‘I thought she’d be savage.’ He shook his head. ‘She seemed fine.’
Jasmine looked out of the window to the bay. Penny had been right. Working in the same department was way too complicated. She could hardly tell Jed the real reason Penny was so delighted and she definitely didn’t want to tell him that Penny had actually turned down the job.
They chatted about this and that but she could feel his tension and she was so irritated that they had told the applicants today of all days. Couldn’t they just have enjoyed tonight?
‘We can’t stay out too long.’ Jasmine glanced at her watch—half an hour really, if she was going to be back by midnight, though maybe she could stretch it till half past. It was hardly his fault. He just wanted to go out somewhere nice and wasn’t used to factoring in a one-year-old and his babysitter.
‘What are we doing here?’ she asked as they pulled up at a very nice hotel.
‘I told you I wanted to take you somewhere nice.’
‘Just a drink at the bar, then.’ She hoped he hadn’t booked for dinner. He popped the boot and as Jasmine stepped out of the car, she frowned as he gave his name to park it and frowned even more at the sight of her rather tatty case being hauled out.
‘Jed?’
‘Ruby packed it,’ Jed said. ‘It’s all sorted.’
‘Oh.’
They went to check in. It was the nicest thing he could have done for her, but she felt terrible because surely he had been planning a celebration, or maybe he hadn’t factored in that he’d know.
It was like holiday where it was raining and everyone was pretending it didn’t matter, all grimly determined to enjoy themselves, and she would … she was. Jasmine was thrilled to have a night away with him, she just knew how hard this must be for him.
‘Wow!’ She stepped into the hotel room and tried not to notice the champagne and two glasses. Instead, she stared out at the view but Jed poured two glasses and it tasted fantastic and, yes, it was fantastic to be together.
‘I am sorry about the job,’ Jasmine said.
‘Shhh,’ he said. ‘Let’s just celebrate.’
‘Cheers!’
‘You don’t know what we’re celebrating,’ Jed said. ‘That we’re here’s good enough for me.’
‘And me,’ Jed said, and then he smiled. ‘“Oh, ye of little faith”.’
She didn’t understand. ‘Sorry?’
He pulled back one of the curtains. ‘Have a look over there. What do you see?’ It was just a busy city. ‘Over there.’ He pointed to a tall building. ‘That’s where I’m going to be working. I got offered a consultant’s position on Thursday, so I withdrew my application.’
‘Oh!’ She could have thumped him. ‘You let me drive all that way thinking you were disappointed!’
‘No,’ Jed said. ‘I knew that you were disappointed—it’s awful for Penny. I really thought when I took the position at Melbourne Central that Penny was a certainty for the job. I think Mr Dean’s really got it wrong. The new guy seems great by all accounts, but it’s going to be tough on your sister.’
‘No, you don’t understand.’ She opened her mouth, but again she couldn’t say anything.
‘What?’
Jasmine shook her head. ‘Leave it.’
‘I can’t.’
‘You can.’
‘I can’t.’
Jasmine was firm. ‘She’s my sister.’
She looked over to where he’d be working. ‘I thought you were happy at Peninsula.’
‘I’ve been incredibly happy,’ Jed said. ‘I applied to a few hospitals when I first thought of moving here and it was a close-run thing. I love big city hospitals but when Mr Dean hinted at a consultancy … Anyway, Central rang me last week and asked if I’d be interested in a more senior position than the one I interviewed for last year, and given the tension at work, given a lot of things, the choice was actually easy.’
‘That’s good,’ Jasmine said, trying to mask the little edge of disappointment in her voice, that just when they were finding each other he was upping sticks, but, still, it was just an hour or so away.
‘I like to keep work and home separate,’ Jed said.
‘I know that.’
‘And I haven’t been doing a very good job of it of late.’
He started to kiss her and then pulled his head back. ‘You’re sulking.’
‘No.’ She looked up at him and she was too scared to admit it, because he meant so much more than she dared reveal. They’d agreed they were going to take things slowly and, yes, they were back on track, but maybe once he got to a big hospital, maybe when things were more difficult, when Simon was sick and he was on call and it all became too hard to have a single mum as a girlfriend who lived a good hour away, maybe then things would go wrong for them.
‘It’s been a hell of a week.’
‘And now it’s over,’ Jed said. ‘Now you can enjoy being spoiled.’ He gave her a smile. ‘Come on, tell me, how come Penny’s looking so pleased if she didn’t get the job.’
Jasmine closed her eyes. ‘Actually, come to think of it, it’s a good job that you’re going to Melbourne Central. I’m not breaking my sister’s confidence.’ She looked at him.
‘Fair enough.’
‘She’s family.’
‘I’m not arguing.’ Jed grinned. ‘I think you want to, though.’
‘I don’t.’
Jasmine didn’t. She didn’t want anything to spoil this night. ‘So …’ She forced her voice to be upbeat. ‘When do you start?’
‘Four weeks,’ Jed said. ‘It’s going to be fantastic—it’s a great hospital.’
‘Good.’
‘It’s everything I want.’
He pulled her into his arms and he was smiling. She would not ruin this night, would not nit-pick, but how come he was so happy to be leaving? How come he had been so tense all night? Though he wasn’t tense now, he was delighted with his good news, thrilled to be moving an hour away, and she swallowed down her tears.
‘I can’t wait to start,’ Jed said. ‘And tomorrow I thought I might go and look for somewhere to live.’
Some bachelor city apartment, Jasmine thought bitterly, but she kept her smile there.
