Inheritance

Chapter Eighteen. A Home Tutorial

Chapter Eighteen 

 A Home Tutorial 

The Atkinsons sold the farm at the end of the lambing season. The profits from the sale, combined with the inheritance, enabled them to purchase a Victorian mansion on the edge of town. The large grounds surrounding the house gave the sheepdogs plenty of room to roam. A vegetable garden kept Rachel's father busy, and an ornamental garden became her mother's pride and joy. The three daughters now had their own bedrooms. They decorated the rooms to their own tastes, and found them far more comfortable than the damp attic they had shared on the farm. 

At first, Rachel luxuriated in idleness. She had been used to helping out with the chores on the farm, both before and after school, and especially at weekends. Now all that was demanded of her was a tidy bedroom, and occasional help with the washing up. She received a generous allowance, and really didn't need to work. Despite this, on learning that John was to work at Oxley's, she applied for a summer job there. 

Oxley's was a small company that specialized in the manufacture of micro scale electronic components, made of copper and electroplated with silver. John had obtained a summer job in the plating shop. Rachel took a temporary position in quality control, where the finished products were tested. She was ecstatic. She would be testing John's work, and bound to have contact with him.  

On the morning of her second day at work, John entered the little workshop she shared with three co-workers, brandishing plastic bags filled with the shiny products of his previous day's toil. He spotted Rachel, gave her a grin, and after depositing the silver condenser vanes on the supervisor's desk, came over to her bench. He looked older, heftier, a little careworn, but still handsome. His hair had receded a little, making the scar on his temple more visible. He was in a genial mood, a mood she decided not to break with complaints about unanswered mail. 

"Well, well, fancy meeting you here," he chortled. 

"And how are you keeping, John?" 

"Fine, just fine. Are you here just for the summer?" 

"Yes." 

"Me too. Say, do you fancy getting together for lunch? It will give us a chance to catch up." 

"Sure, I'd love to." 

"That's great then. See you in the cafeteria at noon. Okay? 

"Okay." 

Rachel's three coworkers, all single unattached girls, had listened intently to this inane conversation. As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, the interrogation began. Where had she met him? Had she ever gone out with him? Did he have a steady girl friend? Was he good in bed? All questions she fielded without destroying the illusion that John and she were in some way romantically involved. 

At lunch, much to her dismay, she learned the reason for his ebullience. He had seen Sheila, and was once again infatuated with her. However, Sheila was going to be in Germany for the entire summer.  This was her chance.

                                                                        ***** 

 Lunch became the highlight of Rachel's working day; one hour, when she usually had John to herself. Despite their earlier letters, he no longer confided in her. Any questions about his personal life were immediately diverted into discussions of current affairs, sports, or more likely, schoolwork. He was doing quite well, but Rachel admitted to him that she had suffered through a miserable year.  

Her plan, unknown to John, was to take A level sciences and follow him to Sheffield, but Math had raised its ugly head. In the exams at the end of the lower sixth, she had failed miserably in both Maths and Physics, and eked out a 53% in Chemistry. She needed help, help that John could give. She offered a bribe; fresh lunch every day, in exchange for four hours of tutoring per week.