Holding her hand up in a wave, Gemma turned her attention to the scene in front of her, the initial crowd of eager children and parents who had arrived as soon as the gates had opened had thinned, but there were still groups of older children who had been allowed to venture out on their own perusing the stalls and playing the games, clusters of parents chatting as they clung to takeaway cups of coffee and a number of small children merrily enjoying the bouncy castle as their parents watched on taking photographs between talking to the other spectators.
Somehow, it all felt different now. Before she’d stormed inside to confront Jonathan about his actions, that had been all she had to worry about. Him, at home and at work. Now, though, she’d give anything to turn back time, to have listened to Sophie and not followed him inside, to know nothing about the pressure the school was under and how many people’s livelihoods now hung in the balance.
Everything looked the same, but she felt the shift.
Chapter Thirteen
‘Beep, beep, Alfie.’ Lowering herself onto the sofa, Gemma placed her dinner plate on the coffee table in front of her before peeling off the film from her microwavable cottage pie. Picking up her fork, she scraped it along the top of the cottage pie until she had a mound of mashed potato on her fork.
Staring at it, she sighed before sticking her fork, mashed potato mound and all, into the centre of the cottage pie. She couldn’t just sit, eat and watch whatever rubbish was on TV like she normally did to unwind of an evening.She just couldn’t relax.
Not with Jonathan likely on the other side of the wall, studying staff files and trying to decide who to make redundant. How could he actually know who to pick? He’d only been at the school a week. Yes, he’d scrutinised books and planning, but he couldn’t really tell, could he?
Heck, she wouldn’t be able to choose, and she’d been working with them for years. Everyone had their place, brought value to their role and added something to the overall community of the school. Everyone.
Ha, there was her, of course. She’d likely be on the tippy top of his list of possible redundancies. Especially after the way she’d spoken to him earlier at the fete. She looked at Alfie, who tilted his head towards her, his dark, soulful eyes glaring at her.
‘What are you trying to say to me?’ Slumping back against the sofa cushions, she patted her lap. The last few evenings, he’d been falling asleep with his head flopped onto her lap whilst she fussed him behind the ears.
‘Don’t you want any fuss tonight?’ Still, he looked right at her. Gemma sighed and glanced back across the cosy living room towards the wall. Jonathan would quite literally be sitting a few feet away from her right now. Just a few feet. The image of his tired features filled her mind, and she was once again reminded how difficult this must all be for him.
‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ She ran the pads of her fingers through the long fur covering his ears. ‘You are, aren’t you? You’re thinking I should go over there and check he’s okay.’
Was it the best idea she’d ever had? Probably not. She was almost ninety-nine percent convinced he’d answer the door and send her packing, but she had to try, didn’t she? She was only too aware that there was nothing she could do. Heck, she could hardly help him choose which of her colleagues to make redundant. And if she did somehow influence his decision and the rest of the school found out, they’d believe she was protecting her own interests.
But she could slip Alfie’s lead on and pretend she was on the way home from a walk, pop by and ask how he was holding up. She could reiterate to him that she wouldn’t mention it all to anyone, that she wouldn’t tell a soul. Even if there was a part of her who firmly believed her colleagues deserved to know. Heck, Annie and her husband were looking to up-size, which would mean a bigger mortgage, Lydia had her daughter at university, and Adam was constantly talking about getting a new car. If theyknew there was even the slightest chance they might be out of a job, she was sure it would influence their life plans.
‘Come on, Alfie. Let’s get your lead.’ Gemma stood up, and before she’d even reached the coat hooks where she’d been keeping Alfie’s lead, he jumped off the sofa and trotted towards the door, setting himself down on the mat. Kneeling down, she clipped his lead to his collar. ‘Right, one lap around the block and then we’ll call in next door. Deal?’
Standing on the doorstep to Jonathan’s cottage, Gemma bit down on her lower lip as she listened to the cheerful tune of the doorbell ring through his home. She’d been so sure this was a good idea just a few minutes ago, but now she was standing here and waiting, she wasn’t quite so sure. What if he thought she was overstepping the mark, so to speak? He was her boss after all, and he’d made it quite clear what he thought of her. Apart from the other day when he’d come to her rescue when that horrible man had been having a go at her for walking Alfie.
She looked down at the small dog who was standing next to her, his tail wagging nineteen to the dozen as though he was waiting for his new best friend to open the door to him. That must have been a slip, Jonathan’s intervention. A slip of personality, but then he’d been quite normal, apart from clearly being stressed, earlier when she’d stormed into his office, and the predicament he was in was likely enough to send the most bubbly person to grouch land, wasn’t it?
‘I don’t think he’s coming, Alfie.’ She glanced towards the window at the front of the cottage. The light was on, so he was in there, but perhaps he just didn’t fancy visitors, or maybe he’d spotted it was her, and it was more of a case that he didn’t want a visit fromher. Turning, she patted her leg. ‘Come on. Let’s get back home, and you can have your dental stick early.’
Sighing, she rolled her eyes as Alfie planted himself firmly on Jonathan’s doorstep. Hannah had warned her about his stubbornness, and it was finally showing. Did that mean he felt more comfortable in her company now? Should she feel blessed? Fine. She’d have to scoop him up and carry him home.
Just as she was leaning down, her arms outstretched and ready to pick him up, the door opened, and Jonathan’s figure loomed over them.
‘Good evening.’
Straightening her back, she looked at him. ‘Hi.’
‘Did he escape into my garden again?’ He looked pointedly at little Alfie.
‘Uh, no. I, we, were out on our walk and I just thought I’d pop round on the way back to say.’ She swallowed. With him standing there in a pair of washed-out jeans and a black t-shirt, he suddenly looked more guy-next-door than headteacher, and she had to remind herself he was still her boss, her quite grumpy boss who seemed to have all the pressures in the world hanging over his head. ‘There must be something we can do. Surely? Instead of sacking people.’
Leaning against the doorframe, he rubbed the palm of his hand across his face. ‘It wouldn’t be sacking anyone. I can’t sack people unless they’ve done something to deserve that course of action.’
She shrugged. ‘You know what I mean, there must be another way to save money instead of making people redundant.’
Setting his jaw, Jonathan glanced up and down the street as though expecting an entourage of staff members to jump out from the shadows. ‘You’d better come in.’
‘And Alfie?’ She glanced down at the little dog who was pawing at the leg of Jonathan’s jeans and forced herself not to call him a traitor. Just because Jonathan had come to theirrescue once, it didn’t make up for the way he’d been treating her, pressure or no pressure.
He nodded. ‘And Alfie.’
As he held the door open for her, she stepped into the small hallway, the spicy scent of his aftershave filling the space. Slipping her shoes off, she waited for Jonathan to nod towards her, indicating she should go through into the living room. Pushing the door open, she walked inside and paused, looking around. Although the layout was identical to her cottage next door - flipped but identical - the decor couldn’t be more different. Instead of an open fire, he had a little electric fire attached to the wall, its glowing bars casting light across the threadbare grey carpet. The pale blue paint on the walls showed its age, with lighter patches indicating where pictures once hung. In contrast to the decor, the huge leather sofa and dark mahogany coffee table looked as new as the decor looked old.
