Chapter 25
By three-thirty Jack was ready to call it a day. He’d been at work since before seven this morning (he’d been first in through the doors) and he’d had enough. He was tired, irritable and anxious – not a good combination – and all he wanted was to go out for a long run, then treat himself to a cold beer. Probably more than one. He’d drink them in his bedroom with his earbuds in while he listened to music, because he didn’t want to see anyone or speak to anyone, and that included Molly. Especially Molly, because she’d probably be doing something conservation-y with Reuben in the park. And neither did he want to listen to the kids whooping it up on the bandstand.
He switched his computer off at the mains, checked his pockets for his car keys and wallet, then hooked his jacket off the back of the chair.
When his office phone rang, he was tempted to ignore it, and he might have done if he’d not had one of those phones that showed the name of who was calling. It only worked for internal numbers, and when he saw who wanted him, he felt like punching the damned thing.
He picked up the receiver. ‘Jack Feathers.’
‘Hi, Jack, it’s Hayley. Have you got a minute?’
‘Um, sure.’
‘Can you come to my office? I want to bring our meeting forward.’
‘Now?’
‘Please.’
‘Erm, what about bringing a colleague or a union rep with me?’
There was silence for a moment, followed by, ‘Do you believe you need representation?’
‘I don’t know. It depends what it’s about.’
‘Did you read the email?’
‘What email?’
The HR Manager uttered an impatient huff. ‘The one in which you were notified of the meeting. I instructed Chantelle to send it on my behalf.’
‘There was no email – she notified me in person but she didn’t tell me what it was about.’
Silence again, then, ‘I see.’ A pause. ‘Can you come to my office now? I can assure you that you won’t need representation.’
‘OK, I’ll be there in five minutes.’ Jack hung up and hurried into the corridor, his thoughts whirling. What the hell was this about? If Hayley was planning on disciplining him, she was going about it the wrong way.
Slowing down when he reached the floor where HR and Payroll were situated, he took a second to catch his breath and straighten his tie, before he walked through the assortment of open-plan desks to Hayley’s office. Without making it obvious, he glanced over at Chantelle’s desk, but thankfully she wasn’t sitting at it, so he took a deep breath and knocked on Hayley’s half-open door.
‘Come in.’ Hayley was a short woman in her early fifties, with cropped greying hair and a no-nonsense attitude. She had worked for the council since the year dot and had been on the panel when he’d been interviewed for his first job. She scared the life out of him.
Her head was bent and she was making notes on a pad, but she looked up when he stepped inside. ‘Thanks for coming at such short notice. I’ve been called away on Monday and I wanted to get this over with, rather than having to rearrange and leave you hanging, so to speak. Take a seat.’
He was right – she was going to discipline him. Leave him hanging… her word choice said it all.
She steepled her hands under her chin. ‘You’re aware the council is looking to streamline some services, and as part of that process some departments will be amalgamated or broken up entirely?’
Jack nodded. He hadn’t been expecting her to talk about this, and it took him a second for his brain to catch up with his ears.
‘We intend to start with Parks and Highways, because the two don’t gel together particularly well. With that in mind, the two service areas will be split, and Parks will be amalgamated with Leisure and Waste, and Highways will incorporate Transportation. I’m aware that Parks will be a bigger department as a result, but there will be a commensurate increase in salary. Now, with Eric Styles from Leisure retiring next month and the vacancy for Waste not yet filled, I will be putting an advert out next week and I want you to apply.’
‘Pardon.’ He had heard what she’d said, but the words didn’t make sense.’
‘I want you to apply,’ she repeated. ‘There isn’t anyone else internally who is as qualified and as experienced as you to be Head of Parks, Leisure and Waste, so in effect the job is yours, but I have to be seen to do this the right way. That’s so important, don’t you think? That the correct procedures are adhered to, even if it is for appearance’s sake?’ There was a twinkle in her eye, and he knew what she was referring to.
‘I’m… er… Gosh! I wasn’t expecting that. I’ll most definitely apply.’
‘I would say “congratulations” but it wouldn’t be appropriate.’
‘Thanks, I don’t know what to say.’
‘I’ll be in touch as soon as I receive your application. I think it’s probably better if you send it directly to me. Have a good weekend.’
Jack stood to leave, a grin spreading across his face. ‘You, too.’
He was almost out of the door when she said, ‘And Jack… no more wild swimming in Sweet Meadow pond, eh?’
***
‘Can I help you?’ Molly’s hands were on her hips and she knew that her tone was belligerent. It also didn’t help her mood that she would probably have to invite Jack’s girlfriend in or else she’d appear rude.
The woman whirled around. ‘Oh, hi, are you Molly? I was looking for Jack.’
Molly narrowed her eyes and squinted at her. She didn’t look the least bit like her photo. In fact, if Molly didn’t know better, she would have thought that they were two entirely different people – her hair was shorter, for a start.
Telling herself to get a grip and that the woman had probably changed her hairstyle ten times since the council website photo had been taken, Molly fished her keys out of her bag and walked towards the cottage. She could hear Jet barking and was eager to let him out. Clearly he wasn’t enthused by the stranger, either.
Molly knew she was being unreasonable and that the woman was probably lovely, but right now she couldn’t care less.
‘Is he alright?’ the woman asked. ‘I can’t get hold of him.’
‘I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to him since this morning.’ An awful thought occurred to her. ‘Has something happened? I know he was worried that he might be in trouble because of the gates…’ She wrung her hands. ‘He’s not been sacked, has he?’
‘Gosh, I hope not. He never said. Mind you, I didn’t speak to him – Mum did. But that was fairly early this morning so anything could have happened since. Do you think he might have been?’
‘Youshouldknow! You’re the one who works in the HR Department, not me.’
The woman frowned. ‘I own a guest house. Or I will do when we’ve cobbled together enough money to buy it. Are you confusing me with someone else?’
Molly blinked. ‘You’re not Chantelle.’
The woman laughed. ‘No, I’m not, thank goodness! I’m Della, Jack’s sister.’
‘But you’re in Alaska!’ Molly cried.
‘I live there, yes. But I’m in the UK for a visit. Can I come in? I’m dying for a wee.’
‘Er, yeah, of course. Let me get the door. And the dog.’ Her head whirling, Molly unlocked the cottage and was nearly bowled over by an excited Jet. ‘The loo is upstairs,’ she said, grabbing Jet’s collar to prevent him from bounding after her visitor.
After making a fuss of the dog, she went into the kitchen to put the kettle on. If Della had just flown in from Alaska, she could probably do with a cup of tea.
When Della appeared, Molly asked, ‘Tea?’
‘Have you got any coffee?’
‘Only instant, I’m afraid. Jack’s got a fancy gadget—’ she pointed to the coffee machine ‘—but I don’t know how to use it.’
‘Wow, has he still got this? I’d have thought he’d have bought a new one by now. Has he got any capsules?’
‘There are some in the cupboard.’ Molly reached up and brought out a box. ‘Help yourself.’
While Della made herself a cup of coffee, Molly observed her out of the corner of her eye. Now that she knew who Della was, she could tell she and Jack were brother and sister.
Della told her, ‘I’m going back up to York later. I’m not supposed to be in Sweet Meadow at all today, but Mum got in such a tizz when she heard that Jack had nearly drowned, despite her speaking to him this morning and him telling her he was fine, that I offered to drive back down to check he was OK. He is, isn’t he?’
‘He is,’ Molly assured her. ‘I’ve got to admit, I was a bit worried myself, but once he’d caught his breath, he was OK.’
‘What happened? I’ve read some of the posts and comments online, but I don’t know how true they are.’
Molly filled her in over a cuppa and a packet of Hobnobs, finishing with, ‘Even though not everyone can see it, your brother is a hero.’
‘He’s always been a hero to me. Did he tell you he used to run marathons?’
‘He did mention it.’
‘Well, one year he got it into his head to run the Marathon des Sables, which is this ridiculously awful event that takes place in the Sahara Desert. You have to run six marathons in six days, back-to-back. The idiot.’
Molly was incredulous. ‘Jack did that?’
‘He sure did, and he raised several thousand pounds for charity.’
‘He never said.’
Della wrinkled her nose. ‘He wouldn’t. He’s not the type to brag.’ Her pride was obvious, and Molly’s heart swelled, but before she could delve any further, Jet clambered to his feet from where he’d been lying under the table, and seconds later she heard a car pull up in front of the cottage.
‘Your brother is home,’ she said. ‘I’ll leave you to chat in peace. I expect you’ve got loads to talk about.’
‘There’s no need. We had a good long chat yesterday.’
‘You were here yesterday?’
‘Not here, here. I met him at the old house, then we went for a bite to eat in this lovely Turkish restaurant. I’ve got to say, your cottage is lovely.’
‘Thanks.’ Molly’s reply was absent-minded. She was still processing the news that it was Della who Jack had been with yesterday, not Chantelle.
Did it change anything?
She wasn’t sure…
***
‘Della?’ Jack couldn’t believe his eyes. Was his sister really sitting at the kitchen table in Molly’s house?
‘Hello, Jack. I bet you didn’t expect to see me again so soon.’
His first thought was that something was wrong, but when he saw his sister’s grin, he felt weak with relief. He seemed to have had a day of thinking the worst, only to be proved wrong.
‘What are you doing here?’ He glanced from his sister to Molly, and back again.
‘Mum.’
‘Ah.’ Della didn’t need to say anything more. Jack knew what she meant.
‘You didn’t drown, I see,’ Della observed.
‘Clearly not. I can’t believe Mum made you drive all this way just for that.’
‘She didn’t. I offered.’
‘She guilted you into it, you mean.’
‘It was the lesser of two evils. If it wasn’t for the shop, she’d have driven here herself. Hang on, I’d better message her.’ Jack watched bemused as Della’s thumbs flew across her phone. ‘There,’ she said. ‘That’ll put her mind at rest.’
‘I spoke to her this morning,’ he protested. ‘I told her I was OK.’
‘She thought you were keeping something from her. Are you?’ She said to Molly, ‘Mum’s got a sixth sense when it comes to me and Jack. It can be quite unnerving. We could never hide anything from her when we were kids.’
Jack sat down and Jet leant against his legs.
‘Er, yeah, I was worried about my job,’ he confessed. ‘I thought I was going to be sacked, or face disciplinary action at the very least. Hayley Crouch, Head of HR, wanted a meeting with me on Monday, and I feared the worst, but...’ He paused dramatically. ‘I met with her this afternoon instead.’
‘And?’ Molly demanded. She looked so worried that he wanted to scoop her into his arms and kiss her. Pre-Reuben he might have done.
‘She offered me a promotion,’ he said. He was still bemused by the whole thing and the news hadn’t properly sunk in yet.
‘That’s brilliant! Well done,’ Molly beamed.
‘I think we should go out to celebrate,’ Della said.
‘There’s many a slip between cup and lip,’ Jack warned, after he’d given them a bit more detail about his meeting, ‘so I’m not counting my chickens yet.’
Della sighed. ‘You’re right. Anyway, I need to go back to York this evening. I won’t hear the last of it from Mum if I stay the night.’
‘Won’t you at least stay for something to eat?’ Molly urged.
‘It’s OK, I’ll grab a coffee and a sandwich at the services.’ Della got to her feet and picked up her bag. ‘It was nice meeting you, Molly.’
‘You, too.’ Molly’s eyes widened as Della gave her a hug, and she met Jack’s gaze before quickly looking away.
‘I’ll walk you to your car,’ he offered, after Della had hugged him as well.
‘Molly’s nice,’ his sister said, linking her arm through his as he led her along the path to the gate.
‘Yes, she is.’
‘She thought I was Chantelle.’
Jack faltered, then resumed walking. ‘Please don’t mention that woman’s name. She’s nothing but trouble.’ He couldn’t believe she had let him think that his meeting with Hayley was going to be a negative one.
‘She cares for you. A lot,’ Della said, hastily adding, ‘Molly, I mean,’ when Jack snorted in disbelief.
He snorted again. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘A woman can tell.’ Della’s smile was enigmatic.
‘Don’t you think I’d know?’
‘Actually, no, I don’t.’
‘What about Reuben?’
‘All I’m saying is, don’t give up on her. If you love Molly, you should fight for her.’
Yeah, right, he thought. It was easy for Della to say. She hadn’t seen Molly’s face light up whenever she mentioned the guy’s name. Which she did, frequently.
Nope, Jack thought, He had no intention of making a fool of himself where Molly was concerned. He would bow out gracefully and hope she would never realise that he was in love with her.