“We’ll come to Oxford with you.” Gabriel smiled. “Rebecca and I can take care of Clare.”
“Thank you.” Julia brushed her lips against his. “By April, Clare should be sleeping through the night. I hope.”
“Cecilia will see your name on the recipient list, but you should email her. And send an email to the chair of your department.”
“What about my maternity leave? I contacted Greg Matthews and Cecilia yesterday, telling them I wasn’t coming back this year. Won’t they be upset I’m missing classes next semester, but going to the workshop?”
Gabriel snorted. “I’m sure Cecilia supported your invitation. Greg Matthews will send out an announcement to your department, bragging about you.”
“I hope so.” Julia pushed her shoulder-length hair behind her ears.
Gabriel took her hand. At six feet, two inches, he was much taller than she. His large hand toyed with her wedding rings. “I’ve been worried about the aftermath of Toronto and how it would affect our careers.”
“Sweetheart,” Julia whispered. “I didn’t know you were still worrying.”
“You had enough on your mind. But Wodehouse’s invitation shows you are already making a name for yourself, even as a graduate student.” Gabriel’s blue eyes glittered. “That’s my girl.”
Julia beamed. “Thank you.”
Gabriel twirled her in a circle and dipped her, her laughter ringing out. “I had an interesting email this week, as well.”
“What?”
Gabriel retrieved his cell phone from his nightstand. “You may want to sit down.”
“Why?” Julia sounded alarmed. “What happened?”
Wordlessly, Gabriel scrolled through his email and handed the phone to Julia.
She read the screen.
And then she brought the phone closer to her eyes and read it again. And again.
“Holy shit.” She lifted her head, her mouth hanging open. “Is this—is this what I think it is?”
Chapter Fourteen
Gabriel took the phone from Julia and quickly put on his glasses. He read aloud,
“The University Court of the University of Edinburgh is pleased to invite you to deliver the annual Sage Lectures in Literature in 2013. The Sage Lectures were founded in 1836 at the bequest of Lord Alfred Sage. The Lectures take place annually, usually in the second term.
It is customary for the Sage Lecturer to arrive on campus in the first term of the academic year and then remain in residence while delivering the Lectures in the second term. We invite you to be our Sage Lecturer in residence during the 2013–2014 academic year.”
He scrolled down. “Compensation, accommodation, airfare, publication, media, et cetera.”
Julia sat on the edge of the bed, stunned.
Gabriel peered over the rim of his glasses. “Darling?”
“The Sage Lectures,” she whispered. “I can’t believe it.”
“I can barely believe it myself. I must be one of the youngest lecturers they’ve ever invited.”
“When did they email you?”
“The day we left the hospital.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Gabriel frowned. “You were upset that day. I was going to tell you the following morning, but then we were at the hospital.”
“You could have told me last night.” Her tone was reproving.
“I was waiting for the right moment. I haven’t answered them. I haven’t spoken to my chair or to anyone from Boston University. I wanted to discuss it with you first.”
Julia closed her eyes and touched her forehead. “I don’t see how this is going to work.”
Gabriel froze. “Why not?”
“Because I’m in coursework next year. Clare and I will be here in Cambridge, but you will be in Edinburgh.”
“You can take a leave of absence and come with me.”
Julia’s eyes flew open. She stared at him in shock.
Gabriel scratched at his chin.
Julia stood. “I didn’t want to take a maternity leave in the first place. I can’t take another leave of absence, especially if I attend the workshop at Oxford this coming April; I’ll never finish my program.”
“Your advisor is the one who suggested the maternity leave.” Gabriel adjusted his glasses.
“I don’t think she envisioned me taking almost two years off.”
Gabriel studied his wife. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I can’t just say no. It would be like turning down the Nobel Prize.”
“I know the significance of the Sage Lectures.” Julia’s tone grew steely. “It’s an incredible honor. But I can’t just say no to Harvard again, not after how hard I’ve worked.”
He held up his hands. “I’m not going without you and Clare.”
“Then you’re declining the invitation?”
“Of course not.” He sounded impatient.
“Then what are you going to do?” Julia’s hands went to her hips.
“There has to be a way for me to accept the invitation and for you to come with me.” He passed a hand over his mouth. “I thought you’d be happy for me.”
“I am.” She heaved a great sigh and her hands fell away from her hips. “But I don’t want to be a single parent for that long, Gabriel. I can’t do this alone.”
Gabriel removed his glasses. He looked very, very determined.
But instead of arguing with her, he did something most unexpected. “The email I received instructed me to keep the invitation confidential. I’m not going to do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because we need some advice. Katherine was the Sage Lecturer once, twenty years ago. I’m going to call her.” Gabriel pulled his wife into his arms and hugged her. “We’ll find a way.”
Julia returned her husband’s embrace, wishing she shared her husband’s optimism. But she didn’t.
Chapter Fifteen
Later that morning
Assistant Professor Paul V. Norris sat in his office at Saint Michael’s College in Vermont, staring at his computer screen.
He was already a few weeks into his first academic job. And he was working hard—preparing lessons, attending new faculty orientation meetings, and trying to figure out where the land mines were located in the Department of English and how he could avoid them. But the email he had just received made everything else seem irrelevant.