Читать книгу: «Lessons in Love», страница 2

Chapter Two

‘Ah, Jane, there you are. Do come in. Thanks for coming down. Nice to see you. If you’d just like to take a seat.’ The first floor of the new library was dedicated to Human Resources. It said so on a shiny brass plaque as you stepped out of the lift.

Mrs Findlay waved Jane into her office. Just inside the door a large tank of tropical fish basked and bubbled under the glow of a daylight strip lamp.

Mrs Findlay was a plump woman in late middle age, who wore various pairs of spectacles on a tangle of chains around her lard-white neck, had an office full of begonias, and was something big in internal human resources, which always sounded a bit medical and slightly unsavoury to Jane.

‘Well, here we are then,’ said Mrs Findlay brightly, easing herself in behind the desk and settling herself down. ‘Now, as I’m sure you’re aware recently we’ve been looking at ways to restructure and improve our current levels of service. And I think we are developing some exciting strategies to meet that challenge.’ She had a file with Jane’s name on it spread out across the desk. ‘I’ve been looking at the projects you’ve been involved in since you began working with us here at Buckbourne and some of the things you’ve initiated—and I have to say it’s all terribly impressive.’ Mrs Findlay smiled warmly. ‘A lot of very intriguing and innovative ideas, Jane, lots of outreach to take library services into the wider community, identifying and targeting groups with special needs, good use of resources, coming in under budget, as I said, this is very impressive, just the kind of thing we want to encourage, which is why…’

It was the following Monday morning and it felt to Jane as if she had just survived the longest weekend of her life. It was the second weekend since Steven Burney Day—13 days 19 hours and 11 minutes since Lucy had just popped in to her office to tell her all about Steve. The first weekend Jane had been so stunned she could barely remember it. Barely breathe. It felt like one great red raw emotional blur. But this one, the first one out of the fire and into reality, had been interminable, even given the trip over to Creswell Close to deliver the post. In quiet moments Jane reran the last conversation she had had with Steve, phrase by phrase, syllable by syllable.

He had turned up at her house after she rang him. He’d brought flowers and a balloon and some ridiculous card shop bear that had, ‘Pwease don’t be cross wiv lickle me,’ embroidered across its T-shirt.

Now, as Steve filled her mind Mrs Findlay’s voice faded to a distant drone.

‘Jane, I’m so sorry, the thing is, it really wasn’t my fault,’ Steve had said. ‘Please don’t look at me like that. We were both a little bit tipsy. I didn’t mean it to happen. Really. Lucy and I had been talking about the new strategic county policy document and I suggested a glass of wine. Neither of us had eaten. It could have happened to anyone. I know that is no excuse but I’d been on tablets as well—you remember, I’d had that nasty cold. And she was, well, you know Lucy—she’s a lovely girl but…We started talking about life and all that stuff and…and, well, it just happened. Let’s be adult about this. It was nothing. You have to believe me, Jane. We all make mistakes. It was a moment of madness. And I’m really sorry.’ Steve looked down at his nice shiny shoes, the very epitome of contrition. ‘Trust me, sweetie, it was an accident.’

‘So you’re telling me that your clothes accidentally fell off and by some miracle not seen since the days of the Old Testament, Lucy Stroud was instantly covered in Greek yogurt, chocolate sauce and strawberries?’

‘Ah…’

‘You know I’ve wondered for weeks what those stains were on your sofa.’

There was a very interesting pause and then Steve gathered himself together and said, ‘Well, the thing is—’

But Jane was ahead of him. ‘The thing is I could probably understand it happening once, Steve. It’s the regular Wednesday evenings ever since that are proving a little more problematic.’

‘Ah…’

And then Jane had trashed the flowers, popped the balloon and offered if he said pwease to insert the bear into the orifice of Steve’s choice. He said she was being unreasonable.

Being in a state of shock, Jane hadn’t thought to ask him about Carol and Anna. Maybe she should. Maybe she could send an email memo to her whole ‘at work’ mailing list asking for more details. Lucy said that she had pictures if Jane needed any further proof. The cow.

Meanwhile it was still Monday morning and despite thoughts of Steve, on the far side of the desk Mrs Findlay, big in internal human resources, was still talking.

‘…So I do hope you understand our position in this, Jane. I have to say we’ll all be awfully sad to see you go.’

Jane looked up at her in amazement. ‘What?’

‘I realise that it may come as a bit of shock but we’re all aware that you’re an extremely talented individual, Jane. I’m certain that it won’t take you long to find another position. Let’s look at this current situation positively—and rest reassured that we will be doing our very best to help you in your search to find another position while you’re working out your notice. There may very well be something coming up within your present department. Who knows? I’ve had Maureen in the front office run off a list of current County Council situations vacant for you and we have prepared a very useful pack for members of staff who find themselves in this situation.’ Mrs Findlay pulled a cheery yellow and navy-blue folder out from a box on the floor.

‘What?’ Jane said again, staring at her. ‘I don’t understand. What do you mean, I’ve got the sack? You were just telling me that I was the best thing since sliced bread. And then you follow that up by telling me I’m sacked? It’s ridiculous—I’m really good at my job so you’re going to get rid of me? How the hell do you expect me to look at that positively?’

Mrs Findlay’s contorted expression took professional concern to new and dizzying heights. ‘I have to say, Jane, that “sacked” is really not a term I’m very happy with. But, yes, I’m afraid we’re going to have to let you go.’ She held up her hands, in a ‘what can I do?’ gesture.

‘I’m not a seal being released back into the wild.’

Mrs Findlay looked pained. ‘There’s really no need to take that attitude, Jane. You must understand that I find this part of my job terribly stressful and very difficult.’

If she was going for the sympathy vote Mrs Findlay had picked the wrong moment. Jane stared at her; some sort of weird benign touchy-feely PC sacking on top of Steve Burney’s very public infidelity was just about the final straw.

‘My heart bleeds for you,’ snapped Jane. ‘So what happened to how impressed you were with what I’ve done for the department?’

Determinedly Mrs Findlay held her ground. ‘Sometimes, Jane, we need to prune a tree to ensure its continued healthy growth and when we prune a tree, some of the wood, sometimes even some of the new vigorous wood, has to be cut away. But I’m sure you’ll be pleased to hear that we’ve decided to adopt some of your wonderfully innovative ideas, structure them into our working practice in a more permanent way.’ She paused while Jane took a moment to catch up. ‘We’ve asked Lucy to head the project up. You know Lucy.’

Jane stared at her. ‘Lucy? Lucy Stroud?’

‘Yes, I thought you’d be pleased. She holds you in very high esteem. Recently she’s expressed a real interest in developing community links. We all thought she was a natural choice. And she comes highly recommended.’

Somewhere in Jane’s head a pile of pennies dropped noisily. ‘By Steve Burney?’ she whispered, through clenched teeth.

‘I couldn’t possibly comment on that,’ said Mrs Findlay, gathering Jane’s file together. No, of course she couldn’t; she didn’t need to, it was written all over her face. ‘Now with regards to passing the baton, we’ll need to discuss her shadowing you—’

‘Really?’ said Jane, standing up.

‘I didn’t think you’d mind,’ said Mrs Findlay, obviously pleased with how well it had all gone.

‘Well, you thought wrong,’ said Jane.

The self-help pack was entitled ‘So You’ve Lost Your Job? What Next?’. Inside the front cover in a flowery font that was probably meant to look like it was handwritten from a favourite aunt, it read, ‘You know, it really helps to look at this as a positive step. We have to see this as a fresh start, a chance to explore our potential, rather than taking a negative attitude.’

‘Bollocks we do,’ said Jane darkly, stuffing the shiny plastic folder into the fish tank as she marched out.

By the lift Jane stopped to pick up three empty cardboard cartons from the janitor’s cupboard and then headed back up to the fourth floor. She didn’t cry, she couldn’t find the way into any more tears, adrenalin and shock holding everything tight inside her. In fact, Jane felt so numb that she wondered if she might be dreaming.

It took around fifteen minutes to clear her desk and sort the last year of her life into neat piles and a couple of rubbish bags. Jane looked at her pot plant and the boxes. There was no way she was going to get home on the bus with all this lot, so when she’d done, Jane stacked everything onto a book trolley, picked up the phone, pressed 9 for an outside line and called a cab on the library account, booking it down to Lucy Stroud.

Bad news travels fast. No one looked her in the eye as she walked back out through the office, no one spoke in the lift on the way down to the foyer, or offered to help her on the long walk through to the main front doors. It was almost as if she had the plague and they might catch it if they stood too close.

She was barely at the kerb when the cab rolled up. ‘Creswell Close?’ said the driver, leaning over towards the open passenger-side window.

‘Road,’ she said firmly.

‘Right you are.’ He nodded and got out to help load her possessions into the boot.

‘Jane?’

She swung round. Heading across the pedestrianised area in front of the library was Lizzie, who had worked with her, and Cal from the office next door, and two or three others, all looking slightly uncomfortable and—it had to be said—shifty, every few seconds gazing back over their shoulders in case there was some chance they were being watched.

‘I’m so sorry,’ said Lizzie, putting her arms around Jane. ‘I was in a meeting. We didn’t know, we had no idea. Are you OK?’

Jane nodded. ‘Bit shell-shocked but I’ll survive. And don’t look so worried. There’s nothing you could do, was there?’

Lizzie stared glumly at the boxes. ‘I thought it was going really well. I like working with you. I didn’t realise that we had to leave straight away.’

Jane looked at her; the ‘we’ sounded too prophetic for her liking. ‘We? Do you think you’ll be going too?’

Lizzie shrugged. ‘Who knows? It’s a bit like Russian roulette, isn’t it? I mean, how are they choosing who goes and who stays? One minute you’re busy planning what sandwich you’re going to have for lunch and then Bang. Out. Karen Marshall’s ended up on the mobile out at Fleetley on the sink estates. She’d been working in the library twenty-eight years. It’s too expensive to make her redundant so they’re hoping if they give her something horrible to do she’ll fall on her own sword. I feel like one of those baby penguins on an ice floe with the killer whales circling. I mean, if they can get rid of you just like that and move Karen…Christ, Karen was an institution.’ She let the implication hang between them. ‘And I didn’t think there was any chance they’d get rid of you—you were doing really well. I thought Findlay was considering promoting you, or giving you a big project, or at least congratulating you.’

Jane handed the taxi driver the pot plant. ‘Oh, she did congratulate me, about thirty seconds before she gave me the push.’

Lizzie shook her head. ‘It’s crazy. People were talking about you.’

Jane sighed. ‘That may have been the problem. Keep your head down, don’t call attention to yourself-isn’t that the first rule of working in a big organisation? Don’t draw their fire. But then again, probably none of that counts as long as you’re not screwing Steve Burney Presumably you’re not on Lucy’s hit list of women who coveted her neighbour’s oxen?’

Lizzie stared at her. ‘Lucy? Not Lucy Stroud? Steve Burney? You are joking.’ But even as she said it Jane could see her colour rising. Surely not Lizzie as well? Had the man got no shame?

Jane sighed. ‘Not you?’

Lizzie’s colour deepened. ‘It was before you started going out with him. He always used to flirt—I mean, I just thought he flirted with everyone.’

Jane nodded. ‘He probably does. Fishing expedition.’

The cab driver sighed. ‘Meter’s running,’ he said bleakly.

‘Not a problem,’ said Jane. ‘It’s on the account. And don’t forget to add a decent tip. All this loading and unloading. I’d stick a tenner on if I were you.’

‘Did they say you had to get out straight away?’ asked Lizzie nervously.

‘No, that was my choice,’ Jane said, hugging her and then Cal, and then the others. ‘Watch your back,’ whispered Jane as she gave Lizzie one last hug. ‘Especially if you have to work with Lucy.’

‘I’ll phone you,’ called Lizzie as the cab pulled away.

Jane was home at Creswell Road by eleven o’clock.

In her absence Gladstone had found himself a deck chair from somewhere and was sitting—in his overcoat, boa, mittens and woolly hat—in the shade of the skip, eating a fruit pie. He waved graciously as she pulled up in front of the house. She got the cabby to help carry the boxes inside.

The cats were in the sitting room on the sofa, both a little miffed at being disturbed mid-morning. Some people had no consideration.

While the driver struggled in with the plant, Jane picked up the post, went into the kitchen and plugged in the kettle. The minute the front door was closed and there was no one there to see, Jane burst into tears.

Bastards, now what the hell was she going to do? Her emotions swung backwards and forwards like a pendulum, ranging from gutted, hurt, horrified and scared, through fury to despair and back again, she sobbed and swore until the kettle boiled.

How could they do this to her? Lucy bloody Stroud. Christ, if Jane had known the trouble it would cause she would have gift-wrapped Steve Burney and sent him Special Delivery. He wasn’t that special, was he? Was he? She sobbed again. Yes, he was. A bastard maybe, but charming, and tall and presentable and—and bloody man—she loved him. Bastard. Jane grabbed a handful of tissues out of the box on the counter top and blew her nose.

She had worked so hard to get this far. Steve had seemed like the icing on the cake. This was supposed to be her fresh new start. And how come bloody Lucy had ended up with her man and her job? It wasn’t fair.

The cats, Boris and Milo, ambled in, obviously hoping to pick up a little something for their trouble. They knew there was tuna in the cupboard, they’d seen her unpacking the tins, but as soon as they saw crying they backed out. No good in a crisis, cats.

Jane, meanwhile, picked up the paper knife. God, what the hell had happened to her life? She needed to get a grip and now she needed to get a job. Still sniffing, Jane opened the letters one by one. The kettle reboiled, she made tea and sat down to read them.

‘Dear Ms J. Mills, we are delighted to inform you…’ Bugger. Jane Mills read the letter and groaned. Oh, no, not again. Apparently she had won an all-expenses-paid trip-of-a-lifetime for two to a destination of her choice from one of the following…

Or at least she would have done if the letter had been delivered to the right Ms J. Mills at the right address. If there was one Ms Mills who needed a free holiday it was her; the other Ms Mills looked as if she could afford to go exactly where she liked when she liked.

Double bugger. Jane was very tempted to throw the letters and the paper knife across the room but she couldn’t really throw someone else’s mail away. They were all for Ms J. Mills, 9 Creswell Close. Again. All six of them. There was nothing for it, she would ring the Post Office to complain and then drive over to Creswell Close and take Ms J. Mills her post. Again. But then maybe it was just the thing she needed to distract her from the chaos raging in her head.

Jane blew her nose, washed her face and headed back out towards the car.

Gladstone waved. He was eating something bright purple and lumpy out of a jam jar with a spoon.

When Jane got to Creswell Close, there was a large van parked outside number 7, delivering what looked like life-size statues of Greek gods. They were being lowered on a tail lift by men in brown cotton shop coats and then manoeuvred around on a large trolley. Some were being set on plinths in the front garden, some taken round to the back. There were stacks of boxes and cartons and crates in the driveway and large indefinable things wrapped up under acres of tarpaulin.

Tony and Lil were out in the front garden, having cigarettes and watching progress. They waved as Jane slowed and drew up to the front gates of number 9. Today they were firmly closed. Jane wound her window down and pressed the call button on the security system.

‘Hello?’

Something somewhere in the house crackled into life. ‘Hello,’ said a distant voice. ‘Who is this?’

‘It’s Jane Mills—we met on Saturday. I’ve got some more post for you.’

There was a short pause and then a whirr and a click, the gates jerked, and then very slowly swung open. Jane pulled up outside the front door, which this time was fully open and framing a small foreign man, dressed in a black Nehru-collared shirt and black jeans, who looked as if he was from the East, possibly the Philippines or Thailand.

‘Jane Mills?’ he asked suspiciously as Jane climbed out of the car. ‘You said you were Jane Mills?’

Jane nodded. ‘Yes, that’s right. I’ve brought the other Jayne Mills her post. The postman delivered it to my house by accident again today.’ She held out the letters. ‘They did the same thing at the weekend.’

The man didn’t move. ‘She isn’t feeling so well today.’

That makes two of us, thought Jane ruefully. All the way over in the car Jane had been thinking about revenge, something spectacular and biblical. It wasn’t her normal style at all but surely, surely, if there was any justice in the world Steve Burney and Lucy Stroud had to pay for working her over so very thoroughly. What the hell had she done to either of them other than fall in love with Steve and be nice to Lucy? It just wasn’t right.

The man was still waiting in the doorway.

‘In that case maybe you’d like to take these in for her,’ said Jane, proffering the post.

‘She spends too much time on her own. She could do with some company. It’s not right.’ The man’s voice was disapproving. ‘I said that she should go out. Have some fun, for goodness’ sake. It’s not as if money is the problem. Buy something lovely—meet nice people, fly off somewhere—dump that freeloader Carlo. I keep telling her, she needs to find herself a good man. I mean, it works for me—’

‘All right, all right, that’s enough, Gary,’ said a voice from somewhere deep inside the house. ‘If you’re telling my life story to the fish man again I’ll—’

Jayne Mills appeared at the bottom of the stairs. She was wearing ginger-coloured linen trousers, a fitted cream shirt, brown leather belt and matching high-heeled sandals, and looked wonderful—or at least she would have done if she hadn’t had that look in her eyes. It was the same look Jane had seen in the mirror earlier that morning. It was a look that said Jayne Mills was tired and sad and hurt, a little bit lost and lonely, and very much in need of a hug.

‘Oh, it’s you,’ said Jayne, her expression unchanging. ‘The letter opener.’

‘Yes, sorry, I’m here again.’ Jane indicated the bundle of post currently being carried by Gary.

‘And?’

‘And they’re all open.’

‘Again?’ Jayne looked her up and down and then sighed. ‘Well, I suppose it saves me the trouble. What’s your excuse this time?’

‘Emotional trauma.’

‘Really.’ Her tone was as dry as the Sahara.

‘I got the sack today.’

‘For opening other people’s mail?’

Jane shook her head ruefully. ‘No, unfortunately not. I’d be guilty as charged of that. No, for working hard, coming up with lots of good ideas and generally being liked, as far as I can make out.’

‘Ah,’ said Jayne, ‘that’ll do it every time. In my experience it’s the quickest way to get yourself sacked. Refusing to change and being a complete bastard, on the other hand, means you’re never out of work.’

‘And thirteen days, twenty-one hours and—’ Jane glanced down at her watch—‘nineteen minutes ago, I found out the guy who I thought was my happy-ever-after was sleeping with someone else. Well, actually, it was possibly more than one someone else, but you get the picture.’

Gary rolled his eyes and looked heavenwards.

‘Rough couple of weeks,’ said Jayne.

‘And the woman who got my boyfriend? She’s got my job now, too.’

‘Really? Do you fancy a coffee?’ said Jayne, taking the post from Gary and heading down towards the kitchen. For a moment Jane didn’t know whether she was talking to Gary, but when she looked at her diminutive companion, the man was making an exaggerated head gesture that indicated Jane should follow.

Jane considered for an instant and then sighed. Why not? After all, what was there to go home to? She followed Jayne into the house.