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Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"So..."

"So..."

It wasn't awkward tension. It was only a scramble of thoughts as we tried to find a place to start. Three years had passed and with a lot of changes we'd both experienced, it was tough to pick a topic to begin with.

I didn't expect us to act completely normal right away. We had to ease into it. We had filled the night with small talk when we first sat down for dinner, and now that the moment had finally come for an actual conversation to start, I was realizing how much we needed to talk about but with no idea where to begin.

"Why don't you go first? I guarantee you my life hasn't been as eventful as yours since the last time we spoke," Nate smiled warmly. His face was illuminated by the string of fairy lights that lit the outdoor patio and I could see that he had grown a few wrinkles - small, but noticeable. Surely, running a magazine with such a renown reputation came with the minor consequence of stress lines. But Nate wore them well - if one could, he would.

"Okay..." I paused to think. "Well, right after the internship I got the call from the New Yorker. I was surprised they were even interested me at all following uh...that. But I'm grateful for it."

"Are you happy there?"

"Completely," I genuinely smiled. "I absolutely love everyone I work with, I adore the office space, my writing has never been better, and I actually get to talk about topics I care about. It's better than a dream come true."

"I'm happy for you. You deserve some place that fits you well. Are you planning to stay there long-term?"

"I don't know yet," I answered truthfully. "I'm still pining for my spot at Time Magazine, but I've been getting so used to the New Yorker that I might stick with it for a little while longer. I'm growing myself as a writer, there's a ton to learn. I want to be one-hundred and twenty percent ready in my craft before I apply to Time."

"That's a great idea. You don't want to rush into anything while you're still developing. Personally, I think you're ready, but I also know what a perfectionist you can be," He chuckled.

"Nicole thinks I'm ready to try something different too, but I'm happy where I'm at. I know once I feel ready for a change, I'll make it happen," I answered. "Maybe one day I'll end up back at Forward."

This seemed to brighten his mood. "I'll be the first to say that we would love to have you on the team. If I had the power to offer you a job right this very moment, I would."

"I'm flattered. Although, you've gained quite the eye for hiring some serious talent. The articles that Forward's been publishing this past year alone are dramatically different than when I was there."

He sipped on some water before clearing his throat and leaning forward with a serious demeanor. "I'm trying to make the magazine grow some maturity. For to long I feel like we've only been seen as a gossip column, fashion mag, or even just a recipe book. We never really had thorough articles on subjects that mattered. In fact, recently I pulled up some old files and I found a few pieces that Kevin had drafted that were rejected. I was intrigued by the topics he chose - political issues in Europe, animal advocate stories. Real and true writing. I wish that we had gotten a chance to publish more of them."

I remembered how excited Kevin was when his manager approved one out of the dozen of articles he wrote to finally publish. It was the only single piece that Kevin was proud of and having Nate validate his talent was comforting. "You should tell him that yourself. I'm sure he'd appreciate the thought and be just as proud as I am at the direction you're taking the magazine."