Sara realised how uptight she’d sounded, and quietly closed the lounge door. Just tell her, she counselled herself. It’s better than her thinking you’re mad about her being late. ‘Bit of a crisis, actually,’ she murmured, not wanting anyone else to hear. ‘Matt’s just lost his job, so we’re reeling from that bombshell.’
‘Oh my God, you are joking!’ Fiona’s eyes widened, her hands covering her mouth for a moment, before she lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. ‘But the company have been expanding. In fact, I had them down for some sponsorship funding for the community centre. I thought…’ She shook her head slowly and blew out a long breath, clearly shocked by the news. ‘That’s terrible.’ She put a hand on Sara’s arm, a reassuring touch. ‘Look, if there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.’
Be brave, seize the moment.
‘Well actually, there might be.’
Fiona’s mouth gave a little twitch before she let her hand drop, her eyes searching Sara’s face, waiting.
Sara cleared her throat, forced herself to speak. ‘We’re just trying to sort through our contingency plan, and I wondered if I could work more hours at the community centre. Just for a little while, until Matt gets back on his feet.’
Fiona was silent for a moment, her steady gaze making Sara uneasy, part of her wishing she hadn’t asked. It was a horrible feeling, being needy.
‘Look, I can’t think now,’ she said after what felt like an entire week. ‘My brain’s fuddled with all the school stuff I’ve been through at the meeting tonight. I need to switch gears, go into community centre mode.’ She put her hand back on Sara’s arm, reassurance that she wasn’t dismissing her request. ‘Why don’t we have a good chat about it tomorrow, when we’re fresh? You’re in early, aren’t you?’
Sara nodded. ‘Yeah. I should be there at half eight.’
‘And James is in tomorrow as well, isn’t he?’
‘He said he would be, just to sort out priorities for the next few days.’
James was the manager of the community centre, but after his father had suddenly been taken ill, he’d had to drastically cut his hours in order to keep an eye on the family sportswear business. Sara was covering for him while he was away, doing three half-days a week, but she was aware that some aspects of the work weren’t being kept up to date and felt sure she could persuade Fiona to give her more hours, if only for a short while.
Fiona smiled. ‘Perfect. I need to have a word with him anyway, just to see if he knows what his long-term plans are now that his dad’s obviously not well enough to carry on running the family firm. Let’s kill two birds with one stone and have a proper planning meeting. We can have a look at the finances and identify all the jobs we’ve had to drop since James has been on reduced hours. See exactly what needs doing and what we can afford.’
Sara leant against the wall, her body sagging with relief. ‘It would be such a help. I honestly don’t know how we’re going to manage.’
Fiona pulled out her phone and swiped and tapped. ‘There we are. It’s in the schedule and I’ve sent that to James, just so he knows.’ She gave Sara a quick smile. ‘We’ll sort something out, don’t you worry.’ She glanced at the stairs, car keys rattling in her hand. ‘Right, um… Shall I go and get Chelsea?’
Sara pushed herself off the wall. ‘No, it’s okay, I’ll get her. Have to be quiet so we don’t wake Ezra. He’s such a light sleeper, and once he’s awake, he’s a devil to get settled again.’
The following morning, Sara made sure she was as smart as possible, wanting to look the part. She’d been temping at the community centre for almost two months now and was still getting used to being back in the workplace, but with James’s guidance, she was starting to feel comfortable with the routines and how the place worked. He’d been the manager there since it had opened seven years previously, so he was the one who’d set everything up originally. It involved more work than people imagined, managing a building with several rooms for hire, all different sizes and used by a variety of groups for a surprising array of activities. Then there were the accounts to do, on a computer system Sara was unfamiliar with, as well as the admin for board meetings and preparing figures and documents for a number of grant applications that were in the pipeline.
After completing her business studies degree, Sara had only worked for two years before she fell pregnant with the twins. She’d been a junior in a hectic office, and her job had consisted of endless filing, running errands and making tea. She’d been bored to tears. Now, she found she loved the work at the community centre, being part of something that was at the heart of the town, making sure everyone’s needs were catered for and sorting out problems as they arose. It was surprisingly satisfying work and she’d started to make new friends in the process.
The job felt like a second skin, a perfect fit, and the prospect of being in charge, if James was going to take over the family business full-time, brought a glow to her heart. A proper salaried job after all these years. She had so many ideas for raising funds, using the space more effectively and reaching out to new groups, she was excited to go to work. Fiona had been impressed with her suggestions and had even mentioned that she might like to consider an Open University degree in community development, which had really got Sara thinking about her future.
The focus of her dreams had changed, and she’d decided she’d like to do a course that was more about people and less about making money. Also, if she studied with the Open University, it would be more affordable and less intense; a better fit with family life. She’d checked the cost and it wasn’t too expensive. With the interest on her investment accumulating, she’d thought she’d have enough to cover the first instalment and had quietly started planning a January start. Now, though, with their household finances tipped into the danger zone, she would have to shelve the dreams and concentrate on the fight for survival.
She hurried to the car, still thoroughly annoyed with herself. How could I have been so stupid? Why didn’t I just leave the damned money in the deposit account? She got in and slammed the door, started the engine. The truth was, she’d never been good at doing what she was told; ‘naturally contrary’, Hailey had always called her. At least living with Matt had tempered that impulse, made her a bit more sensible. Until this. She chewed at her bottom lip as she drove, thinking through the things she wanted to say at the meeting. Her sales pitch.
She arrived to find the centre unlocked, which was unusual as she was always first to arrive, opening the place up being part of her job. She went into the kitchen to put on the water heater for drinks, but it had already been done and was up to full steam. Whoever had got there first had been there a little while. She did a quick tour round and found Fiona and James in a meeting room on the upper floor. They were sitting at the far end of the long rectangular table, deep in conversation. Fiona was in full flow, animated, James frowning as he listened.
James was a bit older than Sara. Probably mid forties, his hair already silver, contrasting nicely with his tanned skin. He was a tidy man, always well turned out in chinos and a shirt, nothing too casual, his hair kept short and combed back from his long face, his beard neatly trimmed. The most remarkable thing about him was his voice, a deep bass that seemed to make the air vibrate, and would be perfect for doing voice-overs for movie trailers.