First female partner and youngest in the history of the company.
I still couldn’t quite believe it.
I stared at the screen for ages before I texted Ash from the train with the news, ignoring the little voice at the back of my head asking if this was really what I wanted.
Guess who made partner!!!!!!!
I sat watching the screen of my phone, waiting for his response. Now that he was working again, I knew he’d be pleased for me. A minute later my phone pinged.
And Coffee Girl is back! Well done you. The International Arms Dealer has strong-armed Hilda into babysitting. Dinner. Beech House. Celebration. Xxx
Dinner with Ash, well that definitely was the icing on the cake for the day. I wondered if I could ask Hilda to stay the night and we could finally collect on our rain check.
I rushed from the station, arriving at six thirty-two at the After-school Club. The manager stood at the door, Poppy and Ava beside her, her mouth squished into a disapproving moue as if she’d just sucked the sourest lemon on the planet. In the face of such abject censure, I didn’t dare respond to the ping of a new text message on my phone or even take it out of my pocket to take a quick peek. ‘You’re late, Miss Harrison. I’m afraid we’ll have to fine you.’
Even her fearsome, Miss Trunchbull scowl couldn’t dim my glow. ‘I’m very sorry. I got held up at work.’ I’m going to dinner with Ash!
‘Off you go, girls.’ She ushered them towards me and then made a great show of switching the lights out and setting the alarm as she closed the door behind her.
‘Sorry guys. Mad day.’ I wasn’t sure how impressed either of them would be at my promotion, I shepherded them out into the cooling evening. ‘How was your day?’
‘Rubbish,’ said Poppy. ‘And she has been really horrid, checking her watch all the time, making us wait by the door and saying she had more important things to do and places to be, like it was our fault you were late.’ Her eyes narrowed, accusing and angry.
‘I really am sorry, Poppy. Something happened at work.’ My encouraging come-along smile had no effect; she simply lifted her shoulders in one of her dismissive shrugs.
‘I only got one sausage,’ piped up an aggrieved Ava, ‘and Lucy Chambers got two. It’s not fair.’ Her round cheeks puffed up in indignation. ‘I hate nasty, old After-school Club.’
Boy, they really knew how to bring me down to earth. I raised an eyebrow. Ava didn’t normally complain about After-school Club. ‘No, you don’t. You normally like the tea.’
‘Yes, I do. It’s just me and Lucy Chambers from my class that go. And her mum picks her up at half past five. We have to wait for ever for you to come. We’re always last and mean Mrs Winter goes on about it.’
‘Well she shouldn’t do that.’ The After-school Club’s advertised hours were 3.15 to 6.30pm and I was always there by six thirty. This was the first time I’d actually been late. A whole two minutes late.
‘Well she does,’ snapped Poppy.
The three of us trailed into the house and I unloaded book bags and PE bags onto the table. ‘Would you like some beans on toast or cheese on toast or a fish finger sandwich?’ I asked, hoping to mollify their crankiness with good, old-fashioned comfort food.
‘Fish fingers, fish fingers!’ cried Ava, throwing herself onto the sofa.
I cocked an eyebrow at Poppy and she gave me a wan smile. God it was hard work being the grown-up all the time and trying to stay upbeat when someone, or two people, had sucked the joy out of your good news.
As I yanked a box of Findus’ finest out of the freezer, I checked my phone.
Sorry, can we take a rain check on tonight? I need to work late. I know you’ll understand. Dinner tomorrow? I’ve cancelled Hilda. Call later x.
The sad thing was that I was relieved. Now I was home and back in the real world of after-school pick-up, homework, and tea, I realised that I was far too knackered to go out. Grabbing the loaf of bread, I cut another two slices. Looks like I’m having fish finger sandwiches too. With a sigh I buttered the bread; at least I could get on with some of my own work once the girls were settled and then, if I put in a couple of hours, I could get to bed at a reasonable hour.
My phone rang at ten past ten. ‘Hey, Ash.’
‘Hey, Claire. Congratulations.’
‘Thanks.’ I pushed my laptop aside and moved over to the sofa, rubbing my tired eyes. ‘Feels like I’ve reached the top of the mountain at last.’ I felt like a Sherpa – one who had carried a very heavy load all the way up the north face of Everest.
‘Must be wonderful. You’ve done really well, Coffee Girl.’
I thought back to the day we’d met. Coffee Girl was from another lifetime. She would have been thrilled with this promotion, probably still out swilling prosecco with her work colleagues, whereas I was rushing to After-school Club and worrying about what being a partner would mean in terms of extra workload and childcare and whether, after everything, it was really what I wanted. I’d got more of a work-life balance back, but the work itself didn’t give me that buzz it once had. When I’d first started I’d been helping businesses get set up and solving problems. Now I was doing reports on the viability of huge projects with faceless executives I rarely met. I wasn’t sure this was what I wanted to do anymore. And what about the girls? Did I want them to be the last children to be collected every night? The children that never had anyone at assembly? The ones that only got two out of ten in spellings or that were falling behind in reading because no one ever read with them?
‘Claire?’ Ash’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.
‘And how’s Ashwin Laghari doing?’ I asked with a teasing note in my voice because I didn’t want to dwell on everyday stuff. For now, I wanted to enjoy fairy-tale Ash and me, the high-flying couple we’d once been on that very first date.
‘I’m doing okay. Although…’ There was lengthy pause. ‘I’ve got some bad news.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Er… it’s about Saturday.’
‘Don’t tell me you can’t make the parkrun?’ I laughed, knowing it to be impossible. We’d worked too long and hard for that even to be considered but when the silence down the line seemed to get heavier and heavier, my skin goose bumped in sudden awareness.
‘Ash?’
‘I’m really sorry. It’s work… I can’t… not when I’m still so new with the company.’
‘But… you’re run director.’
‘I know but you know I wouldn’t let you down if it wasn’t important. There’s a sales conference this weekend down in Gloucestershire. I’ve been invited to present a session on the Friday and I’m expected to do a board-address thing on the Saturday morning.’
I was too disappointed to respond. He’d clearly forgotten he was supposed to be taking the girls to see Swallows and Amazons at the Regal. I wasn’t going to make him feel any more guilty than he already did.
‘Claire? Don’t be cross. I know it’s a big deal because it’s the first one but if you think about it, the important thing is that we’ve built a legacy. It’s the first one of many. And after three, four, five, six, you’ll look back and it won’t be such a big deal.’