And Karen had no idea what to do about it.
9
Shane’s tone was unusually serious when a week later, he and Karen tried in vain to hail a taxi from the city following a trip to the cinema.
“I need to talk to you about something,” he mumbled, both hands in his jeans pockets.
She waved furiously at a taxi which sped blithely by. “Can't it wait? I’m trying to nab us a lift here.”
“We haven’t a hope at this time of evening - might as well start walking.” Shane caught her hand and began to steer her towards O’Connell Bridge.
She trundled along reluctantly.“I don’t fancy walking all the way home though. If we wait long enough, we’re bound to ...”
He stopped in the street. “Look, I wasn’t going to say anything tonight but … I have some news.”
She paused alongside him, finally conscious of his unease. “Go on.”
“Well, you know that I’m not happy at Viking ...”
Karen nodded, staring idly down at the murky waters of the River Liffey. She already knew he wasn’t happy at work. Shane had taken an engineering job shortly after his degree and had lately come to the realisation that the firm was too small to secure the kind of contracts he really wanted to work on.
The company had recently tendered for the construction of a new stand at Croke Park. Shane suspected that such a small outfit hadn’t a hope against the big boys, and the tender had indeed been awarded to the much bigger engineering firm. It wasn’t the first time it had happened – the better-known company nearly always secured the deal.
“The thing is,” Shane continued, “Jack – remember he’s the architect?” he said referring to his older brother who lived in London. “Well, he knows someone from a big German firm, and apparently they’re looking for staff.”
“Brilliant. Can he get you an interview?”
He wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I’ve already had the interview, Karen. They sent a rep over last week and … they’ve offered me the job.”
“That’s terrific news! What’s the salary like?” she enthused, putting her arms around him. She knew that he had been a little distracted these last few weeks, but typically he wouldn’t tell her anything about the job until it was in the bag.
“Incredible. It’s a huge multinational, and what they’re offering is unreal for someone of my experience. They want me to work on the design team for thismassive water treatment plant they’re planning. When I was in college, working on something like this was all I dreamed about.”
“Great, but I thought we had loads of water-treatment plants around here,” she chuckled.
The dreamy look disappeared from his eyes, and his expression again grew serious. “That’s what I need to talk to you about. The project … the company is in Frankfurt.”
Her heart sank. “Frankfurt. As in Germany? You mean … you’re telling me that you’re thinking of relocating?”
He wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I’m not just thinking of it, hon. I’ve already accepted the job – they want me to start next month.”
Karen felt a myriad of emotions as she tried to make sense of what he was telling her – but anger was by far the strongest. “How long have you known about this?”
“For a little while,” he said softly, taking her hand in his, “I just couldn’t bring myself to tell you before now. And I told you tonight because … well, I couldn’t keep it to myself for much longer.”
Shane, her Shane, was packing up and moving to Germany – just like that. How could he make such a major decision without telling her?
“Let’s go for a pint and we can discuss it properly,” he said.
She looked at him through narrowed eyes. “I don’t think there’s anything to discuss is there? You’re moving to Germany to start a new life. I don’t know why youwant to talk tomeabout it now – when you seem to have your mind already made up.”
“Of course we need to talk about it,” he retorted. “Obviously, I’ve thought about how this might affect you and me and –”
“Mightaffect you and me? Are you mad? Obviously, it will affect you and me,” she parotted. “Obviously,we’re finished.”
“Finished? What are you talking about? I thought maybe we could – ”
“What – commute? Try a long-distance relationship?” She pulled her coat tightly around her. “Forget it, it would never work.”
