Chapter 11
Chapter eleven
Sloan picked up the phone, then set it back down. It was gone ten and Matty hadn't called.
Her computer pinged—a new email. She opened it, read it and responded, and then sat back, thinking.
Maybe you should call. Check in. Picking up the phone again, she suddenly realised she didn't have Matty's number.
A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Come," she said, and looked up at the door as it opened.
"Sorry to bother you, Ms Slater. Your meeting for ten thirty has been moved to eleven," Dawn said.
"Why?"
Sloan's expression didn't change, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop. She set her pen down with deliberate precision and folded her hands on the desk.
“I think something to do with traffic and—"
"Tell Jerry," she said, her voice calm, measured, and cold as steel, "that the meeting is at ten thirty, as arranged.
I do not rearrange my schedule because he cannot manage his own.
If he is stuck in traffic, he can Zoom in from his car.
If he cannot do that, he will send his second, but the meeting will proceed at 10. 30, with or without him."
Dawn shifted slightly. "Of course, Ms Slater. I'll pass that on."
"And Dawn?" Sloan's eyes didn't leave her assistant's face. "In future, when someone asks to move a meeting at the last minute, the answer is no. My time is not negotiable."
"Understood." Dawn nodded, assuring Sloan she’d understood the directive, and retreated quickly, closing the door behind her.
Sloan exhaled slowly, her fingers briefly tightening on the edge of the desk.
Control. She had control here.
Even if she had none at home.
***
By 4.30, Sloan was already packed and heading out of her office.
"I'll be at home. You can divert my office phone to my mobile," she said to Dawn as she exited her office and closed the door.
"Of course, Ms Slater." Dawn smiled, surprised her boss was leaving a bit early.
She was almost into the hallway when she stopped and retreated. "Did anyone call the office regarding my mother?"
Dawn shook her head. "No. If they had, I would have passed that message on."
"Yes, of course." Sloan smiled, only slightly relieved. "Okay, well, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Have a good evening, Ms Slater."
This time, Sloan continued down the corridor and towards the lift. She checked her phone—no messages. Into the lift, out of the lift, and checked her phone again—still no messages.
She made it home in no time. The phone had stayed silent all day, which should have felt like a relief.
Instead, Sloan felt unstable, uninformed, and was dreading what she might find when she got inside.
A first placement never passed without someone ringing—a carer checking in, her mother fussing, the agency covering itself.
She pulled the Saab into the drive and watched the house.
All appeared normal. It was ten to five, and a bit earlier than Matty or Gloria were expecting her to return.
When she opened the front door, she could hear the TV. Countdown was on. As she shrugged off her jacket and hung it, the theme tune drifted down the hall along with the smell of something good.
"Joan, is that you?" her mother's voice rang out.
"Yes, Mother. And it’s Sloan." She sighed and walked into the lounge where her mother was sitting in her usual seat.
Gloria glanced at her quickly but ignored her correction.
From behind her, Matty said, "Oh, you're back early."
"You insisted on five," Sloan said, turning to find Matty wearing her mother's apron, hair tied up with a scruffy bit of fabric.
"Gosh, is it that time already?" Matty laughed.
"Well, then." She repeated the movements from Saturday when she'd untied the apron in the café, only this time, she didn't throw it at anyone. "Dinner is in the oven. Gloria fancied toad-in-the-hole, so that’s what you’ve got—sausages, batter, the lot.
Mash and broccoli on the side. There's enough for you both.
Gravy just needs warming through." She handed the apron to Sloan. "See you tomorrow, Mrs S."
Sloan followed her into the hallway and watched as she pulled on the skates.
"So...how did it go?"
"All fine. I mean, she's a nightmare, you're right about that, but..." Matty shrugged. "I listened, then I ignored her and did what needed doing."
"You...ignored her?"
Matty laughed at Sloan’s bewildered face. "I just listened to her demands, then did what was best without further discussion."
"And she didn't throw anything?"
"Throw anything?" Matty looked sincerely shocked at the idea, but then she laughed again. "Only the toast. She complained a lot…tried to insult me often. I'm not sure laughing at that stuff went down well, but... Anyway, she demanded to watch Countdown, so I gave her back the remote."
"You gave her back... Did she throw it at you?"
Matty continued to laugh. "No, why would she? Okay, don't get mad… I confiscated it."
"You confiscated the remote?"
She pulled the rag free and the curls fell round her face as she nodded. "It's not good to remain seated all day. Have you ever had to deal with a bedsore? No? Good. We do not want that. So, I said she could have it back, once we'd walked round the garden."
“She walked around the garden?”
Matty nodded. “Complaining the entire time, yes.”
"And...you're coming back? Tomorrow, I mean?" Sloan asked, still in shock at the things she'd just heard.
Matty stopped laughing and held Sloan's gaze. "Are you still paying me?"
"Yes."
"Good, then I'll see you in the morning."
Sloan watched as Matty skated down the path and out onto the pavement, turning once to wave before she was out of sight. Closing the door, Sloan leant against it and replayed the conversation in her head.
"Joan?"
Her mother calling brought her out of her thoughts, and she slowly walked back up the hall to the doorway of the lounge.
"It's still Sloan," she said and leant against the frame.
"Is she gone?" Gloria asked. Before Sloan could reply, she said, "Bloody hippie, she's got to go."
And there it was. Of course.
"Why?"
"She's away with the fairies." Gloria shook her head and turned back to the TV. "And she's a tyrant."
"Uh-huh," Sloan said, stepping into the room. Everything looked normal, tidy.
"She moved everything out of reach and tormented me all day about it."
"Starved, beaten, and tortured?" Sloan couldn't help the smile that began to curve on her lips. "Is that what you're telling me?"
"No, she's clever, that one." Gloria pointed a finger towards an imaginary Matty before she turned back to the TV. It was the conundrum. Sloan followed her gaze and watched as the letters were revealed.
CCRSTIANMEUC.
"Circumstance," Gloria said instantly. She didn’t even hesitate.
They watched as the time ran out and both contestants failed to answer, the blocks spinning over to reveal CIRCUMSTANCE as the answer.
Sloan turned slowly and looked at her mother. She couldn’t remember the last time her mother had engaged with anything on that screen.
"I'll get dinner sorted."
As she walked out of the room, she heard, "Make sure she's not poisoned us."
For the first time in days, Sloan laughed.