Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Making herself comfortable on the couch, Alba reached for her cup of tea and patted the cushion beside her for Colin to jump up and curl into the space at her side.
He didn’t need asking twice. Colin hopped onto the couch with a soft thud, circling once before settling with a contented sigh, his warm body pressing against Alba’s hip.
As he rested his head on her thigh, Alba realised just how happy she was here.
Home.
It still felt strange calling this place that, but evenings like this helped.
Quiet moments with a cup of tea, Colin close by, the glow of the lamp filling the living room.
Lois had unexpectedly arrived fifteen minutes ago, but she would always be welcome here.
They’d been best friends since they were four years old.
She was one of the few people in Alba’s life who had always been allowed to appear without warning.
No phone call, no text, just a knock on the door and a cheerful grin waiting on the other side.
Back when Alba had been married to Audrey, though, that kind of spontaneity had been frowned upon. Audrey’s rule. Not Alba’s.
“So, how was your night out with your new work colleagues?” Lois curled her legs beneath herself on the opposite side of the couch, her cup of tea balanced on the armrest while she settled comfortably. “I was going to call yesterday, but I had a feeling you might be feeling a bit worse for wear.”
“I was fine. I didn’t drink much on Friday night.” Alba blew across the surface of her tea before taking a sip. “I…somehow ended up in a different bar with the headmistress.”
Lois’s eyebrows lifted with immediate interest. “Oh?”
“I don’t know what’s going on in that place, but at one point, one of the teachers made her cry.
I decided to see if she wanted to get out of the bar and head somewhere else instead.
” Alba shrugged. “I didn’t expect her to say yes, but I’m glad she did.
We spoke about Audrey and what happened between us. Turns out she knows Audrey.”
“Alba,” Lois said, her tone shifting into something more cautious.
“Mm?”
“Please don’t end up in the same situation you were in with Audrey. She ripped your heart out and tore your life apart.”
“With…Ellie?” Alba frowned, genuinely surprised by the direction Lois had taken the conversation. “Why the hell would you think that?”
“Because I know you, babe. I know you far better than you think.” Lois sighed, leaning forward to place her tea on the coffee table before turning her full attention back to Alba. “I mean, why did you even invite her to a different bar? Just the two of you?”
“Because she looked as though she didn’t want to be at the bar we were at.
” Alba’s shoulders stiffened slightly. She didn’t need this conversation tonight.
The last thing she wanted was anyone suggesting she had some kind of hidden agenda where Ellie was concerned.
“She’s my boss, Lois. We don’t know a thing about one another.
I asked if she wanted to get out of the bar because she was crying in the bathroom.
Before Audrey, you would have said what I’d done was typical me…
being a friend. But now you think I want to fuck her. ”
“Alba, that’s not what I’m trying to say. I just worry about you, that’s all.”
“I’m fine.” Alba tugged her hair tie from around her wrist and pulled her hair into a loose bun at the back of her head, securing it with a quick twist. “I can’t wait to get started at school tomorrow.
I just want to put my joke of a marriage behind me and pick myself back up again.
” She leaned back into the couch cushions, exhaling slowly.
“There goes the plan I had to drop by her place this evening.”
Lois’ brows drew together. “What plan? Whose place?”
“Ellie’s. She lives a couple of streets away from here.”
“And why exactly did you want to drop by?” Lois’ tone sharpened. “Has she invited you over? Is she the one interested in you?”
“Ellie?” Alba let out a surprised laugh and shook her head. “No, she’s straight. And if you saw her, you’d understand why I find what you’re insinuating hilarious. She’s…no. That’s never going to happen. Out of my league springs to mind.”
“You thought Audrey was out of your league at one time.”
“Yeah, well, I can safely say I’m ten times the person Audrey will ever be.”
“And Ellie? What’s up with that, seriously?
” Lois lifted a brow, watching Alba carefully.
“I mean, you went to a bar together, and now you’re thinking of going to her place.
Something is going on here, and you can deny it all you want, but I’m not stupid, babe.
This will be another Audrey moment again. ”
Did she enjoy spending time with Ellie? Without hesitation, yes.
That answer was immediate and undeniable.
Did she hope they could become friends? Absolutely.
Ellie felt like the kind of woman everyone wanted in their life.
She was warm and intelligent…but most of all, she seemed steady in a way that made people feel safe around her.
Did she want to see her naked? Well, she certainly wouldn’t object. But none of that changed the facts. Ellie was straight, and Alba was not looking for anything. Not after Audrey.
Instead of engaging with Lois’ suspicions, Alba steered the conversation firmly away. “Audrey isn’t in my life anymore, and I don’t particularly want to talk about her.”
“But you want to talk about Ellie, right?” Lois’ smirk returned. “You can be honest with me. You know I’d never judge you if you did have a bit of a thing for her.”
“I don’t have a thing for her.” Alba rolled her eyes before lowering her gaze to the cup of tea cradled in her hands. Maybe she should have poured something stronger, knowing Lois was coming over. “But I do want to talk about her. About the bar on Friday.”
Lois leaned back, clearly intrigued. “Okay.”
“It feels as though everyone knows something about Ellie. I don’t know what, and I’m not worried about befriending her because of it, but I would like to know what’s going on. Even if it’s only so she can lean on me the way she offered the very same thing from her.”
“Like there’s some big secret or something?”
Alba shifted into a more comfortable position on the couch, folding her legs beneath her while Colin adjusted beside her.
“Okay, so, when I was making the rounds chatting to everyone, a few of the teachers were huddled away, talking about something. I overheard one of them say that they didn’t think someone should even be working at the minute.
They referred to the person in question as ‘she’.
I think they were talking about Ellie.” Alba paused.
“I say that because just a few minutes later, Ellie left the table upset. That’s when I followed her to see if she was okay, and we decided to leave and head elsewhere. ”
“I wonder what’s going on.” Lois tilted her head. “Do you think maybe she’s incapable of running the school at the minute?”
“Nah. No way. She’s shit hot at her job.
Have you seen the Ofsted report for Park Haven?
They’ve topped the school league table for the last five years, and even before then they were up near the top.
” She leaned back again, her fingers absentmindedly scratching behind Colin’s ear.
“I don’t know what it is, but it’s not her capabilities. ”
“Maybe you should ask her. If you don’t want to do that, you could always ask someone else. If something is going on, one of them must know what it is.”
“She mentioned her ex-husband when she came over on Friday to pick me up. Maybe it’s just related to that.
You and I both know that most divorces are rough for people, so I’m probably just reading into it too much.
” Though if Alba was being honest with herself, something about Ellie’s sadness had lingered in her thoughts all weekend.
“Maybe that’s why we got on so well. Because we’ve both been in that position. ”
“Maybe. You could be right.”
“Anyway, it doesn’t really matter right now.” Alba sighed. “Ellie is the headmistress of the school, and I’m a lackey in comparison. If she wants someone to talk to, I’m likely to be the last person on her mind.”
“I wouldn’t say that. She was drawn to you for a reason, Alba.”
Alba couldn’t keep up with this conversation. What was Lois talking about now? “Drawn to me? At what point did I give you that impression?”
“If she wasn’t interested in being friends, she wouldn’t have gone to a different bar with you.” Lois lifted her cup again. “Like you said, you don’t even know one another. So, you must have done something right for her to so readily agree.”
“So, what should I do?”
“Drop by like you suggested before. It can’t do any harm.” Lois took another sip of tea. “Either she’ll invite you in, or she won’t.”
Alba sat with that for a moment, turning the idea over in her mind. Was it wise to show up at Ellie’s door? If it had been anyone else, Alba wouldn’t have thought twice, but Ellie wasn’t just anyone. She was the boss. “Maybe. I don’t know.”
Lois cocked her head towards the kitchen and smiled. “Right, well, I’ll have another cuppa while you think about it.”
Ellie lowered herself to the edge of the bed, her gaze lifting towards the wardrobe.
The uniform still hung exactly where she’d placed it, pressed neatly with the shoes aligned beneath it.
Everything was ready, everything was untouched, but from where she sat, it looked as though it would probably fit.
She had guessed the size carefully when she’d bought it, holding it up in the shop and imagining the way the sleeves would fall and how the skirt would sit just below the knee.
Because she couldn’t check anymore. She could only guess.