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I stare off into the distance, my mind wandering.
By lunch, Vivian still isn’t here, nor has she text me back. After my meeting this morning, I had sent her another message and asked her to call me ASAP. So, when I’ve still had no reply, I decide to just call her.
Without looking at my phone properly, I hit the call button whilst simultaneously trying to open my pasta salad. “Vivian?” I say when she answers.
There’s a short silence. “I still prefer Daddy.”
I sigh with a smile when I hear Dean’s voice, realising my error. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to call you.”
“Don’t apologise, babe.”
I smile. “Okay. Hi,” I say relaxing, my phone wedged between my ear and shoulder as I pop off the lid to my lunchbox with two hands, suddenly ravenous.
“You, okay?” Dean asks.
“I’m fine, just on lunch. How’s your day?”
“Um, yeah, normal day at the office...”
The office? I lift my fork to my mouth taking a mouthful of food, when I swear I hear an agitated rustle in the background. “Dean?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“You sure you’re, okay?”
“Never better,” he says. “Listen, I have to price up a job this afternoon, then we have church later on, not sure how long it will take. You okay to sort food and I’ll call on my way home?”
I roll my eyes, pinching my lips together. This will be another late night. “Is this how it’s going to be now? Me, your little housewife, having your dinner on the table ready for when you get home?”
There’s a pause. “I don’t know, will it? I’m still waiting for you to say yes.”
My eyes scrunch together at my poor choice of words. “Yeah well, either way, don’t get used to it.” I chuckle knowing that I’d love nothing more than to have exactly that.
The pictures my imagination paints of our family together, come into view. There’s a dog chasing us as we walk hand in hand, Dean carrying our little girl in his other arm.
I hear him laugh at my sass then my phone beeps signalling an incoming call. It’s Vivian. “Look, I have to go, call me later.” I hang up before he can say anything. I’ve been waiting for her tocall me back all morning.
“Madison,” she says as I click the green button.
“Vivian, hi, where are you?” I blurt out.
“I’m on my way in now. Sorry, I should have called.”
“Eva mentioned a restructure?” Unable to leave it until she’s here, I realise I’m putting her on the spot.
“God, shit news travels fast. Head office want us thinned out already. I’ve been arguing our case, but considering we’re a new team, we’re the easiest cohort to go.”
Shit.“But being the newest, surely we’re allowed more time to see what impact we’re actually having on the education of the children we work with?”
She huffs sounding out of breath, or maybe she’s just as pissed off as I now am? “Exactly. Look, I’m ten minutes away, get the kettle on and we can catch up before our actual meeting.”
Leaving work, I’m completely caught up and equally shattered. Today’s afternoon meeting was long but ultimately simple; our team might be axed, so we need to prove we’re worthy of our roles. The niggle in the back of my mind telling me that I’m not, was suppressed the entire time I had to sit there and listen to the bullshit story of why Lauren hadn’t attended school for the past three months.
Officially, school have been told by her ‘guardian’—her worthless piece of shit uncle who used her and pawned her for his own gains—that a voluntary written agreement was made between the school’s governing body and him… meaning, he will make sure she attends school.
Unofficially, I know she hasn’t seen him since she went off grid. No one has, and after how she was treated, she wouldn’t go back to him. I just know it.
So, he’s lying. Every part of me wants to drive to her house and have it out with him because now I’m pissed off that my job could be axed, and I also feel sick where my tummy keepssomersaulting with nerves.
