A Tempting Arrangement

02

I get home roughly an hour after my date with Spence, no thanks to Los Angeles traffic. I prop my heels off and leave them by the door as I make my way to my fridge. I'm starving, and there isn't enough bruschetta in the world to fill me. I swear rich people never eat. Perhaps that's why they all look so good.

I still live in the UCLA neighborhood, mostly due to convenience and familiarity. It didn't make sense for me to move when I didn't even know where I would end up for graduate school. This neighborhood has been my home for the past four years and leaving it just wasn't an option for me, not yet at least.

I did have to find a new apartment when Tayshia moved out, saying goodbye to our sweet, cozy two-bedroom apartment. Now I live a couple of blocks down in a one-bedroom apartment that costs me an arm and leg. Luckily, my current employment solves that financial burden.

I can't complain too much about the apartment I live in now. The courtyard is beautiful and there is full 24/7 security. The size of the apartment is cozy, but not too small, and not too large. It has a transitional style feel, so naturally, I had to decorate my new home in such a way. I am content here. 

I open the fridge and grab a carton of Chinese take out that I had the night before. I've been picking up more and more dates, so cooking for myself hasn't been an option for a couple of weeks now. 

I finish what's left of the crab rangoon and change into my pajamas before hopping into bed. It's only 6:00 PM, meaning it was 9:00 PM in Connecticut. I unlock my phone and FaceTime my mom. I haven't talked to my parents in a week. I try to call twice a week, but ever since I started working more I find myself too exhausted to call when I get home.

"Hi sweetie!" I hear my mom and dad sing as my mom pops up on my phone with my dad in the background.

"Hey guys, just calling to check-in."

"I'm so glad you did! Did you see the pictures your brother posted with Anna? They just got to Sweden!" My mom exclaims.

"Switzerland." My dad corrects her.

My brother has been backpacking in Europe for the past month with his girlfriend, Anna. They both worked at some big hedge fund company for the past two years and were miserable. One day, they decided they've saved enough money to backpack in Europe and quit their jobs.

"Yeah I saw the pictures, it looks so beautiful."

My mom is very close to the screen now, which she usually does when she's trying to get a point across. "You know, you should really go join them, Jules. I'm sure the gym you're working at right now wouldn't care if you took a couple weeks off. Don't they have plenty of yoga instructors?"

"Let her do what she wants, Eva." I can hear my dad shout from behind her.

My parents have no idea what I actually do for work, and I don't think I'd ever tell them. They wouldn't understand. I graduated with a Bachelors in Exercise Science, so it made sense for me to tell them I worked as a yoga instructor at some gym for the time being to save up for graduate school.

They've offered to help pay for some of graduate school, but they've already paid a lot for my undergraduate studies. I couldn't ask them to pay for three more years. Not that they're not well off, but they're also not super-rich either. My mom has worked as a registered nurse for almost 25 years, and my dad owns his own construction company. Either way, I was determined to figure this out myself.

"I'll think about it mom." Which is what I usually say when I don't want to outright say no.

We talk for a couple of minutes longer before we say our goodbyes and end the call, and I watch a few episodes of Grey's Anatomy before drifting off to sleep.