Chapter Twenty-Nine
November
Kieran
Karl answeredon the second ring.
“Well?” he said, without preamble.
I sank back against the headboard of the hotel bed. “It went well.”
“I thought it might.” I couldn’t miss his quiet note of satisfaction.
I laughed. “You could’ve warned me how intense it would be.”
Karl’s tone remained dry. “What were you expecting, tea and polite conversation?”
“They asked about repertoire, interpretation, teaching philosophy—all fine. I expected that. But the German—” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “I knew they’d test it, but I didn’t expect half the panel to switch mid-sentence.”
“And you managed?”
“Just about.” I shifted, glancing at the open notebook beside me, pages filled with vocabulary, corrections, phonetic scribbles.“There were moments where I had to slow everything down, but they didn’t seem to mind.”
“They wouldn’t,” Karl said. “They’re assessing potential, not perfection.”
“That’s what they said,” I admitted. “They were clear about it. As long as I reach a certain level before teaching starts, they’re satisfied.”
“And you will.”
It wasn’t a question.
I nodded. “I’ve been working at it every day. I’ll keep going.”
“You’ll need to,” he said mildly. After a beat, he added, “But they were receptive?”
“Yes.” That part, at least, I didn’t have to think about. “Engaged. Interested. It felt… good.”
More than good. It had feltright.
“And now?” he asked.
“Now I wait. They said I should hear within a couple of weeks.” I paused. “I’m sorry I didn’t come to your apartment. Staying near the airport made sense. Early flight tomorrow, no need to—” I stopped.
“You didn’t want to risk seeing him,” he said.
I exhaled slowly. “No.”
“Why?”
I considered it, because the answer mattered.
“I don’t have anything definite to tell him yet,” I said. “And I’m not—” I searched for it. “I’m not going back like that.”
“You’re being very precise,” he observed.
“I’m trying to be,” I said. “With him… it matters.”
That was as close as I was going to get to saying the rest of it.