“Just in case they might be useful. There’s fine print on the back about holding onto them,” her aunt said.

“I put them in the trash,” Uncle Freddy said.

“So, what has Grandfather said about all this?” Andrea asked.

“I haven’t talked to him yet. We have a meeting set for Tuesday morning.” Grandfather had been out of town for the past week on a cruise with some friends.

“What will you do if he says no?” her mother asked.

Aunt Vivian smiled. “We’ll cross that bridge when we have to.”

Andrea was surprised by a phone call the next afternoon from Elaine, the headhunter.

“Great news! They want to offer you the job!”

The news wasn’t all that unexpected, but the timing was. “Already? I didn’t expect to hear until the end of the week.”

“They all loved you. It was close with the other candidate, but they met with her yesterday afternoon, then took a vote and you won.” She mentioned a very generous figure, more than Andrea had anticipated. She was shocked into silence.

“So, shall I tell them you accept? When would you like to start? That’s another reason they didn’t wait until the end of the week. They want you there ASAP.”

“Well, this is exciting news. But I need to think about it. When do they need an answer?”

“I could probably stall them a day or two, tops. They don’t want to lose the other candidate if you’re not in. You are taking it, though, right? This is an incredible opportunity, and they came in higher than we expected on the money.”

“I know. It’s a very generous offer. I just need to sleep on it and let it digest.”

“Okay. Let me know as soon as possible. And congratulations.”

“Thanks, Elaine.”

Andrea ended the call and took a deep breath. Now that she actually had the offer, she didn’t know what she wanted to do. She really did need to sleep on it. Especially after the conversation with her family the night before.

And she was due at Marco’s house in an hour. She finished up at five, went home to freshen up and headed off to Marco’s. She stopped at Bradford’s Liquors on the way to pick up a six pack of the local Cisco Brewers’ beer that Marco liked and her favorite wine, Bread and Butter chardonnay.

Marco was outside on the deck, firing up the grill, when she pulled into his driveway. His car was the only other one there. She parked and carried the beer and wine over to him.

“Hey, there,” he said when he saw her. “The door is open if you want to set that in the kitchen.” He grinned. “If you feel like pouring us a drink, even better.”

“Will do. Where are your brother and sister tonight? Are they working?”