by A. E. Radley
Alice took a step away. Hannah took her hand before she could get too far away. Alice looked hesitant, though, and gently tried to pull her hand away.
Hannah let her go. “Did I do something wrong?” she asked.
Alice crossed the kitchen. “No, not at all. It’s just… I still smell of the fire. I think it’s my hair. I can’t get rid of the smell. I don’t feel very attractive.”
“Come by the salon as soon as you’re feeling better. I’ll sort that out for you. You’ll be back to your usual sweet-smelling self.”
Alice grinned. “I’d like that.” She blushed. “How about tomorrow? Or is that too soon?”
Hannah returned the grin. “Tomorrow sounds perfect.”
34 SURPRISE
Alice got out of her car and they began the short walk to Hannah and Rosie’s door. She noticed two people cross the road when they saw her. Maybe it was her imagination, but that seemed to have been happening all week.
She’d have been a little more concerned about it if she hadn’t been so preoccupied by her company during the times it had happened. She’d managed to get some time with Hannah every single day of her week-long recovery period. From hair appointments to lunches, walks in the park, and dinner, she couldn’t get enough of Hannah. She was happy to be on her way to another dinner, this time with Rosie, whom she hadn’t seen at all.
If she were to guess, she’d have assumed that Hannah was trying to protect Rosie from their relationship while she decided whether they were likely to stay the course. There was no point in getting Rosie excited about them being an item if it looked like they wouldn’t be one for long. The fact that she was now having dinner with Hannah and Rosie made her heart soar at the possibility that Hannah had decided they were on more solid ground.
She raised her hand to ring the buzzer when the door flew open and Rosie rushed into her legs.
“Miss Spencer!” she screamed happily.
Alice was nearly bowled over by the enthusiastic hug. She recovered and rested her hands on Rosie’s shoulders. When she looked up, she saw Hannah standing in the doorway with her coat on.
She frowned as she realised that Rosie was also wearing a coat, as well as a wool hat and thick scarf. It seemed like overkill for greeting someone at the door.
“Did I get my wires crossed? Are we going out for dinner?”
Hannah shook her head. “No. We’re just heading somewhere else first.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What are you up to?”
“You’ll see.” Hannah closed the front door. “Pumpkin, let Miss Spencer breathe.”
Rosie reluctantly loosened her grip, but still leaned against Alice. She looked up. “I’ve missed you.”
“And I’ve missed you,” Alice said.
“We have a surprise to show you,” Rosie said.
“Ahem,” Hannah said loudly. “This is exactly why you haven’t been able to see Miss Spencer this week.”
Alice looked from Rosie’s excited face to Hannah. “What’s going on?”
Hannah took her arm and looped it through hers. “All in good time.”
Rosie took her other hand, and they all walked down the street. Alice noticed people were standing around, seemingly watching them.
“Are they staring at us?” Alice asked Hannah in a whisper.
“Yes, you’ll see why soon.”
Alice had no idea what Hannah meant by her cryptic comment, so she just enjoyed the walk through town with her two new favourite people. When it became clear that they were walking towards the school, she stopped dead.
“This isn’t some awful welcome back thing, is it?”
Hannah shook her head. “No, that’s Monday. I’ve told them to keep it short because I know you won’t enjoy it. This is just the three of us. I have a key to the school.”
“You have a key to the school?” Alice couldn’t understand why anyone would give Hannah a key, nor why she would want one.
“Come on, Miss Spencer.” Rosie dragged her towards the school, unable to put up with her hesitation any longer.
She allowed herself to be pulled along. She eyed the building as they walked down the road. It looked like nothing had ever happened. She knew that there hadn’t been as much damage as she’d worried there would be due to the quick actions of the fire service, and it had been over a week since the incident. But it was still a surprise to see it looking so normal on the horizon.
They entered the playground, and Alice smiled.
“Oh, new doors?”
“Yes, new doors,” Hannah agreed as she unlocked them. “The old ones were so heavy to open, and they got damaged.”
“In the fire?” Alice frowned. The fire had been nowhere near the main entrance.
“In the clean-up, I’ll explain later.” Hannah opened the door and gestured for Rosie and Alice to step inside.
Rosie reached up and flipped on a multitude of switches on a new panel. Lights sprung to life.
Alice gasped. “New lights?”
“New electrics,” Hannah said. “New wiring everywhere.”
“That must have cost a lot,” Alice mumbled as she looked down the corridor, remembering with hesitation the last time she’d stumbled down it.
“Not as much as you’d think,” Hannah said. She opened the next set of doors and gestured for Alice to enter the first classroom.
Rosie pulled her along, dragging her into the room and gesturing dramatically.
Alice’s mouth fell open in shock. The walls had been plastered over and painted, the furniture was new, and a series of brand new whiteboards were fixed to the wall. It looked like a new room entirely.
“This is amazing,” Alice said as she looked around.
“This is nothing,” Hannah told her. “This is just year six. Pfft. Boring. Let’s go and see year one.”
Alice spun around to look at her. “My classroom’s been renovated?”
“You could say that.” Hannah held out her hand. “Let’s go check it out.”
Alice took her hand and found herself being pulled towards the stairs. Rosie quickly overtook them and bounded up the stairs. Alice noticed that the stairwell had been repainted and the window frames had been fixed. There was no more splintered wood or flaking paint.
“Close your eyes,” Rosie announced before they got to the room.
Alice laughed and closed her eyes.
“Mummy, is she looking?” she heard Rosie question.
She felt Hannah’s body behind her and then her hands gently cover her eyes. “This will stop any cheating,” Hannah said.
“I wasn’t cheating!” Alice denied.
“Tell it to the judge,” Hannah whispered in her ear. “Okay, lead the way, pumpkin.”
Alice shuffled forward, being guided through the doorway by Hannah behind her. She could feel the energy and excitement bouncing off of Rosie and could even hear her heavy breathing.
“Open them!” the girl cried.
Hannah removed her hands, and Alice opened her eyes. She blinked. She turned her head and then spun her whole body around to check where she was. It felt like a trick. They couldn’t possibly be in her classroom. It was unrecognisable.
“Wha—”
The floor had been replaced, the walls plastered and painted in bright colours, with a custom mural painted on one of them. She couldn’t believe her eyes as she saw the bespoke desks and other furniture.
Rosie skipped across the room and into a cushioned area with seating, beanbag chairs, and shelves full of books.
“This is our new reading area!” Rosie exclaimed.
“A reading area?” Alice ran her hand along the shelves and then picked up and hugged one of the bright yellow cushions.
She spun around and saw a row of brightly painted coat hooks with each of her student’s names written on them in calligraphy. Small boxes lay below to collect their winter wear.
It was the classroom of her dreams, somewhere that children would love to come and learn. Something
else hit her like a brick.
“It’s warm.”
“Yeah, heating’s fixed.”
She turned and looked at Hannah in total shock. “How?”
She knew the school had called in on its insurance, but this was beyond what insurance could do. This was a full renovation and looked expensive.
“This is Fairlight coming together,” Hannah said.
“But how?”
Hannah’s cheeks reddened. “Me,” she whispered.
“How?” Alice asked again.
“I told everyone how you’d been spending your own time and money painting the classroom. Told them that you nearly—” Hannah glanced at Rosie, who had picked up a book and was making full use of the reading area.
Hannah swallowed.
“I explained what you did. Everyone wanted to help. They called their friends, their employers. Before long there was a workforce of over a hundred people in here. They wanted to clean up the school, but they also wanted to make it safe and do something special for you. So, here is your special gift. The best classroom in Fairlight. Probably in the county.”
Alice felt tears running down her cheeks. She couldn’t believe that so many people had come together to do all of this work for free. And that Hannah had started it all.
“I’ve been in here every day. I have my own hard hat,” Hannah explained. “It’s why you couldn’t see the munchkin. She would have spilt the beans in an instant, and I wanted to keep it a secret.”
Alice was speechless as she looked around the room. Every sweep of her eyes uncovered something new.
“The windows have all been repaired. They’re not new, but they don’t let so much draft in now. Rotten window frames have been replaced. New electrics, new heating. Actually, a new boiler which was donated by this lovely man in town,” Hannah continued. “And there’s a new parent group that has been founded, we can keep on top of maintenance issues, so everything gets fixed. I’m the chairwoman, so, you know… if you need anything.”
Alice wanted to launch herself into Hannah’s arms and kiss her but knew she needed to hold back with Rosie in the room.
“I don’t know what to say,” she admitted.
“Well, think of something because on Monday there will be a full school assembly at the end of the day where you’ll be applauded as the hero you are,” Hannah said with a chuckle, knowing that Alice would hate every second of it.
She rolled her eyes. “Can I send a stunt double?”
Hannah shook her head. “No, the town wants to see you.”
“Will you be there?” Alice asked, shyly.
“You won’t be able to keep me away,” Hannah said. “Anyway, come on, we need to go home and eat. I promised you dinner.”
Alice looked at her room one last time before they made their way out of the school, turning off all the lights as they went. Rosie was running around the playground as Hannah locked the main front doors.
“Thank you so much for all of this,” Alice said. “I’ll have to think of a way to repay you.” She ran her hand up Hannah’s back suggestively.
Hannah chuckled. “On that note, Rosie seems to have picked up on the fact that we’re dating. And literally everyone in town has been asking me when we’re moving in together.”
Alice removed her hand and stared at her. “Everyone knows?”
“Everyone,” Hannah said.
“Do… do you want to pull back a little? Especially for Rosie’s sake?” Alice asked, suddenly fearful of the answer.
“Not unless you do,” Hannah said. “Usually the rumour mill bothers me, but a lot has happened since the fire, and me and Fairlight are getting on a little better. Rosie is over the moon and has promised to be good and not push us.”
Alice swallowed. Her mind was stuck on the question of when they would move in together. She had to admit, she’d thought about it. She’d spent some of her recuperation week clearing out her spare room and thinking about where a bed would go. Not that she’d admit that to Hannah, it was much too soon.
Then again, most of their relationship seemed to be running at double speed. Things felt right.
“I’d like to continue as we are,” Alice said, “but if you feel we do need to slow down, for Rosie’s sake, then, of course, I will.”
Hannah pocketed the keys and placed a soft kiss on Alice’s lips. “Let’s not change a thing.”
35 A BUMPY START
Over dinner, Rosie spoke at length about all of the people who came out to help renovate the school. Hannah blushed while Rosie spoke about the donations and people she had organised with enormous pride.
After the meal, Rosie was suddenly keen to go to bed. She insisted on not having a bedtime story and told the adults to stay up and enjoy their evening. Alice had smothered a laugh behind her hand while Hannah had blushed bright red.
Despite her protests, Hannah put Rosie to bed. Alice cleaned the dinner plates away, not wanting to have a second with Hannah wasted by chores.
When Hannah returned, Alice had poured some drinks for them both and was sitting on the sofa grinning.
“Miss Matchmaker asleep?” she asked.
“I’m so sorry,” Hannah said. “I told her not to push us and to just leave whatever will happen to happen. She thinks she’s being subtle.”
“It’s cute,” Alice reassured. “It would be a lot worse if she didn’t approve.”
Hannah sat next to her. “True. That would be much worse. At least at the moment she’s trying to make herself scarce.”
“While I appreciate the offer, tell her she doesn’t need to,” Alice said. “I want to spend time with both of you.”
Hannah turned to face her head on. “You’re perfect.”
Alice laughed. “I’m really not. I have lots of terrible traits. I’m just keeping them all under wraps.”
Hannah grinned and casually rested her head in her hand. “Like what?”
“I take far too long in the bathroom,” Alice said. “I like to sleep with the hallway light on, so it isn’t too dark. My music tastes are terrible. I’m the only person in Britain who hates reality television—”
“Not the only person.”
“I’ve lived on my own for so long I’m probably terrible to live with,” Alice continued. “I won’t have a bad word said about my car.”
“Oh, well, I’m afraid it’s all over. Because your car is a trash heap,” Hannah said.
Alice smacked her arm gently. “You will take that back.”
“I won’t. I’ve heard the gears crunch from two streets away.”
“She doesn’t like the cold weather,” Alice defended.
“She? It has a name?”
“Of course, don’t you name cars?”
“I’ve never had a car, but if I did, I don’t think I’d have named it. What’s the scrap metal called?”
Alice paused.
“Oh, it’s good.” Hannah leaned forward. “Go on, what is your Mini called?”
“Gertrude,” Alice whispered.
Hannah fell about laughing. “Seriously? You call your car Gertrude? Do you not like it?”
“She looked like a Gertrude,” Alice explained and then put her head in her hands. “Okay, enough talking about my car. I demand a change of topic.” She looked up again.
Hannah’s grin slowly started to fade. Alice could tell that they were about to have a very serious change of topic. Suddenly she wanted to return to talking about the name of her car.
“I…” Hannah trailed off. “You told me about your childhood, and I wanted to do the same, because it might explain a few things.”
Alice licked her lips. “Okay, if you’re ready? You don’t have to. I’m happy to wait.”
“I want to. If I don’t tell you, then someone else might, and I want to be the one to explain.”
Alice nodded and waited for Hannah to gather the courage to start her story. It took a few silent moments, so Alice tried to clear her mind of assumptions and wait to hear the t
ruth directly from the source.
“I’ve always pushed people away,” Hannah began. “Always. Potential partners, friends, the entire village. I wanted to be independent, didn’t want to have to rely on other people because that never really worked out for me as a child.
“My dad was great, still is great. But he was never there. He’d leave for work for long periods of time and leave me with my mum. She wasn’t so great, not that it was her fault. I supposed it would have been picked up by the council’s mental health service if it happened now, but it wasn’t.”
Hannah reached for her wine glass and took a long sip.
“My mum had a lot of issues, but no one knew. She’d go into depressive states for days at a time. Sometimes she’d be fine, but most of the time she wasn’t. And when we were at home, just the two of us, she tuned out. She didn’t clean, cook, wash clothes… nothing.”
Alice felt her blood run cold at the thought of Hannah growing up in such conditions.
“I often went to school hungry, didn’t have a packed lunch with me. My uniform was often dirty and never ironed. Kids pick up on that kind of thing really quickly, and I was picked on. A lot. I was the dirty, scruffy kid. The one who stole from other people’s lunchboxes when they weren’t looking. I never had friends over, and I was seen around the village at all hours.”
Alice reached out and took one of Hannah’s hands in both of hers. She didn’t know what to say. It was all in the past, it couldn’t be fixed, but it must have had a massive effect in her.
“No one in this village did a thing to help me. I was bullied by the students and the teachers. I was in and out of Hardaker’s office all the time. No one knew what was happening at home, and no one asked. And when my dad came home, my mum kind of snapped out of it. She said she’d not been feeling well and that’s why the kitchen was a mess, things like that. It went on for years.”
Alice grasped Hannah’s hand tighter.
“Eventually, it all came out. She took a really bad turn and was walking the streets in her dressing gown. The authorities were called, and she was eventually institutionalised. My dad came home and looked after me for the last couple of years of school. I was off the rails by then, terrible grades, underage drinking, hanging out with the wrong crowd. I was the talk of Fairlight.”
