The Job Offer (2 page)

"Good.  Then you can also spend the
evening of the tenth in our guest room.  I'll take the afternoon off and we can
go shopping for maternity clothes."

"Maternity clothes!  Why didn't you
tell?" Anne cried out in delighted surprise.  "You are supposed tell
your best friend when you have news like that.  You let me go on about the
interview when you had such big news yourself.  When did you find out?  When is
the baby due?"

"Hold it before you take my head
off with all your questions.  I only found out about being pregnant for sure earlier
today.  But I took a home pregnancy test yesterday.  So, I just found out.  I
called Gary right away, so you calling tonight did not infringe on my
surprising him with the news.  That was your next question, I'm sure."  Carla
chuckled softly, and then Anne heard Gary say something in the background that
sent Carla roaring with laughter.  Anne smiled at the comment Carla made back
to her husband about waiting until later before Carla got back on the line.

"You do know me well, Carla.  I'll
let you know about the change in plans once I talk to mom and Ms. Iverson.  I
better let you go since it sounds like you and Gary will have some celebrating
to do.  Congratulations.  Give Gary a big kiss for me."

"Will do, Anne.  Let me know
tomorrow if you can stay.  Love ya.  Bye."

Carla disconnected at her end, and Anne
did the same then put the receiver down so that she could make herself a cup of
herbal tea.  A feeling of warmth and hope came over her.  She thought that she was
doing the right thing.  It was time to go home to Washington State.  Seven
years was long enough to be away.  Now that she had her PhD from M.I.T. and
enough work experience in oceanography and biochemistry, she could go back to
Seattle with her head held high.  Her father would eventually find out she was
back, but she was no longer the same young woman he used to manipulate and
control.  Now she would be able to live her own life back where she belonged.

Picking up the phone again, she entered
the number for the inn on the keypad.  It rang twice on the other end before it
was answered by one of the employees.  Anne told the woman who she was and who
she wanted to speak to then waited for her mother to pick up the phone at her
end.

"Anne!  What a surprise."  Her
mother began calling Anne by her middle name when she was a toddler much to the
relief of Anne’s stepfather.  Anne's mother was also named Jane, so to avoid
confusion, people called her mother Jane and her by her middle name.  "I
wasn't expecting to hear from you until this weekend.  How are you,
sweetheart?"  The sound of her mother's voice never failed to comfort
Anne.

"I'm fine.  How are you and
dad?"

"We're both good.  We're busy.  With
the holiday coming up, we will have a packed house again this weekend.  In fact,
we are booked solid all summer.  There are weddings planned every weekend over
the next three months, starting this Saturday.  With the regular vacationers, too,
the place is hopping.  Your brother is leaving next week for his two month
study abroad program in Italy, so he won't be around to help.  That's ok,
though.  We've got plenty of help lined up for the season.  What about you?  How
is the job hunting going?"

"That's the reason that I called
you tonight instead of waiting until Saturday morning.  I have a job interview
in Seattle on June tenth and hope to stay in the area for the next week until I
know if I make it to the final round of interviews."

"That's excellent, Anne.  I have hoped
that you would look for a job back in Seattle.  We don't see you enough, and I
miss you.  Will you be coming up to Orcas for a few days if you stay?"

"If I can get my flight schedule
changed, I will.  I'll spend the tenth in Seattle at Carla and Gary's then come
up.  Will it be a problem if I'm there from the eleventh through the eighteenth
or nineteenth?"

"What a question.  Of course there
won't be a problem.  I'll have your room ready for you.  With Michael in Italy,
the house will be pretty quiet.  Do not even think about helping out around the
inn this year.  Like I said; we have plenty of staff on hand.  You just come up
and enjoy yourself.  Relax and consider it your vacation."  Anne could
hear some noise in the background and her mother saying something that was muddled
by her hand over the receiver.  "Listen, Anne.  I'd love to talk more but
I have to go now.  Business calls."

"Ok, Mom.  I'll let you know
tomorrow if I'll be coming up and staying.  Take care and say "hi" to
dad and Michael for me."

"I'll do that.  Bye,
Sweetheart."

The sound of joy in her mother's voice
made Anne happy.  It was all going to work out for the best.  For the first
time in a very long time, the apathy that she felt began to lift.  She felt
excited again.  She considered that as she readied for bed that night and slipped
on her usual oversized tee shirt.  Later as she looked at her reflection in the
bathroom mirror after washing her face and brushing her teeth, Anne saw a light
in her blue eyes that had been missing for many years.  She smiled at her
reflection and watched it reach her eyes.  Then she ran a brush through her
long brown hair before walking into her bedroom to sit down on the bed so she
could apply moisturizing cream to her arms, legs, and feet.

Tomorrow would be her last day working with
her latest customer.  After tomorrow, she was free to refocus her attention on
getting the position back in Washington.  The clock in the living room chimed
eleven pm.  She turned off the ceiling bedroom light then climbed into bed.  At
this time next month, she thought as she lay there, she could be packing up her
apartment for the long drive home.  Smiling at the thought, she reached over to
turn off the bedside table lamp and snuggled in.

Anne walked out of Concourse B into the
Central Terminal of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and looked out the
giant curved wall of windows at the late morning sky.  The sun was shining
brightly that Sunday morning which was a rarity for Seattle in other times of
the year but much more common in the summer months.  The sky was a brilliant azure
blue clear of clouds except for a few wispy strips of white that streaked up
high in the atmosphere.  Anne, who was not prone to superstitions, took the
nice weather as a good sign.  It would not hurt to believe in good luck at a
time like this.

She made arrangements with Ms. Iverson several
days ago to fly in on the ninth instead of the tenth and to stay for two weeks
visiting friends and family in case she received a call back interview with Mr.
Stanford.  This way, she could combine the interview with a short vacation.

The plan for today was that she would
meet Carla for lunch on the waterfront before they went shopping.  Then she
would, then, spend the night in Carla and Gary’s guest room.  This way, Anne
would not be rushed tomorrow morning before her interview and could drive at
her own pace from Carla’s Bellevue home to Redmond where the headquarters for
Stanford Enterprises was located.  Anne had already made arrangements to rent a
car so that she could drive to the Seattle waterfront district to meet Carla
for lunch.  Carla and Anne decided to meet at the restaurant instead of at
Carla’s house because Carla was working that morning at her downtown location
to clean up and sort through paperwork from a wedding she catered the night
before.  Feeling thirsty after her long flight, Anne stopped for a latte at the
Starbuck’s kiosk in the Central Terminal then went to pick up her luggage before
heading out to the shuttle.

The air outside was warm.  The salty,
fish smell of Puget Sound combined with automobile exhaust reached her as she
walked to the airport shuttle that would take her the few miles to the rental
car lot where a white Toyota Camry was already waiting for her.  Anne drove out
onto Interstate 5 and headed north to Seattle after a few minutes spent
checking in at the counter and handing over her credit card and driver’s
license.  After getting off at the Spring Street exit, she crossed over the
freeway and headed over to Alaskan Way, the street that ran along the waterfront. 
She parked in the hotel’s parking ramp and went in search of Carla instead of
looking for a spot in one of the several full parking lots close by.  She hoped
that the bistro still validated tickets.  Anne and Carla decided to meet at the
waterfront bistro located inside of the hotel for lunch because of the great
food and its location to shopping.

As she drove through the downtown
lunchtime traffic on her way in, Anne remembered smiling in enjoyment.  Her spirit
had lifted upon seeing the familiar skyline.  This was home, Anne thought.  She
and Carla used to hang out around the waterfront district during their
undergraduate days because Carla worked at the bistro and Anne worked as a
front desk hostess for the hotel to earn the money for school.  Walking into
the bistro's street side entrance, Anne saw Carla already sitting at a booth in
the corner overlooking the street and Puget Sound.

She walked to the booth and bypassed the
hostess who was busy with several groups checking in so that they could be
seated.  Carla, who was checking her smart phone, did not see Anne until she
was almost next to the table.  Looking up, Carla quickly shut down her phone
and grinned sheepishly.  Anne wondered what her look was about this time. 
Carla had something planned for today.  She always did.

"You look great, Anne!  I can’t
believe that it has been two years," Carla said as she jumped up to give
Anne a hug before ushering her into the booth.  It was two years since Anne was
last home and had seen Carla in person.  Two years ago, Anne made a special
trip in September and returned to Orcas Island to be Carla’s maid of honor for
her wedding to Gary.  "I ordered you a Long Island ice tea while I
waited," she said as she retook her seat opposite Anne.  Carla had changed
out of her work clothes earlier and was now wearing a frothy turquoise and
white sundress that complimented her petite frame, pixie cut blonde hair, and blue
eyes.  She always reminded Anne of a fairy tale princess, and the way she was
dressed today reinforced the image.

"Perfect!  I could use one of
these."  Anne took a sip and smiled at the flavors of gin and rum.  The
burn of the different liqueurs combined with the ice cold cola felt good going
down, quenching a thirst the latte failed to satisfy.  "Marriage and
pregnancy agree with you, Carla.  You look great, too."

Carla took the compliment in her stride
and gave Anne a beaming smile.  "I’ll take that now since I’m not showing
yet.  God, Anne.  It’s hard to believe that it has been two years.  I still
feel like a newlywed.  But, we will get to me in a minute.  I want to talk
about you.  So, how was the flight?  Are you nervous about tomorrow?"  Carla
took a sip from her water glass while she waited for Anne's answer.

"The flight was fine but long.  I
forgot how long the flight actually was.  I had a really annoying man sit next
to me."

"Naturally."

"Am I nervous?  You bet I am, but I
think it will go well.  I hope so."  Anne gave a wry smile and raised her
eyebrows.  She did not want to get her hopes up too much.  She had been through
the final interview stages before only to lose out to other more experienced
scientists or to find out that the company had made the decision to hold off on
hiring.  She told Carla about the two Skype interviews and what her impressions
were of the company based on the facts she had managed to gather from the
internet.

Although she had read several news
articles about the company and the business profile of the current CEO, she had
never seen a photo of him.  There were several old photographs of the founder
but none of the son in the company website.  But, since it did not really
matter what the current CEO looked like, Anne did not search for information on
him specifically and concentrated on the company’s record in research, instead. 
At one point, she realized that she was boring Carla with facts about the
company and the technical aspects of research and stopped talking.

"I hear it's a good company.  Gary's
brother really likes being there and is happy that he made the move to them
last year.  I think you'll get the job," Carla said positively.  "My
Spidey sense is tingling, and it’s telling me you'll get it.  Oh, I can't wait
to have you back here.  I need you here to help me decorate the nursery.  You
know that I love Gary to the ends of the earth, but I swear that man will drive
me crazy with his total lack of design sense.  Do you know what he told me when
I started talking about redecorating the third bedroom for the nursery?  He
told me that the current colors will look fine for a baby's room."

Remembering the peanut butter brown
color with baby blue sponge paint that was on the walls when they bought the
house two years ago, Anne wondered if Carla had repainted yet.  Seeing the look
on Anne's face, Carla exclaimed, "I know!  Can you believe it?  It's the
same ugly color it was when we moved in.  I never got around to repainting it with
all the other changes we made to the house and me going out on my own."

"He's a dentist, Carla.  Need I say
more?"

"How in the world I ever fell in
love with such a nerd, I'll never know.  But he is crazy about me and over the
moon about the baby coming."