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ENDING THE CALL, TAMMYlooked down at her phone as the light from the screen faded to black. She blinked. She could hardly believe what the top boss, the executive manager of the company, had said to her. The executive manager! Had spoken to her!
Clasping her mobile in her hands, she held it against her chest and looked out across the ocean. She could just about make out the lights from a few ships bobbing up and down on the horizon. The night was calm, a slight breeze blew her hair in her face, but the waves of the ocean were calm.
She turned and looked back towards the beach. The tide had crept in whilst the party had been in full swing. Guests would have to be ferried back to the beach in Josh's rowing boat.
Tammy shut her eyes and listened to the gentle lapping of the waves against the rocks.
'Tammy, love? Are you finished on the phone?'
Tammy opened her eyes and turned towards Elsie who, having shut the front door behind her, was making her way across the rocks towards her. 'Hi, yes. All finished, thanks.'
'Good, good. I just wanted to check everything was okay as I hadn't seen you come back in for your plate.' Coming to stand next to her, Elsie smiled. 'Iseverything okay?'
Tammy nodded. 'Yes, yes. Everything is. It was the executive manager from the chain of garden centres I work at. Well, used to work at. I was made redundant a few weeks before I came here because the branch where I was working is closing down.'
'Oh?'
'In all honesty, I'd assumed the whole chain was closing, shutting down, you know? But apparently, only a few have been selected for closure as they weren’t bringing in enough profit.'
'I see.' Elsie nodded.
'And he's offered me a job. He said he'd heard good things about me, and he couldn’t understand why I had been put forward for the first round of redundancies.' Tammy laughed. 'It was because I had been dating the boss and when that ended and he got together with another colleague things were a little awkward for him, I guess.'
'And you told him that?'
'No, I didn't. Andrew, my ex, isn’t a bad man, we just weren’t suited. I wouldn't want him to get into any trouble.' Tammy shrugged. 'No, he rang to offer me a job.'
'Back at the garden centre?'
'Yes, no. Within the chain, but not back at the one I used to work at. No, he's offered me a management position at a branch a couple of towns away from my hometown.'
'A management position?' Elsie rubbed Tammy's arm. 'That's amazing. Congratulations!'
Tammy looked back down at her phone before turning to Elsie. 'I don't know if it is. I don't even know if that's what I want to do anymore. That sounds really daft, doesn't it? I mean before I came here, I would have jumped at the chance of running my own branch, but now...'
'Now?' Elsie spoke quietly.
Tammy listened to the waves, their rhythmic splashing helping to clear her mind. She kept coming back to the same initial feeling, the same thought every time she even thought about returning home and becoming a manager. Her voice was low, hoarse as she uttered the words she never thought she would, 'I think I'm falling for Josh and I don't want to leave him. I don’t want to leave here. Leave any of you.' She turned and looked at Elsie. 'That sounds so silly, doesn't it? I mean, my family, my friends, my life is back home, but here, here I feel so at peace. Josh is here, I have friends here.'
Elsie smiled kindly. 'That doesn't sound silly at all. It sounds as though you're listening to your heart.'
Tammy swallowed. 'I promised myself I'd never do that again.'
Elsie chuckled. 'Sometimes, love, your heart is screaming so loud in your ears you can do nothing but listen.'
'Do you think I can ring back and ask if there's a branch closer to here?"
'I think that would be a good idea.' Elsie nodded.
'Although I know he probably won't answer now. I mean it's way after office hours and he literally said he was on his way out of the office, but maybe I could in the morning.'
Elsie shrugged. 'Give him a call now and if he doesn't answer, then you can always call again in the morning.'
'Yes, that's true.' Tammy scrolled through to the last number before looking at Elsie again. 'Is it really presumptuous though? I mean what if Josh doesn't want me to move down here? Things are so early in our relationship and if my track record is anything to go by then it's not as though we're likely to last.' It was a daft idea. She shouldn’t have even mentioned it to Elsie. She could feel the hot wave of embarrassment coursing across her face.
'If it didn't last between you and Josh, how would you feel having given up your life back home?' Elsie rubbed Tammy's arm. 'Not that I'm saying it won't. You know what I think of him and that I think you both make a wonderful couple, but as you said it's early days and so it's something you need to think about.'
