Page 25
Story: Watching Henry
There was a small hesitation and then Hadley was moving to one side and Florence was brushing past her and Hadley could feel her breath, could smell her all clean soap and shampoo, was suddenly aching to reach out and touch her.
She clenched her hands into fists to stop herself doing anything she might regret.
Jesus, if she touched Florence the woman might just push her down the stairs.
“I'm heading out,” she said.
Florence looked back and shrugged. “Your business, it's your afternoon off.”
It took a second before Hadley's heart-rate returned to normal and she could go down to the kitchen to bid the kids goodbye.
IT WAS A sweet little town. A main street that looked like it was from the nineteen-fifties and a slow pace that Hadley thought was probably a product of the first real heat of the summer.
She was glad for the cool air-con as she pushed into the first coffee shop that she found, craving caffeine. A woman looked up from the counter, smiling and pushing back a lock of dark hair.
“What can I get you?”
“Anything that has enough caffeine to wake a sloth,” Hadley said, grinning right back.
“Ah, tough day, I see.”
“Three kids and a six a.m. wake up call.”
The woman frowned and grabbed a mug from the shelf behind her. “You really don't look old enough to have three kids.”
Hadley laughed. “They're not mine. I'm a nanny for the summer.”
The woman started the coffee machine and glanced around the empty store. “In that case, I think you might be missing something,” she said.
Hadley laughed again. “Yeah, it's a job share. This is my afternoon off, the other nanny has the kids.”
“Jeez, it's alright for some,” said the woman, frothing milk.
“Tell me about it. I'm not entirely sure why people have kids if they don't like spending time with them, but what do I know.” Hadley glanced around, noting the rainbow sticker on the cash register and then looking more closely at the woman.
Her hair was shoulder length and dark, there was a smattering of freckles over her nose and her lips were uneven in a cute kind of way. Automatically, Hadley moved into smooth mode, leaning up on the counter.
“And here I am boring you about my life and I don't even know your name.”
The woman laughed this time. “Eleanor, and I'm the boss around these parts, and I've gotta say, I'm not sure my wife would approve of how smooth you're being right now.”
Hadley straightened up and pulled a face. It really had been force of habit. “Sorry,” she cringed. “My bad.”
“Not at all,” said Eleanor, pushing over a fresh mug of coffee. “You didn't know I was married, I don't wear a ring, and it was quite flattering. Besides, you've had a tough enough day already.”
Hadley thought back to her phone call.
If Florence hadn't walked up the stairs when she did, she was pretty sure that she'd have quit and gone with Brent. Followed her dream, just like she'd always done.
But there was something about Florence. Something irritating and annoying and prissy. Something that made Hadley want to scream, but also something that made her not want to disappoint her, not want to look bad in her eyes.
“Yeah, it's been a weird day,” she said.
“Well, if you fancy a change of pace, you can always quit and come work here,” said Eleanor. “I'm looking for someone for the summer.”
“Depends,” grinned Hadley. “Would you be able to resist my incredible smoothness for an entire summer?”
“Hmm.” Eleanor twisted her mouth in thought. “Yeah, maybe not. Besides, I'm pretty sure those kids need you.”
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25 (Reading here)
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88