Page 156
He lowered his voice. “If I want to get promoted here, I think I’ll have to pack acting in. There’s no way I can do both.”
“Oh! So…how do you feel about that?”
“I love the books and chatting to people—and the steady pay packet.” He shrugged. “Acting-wise, I’ve done nothing since that Lairds one-off…I haven’t even been on an audition.”
“Yeah, but being an actor is like that, right? I guess you have to ask yourself if you’d miss it.”
“Well, I’d miss my acting buddies and how fun it is to be someone else, but the rest—the shit money, zero job security, being told I’m too tall, too skinny, too pale—hell no! My heart’s not in it. I think my talents might lie elsewhere…”
“Like the kitchen? Alex texted me saying she visited the market and you had fawning customers. Ben, you’ve got fans!”
“Wouldn’t say ‘fans’…regulars, maybe.”
“Same thing! I’m so proud of you.” She smiled. “To think you were practicing icing with Mom only seven months ago.”
He tugged the red Waterstones lanyard around his neck and looked away. “Yeah…”
He still looks unsure. “Ben, you know, you don’t have to quit acting, not if you still want to do it. I’m sure you can find a balance—”
“No, it’s not the acting that’s bugging me…” Ben closed his eyes and grimaced, opening them again. “I can’t visit you next month.”
He’s not coming. Ben’s not coming to New York. The hunger gnawing her belly twisted into ice-cold nausea. She abandoned the fork in her lasagna.
“The course is that week, and then I have to be in the store over the St. Paddy’s weekend—I’ll even miss the market.”
Her face fell as she swallowed hard. We’ve missed Christmas together, New Year’s, Valentine’s, and now our airport anniversary. Will four months apart grow to six…ten…a year?
“I’m so sorry.” Ben lowered his head. “I saved enough for my flights and everything—”
He’s heartbroken, too. It’s not his fault. She lightly pressed her lips together, glancing at her ‘Catch Me’ ring sparkling on her finger. “Ben, it’s okay. Really.”
He looked up through his hair. “Riley—”
“The trip wasn’t definite anyway, and…you can’t let this opportunity pass. It wouldn’t look good.” She offered a smile.
“After the course, I’ll get a new job title, few more quid, but I can’t have any proper holiday time, not for the first three months. So, I’ll come over in June—for our real anniversary, yeah??”
Four more months, but what choice do I have? She nodded. “Yeah.”
Sixty-Five
Two and a half weeks later
Fresh from a celebratory afternoon wandering around the MoMA with Riley, Maggie beamed as she dug into her small strawberry cheesecake ‘Blizzard’ in the Staten Island Ferry Terminal’s Dairy Queen. “Six months post-transplant and I finally feel like life’s returning to normal.”
“A year ago, things were so different.” Riley chewed a peanut butter cup from her frozen treat.
“Like night and day. My energy and appetite are back, my new job stars next week—I can’t wait to earn a paycheck again.” Maggie placed her hand over her daughter’s. “And that crowdfunding money—it’s taken away so much worry. I couldn’t be more thankful.”
Riley smiled at her phone, Ben’s most recent ‘4 Riles’ playlist addition front and center: “I Melt With You” by Modern English. Well, job done, Benjamin—I actually like eighties music now.
“Want to try Ben?”
“Yeah. He should be home.” Riley tapped his contact info. “I know he wants to congratulate you!” She propped her phone against a napkin dispenser and scooted over to her mom’s side of the booth. The live FaceTime feed opened to Ben in his bedroom.
“Hey! Working girl!” He laughed. “Staten Island’s loss is New Jersey’s gain! Congrats on the new marketing gig, Maggie. That’s brilliant!”
“Thanks! I’m dreading the switch from jeans and sneakers to nylons and heels, but I’m also grateful for the chance to complain about it!”
