Page 41 of Skipping Stones

When Linney saw them in July, she was shocked. Derek had been texting her, of course, but she didn’t expect to see Olivia still throwing up every day. She had none of that pregnancy glow and her face was gaunt and grey, despite being very pregnant. She looked like a stick figure that had eaten a melon.

“Derek, you have to get her to take it easy,” Linney admonished him when she joined him and Leo for their Saturday St. Lawrence Market visit. “She works too hard at the best of times, but she’s pregnant and you have Leo. She’s driving herself into the ground.”

Leo reached for a rice cake, and Derek handed one to him. “I know, and I can’t get her to stop. She’ll be in the office this afternoon, trying to catch up.”

“Does her firm not understand this is serious?” Leo reached his arms up and Linney gently pulled him from the stroller and sat him on her lap. She sighed as he snuggled into her. She was in baby heaven.

“I’m beginning to think I may have to talk to her boss myself. But she’d kill me.” Derek picked up the hat Leo had thrown on the ground and popped it back on his son’s head.

“Sometimes you have to do hard things to protect the people you love.” She kissed Leo’s chubby baby cheek. “Do you want some juice?” she asked him when he reached out for his sippy cup.

“Are you sure you don’t want kids,” Derek said.

Linney shook her head. “My job is too unpredictable. And besides, soon you’ll have another little one for me to spoil when I come home.” Linney was completely satisfied with her decision.

At least about kids. The move to BTN was another thing. She liked her job, and Jerusalem was an amazing city. But it wasn’t TCN, and she missed working with the team there. She was stopping in London for a week on her way home, but she’d heard that Gemma was retiring. A return option might not even be open to her any more. Still, she hoped to have a few quiet meetings while she was there. Linney had some soul-searching to do as her first six months with the British network drew to a close.

17

It was MJ who told her. “I waited until you were here in person,” she said. “I didn’t want to tell you on the phone or in a text.” Linney had been out of touch with the changes in London and didn’t know that when Gemma retired, the TCN executives had promoted Mac. “There was a lot of chatter and raised eyebrows in the newsroom and around the city, but he’s settled back in. I’m almost ready to forgive him for what he put you through,” she admitted. “But not quite!”

“You don’t have to hold a grudge for me. I’m past that,” she assured MJ.

It was true. Linney was pleased for Mac, and she texted him a quick congratulations. She was surprised when he returned it the next morning.

Can I interest you in a cup of coffee? I have an interesting proposal for you.

I’m only in town for the week.

Better make it quick then. Day after tomorrow? At that little café near you. You know the one, right?

I do. See you then.

She was intrigued, but also realistic. The chances of returning to TCN were slim. It was probably time to double down on making her current job work.

Linney caught the tube to the studio the next morning to meet with Rob for a quasi-performance review.

“Splendid work you’re sending back,” he began. “I’d like to see you commit to two years. What do you say?”

Linney hesitated. “I’m flattered. It’s a great team out there, and I’ve loved the travel. But I have a few concerns.”

Rob listened and scribbled some notes. “Let me take this up with the suits. Can I come back to you this afternoon?”

Linney nodded. She was more than pleased. She spent the rest of the morning catching up on training and meeting with younger reporters who wanted to know about her journey. True to his word, Rob came back just before the end of the day with a proposal.

“Give us three months with these changes,” he countered. “And if we can’t make it work for you by then, we’ll bring you back and look for another bureau. BTN wants you out there, Linney. But we also want you happy.”

“That’s very generous. Let me think about it and I’ll give you an answer soon.” They shook hands, and in Rob’s mind, the deal was done.

* * *

Mac was waiting for her the next morning with two cups of coffee in front of him, at a table in the familiar café. “Still like a flat white?” he asked.

“Especially in the morning,” she said, sitting across from him as he slid a cup over to her. He hadn’t tried to welcome her with a hug or a kiss, and for that she was grateful. Mac looked older, and his greying hair had started to recede. “Well, this is awkward, isn’t it?” Linney took a sip of coffee to cover her nervousness.

“That would be my fault.”

Linney almost spat out the coffee, she was so surprised by Mac’s forthrightness. During their relationship, he hadn’t taken the blame for anything.