by Linda Huber
It was embarrassing. Miss McLure had been very pleasant about the whole thing, but what must she have thought? And the silly girl still needed pull-ons at night. Jennifer had blamed that on the pills when they were at the farm, but Hailey only had the very occasional pill now and she was still wet every blessed morning. Lugging sheets in and out of the washing machine was no fun at all when you were seven months pregnant with twins, so any kind of training, with the risk of relapses, would have to wait. It was infuriating. A cleaning lady was out of the question, too, they couldn’t possibly have a stranger nosing around the house. Jennifer knew she would just have to battle on with Hailey. But wetting during the day - that was quite inexcusable.
Jennifer shivered angrily, then made herself relax. If it happened again, she would have to take matters into her own hands. Hailey was spoiling their perfect family life. There was always something to worry about. The latest was the permission slip that Miss McLure had sent home yesterday.
Hailey’s class was going to a beach on Monday. When Jennifer had first read the slip she’d had to sit down. Were schools allowed to take the children to dangerous places like that? One teacher couldn’t possibly watch fifteen children all at once. And Hailey didn’t like beaches.
A second look at the note had reassured her slightly; it said specifically that they weren’t going anywhere near the water and there would be three adults with the children. But Jennifer knew she wouldn’t be able to relax until Hailey was safely back home again.
One of the babies shifted, as if the uncomfortable thoughts had disturbed it. Jennifer breathed out shakily. Everything would be alright.
Hailey only needed time, Miss McLure had even said so. If only Phillip could come home soon, he’d straighten his daughter out in no time. A smile tugged at Jennifer’s mouth as she pictured her husband. How worried he had been during her Black Patch, and how relieved when the blackness had departed and colour came back into her life.
In the meantime she would just have to deal with Hailey by herself.
A baby inside her kicked again, and Jennifer smiled lovingly. ‘It’s alright, sweetie-pies. Mummy’s right here.’
Chapter Ten
The morning air was cool and damp, a subtle reminder that September was more than half over and summer was making way for autumn. Katie whistled as she drove towards Polpayne Castle Primary, then chuckled aloud as she realised that she was looking forward to this morning’s outing as if she were one of the children herself. It was her first school trip with the class, a two-hour expedition to the beach to collect shells and seaweed for their ocean theme. Her pupils were all highly enthusiastic about it - or most of them were.
Katie frowned, thinking about her two ‘problem’ children.
Derek Cameron had more going wrong for him than a mere stutter. He was rude and boisterous with the other children, and Katie wondered which had come out first, the aggression or the stutter. She hadn’t yet found a way to get through to Derek, which worried her.
And Hailey Marshall seemed to be plain backward, to use a non-professional description. It wasn’t only the poor bladder control; both her speech and her drawing were those of a considerably younger child. Much of the time she just sat there in her own little world, brown eyes vacant and strands of thin hair straggling from the headband she obviously hated wearing.
Katie didn’t understand the child, and as Hailey rarely talked in more than monosyllables it was difficult to know where to start. She needed help, so much was clear, but Katie didn’t know if she was the right person to provide that help. An expert might do better. On the other hand the child had only been at school for a week, it was a bit early to start dragging psychologists into the picture.
Driving past, Katie glanced at the restaurant she’d been to with Mark. It had been a surprising evening in more ways than one. Mark had outed himself as a fish-eating vegetarian, and away from school he was altogether more serious, talking intelligently about his life and plans for the future. The time had flown by and it was nearly midnight when he drove her home. So the one thing Katie had worried about hadn’t come into the equation - whether or not to invite him in.
‘I won’t ask you up for more coffee, if you don’t mind. It’s a school night, and I need my beauty sleep,’ she’d said as he pulled up under the streetlight by her flat.
‘Now you know yourself that’s not true,’ he said, getting out to open the car door for her.
Katie stood in the front doorway, watching as he drove off down the road.
She knew it wasn’t a good idea to get involved with someone at work, but couldn’t ignore the smile that was spreading across her face.
Katie pulled up in her usual space in the teachers’ car park, where Jeanette McCallum was emerging from her car.
‘Morning, Katie. You’ve got a good day for your trip!’
‘Thankfully,’ said Katie, looking towards the distant ocean. She lifted the plastic bag containing her expedition clothes and grinned at the Head. ‘I wonder how many of the kids have remembered jeans and jumpers - I told them they were old enough to take a message like that home without me writing letters. Everyone who does remember gets an extra sticker for their fish poster.’
Jeanette laughed. ‘Bribery and corruption, works every time!’
The children were buzzing round the cloakroom, hanging up blazers and changing shoes for slippers. When Katie arrived they all hurtled into the classroom and crowded round her.
‘We’re going, aren’t we, Miss McLure?’
‘It’s warm enough, isn’t it?’
Katie smiled round the circle of excited faces.
‘It’s the perfect day for a beach outing,’ she said gaily. ‘Not too hot, not too cold, and not too windy. Now, who remembered to bring old jeans?’
‘Me!’
‘I did!’
Katie looked round the hands waving in the air. Unsurprisingly, two children had forgotten: Derek Cameron and Hailey Marshall.
‘Derek? Hailey?’
‘F-f-forgot.’
Derek looked so miserable Katie almost laughed.
‘Oh, well - we’ll find you something in the clothes box. Did you forget too, Hailey?’
Hailey, however, shook her head. Katie and the other children looked at her.
‘Didn’t tell Mummy. Haven’t got any trousers now,’ said Hailey, staring at the floor.
The other children giggled.
Katie blinked in surprise. ‘You don’t have any trousers? Just skirts and dresses?’
Hailey nodded, and a few children sniggered again. Katie frowned, regretting her impulsive question. She didn’t want to turn Hailey of all people into a laughing stock.
‘No problem, Hailey. I prefer skirts too,’ she said quickly, pulling out the spare clothes box. ‘Time to get changed, everyone, and then we’ll be off.’
They were going to a cove three miles from Polpayne, where it was possible for the school minibus to drive right down to the bottom of the cliff. Katie didn’t want to start any mountaineering expeditions with the class, even if Nora and Alison were there to help her.
The minibus was parked by the side door. The children, noisy and looking quite different out of school uniform, rushed out eagerly. Nora took the wheel, while Katie checked everyone’s seatbelt then sat at the front as the minibus rolled along the coast road, back into Polpayne and out the other side. She gazed out along dark, rugged cliffs providing a stark contrast to the soft blues and greens of sky and sea. The tide was well out, breakers crashing far in the distance, so the sands would be perfect to explore.
Slowly, Nora guided the minibus down a steep track. The children oohed and aahed, but finally the bus jerked to a stop at the bottom. Katie stood up and faced the class.
‘Okay, you each have a plastic bag. Collect anything you like, but remember, nothing enormous, nothing too smelly, and no dead animals or fish. No live ones, either. And if anyone even goes near the sea we all go straight back to school. If you’re no
t sure about anything, ask one of us.’ She turned to Nora and Alison. ‘You and I can mingle and answer questions, Nora, and Alison, you stand seawards of the mob and watch out that no-one separates too far from the group. Okay, everyone, let’s go!’
She stood by and watched as the children leapt out of the bus, most of them splitting into chattering groups of three or four. Hailey, however, jumped down on the sand, looked wildly about her and then turned left and sprinted along the beach.
‘Whoa, Hailey!’ called Katie. ‘Don’t go off by yourself, sweetie.’ She ran after the child and led her back to the others. ‘Look, you join up with Aiden and Melanie and see what you can find together.’
Hailey stared mutely, and Katie was taken aback to see tears on the little girl’s face. There was no pleasure in Hailey’s expression, she just looked dazed. Katie watched as the child trudged after Melanie and Aiden, but to her relief the three of them were soon digging away in the sand.
Katie grinned at Nora. ‘Right, that’s us started!’
The children were shouting to each other across the length of the beach and collecting shells, driftwood and seaweed with appealing enthusiasm. Katie and Nora moved among them, admiring and advising.
‘Look what I’ve found! What is it, Miss McLure?’ Derek rushed up waving something green.
Katie examined it. ‘Looks like a piece of fishing net. Some poor fisherman had a big hole to mend, didn’t he?’
The children nearby giggled. Proudly, Derek stuffed the net into his bag and moved on.
‘No stutters this time,’ murmured Nora, and Katie looked at her. It was true. Derek hadn’t stuttered anything like as much as usual. He was obviously having fun, too, running around and laughing with the other children.
‘You know, I think he’ll be fine in the end,’ said Katie, and Nora nodded in agreement. Katie watched Derek for a moment, then turned to see where Hailey was.
The little girl was standing by herself, staring into her plastic bag. Katie crouched beside her.
‘What have you collected? Oh, shells, how lovely. What are you going to do with them?’
For once the child looked straight into Katie’s eyes. ‘I want to make a sandcastle for a princess and put shells on the tower like me and my mum did.’
It was the longest speech Hailey had made so far, and Katie smiled warmly.
‘That sounds wonderful, but we’ve no time for sandcastles this morning, sweetheart. But I’m sure Mummy’ll take you to the beach at Polpayne soon. You could make your castle there.’
Hailey’s face closed immediately. She shook her head. Katie thought quickly. She didn’t want to block off Hailey’s new communicative mood.
‘Or your daddy, when he comes home?’
Hailey nodded, fierce hope blazing in her eyes. ‘I wanted to go to my daddy,’ she said, her voice trembling.
Katie hugged her, glancing round to see if Nora and Alison were coping with the rest of the class before turning back to Hailey.
‘It hasn’t been easy for you, has it? There have been lots of changes going on, but don’t worry, Hailey. Things’ll be better soon. I had to move house too when I was little, so I know what it’s like.’
Hailey stared up at Katie with huge, amazed eyes. ‘You did?’
‘I did. Twice, even. It was difficult at first both times, but I was soon happy again in my new homes and my new schools. You will be too. When exactly is Daddy coming home, do you know?’
Hailey took a deep breath, her face full of hope again. ‘Mummy says he’s coming soon.’
‘Bet you can’t wait to see him,’ said Katie.
The little girl’s lips were trembling, and Katie hugged her again.
‘I hope he’s home very soon. Now, you go back to Melanie and see if you can find some other bits and pieces for your bag.’
Hailey rejoined Melanie and Aiden, and another half hour passed before Katie blew her whistle.
‘Elevenses!’ she called, and the children cheered.
Back in the staffroom, Katie told Nora about her chat with Hailey.
‘Thank goodness she’s opening up a little,’ Nora said. ‘It would be interesting to see her in her own home, mind you. She might be more talkative there.’
‘I’ve wondered about that too,’ said Katie. ‘And wasn’t that odd right at the start today when she dashed off along the beach like that - what on earth was she thinking? Maybe I should do a home visit to the Marshalls. My plan was to wait until after the October holiday before starting my visits, but Hailey is a problem, and Mrs Marshall might prefer a visit now, rather than later.’
‘Yes. And Hailey’s problems might get worse when the baby comes, too,’ said Nora. ‘We should be prepared for that.’
‘It’s twins,’ Katie told her.
‘Then I’d definitely go on your visit soon. Twins often come early.’
‘Good trip?’ Jeanette McCallum said as she walked into the staffroom with two of the other teachers. Katie took her lunch from the fridge and joined them at the table.
‘Very. They gathered loads of stuff, I don’t know where I’m going to put it all. And my prize stutterer almost stopped stuttering, and my non-talker was really quite chatty, once we’d persuaded her not to run away. In fact when I think about it, we had a brilliant morning!’
The others laughed, and Katie joined in. A teacher’s life is full of moments like this, she thought with satisfaction. Small successes that make all your efforts seem worthwhile.
Chapter Eleven
Late September
Jennifer slammed the phone down and strode back into the kitchen.
Pacing the floor, she recalled the conversation.
‘It’s a routine visit, to have an informal chat about Hailey’s progress and let you know a little more about the work we’ll be doing throughout the year,’ Miss McLure had said. ‘We do one for each child before Christmas.’
Jennifer sniffed, reaching for the kettle. A cup of tea would calm her down. Her tummy was tight, and she massaged it gently. Practice contractions, Dr Rosen called them. She remembered them from her first pregnancy, but they were stronger this time.
She took her tea through to the front room and lowered herself into the sofa. Hailey must have made herself conspicuous again at school. Such an ungrateful child - not every little girl was lucky enough to go to such a nice school. The least Hailey could do was buckle down to her lessons and not disrupt the class with infantile behaviour. The more Jennifer thought about it the angrier she became. It was impossible to understand why Hailey was behaving like this. She used to be such a happy little girl.
A worrying thought struck her. Did Miss McLure want this home visit because Hailey had said something? About her hair, maybe? All the chemicals and lemon juice had made the child’s hair dull and brittle, and Jennifer was beginning to think that a haircut was the only solution. But Hailey’s hair was so pretty that little bit longer. It always had been. She’d have one last attempt at using camomile before making any difficult decisions.
A mixture of confusion and anger swept through Jennifer and her large tummy tightened painfully. She had to calm down. All she needed to do was be nice and pleasant to Miss McLure, and everything would be alright.
She and Hailey had better start practising. Just to make sure they were word perfect when Miss McLure came.
Chapter Twelve
‘Katie? Not having any lunch?’
Katie looked up from her perch on the wall surrounding the school’s rose garden. It was a dull day, in fact the odd spot of rain was already falling from a sky that had been darkening all morning. September was almost gone; there was a definite autumn chill in the air now. Cut stems and yellowing leaves had replaced the pink and white blooms in the rose bed, and Katie’s mood mirrored the desolate state of the garden.
‘Hi, Mark. I had a bit of a headache, so I came out for some fresh air. I was going to come in for a bite in a minute.’
‘You’d better. Afternoon school on an e
mpty stomach is not to be recommended.’
He sat down beside her, slightly closer than Katie found comfortable. She inched further along. The last thing she felt like today was a tête-à-tête in the rose garden, especially after Saturday morning. She and Mark had gone for coffee after bumping into each other in the supermarket, but the conversation had been stilted this time. Katie couldn’t help feeling that Mark was looking for more than a ‘colleague’ relationship, and it just wasn’t what she wanted right now.
‘I know. And my head’s much better now so I’ll get myself inside for some gourmet pasta salad.’
‘Why don’t we do something after school?’ said Mark, as they went back into the building. ‘You name it – coffee shop, restaurant, casino, zoo – I’m up for anything.’
Katie frowned. ‘Oh, I don’t know, Mark, I’m going on my first home visit with Hailey Marshall after school. It might not be easy and I’m half dead on my feet already. I didn’t sleep well last night.’
‘The Marshalls live in Polpayne too, don’t they?’
Katie nodded, and he gave her elbow a little shake. ‘Listen. I can see you don’t want to get involved with anyone at the moment, and I respect that. But we’re friends, and you have to eat. Why don’t you call me when you’re home from Hailey’s? I’ll pick you up and we’ll go for fish and chips in Newquay, there’s a brilliant chippie in a backstreet there, you’ll love it. You can be fast asleep in bed by eight o’clock, if you like.’
Katie thought for a moment. What he said was true, and he had said it kindly. And the home visit might well throw something up she’d be glad to discuss with Mark.
‘Alright,’ she said eventually. ‘On two conditions: one, you don’t complain if we talk about work all the time... ’
‘We won’t,’ said Mark confidently. ‘And two?’
Katie smiled up at him. ‘It’s to be my treat,’ she said, going into the staffroom where a few of the other teachers were having lunch.
Mark gave a little salute and strode off towards his classroom.