Between Here and the Horizon(7)
“Rose, their aunt, will take care of them two days of the week, as well as some evenings, which she can work out with the successful candidate once they have arrived on The Causeway.” He said “The Causeway” like it was difficult for him to form the words in his mouth.
“An island?” He wanted me to leave the mainland? He wanted me to travel to some remote speck of land out in the ocean with him and his children? I couldn’t quite manage to make the information sink in. I’d been devastated by the idea of being a six hour flight away on the other side of the country, but Mom had talked me down. She’d reminded me how easy it would be to jump on a plane in New York and get back to L.A. whenever I wanted, and cheap enough too, if I was earning decent money, but an island? Off the coast of Maine? That was not a simple hop, skip and a jump away. That was far more complicated indeed.
Ronan seemed unsettled as he continued, which didn’t reassure me at all. “I was born on The Causeway,” he explained. “I haven’t been home in some time. If you were selected for the role, you would need to commit to traveling to the island and staying for a full six-month period.”
“I wouldn’t be able to fly back to L.A. on the weekends?”
Ronan shook his head. “Unfortunately that wouldn’t be practical. It would take more than a full day to travel in each direction, and I would like someone on hand in case of an emergency. You’re more than welcome to spend your free time as you want on the island, but I would prefer if you have your cell phone with you at all times, so Rose can reach you should she need to. I’m going to be writing a book, and so I won’t be available for much of the time. Once the six-month contract is at an end, I’m hoping I can arrange for another family member to take care of Connor and Amie in my absence.”
“I see. This…isn’t really what I was expecting. Are the children okay with such a huge change of scenery?”
Ronan’s expression grew cold, turning his perfect features to smooth, flawless marble. “Ever since their mother died this time last year, Connor and Amie are still…” He frowned, lips slightly parted as he seemed to search for the right word. “Adjusting to the loss. A change of scenery is exactly what they need.”
Shit. I’d overstepped. I shouldn’t have suggested he didn’t know what was best for his kids. And the second he’d mentioned his wife’s death, something had altered in him. Ronan was a storm now. A perfectly dangerous storm. I could see the clouds forming over his head, twisting and turning as a darkness seemed to overtake him. “Yes, of course. I’m sorry.” My words were weightless, inconsequential, but they were all I could manage. What I could possibly say to rewind the past few minutes and reset the interview. Nothing fitting came to mind.
“It’s of no consequence,” he said hurriedly. “If you’re offered the job, you will be given a file containing information you should know about Connor and Amie. Their personalities, their issues and their specific needs.”
“I still...I don’t think I can move to a remote island for six months, Mr. Fletcher. I’m sorry. I just can’t.”
“I told you, call me Ronan. And I’m aware a six-month contract such as this is a lot to ask, which is why the pay is so generous. I assume the agency told you what the salary was?”
I shook my head. “Generally that’s discussed once the job’s been awarded.”
“I’m offering a hundred-thousand-dollar payout upon completion of the six-month term. During the six months on the island, you would receive a stipend to cover any costs you might incur through your work with the children, or your own personal requirements. This monthly sum is outside of the final one-hundred-thousand-dollar payment. Perhaps you’d like to think about what your answer will be should you be offered the job, Ophelia.”
A hundred thousand dollars? My salary at St. Augustus’s was only fifty-five thousand, and that was for an entire year. A hundred grand could solve a lot of problems at the restaurant. It could literally turn everything around for Mom and Dad. I just couldn’t envisage it, though. Another state? Another time zone? A tiny little island off the coast, in the middle of nowhere? God, it was all too much to take in.
“I suppose you’re right,” I said. “I’d at least think about it if I were offered the job,” I said. “It’s a very tempting offer.”
Ronan scratched his clean-shaven jaw, giving me a tight smile. “Excellent. Thank you, Ophelia. Then I suppose we shall be in touch soon to let you know one way or another.”
“That’s it?” I’d barely been sitting in the chair for twenty minutes. They told us repeatedly at the agency that a good, successful interview generally lasted anywhere between thirty minutes and an hour. A paltry twenty-minute conversation definitely wasn’t going to impress them when I gave them telephone feedback tomorrow. Damn it. Who knew how many more people he was going to interview, or how many people he’d already seen? There was no way my bumbling explanation of my capabilities, followed by my hostile reaction to his line of questioning had made anything but a bad impression.
“Yes, Ophelia. I’ve heard all I need to hear. Thank you for coming all this way to meet with me.” Ronan got to his feet, his composure well and truly regained now. “Please return your security pass to Davey, the security guard who showed you up here on your way out.”