She nodded and looked so forlorn he almost did laugh.
“Mia, that’s incredible,” he said. “Why do you look like someone just told you Wings To Go was closing its doors forever?”
“Because I can’t accept it. I don’t even know why I applied. Never in a million years would I have thought they’d pick me.” She tucked a long strand of silky black hair behind her ear. “No one ever picks me.”
I’d pick you.
He ignored the thought, along with the painful squeeze beneath his rib cage. “Clearly they saw something in you. Why can’t you accept it?”
“It’s for full-time students. It’s a two-year scholarship, and I have sixty hours needed to get my degree. I’d have to take fifteen hours each semester to finish under their financial assistance, plus my dietetic internship. There’s no way I could do that while working full-time.”
“So, work part-time.” Surely his dad would be okay with that, and they could hire another administrative assistant to fill in the gaps.
She shook her head and looked at him, her eyes sad. “I can’t. I need the health insurance.”
“Oh.” He looked away. He should have thought of that.
“When I applied, this small part of me thought maybe I’d have been up for a kidney by now. With a transplant, I’d automatically qualify for Medicare.” She rubbed a hand up her forearm and shrugged. “But obviously that hasn’t happened.”
“It still could,” Noah offered. “You could get the call next week.”
She pursed her full lips. “Or next year. At which point this opportunity would have passed me by.”
“What if you found a part-time job that offered benefits?”
“I thought about that, but I don’t think many places do that,” she said. “And even if they did, I haven’t been in school for more than a decade. I’m a little worried about my ability to maintain the GPA needed for the scholarship if I had to work even that much with a full course load.”
“You’re smart and hardworking. You absolutely could.”
She shook her head. “Plus, my class hours would change every semester. And it’s risky with my disease. If I had a flare while trying to work part-time and study... I just don’t see it working.”
He leaned forward. “What if you didn’t have insurance at all? Don’t those drug companies have assistance programs for that?” The medication for her kidney condition was unbelievably expensive. “Maybe you could get the drug for free.”
“Sure, Kinrovi would probably be free,” she said. “But I’d still have doctor visits, lab tests, and other bills. I know it hasn’t happened in a while, but when my blood pressure goes out of whack or the cysts mess with my electrolytes and I land in the hospital, it’s expensive. I need the insurance for everything.”
He deflated. “Oh.” He ran a hand through his hair, feeling that stubborn piece in the back stick up again. He sort of loved it though, because it drove Mia nuts, and her fingers smoothing it back down was the best part of his day.
“It’s probably for the best,” she said. “I have a good job, and I’m happy. I like the client interaction, and I love working with you.”
He loved that, too. “But it’s not your passion.”
“It’s good enough.”
“Is that really what you want? Good enough?”
“Don’t most people feel that way about work? How many people truly do what they’re passionate about as a career?”
“I do.”
“You’re lucky.”
“It wasn’t just luck. I worked toward that dream. You could, too.”
“I get to do it as a side hustle. I’m always cooking new things with a healthy twist, proving good nutrition can still taste good.”
“Except vegan cupcakes.”
One corner of her mouth quirked. “I’ll try again.”