A double update for you after the weekend! I hope you enjoy!
Cheers!
K. xx
She didn't see him for a fortnight afterwards. During the meeting to discuss the grant for the new pitches, she met Ethan Harris, Fleckney Kestrels' new manager; and he told her that Alexander was away from the county 'for personal reasons.' She ordered herself not to assume that she was one of those 'personal reasons.'
On the disastrous morning after her whisky-induced blunder, she'd hid in her bed; he'd had tea, gotten dressed, and gone. He'd seemed just as undisturbed as always; but it was clear, at this stage, that taking his outward composure at face value would be beyond daft. She'd restored her cottage to its usual state after he'd left - but held back on doing laundry. For two more nights, her sheets had carried that fresh powdery scent of soap that she'd caught on his skin.
She'd moved into her office in the Comprehensive, and had met the rest of the staff: from her Deputy Head, Ms. Savchenko, to Mr. Collins, the caretaker. Some were still treating her with understandable caution; but overall, she was feeling - unprecedented for her - lack of tension and stress at her workplace.
She was taking her bike out when a loud scraping sound came from the other side of the shed. Something moved in the dark damp corner, and Jackie backed away, blindly battering her hand behind her. She must have forgotten to lock up the previous night.
"Hello?" Her voice sounded unnaturally high. She immediately asked herself what she would do if it answered.
Whatever animal it was, it stilled. She could now guess the outline of its rather large, rotund shape.
"Hey, buddy," Jackie cooed in the most sycophantic tone she could muster. "Do you want to come out from there? C'mon, I'll just leave this door open for you, alright? You should go back to– wherever you came from." It seemed that she could see white patches and stripes. "Oh god, I hope you aren't a badger." She'd never seen one, but she'd heard horror stories. As a townie, proper countryside wildlife scared her out of her wits. "I'm going to work now. So you take your time, help yourself to the fertiliser if that's your thing, and then you should go back to your missus and your bairns. Alright?"
While she pedalled towards the school, she wondered whether she was supposed to let someone know about the animal. That was her first time living in a rural cottage alone.
At the school she chained her bike to the fence; took the drink tray and the box she'd picked up on the way, out of the handlebar basket; and headed inside.
"Morning," she greeted Ella, the school Administrator, and the former Headmistress' secretary. "I stopped by the Nook & Granny. They told me your regular order is a latte. And I've got some pastries."
"Oh." Ella's bright red lips rounded in surprise. "Morning! You do know it's supposed to be the other way around, innit? I'm supposed to be making your brew."
Jackie laughed. "Like I said, Ella, I really don't need a secretary. And you've got plenty of other work to do. I'm perfectly capable of walking to the kitchen and to the copy room myself."
She nudged the box towards the young woman after snatching an almond croissant.
"Oh, and thank you for the car park paperwork," she added. "It was endlessly helpful. Your filing system is top notch. Super easy to figure out and organised to perfection."
She bit into the flaky goodness and headed to her office.
"Ms. Burns?"
Jackie turned around. "Still would prefer 'Jocelyn,' please. I will convince you one day. You just watch me!" She chuckled. "What's up?"
"I had an– um, an idea last night." Ella twirled a pen in her hand.
"Cheers!" Jackie gave the woman an encouraging wave with half a croissant. A small cloud of icing sugar landed on the lapel of her jacket. "What's the idea?"
"You've got–" Ella pointed.
"Yeah, this happens all the time," Jackie dismissed and tried to brush the powder off with the wrist of her other hand. It only made the stain double in size. "You'll learn to just ignore it," she joked. "So, what did you have in mind?"
"Maybe you– I mean, the school could have a parents' evening? So you could introduce yourself officially." Ella gave Jackie an uncertain glance. "I mean, some of the parents know you, but it's Fleckney, you see. People here love festivities and all sorts of get-togethers. They normally only do it in the Primary, but seeing that you're new here– We've still got funds left in the Summer festival budget, and– I mean, if you think it's a good idea, that is. But of course, if you don't fancy it... um, just forget I said anything!"
"That's brilliant!" Jackie exclaimed. "Thank you! I will definitely use this idea, and you will get all the credit! Nothing beats the insight of someone in your position and with your experience! I'll throw some notes together, and then I'll ask for your input, alright? There will be things I'll need your help with. Let me know if it adds too much work for you, though. I'll take some of your current tasks off your hands."
"I'm not busy!" Ella exclaimed. The woman was about twenty, and Jackie thought of how wonderful it was to be that young and full of energy. "And we're got properly engaged parents,' Ella continued with pride. "They all receive the newsletter. We can just send out invitations through Classter as well. And we've got the data from the fundraiser brunch we did after the blizzard a couple of years ago. I think we could even order some small bites, maybe buffet style. Drinks and those tiny cubes of dessert from Miss Rosa."
Ella was clearly getting more and more enthusiastic about the idea.
"Wow, you're inspired!" Jackie cheered. "I think I'll let you look into it, if you don't mind. I'll prepare the presentation, but the rest–"
Ella perked up in her chair, beaming. "Leave it all to me!"
Utterly pleased with each other, they went to their desks, raring to go.
***
When she returned to the Old School, it was already dark outside. She creeped into the shed, but it appeared empty. Relieved, she locked the door - and jumped up when passing the hedge on the Western side of the cottage. She couldn't be sure that it was the same beast staring at her from the shrubbery, but it looked no less terrifying.
She bolted to the door, jerked it open - and a large fluffy form dashed by her, inside her home.
Jackie stared after it and burst into laughter. That definitely wasn't a badger.
No matter how relieved she felt, she still needed to address the 'infiltration.' She walked inside, put her briefcase on her Grandad's coffer, and called, "Hello? Where are you, mawkin? Cheetie-cheetie-cheetie!"
After half an hour of making kissing noises and crawling on all four, she finally located her shy invader: a pair of huge yellow eyes were burning under her bed.
"Hiya, mawkin! What are you doing here?"
Predictably, there was no answer. Jackie's previous interaction with felines was limited to sitting as far as possible from the temperamental ginger cat that her sister had had years ago.
"Are you going to come out?" she asked, stretching on her stomach. "Alright, I apologise for the flash–" She quickly snapped a picture, looked at the screen, and snickered. "You look very scary, buddy. Look!" She turned the screen to the cat. "At least we determined your colouring. Which you probably know, since you clean yourself. Although, aren't you lot colour-blind? I wouldn't know." She hummed pensively. "Your humans are probably looking for you. And I've got nothing for you here; no food or toys. But you're a pretty one, aren't you?" There was a large white spot on the animal's head, and the ear in the centre of it was white too. "Look at your funny beret."
The cat suddenly shifted and started climbing out, its claws scraping on the woodboards. Jackie winced away - and now the two of them were bent low to the floor, peering at each other.
"Hi," Jackie said.
The moggy emitted a strange noise - and half-purr, half-gurgle - and stepped to her.
"Oh, please don't–"
She didn't finish because the animal gently head-butted her and started rubbing its massive round head to her shoulder.
"Oh, alright, that's not the worst, I reckon," Jackie muttered. She slowly sat down and hesitantly stretched her hand to her guest. "You aren't going to scratch me, right?"
The fur was thick, soft, and shiny. There was a collar too, so she assumed it wasn't a stray. She didn't find a tag, though.
"And what am I supposed to do with you, heh?"
The beast continued stomping around her; pushing its head, neck, and back to her in turns; and purring loudly. Jackie scratched, while quickly googling with her other hand.
She found only one number - the Fleckney 24 Hour Animal Services - and dialled.
"Hiya," a young female voice answered.
"Hello," Jackie said. "I'm calling about a lost animal."
"Yeah, what's up?" the woman answered - and crunched with some food.
Jackie threw the cat a 'can you believe this?' look. The moggy nudged her hand encouraging her to continue.
"There's a cat in my house," Jackie said. "It just ran in. So I was wondering if there's some sort of a register of lost animals in Fleckney."
The person on the other end continues noisily eating crisps. Jackie reminded herself that she was in the country now, and things were different here.
"It has a collar, and–"
"Is it a tuxedo?" the woman asked.
"I beg your pardon?"
The cat decided that the distance between them was too large, and started clambering onto Jackie's lap.
"The cat," the crisp lover said. "Is it black and white? With a round white spot on its head, and another one on its back, sort of like a ring? I don't know what it's called." She bit into another crisp. "Like a Polo."
"The shape is called a torus," Jackie snapped. "That is if it's 3D. And an annulus if it's flat."
There was a snort and a giggle, and Jackie rolled her eyes.
"Anyroad, that's one of the Harewicke cats," the woman in the Animal Services took her merriment under control. "He runs away. It's funny that he got into your house, though. He's so nervy, he usually hides in sheds and garages. You can never catch the bugger."
Jackie looked at the cat that was curled on her, content and relaxed, its nose tucked into its tail.
"I guess, you aren't scary." Another ridiculous snicker followed. "Well, just leave a door open or something. Or a window. He'll leave eventually."
"What?! Aren't you going to pick him up? Or let his owner know?!"
"He's one of the witches' cats. They come and go as they want. And we don't do pick-up. Only if it's a medical emergency. Then Dr. Carter drives to you." The wrap crinkled. The woman must have finished her snack. "Oh wait, I just sussed it out. You must be the new Headmistress, right? Explains it. I'm Gigi, I'm Dr. Carter's receptionist. We've got a surgery here, and he looks after pets and farm animals in the county. And all calls come to my mobile. And then I ring him up on his number if it's a proper emergency. That's about it."
"Right," Jackie muttered. "Nonetheless, what am I supposed to do with the cat?"
"Nothing," the one called Gigi said. "He's got his needles, so no fleas or worms. He won't bother you, he's probably bricking it and looking for a way out."
The cat rolled on its side, and then its back, giving Jackie access to its soft fluffy stomach.
"You aren't allergic, are you?" Gigi asked with sudden concern in the voice.
"No, I'm not allergic." Jackie sighed. "And if the cat doesn't leave, am I supposed to let his owners know it's here?"
"Sure," Gigi answered lightly. "You can DM them on Instagram. They have an account. HarewickeApothecary. H-a-r-e-w-i-c-k-e. But I wouldn't worry, he's probably long gone."
And before Jackie could say anything else, Gigi threw her a cheery 'goodnight' and hung up.
Jackie looked at the cat - and the cat blinked slowly and hugged her hand with its thick soft paws with white 'mittens.'
"I reckon I have to install Instagram." Jackie tut-tutted. "Things I do for you, mawkin."