Angie rather wished Vanessa might be less conscientious today, with Lance coming to the flat at four-thirty. She hadn’t heard from him since his departure from the farm over a week ago, either by letter or telephone—a situation she found unnerving. Yet, despite that, she had no doubt he would turn up today, as he had said he would.
‘Come in,’ she called, when the door-tapper didn’t automatically enter.
It was Debbie, looking sheepish but happy. ‘Sorry to bother you, Miss,’ she said, hovering in the doorway. ‘I know I don’t have an appointment but I just wanted you to know I... I didn’t do it. You know...with Warren. I thought about what you said and I decided to wait till someone more special came along.’
Angie’s eyes misted before she could stop them.
‘I also wanted to ask if you’ll be here next year...’ Debbie blathered on, God bless her. ‘I mean ... you’re the third counsellor we’ve had in three years, and they all seem to leave after a year. We all like you a lot, Miss, and think you’re real cool. Even Gloria likes you!’
Angie had to laugh, for she knew what Debbie meant. Gloria was the meanest, toughest, bitchiest girl in the whole school.
‘That certainly is a true compliment,’ Angie said, green eyes gleaming, but with laughter now, not tears. ‘Yes, Debbie, I’ll still be here next year.’
‘Gosh, that’s great. I’ll tell all the others. We thought, after you were away last week, that you might have been getting sick of us, and took time off to look for another job.’
‘No, it wasn’t anything like that. My mum was ill. She had a heart attack. But she’s getting better now. In fact, she came home from hospital yesterday.’
‘Gee, Miss, we didn’t know. No one told us,’ Debbie said, resentment pursing her pretty young mouth. ‘No one tells us anything! If we’d known we’d have bought a card or something. It’s not as though we don’t care.’
Angie felt warmed by the girl’s sentiments. Moments like this made what she did worthwhile.
‘I know you care, Debbie,’ she said, a lump filling her throat. ‘And I’m so proud of you for the decision you made. It was a very mature one.’
Debbie grinned. ‘Yeah. I thought so too. But don’t tell anyone else. I lied my teeth out and said sex was fantastic!’
Vanessa popped her head in the door moments after Debbie had disappeared. ‘What did that little raver want?’ she said scornfully. ‘Do you know she’s been going round telling everyone she lost her cherry last weekend? What kind of girls are parents bringing up these days? I ask you!’
‘Not a very different kind from our generation,’ Angie said wryly. ‘We all struggle along, trying to work out what sex and love are all about, and we all make the most horrendous mistakes.’
Vanessa’s dark eyes narrowed suspiciously. ‘Are you saying you made a mistake becoming involved with lover-boy again?’
Angie stood up and began tidying her desk. ‘Of course. He won’t ever give me what I want, Vanessa.’
‘Which is?’
‘A normal family life, with a house and kids, and a hubbie who comes home every night.’
‘Yuk! Give me penthouse suites and wild orgies and private jets any day.’
‘You fibber! I saw the way you were batting your eyelashes at Bret Johnson today. And you couldn’t get a more normal, down-to-earth bloke. So what’s going on between you and the economics teacher?’
‘Not much. Yet,’ Vanessa added with a wicked grin. ‘But he likes me. He really likes me.’
‘And why not? You’re very likeable... for a feminist and a maths teacher. You can tell me all about him on the way home. It’ll keep my mind off Lance.’
‘Nothing,’ Vanessa said drily, ‘is going to keep your mind off him, love. You know it and I know it.’
Angie groaned. ‘You could be right.’
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE sight of Lance’s black Audi already parked outside their block of flats showed Angie that her confidence in his turning up today had all been a sham. Underneath, she’d been terrified he wouldn’t.