Updated Dec 4, 2025 • ~9 min read
The email arrived on a Tuesday morning in January.
Savannah was drinking coffee at their kitchen table, scrolling through her inbox, when she saw it.
Subject: Exciting Opportunity – Director Position
Her heart stopped.
She’d applied for the role months ago—director of marketing at a major firm. Her dream job. The kind of position she’d been working toward her entire career.
She’d honestly forgotten about it. The application had been a long shot, sent on a whim when she saw the posting.
With shaking hands, she opened the email.
Dear Ms. Mitchell,
We’re pleased to inform you that you’ve been selected for a final interview for the Director of Marketing position. We were very impressed with your application and portfolio…
“Barry!” she called out.
He appeared from the bedroom, still in pajamas. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I—look at this.”
He read over her shoulder. His grin was immediate. “Sav! This is amazing! Your dream job!”
“Final interview. I made it to final interviews.”
“Because you’re brilliant and talented and they’d be idiots not to hire you.” He kissed the top of her head. “When’s the interview?”
“Next week. Tuesday.” She kept reading. “They want me to prepare a presentation and—oh.”
“What?”
“The position is in Seattle.”
The words hung in the air.
Seattle. Three thousand miles away.
“Oh,” Barry said quietly.
Savannah’s mind was racing. “I mean, it’s just an interview. I might not even get it.”
“You’ll get it.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Sav, you’re incredible at what you do. Of course you’ll get it.”
She turned to face him. “What would we do? If I got it?”
“I don’t know. But let’s not worry about that until it happens. First step—nail the interview.”
The next week was consumed with preparation. Savannah worked on her presentation, practiced answers to potential questions, researched the company until she knew every detail.
Barry helped her rehearse, playing interviewer and asking hard questions.
“Why do you want this position?” he asked, reading from his list.
“Because it aligns perfectly with my career goals. I’d be leading a team, developing strategy, working on campaigns that matter. It’s everything I’ve been working toward.”
“And the Seattle location?”
Savannah hesitated. “It’s… an adjustment. But I’m adaptable.”
“That sounded rehearsed.”
“Because it is rehearsed. What am I supposed to say? ‘The location is terrible because my boyfriend lives in a different city’?”
“No, but you need to sound more convincing about being willing to relocate.”
“What if I’m not willing?”
Barry set down the practice questions. “Are you saying you don’t want the job?”
“I don’t know what I’m saying. I want the job. It’s my dream job. But it means leaving you.”
“We’d figure it out. Long distance, or—”
“Or what? You’d move to Seattle with me?”
“Maybe. If that’s what you needed.”
“Barry, your whole life is here. Your job, your family, your friends.”
“And my girlfriend. Who has a chance at her dream job.” He took her hands. “We’ll figure it out, Sav. One step at a time. Right now, focus on the interview. We’ll deal with everything else if you get an offer.”
The interview was on Tuesday via video call. Savannah dressed professionally, set up in their second bedroom/office, and tried to calm her nerves.
“You’ve got this,” Barry said, kissing her before the call started. “You’re going to be amazing.”
The interview lasted two hours. Presentation, questions, meeting various team members. By the end, Savannah was exhausted but exhilarated.
She’d nailed it. She knew she had.
“How’d it go?” Barry asked the moment the call ended.
“Really well. Like, really, really well.”
“I knew it.”
“They said they’d get back to me within a week.”
That week was torture. Savannah jumped every time her phone buzzed. Obsessively checked email. Tried not to spiral about what she’d do if they offered her the job.
Meanwhile, life continued. Work, dinners with friends, their normal routine. But everything felt suspended, waiting for an answer.
“You’re driving yourself crazy,” Emery observed at their Friday girls’ night. “Just wait for them to call.”
“I can’t stop thinking about it. What if they offer it to me? What do I do?”
“You take it. It’s your dream job.”
“But Barry—”
“Barry loves you. He’ll support whatever decision you make.”
“What if he can’t come with me? What if we have to do long distance?”
“Then you do long distance. People make it work.”
But Savannah wasn’t sure they could. They’d built a life together. An apartment, a routine, a home. How did you maintain a relationship across three thousand miles?
The call came the following Monday.
Savannah was at work when her phone rang. Unknown Seattle number.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Mitchell? This is Marion from the hiring team. Do you have a moment to talk?”
Her heart was pounding. “Yes, absolutely.”
“We’d like to offer you the Director of Marketing position. We were very impressed with your interview and believe you’d be a perfect fit for our team.”
This was it. Everything she’d worked for.
“Thank you so much,” Savannah managed. “I’m honored.”
“We understand this is a big decision, especially with the relocation. We’d like to give you a week to think it over. I’ll send the formal offer letter with salary and benefits details today.”
“A week. Thank you.”
After the call ended, Savannah sat at her desk in shock.
They’d offered her the job.
Her dream job.
In Seattle.
Three thousand miles from Barry.
She called him immediately.
“They offered it to me.”
“Sav! That’s amazing!” His excitement was genuine. “I’m so proud of you.”
“They gave me a week to decide.”
“Okay. That’s good. That’s plenty of time to talk it through.”
That evening, they sat down at their kitchen table with the offer letter.
The salary was incredible. The benefits were perfect. The position was everything Savannah had ever wanted.
“This is a great offer,” Barry said, reading through the details.
“It is.”
“You should take it.”
Savannah looked at him. “Just like that? You think I should move to Seattle?”
“I think you should take your dream job. The location is—we’ll figure it out.”
“How? Long distance?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
“Barry, we barely survived a week of me being busy with work. How are we supposed to handle three thousand miles?”
“Other couples do it.”
“We’re not other couples. We just—we finally have this. After ten years of almost, we finally figured it out. I don’t want to lose it.”
“You won’t lose it. We’ll make it work.”
“You keep saying that, but how? Visits every few months? Video calls and missing each other? That’s not the life I want.”
“So what are you saying? You’re turning down the job?”
“I don’t know!” Savannah stood, pacing. “I don’t know what I’m saying. I want this job. But I want you too. And I can’t have both.”
Barry stood too, crossing to her. “You’re not choosing between me and the job. I’m coming with you.”
“What?”
“I’ll transfer. My company has a Seattle office. I’ll request a transfer.”
“Barry, you can’t—that’s a huge decision. Your whole life is here.”
“My life is wherever you are.” He cupped her face. “Sav, I’ve been in love with you for eleven years. I’ve lived without you for eleven years. I’m not doing it again. If you go to Seattle, I’m going with you.”
“But your family—”
“Is a plane ride away. My job transfers. We sell the apartment, find a new place in Seattle. Start fresh.”
“You’d really do that? Uproot your entire life for me?”
“In a heartbeat. Because you’re it for me. You’re my person. My home. The geography doesn’t matter.”
Tears streamed down Savannah’s face. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too. So take the job. Say yes. We’ll figure out the rest together.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything.”
That night, they lay in bed making plans. Researching Seattle neighborhoods. Looking at Barry’s company’s transfer policy. Calculating costs and logistics.
“This is crazy,” Savannah said. “We’re talking about moving across the country.”
“We’ve done crazier things. Like waste ten years being too scared to admit we were in love.”
She laughed. “Fair point.”
“Are you going to accept the offer?”
“If you’re really coming with me—yes. I want this job, Barry. I want it so much.”
“Then accept it. I’ll request the transfer tomorrow.”
“What if they don’t approve it?”
“They will. But if they don’t, I’ll find another job in Seattle. This isn’t negotiable, Sav. Where you go, I go.”
“That’s very ride-or-die of you.”
“I prefer to think of it as pragmatic. I love you. I want to build a life with you. That life can happen here or in Seattle or anywhere. The location is irrelevant.”
Savannah rolled over to face him. “You’re sure about this?”
“Completely sure.”
“Okay. Then let’s do it. Let’s move to Seattle.”
His grin was blinding. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Together.”
“Together,” he agreed, kissing her.
The next morning, Savannah emailed her acceptance. Barry submitted his transfer request. They told their families, who were shocked but supportive.
“You’re really moving across the country?” Tricia asked over video call.
“For my dream job, yeah.”
“And Barry’s going with you?”
“He insisted. Said his life is wherever I am.”
Tricia’s eyes teared up. “That boy is a keeper.”
“I know, Mom.”
They gave notice on their apartment. Started packing. Made plans for a cross-country move.
It was terrifying and exciting and completely insane.
But they were doing it together.
And that made all the difference.
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