"I haven't decided whether or not to take it yet."
"Why wouldn't you take it? You've worked your whole life to get to a place like this."
"It's not in New York."
"Oh shit! Where is it?"
I sighed. "It's in South America, dude."
"South America!" He raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Yeah. We're opening a new Latin American branch. It will be based in Brazil and he wants me to head it up. But I'm looking at a minimum of three years out of the country."
"Oh shit! What would you do about this apartment?
"I mean, I'd keep it. Where else would Alice go?"
He nodded. "So you'd keep and pay for an apartment you're not living in just so Alice could stay somewhere rent-free?"
"Yeah. I mean, once she gets a job, she can figure that out. But I don't want her to..."
"She can live with Rosalie and me. That's no problem."
No, it's fine. She's comfortable here. She..."
"You sure you don't like this girl?"
"I mean, I like her. Yeah. I'm not saying that I don't like her, but I can't offer her what she wants, what she needs. What..."
Oliver nodded. "I get it, dude. So you're thinking of taking this job?"
I shrugged. "It would be for the best."
"It's not like you need the money, though."
I stared at him for a few seconds considering if I should tell him everything. "Look, don't say anything to Rosalie, but my parents are in some financial difficulties."
"Oh no." He said, "What do you mean?"
"My dad's run up a bunch of debt, and my mom doesn't know. He's close to losing the house, the cars, the boat. He's got no retirement. It's just a hot mess."
"Oh shit! I did not know. I'm so sorry, Foster."
"It's fine. No one knows. Rosalie doesn't know. My mom doesn't know. Shit, I didn't know until recently. My dad basically broke down on the phone asking me for help, and he needs a lot of money. This promotion, it would give me a lot of money. It would take me to that next level."
Oliver stared at me, nodding. "I get it, dude. But your parents are not your responsibility. You can't bail them out every time."
"They've never come to me before. My dad paid for my college. He paid for Rosalie's college. They've always taken care of us, and I think my dad is scared that my mom will leave him if she finds out." I sighed. "It's just a lot, you know? I think my mom would understand. I wish that he would tell her. She's spending a shit ton of money still.
"What?! Why?" Oliver looked concerned.
"Because Dad doesn't want to tell her that they don't have the money. She just spent five K at a jewelry store last month."
"Oh how do you know?" Oliver said curiously.
"I had Dad send me all their credit card bills so I can go through their finances and work on a plan."
"So he needs to tell her to stop using the credit cards."