“Why?”
“Well, for one, I would rarely get to see you guys…” She made a sniffing sound.
“You think it’s a bad move?”
She burst out laughing. “Are you kidding? You gotta do it, girl! Brussels, Belgium? Come on… That’s been a dream of yours since we met. You gotta go.”
“What about Luke?”
“He’s rich as sin and could fly back to the US whenever he wanted, first class, and write it off as a business expense. You could hire a full-time nanny and housekeeper. It sounds like a dream.”
I sighed. “You think?”
“I think,” she said firmly. “I think you’d be nuts if you don’t say yes.”
“I have to talk to Luke first. He’s got his own plans for Astra Investments.”
“Plans that could be carried out from anywhere in the world. There is a whole business model that developed to serve the needs of rich investment types who need to travel around the world to carry out their plans. Sure, you two would be apart for some of the time, but you’d adjust. Leif would adjust. It could work. You two have to make it work. This is your dream, girl. You didn’t even have to chase it. It found you. I’d say that’s a gift. It’s karma.”
I chewed a fingernail, unsure of what to do. “I have to talk to Luke and my parents. They’ve been really helpful since Leif was born. I’m sure they’d be upset if we moved to Brussels. They wouldn’t get to see Leif as much. They moved all the way to New York just to be near us.”
“Yes, and they helped you go to Columbia and do your PhD, so you’d get a plum position working in international relations. They’ll be happy and proud of you.”
“They’ll think I should put motherhood and marriage first,” I replied.
“Why first?” Candace said, sounding defiant. “Why do women have to be the ones to always put the career on the back burner while they have kids and a husband? Why not the husband?”
I sighed. “Luke has all the money,” I said, feeling bad that I said it, but it was true. His money would allow us to pursue both our passions. But we both might have to compromise to ensure it happened.
“I can always wait for another opportunity at the UN in New York,” I added. “That way, Luke could stay here where he had the Astra Investment headquarters. He could fly to other locations for any launches that took place, but that was in the future — not near term.”
“Luke could also always fly to the USA for any launches that, as you say, aren’t going to happen for a while. He’s still in the investment phase and nowhere near even designing a rocket, am I right?”
Of course, she was right. We’d talked enough about Luke’s plans and what stage the company was in.
“You’re right. But I don’t want a conflict between us over our careers. We’re both ambitious, and we both want to work in our fields. Problem is, which one of us is going to compromise so that we can both be happy?”
“Why compromise? Each of you can do what you want, but it will mean travel. Either you give up this job offer and stay in New York, hope for something at the UN, or you all move to Brussels, and Luke flies back and forth between Belgium and the US. I think the answer is clear.”
I exhaled in frustration. It seemed clear to Candace, but to me, it was a terrible dilemma.
Luke was so close to getting a consortium of funders and experts together that could tackle the job of setting up a space-faring company to mine the asteroid belt. Yes, it was a big dream and ambitious, given the level of technology we had, but that would just mean hiring the right people and making sure they had enough money to see it through.
Luke had the money. He had the drive and ambition.
He just had to find the right funders and experts.
I didn’t want my desires to conflict with his.
How could they not conflict?
“I’ll see what he says when he gets home tonight. Maybe he’ll have some solution.”
Candace made a sound of disapproval. “I don’t want to see you compromise, kiddo. Stick to your guns. This is a dream opportunity for you. Free childcare on site? Flexible hours? The chance to work on a big project in international relations? You have to want it. You have to take it. Luke will just have to agree.”