‘Well, she didn’t say much more. But it would be a full-time role with all the benefits. I'd be overseeing operations at all the pharmacies. Making sure they're all running smoothly, delivery logistics, and dealing with any issues that come up, I guess. What I do now but a lot bigger.’
‘Sounds like a natural progression from what you're already doing, just on a larger scale. Bye bye chatbot.’ Logan waved his hand back and forth.
‘I suppose. Then there's the online business, too. Since the pandemic, that has gone nuts.’
‘Lots of opportunity then.’
Cally bit her lip. ‘I don't know the first thing about running anything, Logan.’
‘You're one of the most capable people I know. You've been practically running that chemist's back end for years. And as for the online stuff, I've seen you navigate that chatbot software like a pro.’
‘Posting the odd thing on a retail chatbot is a far cry from running a whole online distribution solution for a company,’ Cally protested.
‘You’ll be fine. How hard can it be?’
‘Anyway, I don’t know the full details yet, but yeah, that’s my news for the day.’
‘I reckon it’s fate. You’d be great at it. If anything, it cements your place here even more.’
‘I guess so, yeah.’
‘You get to put all those brilliant ideas of yours for the chemist into action.’
‘True. It's funny when I first moved to Lovely Bay, I never imagined I'd put down roots like this. I thought it was just a stopping point, somewhere to catch my breath before moving on.’
‘And now?’
‘Now I can't imagine being anywhere else. This place, these people, you. They're a part of me now. Almost as if Lovely has become like family. Weird, really, when you think about it.’
‘Yep. Agree. So, is Birdie going to give you more details or what?’
‘She’s going to send me stuff.’
‘Oh, right. Wait and see and decide then.’
Cally took a deep breath. ‘Yeah. It feels like maybe it’s the next step in my Lovely Bay story.’
‘I reckon it is.’
4
Afew days later, with a leather-handled market basket hooked over her shoulder, a rolled-up blue and white striped towel under her arm and one of Logan’s hoodies over her swimming costume, Cally had just disembarked the riverboat after a long discussion with Clive. They had chatted away about this and that and Clive’s loose plans to possibly go away to warmer climes for Christmas. Cally hadn’t been sure what to think about that. Christmas dinner around a swimming pool, the weather hot and the smell of sunscreen in the air had never been part of her trajectory. Hmm. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. Or not. Cally wrinkled her nose as she walked in the direction of the beach and thought about it. She’d stick with hot mince pies, the notion of snow in the sky, and a Christmas movie after a way too big lunch.
Earlier in the day, Cally had been up early for a chatbot shift, Logan had gone off to work, and that afternoon, she was meeting Birdie in the deli for the discussion about the promotion. As she strolled along, she listed the pros and cons of the job in her head, went around in circles a bit and came to not much of a conclusion at all. Walking along the promenade, taking in the view of the sea and the sound of the waves, she decidedthat she’d have the chat with Birdie, look over the documents and make a decision then. To be quite honest, she was leaning heavily in the direction of taking the promotion and being done with it.
The part of her that felt as if taking the job was the easy route and that she should do something more exciting with her life was drowned out by the stability. Better the devil you know and all that. Did she really need excitement? Was a career path something she wanted? The more she thought about it, the more she didn’t think it was. Who needed power suits and heels when she could have a nice, cosy little life in the third smallest town in the country without any worries? Who needed the aggro of offices, glass ceilings, profit and loss, and having to perform week in, week out? Not that she wouldn’t need to perform working for Birdie but somehow it felt different; comfy, uncomplicated, and moreover, she knew precisely what she was doing. There was a lot to be said for that.
As she made her way down the steps to the beach alongside a breaker, she deliberated for a few moments on a good spot, laid out her towel and bag, and then sat with her back against the breaker and let the sun warm her face. Tucked up out of the wind, it wasn’t long before the hoodie came off and her sunglasses went on. She watched a grandma with a little girl in a pink frilly swimming costume and matching sun hat potter along on the shore. They pootled by picking up shells and popping them in a red bucket. Just along from her, a dad with a couple of teenagers fussed with camping chairs and fishing rods. Cally exhaled and thanked her lucky stars for the nice day and living in Lovely Bay. The third smallest town in the country was on form, and she was milking it to the hilt.
After a little lunch for one and a carton of blackcurrant, she spent a long time just watching the sea and small soft waves crashing over and over again onto the beach. As the wavestumbled, her mind released, and she felt thoughts about the job drift away. With the sun-toasted timber from the breaker warming her back, she thought about going in the water and whether or not it would be too cold. In the end, deciding that it wasn’t every day of the week, she was able to sit on the beach contemplating a dip in the sea, she got up, stripped off, and headed to the shore. As she tiptoed across the pebbles onto the sandy slope to the sea and walked by the water, she let waves tip over her ankles and wriggled sand in and out of her toes.
Wincing as the chilly water lapped at her calves, she grimaced at going for a swim. She'd known it would be cold; this was not the Mediterranean, but the reality made her catch her breath and shudder. Taking a deep breath, she waded in further, the sand under her feet giving way to stones and pebbles here and there. As the water reached her thighs, she steeled herself, plunged forward, kept her chin high and head out of the water, and submerged herself fully. Going for gold, she gasped as the shock of the cold water swallowed her. Flapping around a bit, she tried to think about minerals, vitamins, and good things in the water and pretended she wasn’t cold. Somehow, despite the temperature, the sea against her skin, the salt on her lips, and the motion of the waves felt just right as she pondered further the job with Birdie.
After a few minutes of treading water and getting used to the temperature of the water, Cally turned away from the horizon and gazed up at the clear blue sky and the lighthouse, standing tall and proud. Lines of little white houses snaked away into the distance and she could just make out the harbour and boats to her far right. The whole scene was so quintessentially Lovely that it made her eyes prick at the place she now called home.
Attempting to swim for a few minutes, she then just stood for a while watching a couple of children jumping off the breakers, and then, too cold to stay in, she waded out of the sea, shivered,and started an odd fast-walking-not-quite-jog in the direction of her stuff. With water streaming off her body, a breeze coming in off the sea raised goosebumps on her skin, and she hurried back in the direction of her towel and bag. Once the towel was wrapped around her shoulders, she waited for a minute and then rubbed vigorously to warm up, settled back against the breaker, reached for her bag, and pulled out her phone to see a message from Logan.
Logan:Hey. Just having a tea with Mum. She told me to remind you that you need a cocktail dress for Scotland.
