better part of a day is used up.”

“We can get some assistance there,” he said.

“Not like here. I can call my sister and she could come or I could take Cori there in just a few minutes if there was something I wanted to do, or if you decided to play cards with the Dentons or something. Besides, my mom could help me learn all the tricks of the trade. Remember, I’ve never been a mother before.”

“But those things are in books, on You Tube, and there are San Antonio people who can help.”

“It’s just not family.” Her expression changed to terror. “You already committed to the promotion, didn’t you?”

“Well ̶ ̶ “

“Didn’t you?”

“Well ̶ ̶ “

“I don’t count, do I? What’s more, Cori doesn’t count either.”

“I didn’t think about it that way. I never imagined you and Cori would not want to come with me to San Antonio. I still can’t believe you don’t.”

“I don’t. I really don’t.”

There was a long period of silence. A tear escaped her eye and scampered down her cheek.

“You are now making this more difficult than it has to be. You will have so much more at your fingertips there than in this little town.”

She used a tissue to smear mascara. “I am not making this difficult. Why can’t you work from home? Why can’t you stay at this facility?”

“Because to move up in the company, you have to do what they want where they want it.”

“So, which is it? The company? Your daughter?”

“She can grow up fine in San Antonio. The schools are better there, there is more to do, there are lots of people to get to know and who can help you with Cori. And I will help with Cori.”

“No, Brad. I want to stay here.”

“I don’t know what to say. If I don’t take the promotion, I might not have a job.”

“That’s hard to believe. You have been good at programming medical records and streamlining the interaction between different appliances and software. It is hard to believe that some company wouldn’t want you to work on their interfaces. It’s all you’ve ever done.”

“Yes, but in San Antonio, I would get to do the design and not all the coding. I like design. I like figuring out how to work around interface problems. In San Antonio, I would be the designer and the trouble-shooter. That’s what I love.”

“Do you love that more than Cori?”

“No. Nothing of the sort,” he said. “I am supposed to be her provider. I don’t see how I can do that where we are forever. I might have to jump from company to company or from project to project. Being an independent contractor is not what it is cracked up to be. And I doubt it pays as well.”

“I am not convinced that this promotion is about Cori and me.” Another tear escaped, more mascara smeared, she swallowed hard.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“I wasn’t. I thought I was negotiating, but I guess not. It looks like I am having to stand my ground. I didn’t want it to come to this.”

“I didn’t think it would come to this. I still can’t believe you wouldn’t want to go to San Antonio. I never thought you would have any hesitation.”

“How was I to know you were even thinking about this? You didn’t even tell me when it was a possibility.”

“It came up suddenly after all the GE ultrasounds were linked to Epic. I guess that got the attention of the brass in San Antonio.”

“How long have you known?”

“About a month.”

“A whole month?” she snapped. “You have known a whole month, and you just now are talking to me about it? When would this happen?”

“After the first of the year.”

“Oh my God, Brad. That means I will have Cori in San Antonio? No. Not going to happen. I am not having this baby that far from my family. I want them to be part of this too.”

“Calista,” he said, “are you flat out refusing?”

“Yes. I am.”

“You have never had such a strong opinion about anything. I guess I am not understanding. I thought you would jump at the chance to go to San Antonio. I thought this was a no brainer.”

“You thought wrong. I think you need to take a serious look at your life, your person, and your future. You need to think about me and Cori. You need to get your priorities straight and figure out how to make this work.”

“Why can’t this work?” he mumbled.

“Because there are more people in your life than you appreciate. This is not just about you and your career. Life has more to offer than promotions, power, and ̶ ̶ “ Another tear.

Another period of silence dragged by. She got up and went to the bathroom. He sat still while his mind played a furious game of pong. He picked up the phone. The boss was available and came on the line without delay, a nearly unimaginable happenstance.

“Hello, Brad.”

“Hello, Dad.”

“What’s up?”

“Calista doesn’t want me to take the promotion. She doesn’t want to leave her family and come to San Antonio.”

“Don’t you think this would be a better place to raise a family than where you are?” The voice was unexpectedly authoritative. “Besides, you need to move up in our engineering department so that you can ultimately direct it.”

“But now we have Cori to think about.”

“For Cori, San Antonio would be better. We have better schools, universities, cultural activities, and shopping. Tell her all about the shopping and she will be convinced.”

“I don’t think it’s that easy, Dad. She has never been this adamant about anything. She wants to stay where her mom and her sister can help her. She said San Antonio is too far away.”

“That’s not good, Brad. You need to convince her. It would be a waste to leave you there at our satellite. We need visionary programmers here where you can coordinate projects, direct the lower programmers, and keep things on track. Like you did with the GE engineers to get those outputs to be more uniform.”

“I can’t do that from here?”

“I don’t know how. We only have one and maybe two projects at a time going there. Here we have a dozen or more. The company could use your input on all of the dozen irons in the fire.”

“What do I tell her, Dad? She might force my hand here, one way or another. What if the only choice is between her and Cori or the company.”

“Then it is the company, Brad. You and I are the company, Brad.”

Family had been a new concept for Brad since meeting Calista. And now that Cori was on the way, family had worked its way up the priority ladder. His family was in San Antonio, but would be nothing like the support that her family is. “OK, Dad. I needed to hear where you were on this.” The call ended.

Calista came back from the bathroom via a few other chores in the house. He looked up as she approached, but didn’t say anything.

Without sitting, she said, “Well, Brad, what are you thinking?”

“I’ll write Dad a letter this afternoon.”