The previous evening, Jake had kept an eye on the time, getting worried when she didn’t arrive home. Natty had become exhausted, and by the time Faye did get back, he’d already put her to bed.
Whilst this was the first time he’d crashed at Faye’s, by thelook of things, it would also be the last. He raised his mug and drank his coffee, waiting for Faye to say something – anything.
‘You’re right. I don’t know where she’d get a crazy idea like that from.’
Jake nodded in agreement. ‘Besides, Faye, you know what a bright kid you’ve got there. She’s really on the ball, always asking questions. I swear she’s going to be a lawyer or something when she grows up.’
‘Yeah, how crazy if she becomes a lawyer just like you … were.’ Faye dropped her eyes to her coffee mug. It had developed over time, this unspoken understanding they shared. Talk revolved around the job – Jake was a teacher too – and around Natty, which he knew was fine by Faye. She’d told him that as a deputy head, some colleagues – and she wasn’t naming any names – talk incessantly about any and every problem they had, as if her office was some sort of confessional box. They seemed to forget that they were colleagues.I’m not at work to make friends, Faye had said.
Jake had wondered why none of Faye’s female colleagues had offered to help with babysitting. Perhaps that was what Faye was afraid of – striking up a friendship which would result in endless hours of listening to their problems once she returned home.
With Jake, there was no chance of that. He wouldn’t talk about his past life – or his problems – and she knew it.
Faye had a life outside of teaching. Jake knew that she loved her job – but Natty was her priority. Work was work; that was all, even if she did have career ambitions. And Jake understood this, even if he had stepped into her private life on occasion – on several occasions now; too many to count. The trouble was that he was enjoying Faye and Natty’s company. The last thing he wanted was for Faye to end his babysitting duty.
She glanced at Jake, thinkingthis was a mistake. Jake staying over was innocent enough, considering the circumstances. But the rule, their rule, was bending before her very eyes, and she was the one bending it. She wanted him to stick around. What she couldn’t figure out was why.
They both finished their coffee in silence. Jake got up and put his coffee mug in the sink. Faye turned in her chair, feeling like some sort of apology was in order. She shouldn’t have mentioned his past. She wouldn’t like Jake to think she had been looking into his personal history. ‘I didn’t Google you or anything like that, Jake.’
‘I know that, Faye.’
‘It’s just common knowledge. God, that sounds awful.’
‘It is awful. But when you come from a background like mine, everything is out there, on the news, on social media, for Joe Public to see.’
Faye cringed. She recalled one of the standard questions at the job interview for the first teaching position he’d applied for, which had happened to be at her school. As the deputy head, she had been one of the interviewers asking him about his previous work experience.
She remembered when they’d been shortlisting for the position and discussing the candidates. They were all intrigued as to why Jake had left his lucrative position as a high-flying corporate lawyer working in the Ross Corporation. They knew about his background with the Rosses. She had read about him in the papers; about how he’d been taken in by the Rosses when he was a young child after his parents had tragically died, and had married Eleanor Ross.
Of course, they wouldn’t bring that up in an interview, nor the tragic skiing accident in the Cairngorms the previous Christmas that had taken his young wife. But they had asked about his previous career – it was a standard question – and why he’ddecided to apply for the Initial Teacher Training course to become a maths teacher in an inner-city school.
Even while the head was asking that question, Faye had already had a good idea why Jake had made such a drastic change. She imagined that after losing his wife, he wanted a completely fresh start away from the company; away from the life that reminded him of her. And perhaps the life, the career he’d had in the Ross Corporation, wasn’t for him anyway. As sad as it was that he had lost his wife, the career he was now forging, training on the job to teach, was a better fit. From Faye’s perspective, she certainly thought he’d made the right decision; Jake showed great promise, was a natural in the classroom, and had a fantastic rapport with the classes he taught.
‘I’m sorry, Jake. I didn’t mean to bring up your past.’
‘So am I.’ Jake walked out of the kitchen.
Faye cursed under her breath. She got up from the table and put her cup in the sink.
‘By the way,’ Jake called out as he headed for the sofa, ‘whoever her father is, he doesn’t know what he’s missing.’
‘Yes, he does.’ Faye stared miserably into the sink.
‘What was that?’ Jake turned to see Faye emerging from the kitchen. She crossed the lounge and sat in the single armchair.
‘I said he does know what he’s missing.’
Jake sat on the sofa and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He sighed. ‘The past is always following you around like a permanent hangover just itching to spoil your day.’
Faye had the sudden urge to show Jake he wasn’t the only one with unresolved personal issues; he wasn’t the only one hurting. ‘Do you know, my father doesn’t see my daughter – his only grandchild?’ She anticipated his shocked response:How could he? What’s wrong with the man?Instead, she was the one in for a shock.
‘I know,’ Jake answered nonchalantly. ‘He blames you forleaving Natty’s father and thinks that as you took it upon yourself to be a single parent, you shouldn’t expect family members to step in.’
Faye was stunned. ‘Who told you that?’
‘Your daughter – who else?’
‘Oh.’Serves me right for having such an outspoken nine-year-old, Faye thought. She wondered about the last time she had spoken with Natty’s grandfather, when he had made a rare visit to their house. Had their raised voices woken Natty? Had she got out of bed and sat on the stair, listening to that blazing row?
