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“She said in two weeks,” Ellie answered. “They move fast, it seems. And hopefully that will give us some bookings! It had better, since by then it will be mid-November.” Gwen saw a shadow of worry creep into Ellie’s eyes.
“I’m sure it will,” she replied robustly. “Think of all the publicity!”
“There’s also the brochures Emma made,” Ellie continued, clearly trying to rally. “They’re lovely and colorful. I’m going to start taking them to cafés and shops and things, get the word out.” She sighed before she managed a smile. “Sometimes it feels like no more than a drop in the bucket, but I don’t know what else we can do. We don’t have any bookings for all of November.”
“November’s always a downtime, though, isn’t it?” Gwen replied, determined to stay positive. “Lots of places close for the whole winter.” Privately, she was glad; she could use the break, especially after the busy half-term week and all the ensuing bustle planning this Christmas holiday. And she’d like to see a bit more of John…
A few days ago, they’d hiked up Sugarloaf Mountain—John’s suggestion and something Gwen would never have even thought of doing on her own. He’d brought a thermos of tea and she’d contributed some homemade flapjacks, and after walking up, they’d sat at the top, gazing over the hills rolling out to the horizon, white with frost, sipping tea and munching flapjacks and feeling, Gwen thought, completely at peace with the world.
John had come to the inn a few times over the last week, to work on the nativity set for the garden. He was making the simple pieces out of an old oak tree that had fallen at the bottom of the garden years ago, their smooth, easy shape perfect to be handled by children. Matthew had cut up some of the tree for firewood, but John had asked if he could use the rest and Matthew had, although only somewhat graciously, agreed.
Gwen wasn’t sure what exactly was bothering her son about John’s presence, but clearly something was, even if he was trying to hide his unease. He hadn’t talked to her directly about John, and Gwen wasn’t about to broach the subject herself, especially as she didn’t know how she felt.
She enjoyed John’s company, liked having him as a friend, but was anything more going on between them? Was she a foolish old woman even to think like that, especially when she was pretty sure John wasn’t thinking that way?
Well, she was trying not to worry too much about it, and in any case, there was certainly enough to be getting on with—the Christmas week, Sarah’s worries, and now this seeming tension between Ellie and Matthew.
“We could still get some bookings for November,” Gwen offered, although she didn’t think it likely. “Sometimes parents like to do holidays in term as they’re usually cheaper…?”
“Maybe…” Ellie replied.
Matthew gave her a rather significant look. “What will be will be,” he said philosophically, and Ellie merely pressed her lips together and looked away.
Whatwas going on there? Gwen wondered. Did she dare ask?
“Right, I’m going to take down the decorations for now,” Ellie said. “Because if I don’t, Ben or Ava or even Daisy will get into them and the last thing I need is all that velvet ribbon tangled into knots or something. It wasn’t cheap.”
With a tired smile, Ellie turned from the room, and with her exit, a little tension left, as well, the air seeming to expand. Matthew gave a small sigh and shake of his head.
“What about you?” Gwen asked him. “What have you got going on today?”
“I’m going to work in the garden for a bit,” he told her. “Tidy up the flower beds and keep at the Santa’s grotto.” He paused. “And then I have a Zoom call later this afternoon.”
“A Zoom call?” Gwen asked in curiosity, noting the way he’d hesitated before he’d mentioned it. “Something about the inn?”
“No.” Her son sounded strangely cautious. “About a job, actually. I’ve been approached by a firm… but I haven’t wanted to say anything just yet, because it’s very early days.”
“Ajob?” Gwen couldn’t hide her surprise. “You mean… like you had before? In finance?”
Uncomfortably, Matthew shifted where he stood, hands jammed into the pockets of his trousers. “Yes, as a matter of fact. I was approached by a boutique company I really respect. Out of the blue, really, but… I felt like I had to consider it.”
Gwen heard a note of pride in his voice, and understood it. After being made redundant at his old company nearly three years ago, it had to be a balm to be approached and maybe even pursued by another. Still, it was a possibility that hadn’t even crossed Gwen’s mind.
“And where is this job?” she asked. “Cardiff? Birmingham?” She heard the wavering note of hope in her voice and knew before Matthew had even answered that it wasn’t in either of those cities. There was a reason, after all, why he hadn’t mentioned this before.
Matthew ducked his head. “Like I said, it’s early days, Mum.”
“Where is this job?” she asked again, and now she could hear her voice sounded a bit flat.
“New York City,” Matthew admitted.
“New York…” Gwen felt a little faint.
Even in her worst imaginings, she hadn’t thought about Matthew and his family moving back to America. They’d only been here for a little over two years! She’d thought London, perhaps, or at worst, Manchester or somewhere up north. But New York?America? When he and Ellie had moved to Wales, she’d simply assumed it would be for good, or at least for a very long while—the rest of her life, at least! But now, after just two years, he was thinking of moving back? She could scarcely believe what she was hearing.
“It’s a really good opportunity,” Matthew continued, his enthusiasm obvious. “I wouldn’t be a middle manager anymore, but on the forefront, developing investments. It’s exactly the kind of thing I wished I could do before. I wouldn’t be considering it otherwise.”
“No, I don’t suppose you would.” Gwen found she had to sit down, and she carefully lowered herself into a chair at the kitchen table, her mind still reeling. Daisy roused herself from in front of the Aga to come and sniff at her feet, and Gwen bent down to stroke the little dog, grateful for that small comfort.
