Out of the wonderful BBC programme, Last Tango in Halifax, comes not only the whirlwind romance Alan and Celia (OTP, woop!), but also the potential of Caroline and Kate. Here's a short story which maps a moment before the beginning of the series.
The title is just a song I was listening to whilst I was writing this, strangely enough it kind of fits Kate's predicament.
Enjoy (or not, who knows?)! I'd love some feedback!
[It goes without saying, but I must, that none of these characters belong to me. They are property of the BBC and the creation of Sally Wainwright. I'm just borrowing them!]
An innocuous knock had disturbed Caroline's reverie for the sixth time that late afternoon. Glancing up from her increasingly intimidating pile of OFSTED correspondence, she issued a curt reply for whoever was waiting at the door to enter.
It was Kate.
Caroline appreciated how she always knocked then waited patiently at the door, rather than the usual 'knock and swiftly enter' manner which seemed to be common practice of late. Caroline removed her spectacles and smiled half-heartedly at her friend who was now lingering at the head of her desk.
"Sorry, I know I shouldn't disturb you at this busy time..." Kate began.
"Oh no, don't be silly," Caroline interrupted, "if I see one more Inspection Judgement I might scream."
Resting her elbows on the desk and placing her head in her hands, she ran her hair through her splayed fingers, allowing her fair hair fall where it may.
"It's not all bad is it?" Kate replied, placing a sympathetic hand on Caroline's shoulder. She ignored Caroline's slight flinch at her touch. "I thought we were doing rather well? That's the feeling in the staff room anyway."
Leaving her chair and moving towards the window, Caroline sighed: "At a school like this there's always things the governors would like to hang the Headmaster's head with. Especially mine." The last few students were leaving the grounds, visibly wearier than when they had arrived that morning. William was due to be in his weekly after-school activities and Lawrence always chose to catch the bus home when his mother was working late.
It was a relief to know that when she arrived home John would no longer be there, making futile attempts to explain away his day of "research" in front of the television or his inability to mask the smell of red wine on his breath as they made for bed. She only worried for her sons, unlocking the door to a now empty house- though she supposed in the last months of their marriage, John was hardly there at all anyway. "Seminars" or "writing excursions to the Lake District" he called them. Caroline simply chuckled at herself for allowing it all happen; it was the only thing left to do now that John's head wasn't there to hurl pointed objects at.
Unsure of whether to press the subject, Kate took at seat at Caroline's desk. She felt like a child, waiting to be reprimanded, and yet Kate was happy to wait: To linger until Caroline turned around and resumed their conversation. She was glorious, Kate thought, and yet she had no idea. Caroline did always have an air of superiority about her; it came with the job and all she'd achieved, but it was her glistening radiance which Kate knew and loved. Kate loved her brilliance, her no-nonsense, her intelligence and the cerulean blue of her eyes. She even loved how Caroline barely ever paid much attention to her, just like now as she stood at the window- ruler of all she surveyed directly beyond the single-paned glass.
Caroline knew Kate admired her. She ignored the idle chit-chat of the senior members of staff who gossiped about her failed marriage and her "interesting choice of partners" as they so archaically described it. And though often they hardly said anything to each other, Kate was a calming influence and she appreciated her friendship. Recently however, she had become increasingly aware of Kate's lingering gazes and often found herself unable to look away from her stare, be it during assembly, across the staff room or throughout the daily inspections of her classrooms. Kate would offer an ear for her marriage problems (though it did take a good while to even admit the issues in her home life, naturally). To her, marriages were what you struggled through, what you worked at, what you accepted responsibility for and for which there was no easy exit-strategy.
Caroline was stubborn and Kate knew this far too well, having taken her weeks to convince Caroline to go for a friendly drink after work. Kate simply listened as the wine flowed freely and the truth of her inner struggle became known. Kate had placed her hand on hers across the table and Caroline just stared at her gentle expression of intimacy. She wasn't sure how she felt then, or how she felt about Kate's chaste kiss a week or so later.
Days had passed since then and neither had broached the subject of the kiss.
Kate fidgeted in her seat. The squeak of the old-fashioned 70s desk chair awkwardly filled the silence of the room. Caroline resumed shuffling papers and organising her desk, constantly aware of Kate's gaze as she did this. She always tidied when she was nervous and stressed. She supposed it was why her own home was so meticulously designed and decorated. However John's scatterbrain nature always managed to destroy that equilibrium like a whirlwind, whipping up papers, cereal bowls and repressed feelings and spiteful taunts from within the both of them.
"Did I tell you my mother bought a laptop?" Caroline eventually said.
Kate pondered for a moment."No, I don't think you did. Well actually..."
"Well anyway, she's bought herself a laptop, connected it to my wi-fi and is surfing the internet like a madwoman. Goodness knows what auction site items I'll end up signing for when she gets the hang of it all!"
Kate, as ever, was amused by how easily wound up Caroline could become on the mere subject of her mother. "I think it's great. You always say she loves her independence, it's one of the reasons she kept her car after all. You never know, she might teach you a thing or too." Kate teased.
"Ha, why does that sound frighteningly likely?" scoffed Caroline. "She said to me, 'I think I might get our William to connect me to the Facebook!' She'd better off signing up to one of those ancestry, searching-your-family-tree-thingies if she wants to find people she knew." she retorted exasperatingly. Still standing at her desk, she pulled at the bottom hem of her green cardigan and tossed her hair effortlessly back into place. "Fancy a tea? I'm parched."
"Don't you need to get off soon?" inquired Kate, making a move to leave.
"Oh no, I need to stay for as long as William is at his club. He's putting so much effort in this year. So, tea?" Kate assumed that was Caroline's way of saying she wanted her to stay.
"Yes, of course. You'll have to go to the staff cupboard for more teabags though, I think one of the junior staff took the last of your Twinings. Despite your labels."
"Ha, typical." Caroline sighed, sauntering to the door of her office. "You might want to pull the blinds, Kate. It's getting so dark at this time of the afternoon." And with that, she was gone.
Kate obliged, quickly drawing the blinds from behind Caroline's desk. Glancing over her boss's now neatly arranged desk, she marvelled at her efficiency and wondered how she'd fallen for someone so entirely different from herself. To the left of the ergonomically positioned (or so Kate guessed) computer keyboard lay Caroline's diary opened at today's date. At the bottom of the page was a noticeable cursive 'K' which was underlined three times. Turning over the page to the previous entries, Kate saw it appear again and again, sometimes between meetings or after the school day.
The sound of tea cups being placed quietly on the edge of the desk interrupted Kate from her curious nature. Caroline, seeing the pages of her diary which had caused such interest simply remarked:
"Oh, sometimes seeing you is just the best part of my day."
Kate ignored the pot of tea brewing inaudibly on the desk and walked slowly towards Caroline. Brushing a strand of blonde hair from her eyes, Kate leaned in, preparing to offer a brief but affectionate kiss, unsure of Caroline's reaction. However as their lips met they both prolonged the sensation. Caroline's hands wandered to each side of Kate's head whilst Kate's gripped the desk for support. Pulling away slightly, Caroline smiled at Kate calmly, fascinated by the sensation of their lips gently brushing against each others as they both searched for something to say. Opting for silence, as they so often could, they simply hugged each other for a number of minutes.
Just then, a knock could be heard from the headmistress' office. They swiftly parted and Kate turned her attention to the tea.
"Come in, William dear!" called Caroline. That was the seventh time she had been interrupted today.