He was seated at one of the window tables at Books & Bakery Tuesday afternoon, sharing lunch with Ean and Darius. Ramona was catching up with friends and former coworkers from the mayor’s office over lunch. With her absence, he could speak freely about his thoughts on living in Philadelphia.
“Are you sure you gave Penn a fair chance?” Darius was playing devil’s advocate again. Quincy hated that.
“Positive.”
Quincy met the newspaper man’s eyes. “I prefer teaching at a small liberal arts university, much smaller. I can get to know students and faculty members who aren’t in my academic division. I also can spend time with staff in different departments.”
Darius lowered his glass of iced tea and lifted his hand. “You don’t need to get your feathers ruffled, Q.”
“Darius and I want you to come home.” Ean gestured across the table to Darius before returning his attention to Quincy beside him. “But we want to make sure returning to Trinity Falls is in your best interests.”
“What do you mean?” Quincy looked from one childhood friend to another.
“Don’t sell yourself short.” Darius’s voice was somber. “Teaching at Penn, your grad school alma mater, has been a dream of yours for a very long time.”
“How can you abandon that goal now that you’ve finally achieved it?” Ean sounded dubious.
Quincy looked from Darius to Ean and back. “I thought you guys would be happy that I want to come back.”
“Are you sure you have a PhD?” Darius looked at Quincy as though he’d sprouted a second head. “Of course we want you to come home. But we don’t want you to settle for less than your best.”
“Trinity Falls University is a great institution.” Ean nudged his empty soup bowl aside and folded his arms on the table. “But Penn has more resources, better pay, and great prestige. Do you really want to walk away from that?”
“Penn isn’t home.” Quincy dragged a hand over his clean-shaven head. “Foster said TFU would take me back—with full tenure.”
“When did you speak with Foster?” Darius exchanged a look with Ean.
“This morning.” Quincy drank his root beer.
Ean frowned. “Does Ramona know you met with him?”
“There’s no need to tell her yet.” Quincy took in his surroundings.
Books & Bakery’s customer base had increased even more since the last time Quincy had been home. Before Megan had expanded her bookstore to include the bakery section of her operation and hired Doreen to help her, foot traffic to her store had dwindled. But now that the café had opened and she’d upgraded her special events, such as the Halloween party, her customer base had surged.
“You haven’t told her you’re thinking of getting your old job back?” Darius shook his head. “That’s a recipe for disaster, my friend.”
Quincy flushed at the rebuke in Darius’s eyes. The other man was right. “I had to make sure I could get my job back first.”
“You have to tell her before someone else does.” Ean drank his iced tea.
Quincy frowned. “No one else knows about our meeting. How would she find out?”
“Two words: Trinity. Falls.” Darius gave him a knowing look. “But this isn’t about the job, is it?”
“Of course it is.” Quincy looked away from Darius’s intense gaze. “With Ken Hartford’s retirement, there’s an opening in TFU’s history department. Current faculty members have taken on more courses and are advising more students. But next year, they want to hire a full-time professor.”
“Everything’s in place for your return.” Darius shrugged. “What’s holding you back?”
“Ramona.” Quincy stared into his half-empty glass of root beer.
Ean frowned. “Is she happy at Penn?”
“She seems to be.” Quincy looked at Ean, then allowed his gaze to slide away. “We’ve gone to museums, plays, and concerts. And of course the shops.”
Darius settled back onto the spindly white café chair. “Does she know you’re unhappy at Penn?”
“I haven’t told her.” Quincy shook his head. “I accepted Penn’s offer because I thought Ean and Ramona were getting back together.”