Page 28 of Echoes
“I think there are things that are obvious to you, but more often than not, some things escape your attention. For example, if it’s not at the bottom of an ocean, lake, or river, you might not notice it.”
“I’m sorry; are you taking my ex-girlfriend’s side here? I think those were her exact words when she dumped me.”
“Pretty close,” Rosie couldn’t help but reply before she covered her mouth because she expected the two women to turn and see her standing there.
They didn’t and carried on their conversation.
“Ami never liked me because she knew that I likedyou.” Felicity shrugged her shoulders. “I always have. That’s why I went up to you at the seminar and asked to talk to you. Yeah, I wanted help with my career, but it was more about me thinking you were so smart and funny and that I thought you were beautiful.”
Rosie dropped the hand from her mouth and watched as the other Rosie reacted to Felicity’s declaration.
“Ami could tell that I was jealous of her and that I was in lovewith you. Well, still am. Honestly, I should just switch to regular archaeology. It might mean more time in school, but I’m not meant to be on ships. I’ve tried. I’m miserable. As much as I’d love to be out there with you, therapy is a long process, and I’m still working through what happened that day in the ocean before I met you. I’ve stayed because of you. You broke up with Ami, but you’ve been on one boat or another ever since, with only a month or two here and there on land, and I’ve never found the time to tell you how I feel to see if maybe you feel the same way about me.”
What was happening right now? Rosie was standing next toherself, watching Felicity confess to her that she’d been in love with her for four years.
“Oh, I…” the other Rosie began and looked a little nervous.
TherealRosie felt that nervousness, too.
“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. In all honesty, I ran into Ami at the grocery store, of all places, yesterday. I was on the phone with a friend. She overheard me talking about you and that I was going to finally tell you how I felt. My guess is that Ami’s here to talk to you about getting back together or, at least, see if that’s an option.”
“What? Why would she–”
“She broke up with you because you weren’t here, Rosie, not because she didn’t love you.”
“I’m still not here much,” the other Rosie replied.
“Your next expedition isn’t for another four months. I might have mentioned it to my friend, but Ami overheard it.” Felicity stood up.
“Wait,” the other Rosie said quickly and walked around the counter. “I… don’t want Ami.”
“You don’t?”
“No,” the other Rosie replied, shaking her head. “But you’re… my mentee. It’s complicated.”
“You’re not my professor. You’re not my advisor. You can make sure you’re not on the committee when I present my dissertation.”
“You’ve thought about this a lot.”
“For about four years, yeah.” Felicity took a few steps forward. “You don’t pay me for anything. I help you because I want to learn and spend time with you whenever you’re here. It’s notthatcomplicated. That is, if you feel the same way I do. It’s pretty simple, then.”
“You want to go out with me?” the other Rosie checked with a smile.
“Well, more than that, but that would be a start.” Felicity laughed a little. “Doyouwant to maybe go out with me?”
“You know I leave in four months, and I’m gone for two then.”
“I know. Why do you think I’ve been going to therapy for the past several years to try to deal with nearly dying in the ocean? I want to be able to be there with you when you go.”
“You shouldn’t do that for me.”
“I’m doing it forme. I do miss you when you’re gone, though. We talk, but not regularly, and I hate that part. I also want to do this job. I could switch disciplines, but I don’t want to. I want to work with you one day. Same boat. Two bad-ass doctors scouring the ocean for mysteries to solve.”
Rosie smiled because Felicity had always understood why Rosie loved the job so much. The other Rosie reached for Felicity and cupped her cheek.
“That sounds amazing.”
“It does?”