“So,” asked Koldo as they stood around a high table in one corner of the bar, “how did the interview go? You’ve got to tell us all about it.”

“Interview?” asked Maite. “Oh, right! Berkeley. It feels so long ago…”

“What do you mean?” asked Idoia, taking a sip of her gin and tonic. “It was just last week!”

Maite looked over at Kepa, a combination of a twinkle and panic in her eyes. 

Kepa sighed. “The flight back…” he began. “It was so long. So many delays, canceled flights, and bad service. California feels like forever ago.”

Maite nodded, surpressing a smile. “Bai,” she added. “I’m just so glad to be back and hanging out with you guys.”

“But what about the interview?” asked Koldo again.

“The interview went well,” replied Maite. “I mean, I haven’t heard back yet, so I don’t know if I got the position, but I think I did well.”

Koldo’s shoulders slumped a little. “When would you be leaving?”

Maite looked up at the faces around her, all looking at her expectantly. She picked up her zurito and took a sip, savoring the cold on her tongue while letting it draw out a bit longer than normal.

“I’m not sure I’m going,” she finally answered. “Even if I get it.”

“Zer?” exclaimed Itxaso. “What? How could you pass this up?”

“Well,” began Maite. She looked over at Kepa. 

A voice popped in her head. “It does not make sense to reject the offer,” echoed the deep voice of Garuna.

She scrunched her eyes. It had only been a day since they got back, and she had not gotten used to having Garuna in her head. For the most part, it was silent, but once in a while it would chime in with some commentary, almost like a second conscience. Maite had her hands full enough with her own. 

Ignoring Garuna, she turned to Itxaso. “My parents,” she began. “And you guys…” She swept her hand in a grand gesture around her. “All of this. I’m too Basque to give this all up, even for just a little while.” She looked over at Kepa. “And I would miss this guy…”

Koldo raised an eyebrow. “Did something else happen in California?” he asked.

Kepa blushed as Maite answered. “Kepa and I are dating.”

Cheers went around the table.

“About damn time!” exclaimed Koldo as he raised his glass toward the center of the table, joined in moments by everyone else.

Maite couldn’t resist, pulling Kepa in for a kiss as everyone cheered again.

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