Felix shrugged. 'We don’t have to. It's just that the sky out here is just so clear.'
Leaning back, she tilted her face to look at the sky. The stars shone brighter than she'd ever seen before, almost glittering in the dark sky. 'Wow, it's beautiful. I think it's a great idea. I’ve always wanted to learn about the stars.'
Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Felix drew her closer before passing her a slice of pizza and taking one for himself.
As she snuggled against his side, she took a bit of her pizza before opening the book in her lap. Could this break down here get any better?
Chapter Thirteen
'Come in.'
Opening the door, Merri stepped inside. The heating was on and the caravan was warm. 'Hi, you rang earlier and asked me to pop by.'
'Yes. Thanks for coming by before your class, Merri.' Standing up from behind the large desk stacked with papers and folders, Nick indicated the chair opposite him. 'Sit down. Can I get you a coffee? tea?'
'No, I'm good thanks.' She smiled. She would need to get to class stargth after this meeting and she didn’t trust her bladder not to make a fuss during the hour long teaching session she had coffee right before. 'Have you had a complaint about the class or anything?'
Nick shook his head. 'Not at all. in fact, we've had numerous really positive reviews about your classes left on our social media pages as well as our website and I can't remember the number of people I've spoken to who have asked me if you'll be teaching more willow weaving classes in the new year.'
'Oh really? That's a relief.' She knew when Nick had rung her earlier in the day to ask her to pop by the office, he’d told her this meeting was nothing to worry about, but she couldn’t help but worry.
'Which brings me onto why I asked you to pop in.' nick shifted in his chair. 'I know you're only volunteering with Elsie for another few weeks, but I wanted to throw this offer out to you anyway.'
'Offer?'
'Yes, over the last couple of years we've been trying to think of ways to keep the farm open for longer throughout the year. We now put on special events for summer and Halloween and next year will eb our first year in trying to keep it open full time, throughout the year.'
'Ah, okay. What type of things are you going to do to keep it open all year? Pulling the strap of her handbag from her shoulder, she placed her bag on her lap.
'Well, we'll be keeping our shop open and stocking it with gifts rather than decorations. We'll also keep our cafe open, but we also have a number of lessons taking place. We have teacher lined up for craft classes, such as sewing, felting, painting and we did have Fiona lined up to teach willow weaving but after breaking her wrist she's decided to step back from teaching for a while so I wanted to offer you the position.'
'Me?' Merri managed as thoughts raced through her mind swinging from what an opportunity this was to reminding herself that she lived hundreds of miles away and it wasn’t as easy as all that to relocate.
'Yes.' Nick leaned forward in his chair. 'Like I said earlier, I’m aware you don't live this way and you'd only be able to take on this role if you relocated. And in all honesty, although it's been wonderful having you teach here and I’ve never had so many compliments about one teacher, I wasn’t going to ask you because I was worried about putting you in an impossible situation but Gabby reminded me that she, too, hadn’t lived around here and it had only been when she'd volunteered at the bakery and fell in love with the area that she began to think about relocating. So, I wanted to lay this offer on the table, and I'll understand if you can't take it, but I'd be thrilled if you could.'
'Right. Thanks.' Merri nodded slowly. This is what Elsie had been speaking about, wasn’t it? That she could make the changes to her life if she wanted to. This was an offer too good to dismiss.She reached for her pendant, rolling it between her finger and thumb. She could take the leap, take the chance and accept. She could try to move down here. Or she could tell Nick she didn’t want it and go back to her room at the flat and her job, which she might not have for too much longer anyway. She took a deep breath. 'I'd like to accept your offer, please.'
'You would?' Nick grinned. 'That's fantastic news. Thank you.'
'No, thank you. In all honesty Penworth Bay has been on my mind since I volunteered at Elsie's in the summer, but moving here has always felt like a dream, like a risk too big to take but with your job offer, I think I might just be able to make it happen.' Yes, she could work here whilst travelling around the craft fairs and selling her creations too. And if it didn’t work out, at least she’d tried. At least she'd taken that leap and grabbed the chance of a lifetime with both hands.
'Great! I'm so pleased. And I know Gabby will be too. And Elsie too of course.' Standing up, Nick held out his hand.
Pushing herself to standing, Merri took Nick's hand and shook it. Had that really just happened? Had he really just offered her a job? Had she really just gone and accepted it? taking her hand back, she noticed she was shaking. She couldn’t wait to see Felix's reaction to her news.
'I'll see you at the lantern parade tomorrow.' Settling back into his chair, Nick smiled. 'And I'll get a contract drawn up as soon as possible too.'
'Great. Thank you. See you tomorrow.' Merri walked out and closed the door behind her before leaning her back against it. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to cheer or cry happy tears. She was changing her life. Finally, something good was happening to her.
She rubbed her hands together, suddenly feeling the chill in the air. Plunging her hands in her pockets to keep them warm,she hurried across the courtyard tpwards the barns and her classroom. Elsie had insisted she leave earlier today so she could pop by and see Nick but at this rate, she’d still be running late if she didn’t hurry.
Pausing, she pulled her mobile from her bag. Scrolling through to Felix's name, she pressed the Call button. She knew she'd be seeing him in an hour or so after her class, but she didnt think she could wait to tell him the exciting news. her staying in the bay and tryign to build a life here, would be the perfect thing for their relationship. they woudlnt need to do the whole long distance thing which everyone knew tested even the strongest o couples. And most importantly, they could get on with their lives, together.
She felf a wave of disappointment as she was trabfered to voicemail. 'Felix! guess what? I have the most exciting news, and I know I'll be seeing you later but I just don't think I can wait! nick just offered me a job! I'm goign to be teaching here int he new year. At the farm! eek, I can;t believe it. I'm actually goign to be able to move down to Penworth Bay. can you imagine it? Anyway, I'll meet you by the fire pit after my class. I'll tell you all the details then!'
after ending the call, she took a deep breath. She coudlnt wait to see his reaction. she scrunched her nose up, she probably shouldnt have left the voicemail. She probably should have told him face to face, that way she'd have been able to see his face as she told him.
Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes at herself. It didnt matter when or how she told him, the news was just as exciting left in a voicemail or told face to face. She was moving to Penworth Bay!
