Looking down, she felt her expression soften. ‘Are you okay, Freddie?’
‘No, I need to wee, Miss Murray. I need to wee right now.’ Freddie hopped from foot to foot.
‘Okay, sweetheart. Off you go to the toilet. You can use Mrs Walters’ classroom.’ As soon as she’d spoken, Freddie ran across the playground towards the school building. She’d cleared it with Annie beforehand that her pupils could use the toilets in her classroom. It meant no children would be in her own classroom alone. Turning her attention back to Mr Higgs, it was her turn to frown. She could have sworn his features had softened a little. She shook her head. Nope, he still looked as though he could breathe fire. She waited for him to enlighten her.
‘I left my cottage on time...’ Staring at her, he stood stock-still as though she should continue.
This was ridiculous. If he wasn’t going to tell her what the matter was, then what was the point in the two of them standing here staring at each other. She had a class to teach, a class that had almost completed the task she’d given them and would be looking to her for praise and instructions, and he had a school to run. Taking a deep breath, she kept her voice low and steady. ‘Look, Mr Higgs, I don’t know what you want from me. I know Alfie kept you up the night before last, and I’ve apologised for that even though you woke me at 5am by hammering on my door, but I don’t have a clue how you being late to school today is down to me.’
‘I’ll give you another hint, shall I?’ Without hesitating, he continued. ‘I walked down my garden path...’
Garden path? Garden path? There was something pulling her at the very corners of her mind. As though his garden path should have some relevance to her, but what? She shook her head.
Without saying another word, he looked pointedly at his shoes, as perfectly polished and shiny as they had been yesterday. And then, without another word, he pivoted and walked away.
‘All okay, Gem?’ Tania walked across to her, a stack of Bingo cards and pencils in her hands. ‘They’ve all finished, so I told them they could have five minutes on the few pieces of play equipment which are still safe to use. I hope that’s okay?’
‘Yes, of course. Thanks.’ Keeping her eyes fixed on Jonathan’s retreating back, she slapped her hand over her mouth as he disappeared through the door inside. ‘I think Mr Higgs was late because he stood in Alfie’s poop.’
Chapter Eleven
Straightening her back, Gemma tied the dog poop bag up just as the cheerful tone from her mobile rang from her coat pocket. Hurrying across the path, she chucked the poop bag in the bin before pulling her mobile out and checking the number before answering. ‘Hannah! Hi, how’s your holiday going?’
‘Hi, Gem. It’s great, thank you. I just wanted to check in to see how Alfie was getting on. I hope he’s being a good boy for you?’ Hannah’s voice sounded tinny and distant, as though the signal was weak.
‘He’s doing just fine. We’re on a walk at the moment, actually.’ Gemma smiled. There wasn’t any point in worrying Hannah by telling her about the problems she’d had with the barking and Jonathan. This was Hannah’s first holiday away with Josh and, Gemma, for one wasn’t about to give her anything to fret about.
‘Aw, so he’s okay?’
‘Yes, he’s fine. He’s been really good with the dog walker, too.’ Gemma smiled as Alfie trotted in front of her, his lead lax and his little curly tail wagging from side to side. ‘And she’s besotted with him. Absolutely loves him.’
‘That’s so good. I knew he’d be happy with you, Gem. Thank you.’
‘No problem, it’s been lovely having the company.’ Gemma tucked her mobile between her shoulder and her ear before tapping her leg and waiting for Alfie to stop before they crossed the road. The rain had held off today, but judging by the increase in grey clouds, it was on its way, so the sooner they could get home into the warm and dry. ‘How’s Italy?’
‘Ooh, it’s perfect, and it’s so good to just be able to have fun and relax with Josh without thinking about renovating or work or anything.’ Hannah’s happiness almost flooded the phone line. ‘How about you? How’s work?’
Gemma scrunched up her nose. What could she say about her life which wouldn’t be a complete downer at the moment? There was no chance she was about to tell Hannah about her problems at home and work with Jonathan Higgs. ‘Umm, it’s the spring fete at school this weekend.’
‘That’s great. You love stuff like that, don’t you?’
She smiled. Hannah was right; Gemma enjoyed helping out at the fetes, the discos and any other event the school held to raise money. It was a great opportunity to chat with children she’s previously taught, as well as catching up with their parents for a natter. Plus, the atmosphere was always great. ‘I do.’
‘Let me guess, you and Soph are manning the raffle?’
‘Haha, yep. You can’t say we’re not creatures of habit.’ Gemma grinned. She and Sophie always volunteered to man the raffle stall, and Florrie loved it too. The only year Gemma had questioned her life choices regarding their chosen stall was the year Mrs Norton had allowed a group of pupils to complete the task of attaching the winning raffle ticket numbers to the prizes. No problem, one might think, but when the students had doubled up on the numbers, so ticket number 165 was stuck on two prizes but had no ticket left to go in the bucket, it hadbecome a bit of a headache. She and Soph had ended up giving the duplicated prizes away to anyone who had chosen a ticket ending in a 0 or a 5 just to get rid of them.
‘Well, have an amazing weekend then, and I’ll check in with you next week if that’s okay? Sorry to rush off.’
‘That’s absolutely fine, and you should rush off. You should be sightseeing, lying by the pool, or eating a ton of pasta. We’re almost home now anyway, so I’ll speak to you another time. Take care.’
‘You too. And give Alfie a kiss from me, won’t you?’
‘Of course I will.’ Ending the call, Gemma slipped her mobile back into her pocket and pulled out her keys. The cottage was just up ahead, and both she and Alfie were ready for their dinner. ‘Come on, Alfie. Let’s get home and get something to eat, shall we?’
As though he understood exactly what she was saying, Alfie quickened his pace, his little body waddling from left to right following his tail dance. Gemma took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the fresh countryside air. With any luck, she’d be wrong about the grey clouds and the nice weather would continue into the weekend, and they’d be able to set up at least some of tomorrow’s stalls outside.
‘That’s it, Alfie. Almost there, well done.’ She led the way along the path back towards the cottage. She’d never tire of living here. Nettleford-on-the-Wold was a beautiful place to live. It was small enough to have the peace and tranquillity of countryside living, but the village community was busy enough to offer the comfort of a village where everybody knew everybody.
