Chapter 50
Tilly spots Liz Cohen at the back of the restaurant, seated at a table next to a log fire and beneath a ceiling that is entirely covered with baubles in delicate pastel shades.
She is tapping heatedly on her phone and is dressed in a crisp green trouser suit that makes Tilly tug nervously on her corduroy pinafore dress.
Was a shirt covered in a print of books too much?
Well, it’s too late to do anything about it because Liz looks up, smiling broadly and lifting a hand in greeting.
Tilly waves back, her stomach a knot of nerves and excitement.
‘It’s great to see you,’ Liz says, doing the obligatory air kisses and gesturing for Tilly to sit opposite her.
‘Wow, I feel like I just walked into a Christmas film,’ Tilly says, taking in the array of baubles, ivy and softly glowing lights.
‘It’s a great time of year to be visiting,’ Liz says, glancing quickly at her phone.
Tilly follows her eye, spotting a flashing mail app icon with 127 unread emails. ‘I’ve always loved London at Christmas – everything looks so pretty and inviting.’
‘Although New York at Christmas is pretty great too,’ Liz says with a lift of her eyebrow. She begins counting things on her manicured fingers, ‘The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, the Dyker Heights Christmas lights in Brooklyn, Central Park in the snow …’
Tilly laughs. ‘My husband took me skating one Christmas at the ice rink beneath the Rockefeller Center. It was exactly as magical as I’d imagined it would be from watching all the films. Even if I did fall over a lot.’
Liz chuckles. The waiter takes their orders and then Liz settles her hands on the table in front of her.
‘Let’s get to it, then. I wanted to speak to you, Tilly, because I’m expanding my team. The role is within the commercial fiction team, dealing with our bestselling brand authors, as well as new but high-profile authors. We recently published the debut novel of actor and director Ben Arnold –’
‘I saw that, it’s been everywhere.’
Liz nods. ‘It’s done well for us.’ Which Tilly knows is an understatement.
The book was in both the New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller lists for weeks and whenever she listened to the radio or opened a magazine, it was to find Ben Arnold talking about The Untraceables.
She read the book; it wasn’t bad at all, although she wondered whether it would have received the same hype if it hadn’t been written by an Oscar-winning film star.
‘We’re looking to grow that side of the business,’ continues Liz. ‘With your experience working with high-profile authors, we think you could have the steeliness we’re after.’
‘Well, I have certainly worked with some challenging celebrities, so I think I could handle whatever your fiction authors have to throw at me.’
‘I can see that. I have to say, I was impressed with you when we spoke before. But you seem even … more comfortable in your own skin now. There’s a confidence to you that wasn’t there before.
We really value that at Alphabet. You’d be working on novels right from the beginning – and for our high-profile authors this can mean being heavily involved in brainstorming and story planning – all the way through to publication and publicity.
It’s a busy team but you’d be working with the best of the best.’
Like so many times in the last year, Tilly wishes she could tell Joe.
That Alphabet in New York want her. She knows exactly how excited and proud he would be, though, and that brings her a sense of comfort.
She pictures him sat at the bar across from them, watching and smiling, a drink raised in congratulations.
‘Wow. I don’t really know what to say.’
‘I really think you’d like life in New York and at Alphabet,’ says Liz. ‘We can help with finding accommodation, and things like that. But I know it would require a big change for you, so how about you take a few weeks to think about it? Let me know your decision by Christmas, OK?’
‘OK, thank you. But it does sound like an amazing opportunity. I’m really flattered you thought of me.’
‘I think this could be an exciting next chapter – for both of us. Now, how about a toast to … the future?’
They both raise their glasses. Tilly thinks back to Joe’s latest letter where he asked her to think about what her future might look like.
She pictures herself walking through the door of Alphabet Books in Midtown New York, a coffee in one hand (because in New York she will like coffee), her phone in the other, the buzz of activity and bookish conversation around her, the street thronging with taxis and traffic outside.
It’s not something she could have imagined at the start of the year. But it’s a pretty good picture.
‘To the future.’
Tilly clinks her glass against Liz’s, trying to keep her hand steady, her heart pounding beneath her shirt covered in books.
When Tilly arrives home it’s to an email from Rachel.
From: rachelhardingwrites@
To: tillynightingalereads@
Subject: Fingers crossed
Hi Tilly,
Hope the interview went well. So excited for you!
As promised, here is the first draft of my novel. Eek!! Please know there is no pressure at all to read it (or if you do, to like it!). I just really appreciate the offer, and I really appreciate you. I’m so glad we’re back in touch. See you soon.
Rachel xx
Tilly opens the document, pulling a blanket around her shoulders and sinking into the sofa cushions. She only intends to read the first few pages, but by the end of the second chapter she is hooked. By the third she has grabbed a notebook and pen and is scribbling away.
As she works, she feels the warmth of something growing in her chest. Something Elizabeth Gilbert might even call ‘big magic’.