Only Through Love: A Cane River Romance Novella by Mary Jane Hathaway

unfair for
them to have to work with women?”
                “Well,
no, it’s just that they worked hard to get where they are, too.”
                “Yes,
most of them have. And most of them excelled in an environment that assumes
everybody wants to create a male-centric world of gaming. They’ve risen to the
top in an area of science that is often openly misogynistic. The guys that
apply sometimes mention in the interviews that they don’t think women quite get
the gaming world, or the games.”
                She
sucked in a breath. You just don’t get it. You can’t. There’s no way to
learn it. You either get it or you don’t. In a world where marketing was so
important, she’d started to believe that she was good at being “bilingual”,
understand the male gamer needs and desires. She’d learned to produce projects
that appealed to men, because that’s where the money was, they said.
                “Do
you believe that, Charlie? Because if you do, I feel like I’ve failed
somewhere.”
                She
sighed. “You remember when I went to the ComiCon in Atlanta last year?”
                “Sure
do. You went as the Archer’s Apprentice, I think.”
                “A
guy in front of me on the subway was some sort of book agent. He said he didn’t
even look at a submission if it the main character was a girl. He said they
didn’t sell.”
                “Well,
he’s an idiot.”
                “I
know that.” She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to organize her thoughts.
“I almost butted in to list all the science fiction books with girls, starting
with Friday by Heinlein and all the way up to The Hunger Games but I was just…
too tired. You know? I was tired of arguing about it. I didn’t think I could
change his mind and I’d tried to convince people before and it just led to a
lot of useless debating. Nothing ever changes.”
                Paul’s
voice was soft. “You don’t have to change the world, Charlie. Not all by
yourself.  I think we can take real steps forward, like the recruiting, that
changes the culture and the environment, which brings out more creativity and
cooperation.” He paused. “I sounded like Andy there for a minute, but I mean it.
We can change, we are changing.”
                “I
know. It’s not that I don’t think it’s possible. It’s that I don’t think I’m
the person for the job. Not now.”
                He
didn’t say anything for a long time. “I want you to know I’m on your side. If
you count anybody on your side, make real sure you count me, too.” Every line
of his face showed his earnestness. “Always. No matter what.”
                Her
eyes started to burn and she half-turned away, embarrassment and shame flashing
through her. He was offering his power and his voice. More than anything else,
she needed an advocate, someone who would stand beside her and fight for her.
But Paul couldn’t be that person. She would have to tell him the whole story,
and although he promised there was no limit to his support, she knew just the
point where he’d step back from her.
                “Thank
you,” she managed. “And you should go take Alice out to lunch. I think she
needs a break.”
                He
stood there for a moment more and gave his daughter a kiss before walking away.
Charlie took a deep breath. You never know how much you treasure your friends
until you have to let them go. It seemed like the past six months all she’d
done was let go of every friend, online and in person.
     
                                                                ***
                Austin
scribbled a few more lines and then stacked the forms to one side. He hated
paperwork more than he hated doing laundry and he really hated