The Job Offer - By Eleanor Webb Page 0,10
an inn that drew such loyalty from returning guests.
Anne remembered the bride well. Lily was a sweet kid who came from a wealthy Seattle family, the kind with whom Anne's father would have gone out of his way to cultivate a friendship. The Carlson family came for two weeks every summer since Anne was nine. Being the same age as Anne and Carla, Lily Carlson often hung out with Anne and Carla along with her older brother, a cute boy named Ben. Years later she began to come alone with her parents when Ben finished college. Anne had not seen Lily since the summer before she and Carla moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington.
It was even longer since she saw Ben. The last time she saw him was the summer she turned seventeen and wore braces on her teeth. She remembered that summer well because she developed the biggest crush on Ben who just finished his junior year of college. He came back at other times over the years, she was told, and stayed at the inn either with his family or with friends. But she was not there during those other times. She wondered what he looked like now. He was probably married with children. Anne thought about the number of things she did to draw his attention that last summer, shuttered, and hoped that no one else would remember any of it. How embarrassing would that be?
"Anne, you made it. How was traffic, Sweetheart?" Her mother broke into Anne's reverie by giving her a hug. Anne jumped slightly then returned the hug wholeheartedly. The discussion with William was apparently finished because he had gone back to work preparing the evening specials while his assistants worked at fulfilling the occasional late lunch orders.
"Traffic wasn't too bad once I got away from Seattle. You changed your hair. I like it," Anne commented about her mother's changed look. Her mother, Jane Petrovic, was twenty years older than Anne and had the same light blue eyes and winged eyebrows. From there, their similarities ended. Their chins and mouths were different. Anne's chin was stronger and more square-shaped and her mouth was wider with fuller lips. Anne's mother's hair, in contrast to Anne's dark curly locks, was a dark ash blonde shade styled in an attractive layered cut that framed her face.
Today, Anne's mother was dressed in casual chic plum colored business attire that complimented her petite frame. Anne felt like a frumpy Amazon standing next to her dressed in a pair of white shorts, a mint green tee shirt, and canvas sneakers with no socks. Anne also had scrubbed off her makeup leaving nothing on except for rose colored lip gloss. She decided not to cover her lightly tanned skin with anything but sunscreen now that her makeup was off. Her natural curly hair, which had been pulled up in a twist for the interview, was now pulled out and left loose around her shoulders with soft tendrils falling about her face.
"Yes, I did. I changed it last winter. Are you hungry? Did you eat?" Anne's mother led her out of the kitchen and into the dining room which was almost empty except for a handful of guests and locals. Anne recognized some of the faces that belonged to people who lived in Eastsound and some to returning guests. "You can eat here, or I can have something sent over to the house," she said as she began to fuss a little over Anne.
"Will you be joining me?"
"No, Dear. Jim is over at the airport picking up the bride and groom for this weekend’s wedding. They are flying in today, along with some of the wedding party and the bride’s parents. They intend to stay for the week while they get ready for the wedding. So, I'm holding down the fort until your dad gets back. But, if you are hungry, I'll have Karen whip you up a sandwich and send it over to the house if you do not want to eat here."
"No. That's fine, Mom. I ate on the way up. Actually, I was planning on taking a bike ride to town. I can pick up a bite to eat there if I get hungry."
"All right, Anne. How did your interview go this morning?"
Anne filled her mother in briefly on how it went then left the inn's main building when her mother was called away to help at the front desk. Going out of the front French