Chapter 6
SIX
JESS
Jess hared down the stairs from the upstairs flat with Maisie just as Alice was taking delivery of a parcel.
Thankfully there had been no tears this morning, with Maisie reluctantly accepting the new school rules about not bringing things from home into school.
As she reached the main doors of the building, Alice called after her.
‘Morning, Jess. Is everything okay?’ she asked. ‘You seem in rather a hurry.’
Jess stopped in her tracks.
‘Of all the mornings, my alarm never went off,’ she explained. ‘I’ll probably be late for work. Plus, I need to speak to a parent on the school playground. Sorry, but I must dash. Speak later.’
‘Go.’ Alice shooed her away. ‘But I am taking a taxi into town in fifteen minutes. You can travel with me if I collect you outside the school? It’s on the way.’
Jess was almost certain she would miss her bus to work.
‘Oh my goodness, yes please, you are a lifesaver. Thank you.’ She blew Alice a kiss and then she was gone.
As they walked to school, a little hurriedly that morning, Jess thought about Alice and how grateful she was that she had taken the ground-floor flat.
She had never known her own maternal grandmother, as she had tragically died before she was born, and her father’s mother moved abroad when she was around ten years old.
She remembered feeling envious when her school friends would tell stories of their grans, after popping around to see them after school.
Jess could already feel the positive impact of Alice living downstairs.
She was relieved that personal things were no longer allowed into school.
It was hard to keep up with trends sometimes, although she had tried to explain to Maisie that owning the latest toy or fashion accessory did not make someone a better person.
Besides, she was hardly in a position to be able to afford all the latest things for her daughter.
She was already dreading the teenage years, when Maisie would probably insist on the latest designer trainers or whatever to fit in with her peers.
It was a balancing act providing nice things for her, yet not wanting her to be spoilt.
‘Am I going to be late for school?’ asked Maisie as Jess pressed the button at a crossing on the busy road.
‘No,’ said Jess. ‘You will be perfectly on time; I may have been late for work, though, had Alice not offered me a lift.’
She had spoken to Maisie about the school incident, and she had insisted the child on the playground had pushed her first. Even so, Jess wanted the matter cleared up.