Bear With Me by Jessica Redland

Author:Jessica Redland [Redland, Jessica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little Bear Books
Published: 2017-04-24T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

Jemma

‘I had a feeling this would happen.’ Owen sighed then slowly re-folded the letter and returned it to the envelope as we sat at his desk with mugs of tea on Monday morning.

‘Sorry. You know how much I love this place and working for you, but I can’t see that I have a choice. Mum needs me, even if she doesn’t want to admit it. Sean needs me and he has admitted it. He’s scared and confused which is hardly surprising. I’m 28 and I’m finding it hard. The poor kid’s only ten.’

‘It won’t be the same around here without you.’ Owen gently placed his hand over mine.

‘I’m scared,’ I admitted, blinking back the tears. I was determined not to cry yet again. I felt like that’s all I’d done lately. ‘What if I’m not strong enough for them both?’

Owen patted my hand. ‘You are. I know you are. You need to believe in yourself more. Do you want to leave immediately?’

‘No.’ I shook my head vigorously. ‘That’s not fair on you and it’s not necessary either. I’ve got my stuff to pack and things to sort out. Plus, it’s half term and I’m certainly not going to leave you short this week. My contract says four weeks’ notice but I’m owed some holiday. If there’s any chance I could do two weeks’ notice, or even three, I’d be so grateful.’

He picked up a desk calendar and flicked between October and November, making funny shapes with his mouth. ‘What about working until the 29th?’

‘Of November? But that’s longer than four weeks.’

Owen laughed. ‘Of October, of course.’

‘But that’s the end of this week.’

He nodded. ‘That’s correct.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Jemma Browne, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to the Past Lives Museum, and I’m devastated to be letting you go, but members of staff – even ones as amazing as you – can be replaced. Family can’t be. Your family need you and you should be with them. Selfishly I also need you for half term so I’d appreciate you doing this week but I’m only asking because you said you have things to do. If you’d needed to leave immediately, we’d have managed. How does finishing on Friday sound?’

‘You’re sure? Thank you, Owen. I’ll stay late all week to finish off anything you need me to.’

‘You’ll do no such thing. This letting you off with only one week’s notice comes with conditions. One: You’ll work your normal hours and get your stuff packed and your life in order on the evenings. Two: You’ll stay in touch. Three: You’ll invite me to Whitsborough Bay to check out Bear With Me. I’ve heard loads about the place and I need to see it for myself. Four: You come to visit us if you’re ever in London. Do we have a deal?’

‘Yes, Boss. We have a deal.’

‘Actually, I have one more condition. As you know, here at Past Lives Museum we pride ourselves on only displaying exquisitely made bears by extremely talented craftspeople from the past.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.