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“There was a lot to take in, as well as meeting the other teaching staff.”
“I guess they’ve all been there for years,” she says.
“Not all of them. There’s someone else who’s starting tomorrow.”
“Is she someone you can make friends with?”
“It’s not a she, it’s a he.”
“Oh?” I hear that familiar tone to my mom’s voice and shake my head, sipping at my coffee, although I don’t reply and eventually she asks, “What’s his name? What’s he like?”
“His name is Russ. He’s about my age, and before you get excited and start giving me dating advice, he’s not my type.”
“Why not? What’s wrong with him?”
“Nothing, as far as I know. I just don’t find him attractive in that way.”
“The poor man,” she says, which makes me smile. “Although I don’t know what you mean about dating advice. When have I ever done that?” She’s doing her best to sound affronted and my smile becomes a grin.
“Only every time I mention a man’s name.”
She’s done it ever since I turned eighteen… and for a second or two, I’m reminded of how my father used to roll his eyes and give me sympathetic glances. Mom never meant any harm, and we all knew it, but it formed a bond between Dad and me not long before he passed, and I like having that as a memory of him.
Mom laughs. “Okay. But even if Russ isn’t the man for you, what are they all like? Do you get on with them?”
“Yes. Russ is the only man on the staff, and most of the women are quite a bit older than me, but they’re friendly enough… although they like to gossip.”
“Show me a small town where they don’t.” We both laugh. “The thing is, did you learn anything?”
“About my job, or the other residents of Hart’s Creek?” I ask.
“I’m gonna assume you learned something about your job, or there wouldn’t have been much point in going to the workshops.”
“So you wanna hear the gossip?”
“I want to know if you learned anything useful about your fellow citizens.”
“Because that sounds so much better.”
“It does to me,” she says and falls silent. I know she’s waiting, and I guess there’s no harm in telling her the few things I overheard.
“It seems that a couple called Gabe and Remi came back from their honeymoon a couple of weeks ago.”
“Who are they?”
“I don’t know about Gabe, but I got the impression that Remi works at the library. The subject only came up because one of the other teachers was saying something about how chaotic it’s been there in her absence.”
“I see.”
“I also learned that the owner of the coffee shop is pregnant. I didn’t catch her name, but I gathered her boyfriend has left her.”
“He sounds nice,” Mom says.
“Yeah. I thought that. A teacher called Helen was horribly triumphant about it, although I couldn’t work out what any of it had to do with her.”
“Probably nothing. If you ask me, Helen doesn’t sound very nice, either.”
“No. I decided I’d do my best to avoid her.”
