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Ava had had three blood tests in the last few weeks; after the random blood sugar test had come back “borderline,” she’d been scheduled for a glycated hemoglobin test as well as a fasting blood sugar test. They were still waiting on the results of those, but Ellie had begun reading up on Type 1 diabetes, as it was seeming more and more likely that Ava might indeed have diabetes. What she read had concerned her, not just for the obvious medical reasons, but also because it seemed to require so much attention and supervision, especially for a child as young as Ava. If Ava did have diabetes, it would, in some ways, involve the whole family, and it would be a major lifestyle change—always needing to check her levels, dealing with highs or lows, administering insulin, monitoring her diet and physical activity. Ellie wanted to be prepared, or at least as prepared as she could be for such an event.
Ben’s bullying episode, at least, seemed to have been resolved. Both Owen and Ben had apologized to the boys whom they’d pushed around; it had been a necessary and difficult conversation—one neither Ben nor Owen had wanted to have at all, but both boys had seemed a little lighter afterward, and Ellie was hopeful that the whole thing had provided some teachable moments.
Josh seemed a little less anxious about secondary school after attending an open house but Jess was still in a funk about Sophie, who seemed to be hanging around a lot of other kids.Life, Ellie thought with both a sigh and a smile.It never stops.
“Can I hang one, Mummy?” Ava asked, holding up a glittery, gold ornament that had come from Gwen’s box of treasures. “Can I, please?”
“Yes, you may.” Ellie glanced at the ornaments she’d bought for the interior design look she’d been hoping for—little gold bows, scarlet-capped Santas, a selection of tasteful baubles in matching colors. Now all of it was mixed in with the kind of homemade decorations that, she told herself, made every tree unique. She’d come around to the idea of homemade decorations, even the well-worn ones. After all, the vision they’d sold the newspaper was of a family-friendly, homegrown type of place, and that was indeed what the Bluebell Inn was. It was, Ellie hoped, what the guests wanted—glittery pinecones and LED Christmas trees included.
“I made this in year three, I think,” Matthew remarked as he fished out a styrofoam snowman covered in silver glitter. “I can’t believe Mum kept it!”
“I kept them all,” Gwen replied as she came into the room. “What a marvelous tree! Isn’t the smell gorgeous?” She smiled around at everyone before helping Ava to hang another old-fashioned ornament. “You’ve done such a fabulous job, Ellie.”
“Well, I didn’t do it by myself,” Ellie replied. “Everyone has been amazing, chipping in and helping out. And John’s nativity pieces look wonderful in the garden.”
“Yes, he did do a good job with those, didn’t he?” Gwen agreed.
Ellie hadn’t really talked to her mother-in-law about John, or whether she’d see him again now that he’d returned home. Gwen hadn’t seemed particularly sad about his departure, though, so perhaps she and Sarah had been reading too much into that relationship. In any case, she was glad Gwen seemed content, regardless of the future of the inn, and the nativity pieces were lovely, the oak smoothed to a silky softness, possessing a fluid, sinuous quality, easy for children to handle.
Even as they now got ready for their guests, as Christmas loomed promisingly on the horizon, the ultimate new beginning, Ellie couldn’t help but think this was starting to feel more like an ending. A last hurrah rather than the kickstart she’d envisioned. It wasn’t a bad way to bow out, she told herself as she looked around the cozy room, from the tree now bedecked with ornaments and tinsel, to the comforting, crackling fire, to the antique nutcracker standing sentry over a bowl of glossy walnuts, with a full house and a very merry Christmas.
“You look rather serious,” Matthew remarked as the children continued to decorate the tree. Gwen had put on some Christmas carols, and the choir of York Minster was belting out “O Come All Ye Faithful.” He slid his arm around her waist, and she leaned her head on his shoulder.
“I was just thinking,” Ellie replied before adding, “we need to talk to the kids about New York.”
“I know.” Matthew pulled her a little closer. “How do you think they’re going to respond?”
“I honestly don’t know. But the sooner we tell them, the better, really. Give them as much time as possible to adjust to the idea.” Time she still needed.
He gave a little nod of assent. “Well, there’s no time like the present, is there?”
“I suppose not.” Ellie glanced back at their beloved brood with mingled affection and worry; Ava was on her tiptoes, trying to hang a glass-blown angel from a bough that was just a little out of her reach. Josh was searching through the box of decorations, looking for his favorites, and Ben and Jess were arguing, good-naturedly at least, over who was going to put the star on the top of the tree. They did this every year, each one insisting the other had done it the year before, and no one could actually remember. How would they all respond to the news that they were contemplating not just leaving little Llandrigg, but moving from a small Welsh village to one of the biggest cities in the world?
They’d been so good about the move here, Ellie thought with a rush of love and gratitude. They’d had their bumps at the start, it was true, but it had been a big adjustment and they’d made it. Was it really fair to ask them to make another one?
And yet that was exactly what they were going to do.
“Hey, guys,” she said lightly. “When we’ve finished the tree, we need to have a family powwow round the kitchen table. I’ll make hot chocolate.” Ellie caught Gwen’s eye, who gave a little nod of understanding.
“What?” Jess’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. Clearly, her light tone hadn’t fooled her oldest daughter—or any of her children, for that matter. All of them were now looking at her with varying degrees of suspicion and alarm. “What kind ofpowwow? When do you even use that word?” Jess demanded, her hands now planted on her hips. “What’s going on?”
“We have an idea to put to you,” Matthew said in his familiar, easy way. “And we want to know what you think about it. That’s all. Opinions warmly welcomed.”
“What idea?” Ben asked. He sounded interested, rather than suspicious, and Josh and Ava were both looking alert, even excited, which Ellie hoped was a good sign.
“Yes, what idea?” Jess asked. “What’s going on? Is it about the inn? What do you have to tell us that’s so important?”
“I’ll make the hot chocolate,” Ellie said, as she turned from the room. Clearly, the conversation needed to happen right now.
Ten minutes later, they were all settled around the kitchen table with mugs of hot chocolate with lashings of whipped cream—a special treat for what might be a difficult conversation. Gwen had quietly made herself scarce, which Ellie appreciated. Daisy was under the table, sniffing around excitedly, no doubt on the lookout for a splash of hot chocolate or dollop of cream.
“So, what’s going on?” Jess asked as she wiped cream from her upper lip. “Why are you guys acting so weird and so serious?”
Ellie glanced at Matthew, willing for him to take the lead, which, thankfully, he did.
“I’ve had a job possibility come up,” he told them. “The kind of office job I had before, working in investments. It’s not for definite yet, but I’ve had a couple of interviews, and we’re moving onto the next step, and I wanted to know what you all thought about it.”
He was met, rather predictably, with four blank looks. None of their children had twigged yet that this meant a move.
