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“Mum, it might not come off,” Matthew told her. “In fact, it probably won’t. This company is a new one, small and bespoke, but with a really good reputation. I’ve been out of the game for a while. I’ve told Ellie as much—”
“That’swhy Ellie has been cross with you,” Gwen said aloud, and Matthew flinched.
“Notcross—”
“No, no,” Gwen agreed quickly, “but I still sensed something between you. Is she not pleased about the potential move?” It seemed ironic, considering how reluctant Ellie had been to move to Wales in the first place.
“She’s… concerned,” Matthew replied carefully. “Understandably so. We’re settled here now, the children especially, and it’s not really the done thing to keep crisscrossing the ocean on a whim.” He smiled crookedly. “Her words.”
“Ah.” Gwen could hardly blame Ellie for that sort of sentiment. A transatlantic move was a very big deal, and they’d done it once already, leaving everything behind to start afresh. If she were Ellie, she’d probably feel the same. “But she’d be so much closer to her parents,” she acknowledged, her mind racing through the implications. “Don’t they live right outside of New York?”
“Yes, they do, and that’s something she has considered. She hasn’t said no to the idea, not flat out, anyway, but she was taken aback by it. Understandably. It’s a bit out of the blue.”
Abit?
“Yes, I can imagine she was.” Gwen sighed and leaned back in her chair. She felt rather tired, all of a sudden, what with all the news that had been coming at her, and the photo shoot this morning.
Daisy, having finished sniffing her feet, jumped up in her lap and settled there comfortably. Gwen fondled the dog’s silky ears. Would they take Daisy with them to New York? Probably. And what about the inn? Admittedly, she hadn’t been as bothered as she might have expected to be, to think about it having to close its doors, but that had been when she’d still thought she’d have her family around her, the house full of laughter and love. She felt bereft suddenly, in so many ways.
“Mum, don’t worry, please,” Matthew said, coming to sit next to her. “Like I said, it might not happen.”
“I’m not worried,” Gwen told him. “Not exactly. I am a bit surprised, of course. But you have to do what’s best for your family, Matthew. I know that.” She smiled at him, or tried to. “I will miss you, though, if you do go.” A lump formed in her throat just at the thought, and she managed a slightly watery smile.
“And we’ll miss you,” he assured her, reaching over to squeeze her hand briefly. “But you do know it’s an easy flight from New York? And Llandrigg is only a little over two hours from Heathrow.”
Closer to three hours, but Gwen wasn’t about to belabor the point. “And what about the inn?” she asked. “I won’t be able to run it without you, not the way it currently is, anyway.”
“I know.” Matthew hesitated. “Obviously, I don’t want to leave you in the lurch. If this Christmas idea of Ellie’s comes off, and the inn becomes a going concern again, then I’ll turn down the job—if it’s even offered—and stay here. No question.”
Gazing at the warmth and sincerity in her son’s hazel eyes, Gwen knew he meant it. But could she really tie him to this place, if he had such a seemingly stellar job offer, especially when she’d already been thinking of retirement herself? Of course she couldn’t, and she wouldn’t want to.
“Well, let’s cross that bridge when we come to it,” she said after a moment, her hands buried in Daisy’s fur as the dog nestled in her lap. “So, what is this call this afternoon? Is it terribly important?”
“It’s an interview panel with the company’s VPs. I’ve already had two rounds of interviews, and this is the third. If they want to proceed, the next step is to fly me to New York.”
“My goodness.” Gwen was still struggling to absorb this unexpected development. “When would that be?”
Matthew shrugged. “Could be November, could be January. It depends how quickly they want to move forward.”
And how quickly didMatthewwant to move forward? Gwen wondered. Would he or his family even be here after Christmas? She could barely get her head around the thought of them moving at all, never mind that quickly.
“I don’t suppose you’ve told the children?” she asked, and he shook his head firmly.
“No, we don’t want to get them worked up. If they fly me out to New York, we might have that discussion then.”
“That makes sense.” Gwen paused, unsure how to phrase the question that was bubbling up to her lips. “But Matthew, isn’t it… isn’t it a bit difficult, to pursue two such different paths at once?” How could Matthew really invest in the inn, with this tantalizing possibility in front of him? Not that she wanted to say as much outright.
“It has its challenges,” her son replied easily, “but like I told Ellie, what will be, will be. If the job doesn’t work out, then something else will come along, or we can redouble our efforts with the inn. It’s been a good run these last few years, hasn’t it?”
He made it sound like they’d flipped the “closed” sign on the door already.
“Yes, it has,” Gwen admitted. “The last two years have been wonderful, in their own way.” Despite the strain of her cancer battle, and the uncertainty of starting the inn up again. She’d so enjoyed having her son and his family around her. “They really have,” she said and, again, felt a lump in her throat. She found she had to take a steadying, and rather ragged, breath.
“Mum.” Once more, Matthew reached for her hand. “I won’t leave if you don’t want me to.”
“I’d be a poor mother indeed, if I forced you to stay,” Gwen replied, managing to inject a little needed tartness into her voice. “Anyway, as you said, it isn’t for definite yet. Let’s see what happens, with both this interview and the inn, before we make any decisions—or any promises.” She smiled at him and patted his hand, and with an answering nod, he rose.
“Right, then. I’ll make a start outside.”
