A-Z Blogging Challenge 2016: Q is for Questions

Welcome to another day of the A-Z Challenge! This year I'm bringing you my new-adult, contemporary-romance ALL IT TAKES!

Each day I'll post a new chapter of the story - but please be aware, this is a mature story, with swearing and scenes of a sexual nature. If that's not your thing, please skip this blog on your A-Z Challenge travellings!

For those of your visiting my blog for the first time, you might want to start with A is for All It Takes.

Thanks to everyone who commented on P is for Parenting. I'm glad people are continuing to enjoy the story, and look forward to hearing your thoughts on Q is for Questions...

“God fucking damn it!” I threw the newspaper and pen I’d been using to search for jobs across the room, and banged my head against the desk.

Nothing.

I’d been searching the classified ads and online job listing sites for the last two hours, and there was nothing suitable. The days until my time at the café was over were slowly ticking away, and graduation was inching ever closer. My current savings totalled less than £1000.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to curl up in bed, watch movies and not deal with the world. But I knew I couldn’t. I was going to be a mum soon; it was time to start acting like an adult.

I was crossing the room to retrieve the newspaper when the doorbell rang. This better not be sales people. I was still in my pyjamas, with my hair a mess.

Throwing on my dressing gown, I padded down the hall and opened the front door, ready to murder whoever was standing on the other side.

All my anger melted away when I saw Kian.

“Hey,” he said, offering me a crooked grin. “Everything okay?”

I sighed and lent up against the door. “How long have you got?”

“How long do you need?”

“Come in for a cuppa and I’ll tell you all about it.”

I headed down the hallway towards the kitchen, Kian following behind me after he’d closed the front door.

“Okay, what’s up?” he asked, pulling out the milk, as I switched on the kettle.

“I told you the café is letting me go, right?”

“Yeah, you mentioned something on the phone the other night.”

“Right. And I graduate soon, so I figure I better start looking for something else. I still have four months until Ella is born, but there’s nothing. It’s so frustrating. I spent all this time and money getting a degree, and I can’t even keep a job in a café.”

“I can help you out until you find something.”

“I appreciate it, but there’s no way I’m going to let you do that. Sure it’d be great, but, you know, I’m too proud to let the father of my baby bail me out.  Plus it’d be a bit 1950s, wouldn’t it?”

I handed Kian his tea, and we headed through to the living room, where we both dropped down onto the sofa.

“You’re not asking, I’m offering.”

“I know, and I appreciate it, but I can’t take your money. Besides, it isn’t just about money. I want to do something with my life.”

“You are. You’ll be bringing our beautiful little girl into the world soon.” Kian shuffled closer, and rested his hand on my belly.

“Yeah, and that’s great. But I’m more than just a mum, you know?”

“I never said you weren’t. But remember what you said to me about fighting, and that I should take some time away? It’s really helped, so maybe you should do the same. Take some time out to focus on Ella.”

“But she’s not even here yet, and honestly, if I sit around this flat watching daytime TV for much longer, I’m going to go fucking insane, and kill someone.”

Kian laughed. “Remind me never to piss you off.”

“I’m serious. I miss working, I miss creating things.”

“All right, how about if I help? If two of us are tackling it, we can cover more ground. I could print off your CVs and take them into town or something?”

A smile crept over my lips. “Thank you.”

“I haven’t even done anything yet.”

“I know, but you listening and offering to help really means a lot. Maybe you’re right, and if both of us work on it, we’ll find something.”

“That’s my girl. Stay positive.”

My breath caught in my throat, and I shuffled back.

“Okay, tea break over. Let’s get to it.”

I printed CVs while Kian browsed the newspaper, circling anything he thought might be suitable.

“Kian Murphy, I am not getting a job as fast food mascot.”

“Why not? You’d look cute in one of those little hot dog outfits.”

“Oh no. Don’t go trying to butter me up because your idea is ridiculous.”

“Fine. I should probably cross off the one for ‘Santa’s Little Helper’ too.”

“Yes, I am not working as a bloody Christmas elf!”

When all the printouts were ready, I looked up some employment sites I hadn’t checked yet, and Kian headed into town to give my CVs out.

“I’ll pick up something for lunch,” he said, as I saw him out.

“Oh my god. I could kiss you! I’m starving.”

Alone once more, my thoughts drifted to our conversation, instead of the task I should have been focusing on.

“That’s my girl. Stay positive.”

The words swirled around in my brain, as I tried to recall a time he’d called me anything apart from Megan or Meg. Even on the night we’d slept together, there’d been no ‘darlin’’ or ‘babe’ after we’d introduced ourselves.

My pulse raced, making my chest feel light.

No Megan, I told myself, turning back to the computer screen. This doesn’t mean anything.

But I couldn’t stop the fluttering in my belly. It had to mean something.

I argued with myself for a minute, before focusing my full attention on my job search. Determined to find something, anything, even if it was only for a few months, I widened the radius I was willing to travel for a job, and broadened the criteria for work I was willing to take, then continued looking.

I’d applied for two waitressing jobs, one design job, a couple of cleaning positions, and even a hotel receptionist job, when the doorbell rang.

Expecting it to be Kian, I leapt up, and smoothed down my hair, then put some tinted lip balm on before answering.

When I opened the door, he was stood on the other side, grinning and holding two shopping bags.

“What’s all this?” I asked, moving aside so he could come in.

“I figured instead of just grabbing some takeout, I’d cook for you. You need a pick me up, and I know just the thing,” he said, following me down the hall. “And don’t worry, there’s not a sausage and egg bap in sight. I remember how sick they made you last time.”

My skin tingled. I could hardly believe Kian was cooking for me, let alone that he’d remembered something so inconsequential.

He set the bags down on the countertop and then asked, “Okay, do you have a frying pan or a wok?”

“Erm yeah, gimme a sec.”

As Kian unpacked the groceries, I rummaged in the cupboard for the wok my parents had bought me when I moved out of their house and got my first place.

“Here you go.” I handed it to Kian, who put it on the hob, and poured in some oil.

“There’s a pack of egg noodles there. Can you put three sheets on to boil, while I take care of the veggies?”

“Sure.” I switched on the kettle, then got out a large sauce pan, as Kian threw sliced peppers, mushrooms, onions and sugar snap peas into the wok, then added fresh garlic, ginger, a little chilli and some Chinese seasoning.

Once the noodles were cooked, he tossed them in with the vegetables, and added a liberal dash of soy sauce, before serving up two plates of steaming vegetable stir-fry.

“Bon appetite.” Kian handed me a fork and I tucked straight in.

“Oh. My. God. This is so good.”

“What can I say? I’m the master.” He grinned at me. “Seriously though, it’s just noodles and some veggies.”

“Pfft. Just noodles and some veggies? This is better than the takeout. You learnt all this from your mum?”

“I learnt the basics from her, and Marie cooks a lot too. Plus when I’m training, I have to make sure I’m eating right, and not always buying takeout.”

“With food like this, you’d never need to order in again.”

Kian laughed and shook his head. “Seriously, anyone can do it. It took me, what, ten minutes? You just toss some stuff in the wok, boil noodles, and add flavours.”

“Oh yeah, so easy.” I rolled my eyes. Even though I worked in a café, I didn’t know much in the way of cooking, especially anything that wasn’t traditional British fare. “You’ll have to teach me.”

“I will. And you’ve still gotta have a spin in the car before I sell it.”

“With all the stuff last week, I’d forgotten about that.”

“Wanna head out after lunch? We could get away for a bit, go for a drive or something.”

My fork stilled halfway to my mouth, and I stared at Kian. He wasn’t looking though, and I quickly supressed the butterflies threatening to dance the conga in my tummy.

I had to stop reading into every little thing he said or I’d drive myself insane.

“Sure. A few hours not looking for jobs or thinking about responsibilities sounds good.”

We continued eating in silence, and the delicious food helped distract me from my racing thoughts.

Pregnancy hormones, mixed with my own feelings for Kian, and his change in attitude since the fight were messing with my head. I had to keep reminding myself he’d said he couldn’t do relationships … but what the hell was this? We were having a baby together, hanging out, and talking on the phone almost every night. We were practically a couple, only without the physical side of things.

Staring at Kian, sitting across the breakfast bar from me, wiping his lips on a sheet of kitchen roll, I wondered what would happen if I leant across the table and kissed him.

I let the fantasy play out in my head, remembering the feel of his mouth crushed against mine on our one night together. My pulse quickened. His stubble had grown out a little since getting out of hospital, and although he didn’t have a full on beard yet, it was coarser. I imagined the feel of it brushing against my skin as he kissed me.

I shook the image from my mind. Me making a move was so not what Kian needed right now. He was finally getting his shit together, and him thinking I was like all those girls online, who only wanted him because he was famous, would ruin the friendship we’d built.

Eager for a distraction, I scooped up our plates, and headed to the sink to wash the lunch things.

“Want a hand?” Kian asked, coming up behind me, and grabbing a tea towel off the rail.

“Sure.” I passed him the plate I’d just washed, and our hands brushed. A jolt of electricity shot down my arm, and I plunged my hands back into the soapy water.

There was no way I could spend the rest of the afternoon with him. I’d either do something stupid like try to kiss him, or make myself crazy by analysing every little thing. I needed space.

Faking a yawn, I stretched my arms then said. “Can we take a rain check on the drive? I’m feeling kinda tired and could do with a nap.”

“Sure. You okay? You went sort of quiet after lunch.”

“Yeah, as I said, just tied.”

Kian dried his hands on the tea towel then placed them on my belly. “Not even born yet, and little Ella is already tiring mummy out. You get some rest, and call me if you need anything.”

I laid my hand across his. “I will.”

I walked Kian to the door, then stood on the threshold, and watched as he got into his car and drove away.

Alone in my flat, my mixed thoughts threatened to come spilling out. I got my phone out and started to text Stacey, before thinking better of it. I wasn’t sure she’d understand I needed to give Kian space to sort his head out. She’d just tell me to go for it. And even if she didn’t, I wasn’t sure I wanted to rehash everything that’d gone on between me and him. I’d called a rain check to have some space and clear my head, so that’s exactly what I intended to do.

I headed through to my room, and booted up my laptop, quickly checking my emails in case any of the jobs I’d applied for online has responded. None had. Instead of focusing on the negative, I dove straight into some uni work, trying to get a jump on my end of degree assignments and presentation.

The practical side of my end of year work was the decal I’d made for Ella’s nursery, but I also had to accompany it with an essay, detailing why I’d chosen to design what I had, what materials I’d used, where I saw my design fitting in with similar items in the market, and how my design differed and stood out from the rest. It was stuff I’d done countless times before during the duration of my degree, but this time, it had to be perfect. The design and accompanying essay not only had to be presented to my peers and tutor, but also at the end of degree show, in front of a board of impartial adjudicators.

I thought back to the career day at uni, and the compliments I’d received from Amanda Healey, the head of HR at my dream firm, Honeycomb Designs. If I could get the highest grades possible for my nursery design, and then add to my portfolio with similar pieces while on maternity leave with Ella, by the time I was ready to return to work, I should have everything I needed to wow the people Honeycomb Designs and secure a job there.

The only thing that might stand against me was my lack of real world experience, so, determined to find a solution to that problem, I browsed some websites offering advice to people about to graduate. The reoccurring suggestion was to do some freelance work; that way you could build up experience and references, earn a little money, and hopefully get your name out there in the design world. It sounded like the perfect thing to do while I was on maternity leave, and I set up portfolios on some popular freelance sites.

My phone started ringing, so I picked it up and checked the caller ID. It wasn’t a familiar one, but as Kian had handed copies of my CV out in town, I didn’t want to risk missing an opportunity, and answered it. I hoped it wasn’t one of those PPI calls.

“Hello, may I speak to Megan Green, please?”

“Speaking. How can I help you?”

“Good afternoon, Miss Green. This is Hilary Davies, from the Prescott Arms Hotel. We received your online application for the receptionist position, and would like to invite you for an interview tomorrow morning.”

The Prescott Arms was the hotel Stacey had met Josh at, on the night Kian and I had slept together. I’d applied there partly out of a weird sense of nostalgia, but also, a job was a job right? With little actual receptionist experience, I hadn’t been expecting a call back, and it took me a moment to get my head together.

Should I tell them about the pregnancy? Or would that harm my chances of getting hired? Deciding I’d wait until I was actually offered the job, I said, “That’d be great.”

“We have eleven-thirty available.”

“Sure, that works for me. Thank you.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Miss Green.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

I ended the call, my hands trembling slightly. Sure, it was only a receptionist job, but an interview was more than I’d gotten in weeks. I had to share the good news with someone, and before I realised what I was doing, I’d hit the speed dial for Kian’s number.

“Hey. You okay?”

“I got an interview!” I squealed at him.

“Congratulations. That’s fantastic. Where is it?”

I laughed. “Actually, it’s at the hotel where Stacey and Josh first hooked up.”

On the other end of the phone, Kian laughed too. “Crazy. But cool. What position is it for?”

“A receptionist. They didn’t have anything going in terms of waitressing, but I figured this way, I wouldn’t be on my feet all day.”

“Good thinking. When is it?”

“Tomorrow, at half-eleven.”

“Good luck. I’m sure you’ll smash it.”

“Here’s hoping! Okay, I better call Stacey and tell her.”

“All right. Talk to you soon.”

I ended the call, and hit the speed dial for Stacey’s number. She was just as excited as I was, and amused by the fact it was at the Prescott Arms. We arranged to meet the following morning, for coffee, and a pre-interview prep-talk.

After hanging up for a second time, I opened up my wardrobe, and searched through for something suitable to wear. Thank God Mum had convinced me to buy some formal maternity wear, I pulled out a burgundy pinafore style dress and black blazer. Teamed with some kitten heel shoes, the outfit would be perfect.

I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, so that I was as calm as possible for my interview. I made some dinner, had a shower and then went to bed early.

When my alarm went off the following morning, I checked my phone and saw I had two text messages. The first was from Stacey, checking we were still meeting for coffee. I replied back that we were, and that I’d see her soon.

The second message was from Kian.

>>Good luck today. Call me later to let me know how it went. xxx<<

My heart flip-flopped as I perched on the edge of the bed and re-read the message a couple of times.

Don’t read anything into this Meg. Focus on the interview.

Shaking all thoughts of Kian from my mind, I got in the shower, and distracted myself by going over interview questions in my head.

After showering, I blow-dried and straightened my hair, then put on some make-up, before getting dressed. The pinafore dress fit perfectly, and teamed with the blazer and a little belt, looked both stylist and professional. I slipped on my shoes, gave them a quick polish, and then after one final look in the mirror, headed out of the flat and to my car.

Thankfully, I’d missed the rush hour traffic, and made it to Belly Busters in a record ten minutes. When I entered the café, I found Stacey already waiting for me, a half empty latte on the table in front of her.

“Hey.” She greeted me with a grin. “Wanna grab some food?”

My stomach swished about, and I shook my head. “Nah, I’m too nervous. I’m just gonna grab a tea.”

I headed to the counter to order, and then hot drink in hand, made my way back to Stacey and sat down opposite her.

“Your outfit is so cute,” she said as I sipped my tea.

“It doesn’t make me look too pregnant, does it?”

“Meg, you’re five months gone. It’s not going to be easy to hide for much longer.”

“I know, and I’m not trying to hide it … well, not always. I just don’t want it being obvious in the interview. I’ve decided only to tell them if they offer me the job.”

“Is that a good idea? Shouldn’t you be up front about it?”

“I was up front about it at the uni careers fair, and look where that got me. I need this job. Plus, I don’t think there’s any law saying I have to tell them.”

“I guess, just be careful it doesn’t come back to bite you in the ass.”

“Well, if they offer me the job, they can’t then take it back when they find out I’m pregnant. That’s discrimination.”

Stacey grinned. “Good point. What do you think they’ll ask you?”

“Probably the usual bollocks. Why do I want to work for them? What can I offer the company? Blah, blah, blah. It’s stuff we’ve covered countless times at uni.”

“Yeah, just be careful they don’t throw in anything that could trip you up. Some places are funny about taking on students or graduates, because they think we’re not serious about the job, and only doing it until something better comes along.”

“I am only doing it until something better comes along. But yeah, I won’t tell them that. I plan on wowing them with how hard working, focused, and creative I am.”

“Sounds like a plan. And you’ll call me as soon as you’re done?”

I thought about Kian’s message and a dopey grin spread across my face.

“Okay, what’s that look for? You’re not smiling like that just because of an interview. Has something happened with Kian?”

“Yes.”

Stacey squealed, causing everyone in the café to turn and look at us. “Oh.My.God! He kissed you, didn’t he?”

I shook my head. “Calm down. I don’t want you getting over-excited. Nothing’s actually happened happened. But he’s changing. He came round yesterday, and helped me apply for jobs, then cooked us lunch. We were going to go out for a drive, he said I could have a go in the Audi before he sells it, but then I sort of freaked out and called a rain check.”

“What do you mean, freaked out?”

“I was this close to kissing him.” I held up my hand, pinching my thumb and forefinger together to make a very small gap.

“You should have.”

I laughed. “I knew you were going to say that. But I can’t. It’s too soon. He needs to know I’m not just interested in him because of who he is, like all those other girls. He needs to understand I’m serious, and I’ll support him through all the stuff going on in his head.”

Stacey smiled. “I get it. And despite what you think I’m going to say, I agree you’re doing the right thing. Josh said the other day he’s never known Kian be serious about a girl, but he’s different with you.”

My heartrate sped up, and my mouth went dry. Taking a sip of my tea, I gave myself a moment to process what Stacey had said. If Kian’s friends had noticed a change too, that mean there was definitely something there, and I wasn’t imagining things. I just had to give him time.

And I needed to focus on my interview. I’d never get the job if I went in there with my head all filled with thoughts about Kian.

I took a deep breath.

“It’ll be okay,” Stacey said. “You’re going to ace this interview.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. I needed it.”

I headed to the toilet to reapply my makeup, then we left the café and Stacey walked with me to my car.

“Call me as soon as you’re done, okay?”

“Don’t worry, I will. But I doubt they’ll tell me right away. They’ve probably got other people to interview.”

“Yeah, but I still want to know exactly how it went.”

I laughed. “Fine, I’ll call you as soon as I get out.”

I got into the car, and started up the engine, while Stacey stood on the pavement, waving me off. With a beep of my horn, I rounded the corner, and she vanished from view.

I tried to keep my mind clear as I drove to the Prescott Arms, but passing O’Neil’s reawakened memories of the night Kian and I had met. Even after him coming home with me, I never imagined we’d still be in each other’s lives five months later. I took one hand off the steering wheel and rubbed my tummy. There were so many reasons to be glad Ella had come along, and Kian remaining in my life was one of them. I’d had two serious relationships in the past, but neither compared to how I felt for him. He was the only person I could imagine myself wanting to settle down with. In the last five months, my vision of the future had changed to include Ella, as I pictured the two of us travelling together, and me showing my little girl the world. In recent weeks, those dreams had expanded to feature Kian, too, and the three of us together as a family. I knew we still had a lot of work to do until we reached the ‘happily ever after’ phase, but as I pulled into the car park of the Prescott Arms, a realisation hit me. I was in love with him.

I wanted to pull out my phone, call Kian and tell him, but I knew it was a terrible idea. Not only because he still needed time to sort his head out, but also because I had just five minutes before my interview. Declarations of love were best made in person.

Instead, I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart, and climbed out of the car. When I closed the door, I pushed all other thoughts out of my mind, and focused on work. If I could get this job, it’d be one less thing to worry about, and then I could put all my attention into my end of degree presentation and getting the highest marks possible.

‘You’ve got this,’ I told myself, as I pushed open the hotel doors, and crossed the lobby to the reception desk.

“Hi. Megan Green here for an eleven-thirty interview with Hilary Davies.”

The receptionist tapped some details into the computer, then looked up and met my gaze with a smile. “Conference room three, on the ground floor, please.”

“Thanks.”

I turned towards the laminated map of the hotel, and figured out where I was headed, before making my way along the corridor and to the conference room.

Just outside the room were two chairs set up besides the door. I dropped into the closest, and waited for Hillary to be ready. A few minutes later a young woman in a salmon coloured blouse, and wearing too much blusher opened the conference room door, and stepped out. Just a pace behind her was an older woman with the Prescott Arms logo on her blazer.

“Thank you for your time, Allison,” Hillary said. “I’ll be in touch later today, when I’ve seen everyone else.”

“Thanks. I look forward to speaking to you later.” Allison smiled, hitched her handbag up onto her shoulder, and then started walking in the direction of the lobby.

Hillary turned to me with a smile. “Megan Green?”

I nodded and climbed to my feet, then extended my hand. “Yes, that’s me. Pleased to meet you.”

“And you, Miss Green.” Hillary returned my handshake with a firm grip, and then motioned that I should enter.

Though the conference room was large, the majority of it had been sectioned off, so that only a small area was in use, where a table had been set up, with two chairs opposite each other. Hillary sat down in the chair on the side where she had a cup of water and a note book set up, and I slipped into the space facing her.

The interview was pretty standard, with Hillary asking why I wanted to work for the Prescott Arms, what I felt I could offer the company, and what difficulties I’d faced and overcome both while studying for my degree, and while working as a waitress in the café. Nothing I hadn’t gone over in my head already, or discussed with Stacey over coffee.

Finally, Hillary put down her notes, had a sip of water then asked, “And when is your baby due?”

Heat flashed through my body, and I could feel my cheeks turning red.

“I’m twenty-three weeks along, so just over four months until she’s due.”

Hillary smiled. “She?”

“Yeah, we found out at the last scan that we’re having a little girl.”

“Congratulations.”

“Thanks. I was going to tell you about the pregnancy, I just wanted to see if I got the job first. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. Until you’re an employee, it’s none of my business.”

“So this won’t affect my chances of being hired?”

“I could have a law suit on my hands if it did.” Hillary laughed. “But no, we have many parents working for us. In fact, one of our restaurant waitresses recently announced she’s pregnant.”

“That’s a relief, because I really need this job. I don’t want to have to rely on my parents or the baby’s dad for money. I want to provide for my little girl myself.”

“Well don’t worry, I’ll consider your application as fairly as I will all the others.”

“Thanks. That’s all I wanted.”

“Thank you for your time, Miss Green. I’ll be in touch at the end of the day, once I’ve seen the other applicants.”

Hillary walked me to the door, and opened it for me, then I stepped out into the corridor, where a guy in a smart suit was waiting to be seen.

“Thanks for seeing me, and I look forward to your call later,” I said, before making my way back up the corridor.

The interview had gone well and Hillary seemed to have no problem with my pregnancy. I just hoped I’d done enough to impress her.

As I headed outside to my car, I pulled out my phone and called Stacey.

“How did it go?” she asked, without so much as a ‘hello.’

“Really well. She didn’t seem to have any problem with me being pregnant.”

“You told her?”

“I could hardly deny it when she outright asked when I was due. I guess I’m showing more than I thought.”

“Little Ella is going to be a big baby.”

I climbed into the car and turned on the ignition, but didn’t start driving. “Not too big, I hope. I still have to give birth to her.”

“Want to do something later to celebrate?”

“I haven’t even got the job yet.”

“Yeah, but you will. Shall I come round with some movies and popcorn?”

“Bring ice cream and you’ve got yourself a deal.”

“Okay, I’ll be round about seven.”

“Perfect. Catch you later.”

With the motor still running, I ended the call to Stacey and hit the speed dial for Kian’s number.

“Hey,” he said. “How did it go?”

“Really well, thanks. Nothing she asked wasn’t expected, and when I told her about Ella she said being pregnant wouldn’t affect my chances of being hired.”

“That’s great. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks. What have you been up to?”

“Not much, just going through some paperwork and stuff. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about. Are you busy tonight?”

“Stacey was going to come round for a girl’s night, but if you need me I can rearrange?”

“No, it’s nothing that can’t wait. I’ve got to speak to my parents and Ollie about it first anyway.”

“This sounds serious.”

“It is, but I don’t want you worrying. It’s all good.”

“All right. You know where I am if need me.”

“Same goes. Call me when you hear about the job, and have fun with Stacey.”

“Oh I will! See ya.”

I hung up the phone, threw it on the passenger seat, then I put car in reverse, hit the gas and pulled out of the car park.

As I drove home, I wondered what Kian wanted to talk to me about. Despite his insistence it was nothing to worry about, the fact he needed to speak to me, his parents and his therapist told me it was something serious. I knew he was okay, though. He’d seemed so happy when he’d come round and helped me job hunt, and on the phone nothing in his tone indicated his mood had changed since then. I just had to trust him that everything was okay, and he’d tell me soon.

Once home, I hung up my dress, then had a little nap, before tidying up and getting some dinner on for me and Stacey. I put some garlic bread in the oven to go with the bolognese I was making (aka I’d browned some mincemeat, then thrown in a jar of pasta sauce.)

While it was cooking, I went to check my emails, in case any of the other jobs I’d applied for had gotten back to me. At the top of my inbox was one from the Prescott Arms. Them not calling couldn’t be a good sign. I opened the email, and was instantly proven right.

Dear Miss Green,

Thank you for your recent interview for the position of receptionist at the Prescott Arms Hotel.

We regret to inform you that at this time, your application has been unsuccessful. We had other applicants apply with more relevant experience, and have offered one of those the position.

We will keep your CV on record for the next six months, and should another position arise, you’ll be notified.

Best wishes with your future endeavours.

Hillary Davis.

Tears prickled behind my eyes. I knew I shouldn’t have told her about the baby.

Even though the email said they’d hired someone with more experience, the very fact I’d gotten a generic response, and not even a phone call, told me the real reason.

I grabbed my phone and texted Stacey, telling her to buy some chocolate syrup to go with the ice cream. I was going to need it.