So I slid my thumb across the screen to answer and held the phone to my ear.
"Nathan Bradley, how can I help you?"
The voice on the other end greeted me warmly, but I knew there was a reason for his call and it wasn't to be pleasant.
"Nate, it's Tom Reed, how are you this morning?"
I scowled as I checked the time on my computer screen.
I'd successfully made it fifteen minutes at work without an incident, but that time was fast approaching.
"I'm good, Mr. Reed. What can I help you with?" I hated the question.
It stuck in the back of my throat and almost had to be forced out.
With the way that photographer made it look like Ember and I were being overly personal in that image and not just sharing a friendly joke between colleagues, I knew it was only a matter of time before the untoward things people were saying got back to the committee chairman.
"Good, good… Well, I'm afraid I have a rather distasteful topic to discuss with you." He cleared his throat for emphasis, but I already knew what he was going to say.
"It appears there's been a bit of a stir around town this weekend regarding the nature of your relationship with Ms. Harrison and whether she should be the Hearthkeeper for this year’s festivities."
He paused again, and it was like he was waiting for me to respond to him without having any more input.
Ember and I followed the traditions and because we worked together, it meant being seen in public for other reasons too that had nothing to do with my responsibilities as Lightkeeper.
Yes, we'd had sex, but no one knew about that except for us, and they had no reason to think anything was going on between us outside of a few bad apples saying rude things about images taken out of context.
So I said nothing, putting the onus on him to continue.
"What I'm trying to say, Nathan, is that we've never had a Hearthkeeper who was so young for a reason. And Ms. Harrison… well?—"
"What about her?" I demanded in an almost too-aggressive tone.
"Well, it's drawing attention to the tradition in a way the committee doesn't care for. They'd like to see her step aside for the good of the community and tradition and for you to appoint someone more…"
"Someone more what?" I snipped. "Holy? Worthy? Righteous? Pure?"
All the words tumbled from my mouth hastily, and I found myself getting very angry at the man and his so-called tradition.
"Nathan, you have to understand."
"Understand what? Ember is a brilliant woman and she stands for everything the tradition demands." I was seething and trying hard not to lose my cool completely.
Here was my perfect opportunity to relieve Ember of the task of Hearthkeeper, but I was finding it hard to yield to his horrible assumptions about her character.
She didn’t deserve that. If I just admitted to Mr. Reed that she didn't want to be Hearthkeeper anyway, it'd be like telling him his judgmental thoughts about her were justified or correct and I'd be letting her down. The tension in my chest knotted up until I was almost shouting.
"I won't let anyone badmouth her and push her out simply because she's younger than previous women who served in this role.
And I'm not making her 'step back for the good of the tradition.' Ember is the embodiment of warmth and family, and I stand behind my decision to honor her with the title."
"Nathan, please. We chose you because you're a man with a spotless reputation.
You're putting yourself on the line for this and it's just not worth it."
Reed was infuriating.
I almost hung up, but not before getting the last word in.
