{"id":445,"date":"2011-05-24T06:00:27","date_gmt":"2011-05-23T19:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=445"},"modified":"2013-09-27T16:24:18","modified_gmt":"2013-09-27T23:24:18","slug":"moving-day-with-a-carpet-picnic-and-salmon-pinwheels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=445","title":{"rendered":"Season 2: Episode 13"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Ana opened her eyes, excitement coursing through her veins. This is how she used to feel on Christmas morning, filled with anticipation for the day ahead. She could hear Tom\u2019s even breathing next to her and nudged him with her knee to wake him up. He rolled over and sleepily wrapped his arms around her, snuggling them both further under the covers.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to wake up,\u201d Ana whispered in his ear, extracting herself from his muscular arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatimeisit?\u201d Tom mumbled, sleepily.<\/p>\n

Ana checked the clock next to the bed. \u201cSix thirty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom groaned and rolled over again, trying to pull his fianc\u00e9 with him. \u201cYou don\u2019t even get the keys until nine. Let\u2019s snooze for a bit longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Ana couldn\u2019t sleep any more. In precisely two and a half hours her very own events and public relations company would begin its first day of business. In reality, she was just moving into the office space, and wasn\u2019t expecting to actually do any work so soon. But, it was very exciting nonetheless. She had enlisted the help of Tom, Mia and Willow (or rather, they had all insisted on helping) to move some furniture into the space and set up.<\/p>\n

Ana had become aware of the office about a year ago when working with some clients who had rented it for a photo shoot. The beautiful loft room \u2013 with its wooden floorboards and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city \u2013 had resonated with her immediately and she had imagined that, one day, she would be able to run her own business from there. It had been a pipe dream at the time, of course, because Ana had been very happy in her job.<\/p>\n

But that was then. Ana shuddered, remembering how horribly things had ended with Marc and how much she\u2019d hurt Tom in the process.<\/p>\n

She\u2019d contacted the building\u2019s agents soon after quitting her job and \u2013 by some small miracle \u2013 they\u2019d told her the space would be up for rent in a couple of months. It couldn\u2019t have worked out more perfectly. It gave Ana some time off to focus on her relationship with Tom and to fully plan how she wanted her business to run. When it came to PR and events management, Ana knew she was the best and she wanted this reflected in every aspect of her new company.<\/p>\n

Ana looked at Tom, who had resumed snoring very gently, and smiled. More than just being a gorgeous office, the new space meant she could finally shut the door on a period of her life she wanted to forget. Today was both a physical and emotional new start and one that she intended to make the most of. Ana gave Tom a light kiss on the cheek, inhaling his scent before springing out of bed and padding downstairs.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\u201cWow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow looked around the office in amazement. Large beams of solid timber cut through the high ceiling space creating geometric shapes in the air, which changed depending on where you were standing. The walls were white and the floor was a beautiful, glossy dark wood that had obviously been well cared for. The large window offered a panoramic view of the Melbourne city skyline; the yellows and reds of autumn accentuated by a clear blue sky. It was up just high enough to see above the closest roofs, but not so high as to feel disconnected from the neighbourhood. Overall, the effect was breathtaking.<\/p>\n

Mia backed into the room carrying half of a large desk. Tom had the other end.<\/p>\n

\u201cWow,\u201d she said, nearly dropping her end.<\/p>\n

Ana laughed. This was the effect she had hoped for. She could just imagine how impressed clients would be when they came to her office for meetings.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

A few hours later, they were all exhausted, but delighted with the outcome. The office looked incredible. As a thank you, Ana offered to take them all out for a well-deserved lunch.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo need,\u201d said Willow, slyly, producing a picnic basket. She opened it and presented Champagne, smoked salmon pinwheels, bread, cheese and dips. She popped the bottle ceremoniously \u2013 the cork travelling in an alarming arc towards the window but thankfully changing trajectory at the last minute \u2013 and poured it into plastic tea cups.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo Ana,\u201d she said, raising her glass.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

They sat quietly, sleepy and full from the Champagne and delicious lunch, admiring their interior decoration skills. The unexpected ringing of the phone on Ana\u2019s desk shattered the silence. Ana leapt up, nearly tripping over her cup.<\/p>\n

She cleared her throat and answered. \u201cGood afternoon\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

A young woman\u2019s voice interrupted her. \u201cOh thank goodness you\u2019re there. I have an emergency. My boss is throwing his anniversary party, but the event person we\u2019ve been using has been admitted to hospital with pneumonia and now I don\u2019t know what to do because\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana cut her off. \u201cThat\u2019s fine. I can help you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman on the other end of the phone took a deep breath. \u201cThank you, thank you, thank you. You have just saved my job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana grabbed a pen and a notebook from her desk. \u201cWhen is the event? How many people? Do you need food, wine, entertainment?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tomorrow, only twenty people, we need food and drink. The entertainment is arranged separately.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTomorrow?\u201d Ana nearly dropped the phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d the woman said, sheepishly. \u201cI told you it was an emergency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana composed herself. She could do this. \u201cAbsolutely no problem at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

She gave her email address and told the caller to send through a list of exactly what she needed while Ana prepared the contract. She could almost hear tears of gratitude in her first client\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow did you hear about me\u2026 I mean, us?\u201d asked Ana, curious. She\u2019d put out a couple of press releases last week, but hadn\u2019t expected anything so soon.<\/p>\n

The woman paused. \u201cI think my boss mentioned your company. Maybe you\u2019ve worked with him before?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps.\u201d Although unlikely,<\/i> thought Ana, seeing as this was her first client!<\/i> It must have been the press releases.<\/p>\n

She hung up the phone and looked at her friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to need your help. Again,\u201d she said to them, a grin spreading across her face.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

The function was going incredibly well. People had complimented Ana on the food (Willow saved the day by doing all the catering), the choice of wine (a call to Johnny had solved that problem), and the professional nature of the bar tenders (thank goodness Tom and Mia had both worked bar to put themselves through university). It was a surprise anniversary party for the client\u2019s wife, and a call from his PA let Ana know that they were en route, ETA ten minutes. Ana made sure that each guest had a full glass of Champagne and made herself scarce. The last thing the client wanted was to see the event manager instead of all their friends. In the whirlwind preparations, and because she\u2019d been dealing exclusively with his PA, Ana realised she hadn\u2019t even discovered the name of the client.<\/p>\n

Not to matter<\/i>, she thought, retreating to the kitchen. I\u2019ll meet him soon enough<\/i>.<\/p>\n

She smiled to herself as she heard the front door open and the guests yell \u201cSurprise!\u201d, imagining her and Tom in 20 years\u2019 time doing the very same thing.<\/p>\n

A sudden pang of hunger made her realise she\u2019d barely eaten anything all day, so she wandered over to the spare platters of food. Willow had made some smoked salmon pinwheels that looked even more delightful than the ones she had made yesterday for the carpet picnic. Ana popped one in her mouth and was amazed that they tasted even better than they looked.<\/p>\n

Savouring the salmon, lemon and dill, she was surprised to feel a rush of wind as the door behind her opened.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello Ana.\u201d A male voice softly caressed her name.<\/p>\n

The familiar intonation sent shivers down her spine. Ana turned around slowly, willing it to be anyone other than who she knew it was.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ana opened her eyes, excitement coursing through her veins. This is how she used to feel on Christmas morning, filled with anticipation for the day ahead. She could hear Tom\u2019s even breathing next to her and nudged him with her knee to wake him up. He rolled over and sleepily wrapped his arms around her, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[198],"tags":[28,35,170],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=445"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1205,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445\/revisions\/1205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}