Page 48 of Learning Curves

Audrey sat behind her desk on Monday, preparing for her Women in Art class.

The new semester meant new students, and she was enjoying this group as much as she had enjoyed the first. Her ceramics classes still hadn’t filled, but the students she did have were fantastic.

Laya had completed Ceramics I and was in Audrey’s Ceramics II class this semester, and Nuala McGarry, who had been in Michelle’s art history class last semester, was in Audrey’s Women in Art class now.

Since Nuala wasn’t an art major, Audrey assumed it meant Michelle had managed to inspire at least one student last semester, despite being disillusioned about her job.

Audrey still wasn’t sure how she felt about Michelle’s decision to stay in Vermont.

If that was what Michelle really wanted, it sounded perfect, but if she was compromising to stay near Audrey, then in the long run, Michelle might end up resenting Audrey for keeping her here the way Kelly had.

For now, though, they were happy. More than that, they valued each other in a way that was new for Audrey. Over the years, most of her friends and the people she’d dated had tended to put themselves and their careers first. Audrey had been the same way, focused on her career above everything else.

But Michelle was different. Underneath that prickly exterior, Michelle had the heart of a romantic. She’d made it clear from the beginning that Audrey would be part of her future career decisions. It made Audrey feel important. And appreciated. And loved .

Audrey was about to pull out her lunch when her desk phone rang from Heather’s extension. “Hi, Heather. What can I do for you?”

“Stuart was hoping to meet with you if you could spare a few minutes?” Heather asked.

“Sure. I’ll be right down.” Audrey frowned.

What did Stuart need from her on this random Monday?

Maybe he had another question about the transcription software she’d been using.

The whole department had implemented it at the start of the semester, and there had been a few early hiccups, but everyone seemed to have gotten the hang of it now.

She closed her laptop and then locked her office—almost as soon as they’d become friends, Michelle had given her a gentle lecture about keeping it locked when she wasn’t in it—and headed downstairs, where Heather and Stuart were located.

“Hi,” Heather called out when Audrey approached. “You can go right in.”

“Sure. What does he want, do you know?”

Heather shrugged. “No clue. He was having trouble with the microphone for the transcription software last week, so that would be my guess.”

Audrey held in a sigh. She was happy to help, but the transcription software had its own customer service. She knocked on the door to Stuart’s office as she entered. “Hi, Stuart. Did you have a good weekend?”

He clasped his hands over his stomach, leaning back in his chair with a smile. “Very nice, a lot of skiing. You?”

“Same, actually. The slopes here are so much better than what I was close to in Massachusetts.”

“I bet. Where were you skiing before? Wachusett?”

She nodded as she took a seat. “Mostly, although sometimes I would drive up to Sunapee or Arrowhead on the weekends. It’s great having such easy access, though. Anyway, what can I help you with?”

His expression turned apologetic, and she prepared to explain the new software to him yet again.

She reminded herself it was worth it because the entire department was using it now, and that was great for student accessibility, even if it meant she had to play tech support more than she should have because the project was her idea.

“I met with the Budget Committee last week,” Stuart said, and Audrey sat up straighter in her chair because this wasn’t about software at all.

“They’re looking at the fall semester, which probably seems early to you, but budgetary decisions happen pretty far in advance.

They’ve cut the department’s budget by ten percent, which unfortunately means we need to eliminate a faculty position. ”

Audrey hit the back of her chair as if she’d been pushed. Her stomach cramped, and her heart seemed to have lodged itself in her throat. Oh god. Surely he wasn’t saying ...

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” Stuart continued. “But since you have the least seniority and were only here on a one-year contract, we’re going to have to let you go.”

“Shit,” she blurted, clinging to the arms of her chair. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to swear, but ... you’ve caught me totally off guard here.”

“I know I have, and there’s no apology necessary.

I’m very sorry it has to be this way. I’ve heard nothing but good things about you and your classes, not to mention the positive changes you’ve made in the department itself.

You have a bright future ahead of you, Audrey.

I’ll be happy to write you a glowing letter of recommendation for wherever you go next. ”

“Thank you,” she managed. Her ears had started to buzz, and she realized she might not be taking enough breaths. Or maybe she was breathing too fast. The only thing she knew for sure was that she’d lost her job. Her dream job. Where would she go from here? And what about Michelle?

“I, um ... I don’t need to leave right away, do I?” Her mind was reeling to the point that nothing made sense, but Stuart was shaking his head.

“No, of course not. You’ll be here with us until May as planned. I just wanted to give you an early heads-up that I won’t be able to renew your contract so you have as much time as possible to find a new position. I really do want you to succeed. I’m just sorry it won’t be here with us at NU.”

Audrey stood on shaky knees, mumbling her thanks.

She managed to hold herself together as she left his office, even waving politely at Heather as she passed.

But when she reached her office, she shut and locked the door behind herself.

Michelle was in class, and Mercy was out today.

Audrey wasn’t ready to face anyone else yet.

She sat behind her desk and buried her face in her hands, fighting the urge to cry.

Michelle was surprised to find Audrey’s office door closed when she finished her last class of the day.

After a busy afternoon, it was finally time to have tea and catch up, and Michelle had been looking forward to it all day.

She let herself into her office, automatically reaching for her desk phone, which was blinking with a new message.

“Hi, Dr. Thompson, it’s Heather. Stuart would like to meet with you before you leave for the day if you have a minute. Just come on down when you get this, and if you don’t have time, please give me a call so I can get you on his schedule for tomorrow.”

Michelle set the phone down in confusion. What in the world did Stuart want with her? She couldn’t think of a single reason for the department chair to ask for her, but she might as well find out, especially since Audrey wasn’t back yet from her afternoon class.

Michelle walked downstairs and approached Heather’s desk. “Good afternoon, Heather.”

“Oh, hi, Dr. Thompson. He’s not busy right now. You can go straight in.”

“Thanks, and please call me Michelle.” She’d been meaning to say so for a while.

Early in her career, she’d preferred everyone on campus call her Dr. Thompson.

She’d worked hard for the title and the respect that came with it, but lately, it felt overly formal among her colleagues.

Michelle had been holding everyone at arm’s length, but she didn’t want to do that anymore.

“Got it, Michelle,” Heather said with a warm smile.

Michelle returned it before she knocked on the door to Stuart’s office.

“Come in,” he called.

She opened the door. “Good afternoon.”

“Michelle, it’s nice to see you. I’ve heard your classes are off to a good start this semester.”

“Thank you.” She shut the door, then took one of the guest chairs in front of his desk and waited for him to get to the point.

“Well, I have some good news and some bad news. Only one applies to you, but you’ll want to hear both.”

“Tell me the bad news first.” She clenched her hands against her knees, wondering wildly what it could be. He’d just complimented her teaching, so surely she wasn’t here for a reprimand?

“The bad news is that this semester will be Audrey’s last with us,” Stuart said.

Michelle felt the air leave her lungs in a rush. “What?” Oh no. Oh, Audrey ...

“Every department on campus has been asked to make cuts. We had to let someone go, and Audrey was the logical choice since she only had a one-year contract. It’s a real shame, though. I’m truly sorry to lose her.”

Michelle simmered with rage. Tenure was such bullshit.

Yes, it was nice to have security, but it led to such unfairness.

It led to brilliant young professors like Audrey being let go while half the faculty here coasted toward retirement without putting any real effort into their classes.

“But she’s such an asset to the department!

I’ve been blown away by what I’ve seen from her, and her classes are so popular. The students love her.”

“I know,” Stuart said. “Believe me, I agree. But it had to be this way. She had the least seniority by far. My hands were tied.”

Michelle clenched her jaw, nodding stiffly. In theory, she understood why he’d done what he’d done, but oh, how she hated it, how she hated everything to do with department politics.

“But here’s where the good news comes in,” he said.

Every muscle in Michelle’s body tensed. Whatever Stuart was about to say, she just knew she wasn’t going to like it.

“Audrey’s Women in Art class was more popular than I’d anticipated, so popular that I’d like to keep it on our roster next year. And since you’ve been asking to teach a similar class, I’d like you to take over starting in the fall. I want you to teach Women in Art.”