only took a couple of minutes to write an email to the agency, confirming that she had been offered the position, that it was for a half term only, and that she’d be looking for something more local (and ideally a permanent position) if possible when she completed the contract. The out-of-office reply, stating the hours the agency were open pinged straight back into her inbox.
Then she sent a text to Sarah telling her she’d got the job, that there were no phwoar farmers, just a very grumpy vet that was more Doc Martin than James Herriot (Sarah didn’t need to know about the nearly-kiss or the mesmerising eyes), a headmaster who actually seemed to like children, and chickens.
Lucy headed upstairs. She’d have a nice shower first, then pour herself that drink. The job might not be her dream position, but it did mean that she had money to pay the mortgage. With the low rent that Annie was asking for, and the higher salary as it was a short-term contract, with luck she’d even be able to put some money aside in her savings account. And it might actually be quite pleasant spending a few weeks in the lovely little village – quite a change from the hustle and bustle she was used to in the much larger school.
The children had all seemed bright and inquisitive, and the classes were small so she wouldn’t miss having a dedicated classroom assistant. It was going to be so much fun. A little shiver ran down her spine as the excitement she’d been fighting kicked in. She couldn’t wait. Even the goose would be an interesting challenge, she just had a horrible feeling that her immaculate clothes would need throwing away when she got back to civilisation. Cat hairs were notoriously difficult to remove, and she just knew the animal smell would linger on.
She switched off the shower and wrapped her hair up in a towel.
There was just one more thing she had to do though before she started to plan her move. And now she had at least got work lined up she could put a positive spin on this.
Wine glass in hand she picked up her mobile.
‘Mum, I’ve got a new job.’
‘Oh how lovely.’ There was a pause. ‘But I thought you loved the one you had, darling?’
‘There’s been a re-organisation, but this one’s in a gorgeous village school.’
‘Village?’
‘It’s sweet.’
‘And it’s not too far to drive each day? You work such long hours as it is, without a long journey on top of it.’
‘Well no, I mean yes, it is too far to drive. I’m going to rent a place there for now. It’s only for a while, and I’ve found a lovely cottage where the owner has pets she needs looking after so the rent is really reasonable.’
‘So you’ve got your own house and a place to rent? Can you afford that dear?’
She could almost see her mum’s worried frown. ‘Yes Mum, it’s just short term.’
‘But I thought you were too busy to have a pet, darling? And didn’t you say you liked keeping the house neat and tidy? When I came over with your Aunt Steph you made her tie Bono to a tree at the bottom of the garden.’
Lucy rolled her eyes as the memory of Bono, a very shaggy bearded collie who’d just been for an unscheduled dip in the canal, came to mind. ‘I had just bought a new cream carpet, Mum.’
‘That’s the trouble with these modern plain carpets, you need a pattern dear, hides a multitude of sins.’
Maybe that’s what her busy job had done, hidden the cracks in her life, but she didn’t want to ponder on that one. What was the point? ‘I like plain.’ Keep it simple. ‘Anyway, this job will be different, I don’t need to commute.’
‘And I hope you won’t need to be working those long hours any more. When I was your age…’
Lucy gritted her teeth, but some part of the retort she was biting back must have escaped and travelled over the airwaves. Her mum might not have worked long hours at her age, but she’d made up for it later on in life. Surely it was better to put all the effort in now? To be independent and secure.
‘Well yes I suppose times have changed.’ She could imagine her mother’s pursed lips. ‘But you work too hard, being a teacher used to be a nice job for a girl and now it’s all rushing round and paperwork. I always wanted an easier life for you, love.’
‘All jobs are like that, it’s about accountability.’ And Ofsted.
‘Well that is nice anyway dear,’ she could tell her mother was about to brush over that. ‘It’ll be nice for you to get out of the city for a bit. You did have fun when you were little in Stoneyvale, do you remember?’
‘It was horrible. I hated it.’ The words were out before she could stop them.
‘Oh, Lucy.’ Lucy felt a pang of guilt at the regret in her mother’s voice. ‘You didn’t hate it. There were some good times, I used to love our time feeding the ducks, and picking you up from school. It was a pretty place, even if life wasn’t quite as perfect as I’d hoped.’ She sighed. ‘You were such a happy toddler.’
‘Yeah, and then I grew up.’ And life had been turned upside down, and all her friends turned out to be nasty, small-minded people who only cared about themselves.
‘It wasn’t all bad, Lucy.’
‘Mum, I didn’t belong there, I didn’t have any friends.’
‘Oh you did, darling. It was just, after your party when your father got a bit cross I think some of their parents thought it better if they didn’t come round to play. He just didn’t like…’
‘The mess, yeah I know.’ She’d blocked that party out of her mind. Dad had been so cross to come home and find sticky finger marks on the table, and cake crumbs on the sofa. He hadn’t shouted like some of the other dads did, he’d just laid the law down very softly. Even as a child she’d sensed the slight menace, the uncomfortable air as her mother had wiped her tears and shooed her up to her room. She hadn’t thought about it before, but that was probably when it had all started to go wrong. When children stopped coming round to play in their garden. When all the party invites started to dry up.
‘He never really wanted me to have people round, did he?’
‘Well no,’ there was a crackle and silence, and she wasn’t sure if it was a bad line. She hated silence, silence at home had always meant bad things, so she’d grown up wanting what some people would think of as chaos.
‘Mum, are you still there?’
‘I am. But you still had friends, didn’t you dear?’ There was a hopeful note to her mother’s tone which she didn’t want to kill. So she didn’t say anything. ‘You saw the others at school. There was lovely little Amy, and…’
‘Exactly.’ She sighed. ‘Just lovely little Amy, and even that was an act.’
‘Lucy, it wasn’t you, your dad…’
‘Forget it, Mum. I have. Langtry Meadows isn’t Stoneyvale, and I’m only there for a few weeks, I like working in the city.’ She did. It was less claustrophobic, more impersonal. Where people came and went, where nobody was
