Close to you

The offer & Mama and T day

''Good morning Beth.''

Beth looks up from the baby monitor connected to her phone as she hears Sarina’s croaky voice and smiles. ''Good morning Sarina.'' She greets with a kind grin, she nods her head as Sarina mentions her hand to the free chair beside her and smiles sheepishly as she notices her glance at her phone showing Viv and Theo still fast asleep. ''I woke up early but didn’t want to wake them up for breakfast, I decided to leave them but will run up as soon as T wakes up so Viv can sleep in.''

''Viv and sleeping in.'' Sarina laughs. ''I will retire if that ever happens.'' She takes a sip of her coffee and smiles contently. ''That was quite a game wasn’t it? Viv was incredible.''

Beth smiles brightly and nods her head in agreement. ''She was. I’m so proud of her, of all of them. The whole team played their hearts out.''

''They did. It’s moments like these that make all the hard work worthwhile.'' Sarina pauses her expression slowly turning more serious and locks eyes with Beth. ''I know I asked you to talk yesterday but after the ceremony and the party I was glad to finally dive into my bed.''

''Oh I can understand that.'' Beth muses. ''But what do you want to talk about?''

''Don’t tell Vivianne yet because Arjan wants to do it before everyone flies back home, but yesterday’s win was his last match with the Lionesses and the semi-final match against Chelsea next week will be his last for Arsenal.'' Sarina starts. ''He received an offer to coach a senior team and I am very happy for him, of course, but I will be needing a new assistant.'' She continues as she notices Beth just listening to her. ''And you immediately came to mind, confirming it even more after your idea who to bring off for Viv yesterday.''

''Me?'' Beth asks in surprise. ''Sarina, I don’t have any qualifications.''

''That’s not a problem.'' Sarina reassures quickly. ''I know you have a brilliant football mind. You understand the game, you're organized, and you have a great way with people. Those things can’t be taught. The licenses, the formal training we can work through all of that. I'm prepared to support you fully in getting your badges."

''I don’t know what to say.'' Beth admits feeling a little overwhelmed. ''It’s a huge compliment, but…''

''But Theo?'' Sarina finishes gently. ''That's what I wanted to address. I know how important it is for you to be there for him. This wouldn't be like the usual assistant coach role, with constant travel and being away for weeks on end. I value work-life balance. We can make this work for you, for your family.''

''We can structure your work so that you’re based home more.'' She continues voice soft and gentle. ''You can attend training sessions, of course, but we can use technology for a lot of the planning and analysis. You can be heavily involved, without sacrificing your time with Theo. And Vivianne will be around too.''

Beth bites her lip and sighs. ''That’s very generous, Sarina. Incredibly generous but I know that you will need an assistant with you during important matches and I am assuming this role is not only for Arsenal.''

''It isn’t no but I can always hire more assistants but you will be my main one.'' Sarina tells her. ''But it’s more than generosity, Beth.'' She continues. ''I trust you. And I think you’d be amazing at this. You have an incredible eye for detail and you know what the team needs to end the match positively for us.''

''Can I have some time to think about this and talk it over with my family, Viv and T?''

"Of course," Sarina says, smiling warmly. "There's no rush. But I truly believe you'd be a valuable asset to my teams. And I think, in time, you'd make a great coach in your own right."