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“Ella?” Drew says. “A job?” He’s as disbelieving as I was.
“I know. I felt the same when she told me.” Although thinking about it, why should she be any different to Drew and me?
“What’s she gonna be doing?” Pat asks.
“She wouldn’t tell me. She said it involves cooking, but it’s not in a restaurant.”
“And we’re supposed to guess, or something?” Drew shakes his head, heaping chili onto his fork and into his mouth.
“No. She said it was a secret, and she’s not allowed to tell us… or anyone else.”
“Why do I get the feeling she’s gonna end up working in a diner, or a burger bar?” Drew says, smiling.
“Oddly enough, I thought the same thing. But I guess that’s Ella for you.”
“I think you’re both being very unfair. I’m sure she’ll tell us when she can.” Pat turns to me. “Should I get her apartment ready?”
“Not yet. Her job is in the city, so she’s gonna stay there while she finds herself somewhere to live.” I can see the disappointment on Pat’s face. Ella was still really young when Pat and Mick moved here and started looking after us. She’s close to all three of us, but I think she took on the roll of Mom far more with Ella than with Drew and me, and she’s missed her since she’s been away. “She’ll come home as soon as she can,” I say, because even though Ella didn’t mention coming to Newport, I want to make Pat feel better, if I can.
And I guess that just goes to show, a part of me still feels like that eleven-year-old kid.
“Is she gonna stay with you while she’s looking for somewhere of her own?” Pat asks, smiling at me.
“No. She’s gonna crash at Drew’s place.”
He flips his head around. “Is she? It’s nice of her to ask. And it’s good of you to wait so long before telling me.”
“Sorry. I’ve been busy.” And distracted. “But anyway, she said you’re never there, so…”
“Actually, she’s not wrong,” he says. “Sometimes I wonder why I bother to keep an apartment in the city.”
“I’m sure Ella will appreciate it, even if you don’t.”
“No doubt she will. Do you know when she’s coming back?”
“She hadn’t booked her flight when we spoke, but she said she’d call you.”
He nods his head. “Okay. At least she has her own key.”
“Why? Are you going somewhere?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh?” Pat says. “Where are you going?”
“The Caribbean.”
“How long for?” I ask.
“That depends on whether the shoot goes to plan, but probably around three weeks.”
“Oh… poor you.”
“It’s work, not a vacation.”
“Yeah. We really sympathize, don’t we Pat?”
She chuckles and turns, getting back to clearing up, while we continue to eat our delicious chili.
