Page 18 of Lost in Love
Chapter 5
Anna hesitated at the counter. It was something she’d never done before; she’d always had the same drink since she arrived in the village. Now she was wracked with indecision.
Katherine’s voice was in the back of her mind telling her to get a mint tea, her own screaming forth for coffee. She’d had a coffee that morning when she got up, so perhaps it was now time for mint tea.Coffee! Even if it’s decaf, get coffee. She closed her eyes to calm her conflicting thoughts. Katherine’s smiling face appeared, causing a rush of warmth to wash through her.
“Coffee, darling?”
Gloria’s voice shocked her back to reality.
“No, mint tea, please,” Anna requested quickly. There were audible sighs in the back of her head.
Gloria chuckled and put her hands on her hips. “I’ll be damned. Under the doctor’s spell already, are we? That was quicker than I’d given her credit for.”
Anna smirked. “I don’t know what you mean, Gloria.”
Gloria continued chuckling to herself as she poured hot water over a teabag.
Anna stepped out onto the high street with a tingle in her stomach, unsure if it was the thoughts of Katherine’s smile or the three-month review she had with Carrie in fifteen minutes.
She was pretty sure there weren’t any problems with her work; she’d bent over backwards to make a good impression, and everyone seemed to like her. She had given a guided tour to a group of the abbey trustees the previous week, and they all shook her hand and thanked her for a stimulating tour.
It had been a few days since Katherine had visited her at the abbey, and although Anna had been initially surprised, she was glad she had come. Their previous meetings at the surgery had not ended well, and it was good to have cleared the air. Anna had tried to push thoughts of Katherine to the back of her mind when she found out she preferred “the lady folk”, as Gloria so aptly put it. She had been entirely unsuccessful in this endeavour; every spare moment was filled with pondering where Katherine was and what she was doing.
When she materialised like a gorgeous apparition through the ruins, backlit by the sun, Anna thought she was imagining things. More so when Katherine declared she had been thinking about her all week — well, about her predicament anyway, which was basically the same thing.
Although she had broken down in front of her after a tiring day, Katherine had been nothing but supportive, and Anna had realised she may have been wrong about her. Her manner could be a little pushy, but it came from a place of kindness, and she felt her calming voice alone could cure anything. She’d nearly melted when Katherine put her arm around her and pulled her into her. She could have happily remained pressed against her soft and squidgy body, but didn’t want to embarrass herself by leaving tears on her top.
Anna waited outside the meeting room in the abbey’s visitor centre. It was a small centre but packed a punch with its cafe, which in her mind served terrible coffee, an open-plan ticket office, two administrative offices, a meeting room, and a staffroom. It had won an architectural design award within a month of opening, much to the delight of the trustees who must have invested greatly in its construction.
Carrie popped her head around the door beside Anna. “We’re ready for you.”
We?She hadn’t been expecting anyone other than Carrie for her review. This was a bad sign, she was sure. If they were going to sack you, there was usually someone from human resources in attendance.
Anna followed Carrie into the meeting room. A woman sat at the end of a long table. Anna recognised her as one of the trustees from the tour and let out a sigh of relief at the appearance of a potential fan. A trustee wouldn’t get their hands dirty with a firing.
She stood to greet Anna.
“I’m Margaret, one of the trustees,” she said, shaking her hand and gesturing to the seat to her left.
Carrie took the seat opposite her and gave Anna a reassuring smile. “Well, Anna, the trustees have been hearing great things about you.”
“Good,” Anna replied nervously, unsure what else to add.
“I just wanted a little chat with you,” Margaret said. “Carrie will then go through the formalities with you of your review. All right?”
Anna nodded.
“As you know, Nunswick Abbey has been open for six months and has already been a big hit beyond the local area. The trustees have been taking stock over the last week to see what we need to do to improve things, make things more efficient, and increase our offering if you will.” Margaret danced a little in her seat as she spoke. “Now, as I’m sure you know, your tours are very popular. Who knew tours could be so engaging, but somehow you managed it.”
Anna braced for the “but” she was sure was about to come.
“But we need more of them, and we need more of you, Anna.”
Anna felt a strange mix of delight and defeat. She knew her tours were good, but there was no more of her to go around.
“I can’t work any more hours,” Anna said, keen to confirm her position on the matter.
Margaret lifted both hands up from the table.
