Chapter 2
5 December 2013
By the time the alarm on Jane's mobile rang at six AM on Thursday morning, she had already been awake for about a half hour. She was a naturally early riser; the alarm's purpose was to prod her to get out of bed. She had always liked lying in during the early morning quiet, while it was still dark outside, as a chance to reflect and plan and prepare herself for whatever lay ahead. She mused that her aunt Maddy would tell her to also spend that time reciting affirmations, a habit Maddy had adopted after overcoming breast cancer a decade earlier. "You're up anyway! Why not give yourself some love, sugarpuff?" Maddy would say. "Attitude and gratitude, that'll get you through anything!" Jane smiled, hearing Aunt Maddy's voice in her head. Giving herself praise and pep talks wasn't Jane's thing, but counting her blessings she could get behind. At the top of the list were her aunt and grandmother, the two women who had devoted their lives to Jane and were still with her, despite the health challenges they both had faced.
The five minute snooze on the phone sounded again, and Jane rose to begin her day. It would be a long one, as she offered keyboard lessons at a community centre in Hackney every first and third Thursday evening of the month. Evening was still a long time away, however, and now it was time to run. Jane had competed in track and field in high school, but had abandoned running to focus on her studies in college. Sarah had changed that, encouraging her to don her running shoes again and to try distance running. In the last several years, they had run several 10ks together, and Sarah had now convinced her to participate in the Surrey half-marathon in March.
She and Sarah met in the kitchen a short while later. "Any scones left?" Jane asked.
Sarah nodded as she took a gulp of coconut milk and smiled. "I saved you one." She pointed to the last of the almond scones Jane had baked a few days earlier.
"How's that paper coming?" Jane asked. Sarah had been up late the night before, stressing about a research paper she had to complete.
"Almost done," Sarah replied. "I should be able to finish it and send it off before this afternoon."
Jane grinned. "Hey, you might even be able to do something fun with Peter tonight."
Sarah sighed. "That's if he's free! I can't believe how busy we both have been lately. I'm so glad the term is almost over so we can finally plan this wedding."
After eating, the two young women left the second floor flat they shared to catch the tube from the nearby Bethnal Green Underground Station, each of them with a backpack strapped across her shoulder. Although Sarah was still a student, Jane should have been past the backpack stage, but it was so convenient for her she couldn't yet give it up. Her backpack carried her work clothing, shoes, purse, lunch, the environmental report she'd read the night before, and the latest issue of The Economist.
After two transfers, Sarah and Jane arrived at Southbank Centre, the waterfront arts complex not far from Jane's office. They walked a short distance to Jane's office building where they greeted Abdullah, a Somali security guard who worked the 7-to-3 shift in the lobby.
"Morning, sisters," he teased, making them laugh as always. Abdullah insisted that Jane and Sarah were related, despite the difference in their skin colors. They were the same height and build, and when he saw them in the mornings like this, they were always dressed similarly in spandex leggings and hooded sweatshirts.
"It will be a nice day, after the rain," he added.
"I know!" Jane replied. "I won't have to worry about my hair today."
Abdullah chuckled. "But you would have run anyway. You two are so dedicated."
Sarah and Jane took the stairs to the fourth floor—this was their warm-up—and dropped their backpacks at Jane's desk in the suites of Sustainable London. Although the door was locked when they arrived, the alarm was already disabled, indicating that someone was in the office, probably Andrew.
By the time they had walked downstairs again and exited the building, the sun had started to come up. This was the main reason they had traveled all the way to Jane's job like this, as they preferred not to go running in the pitch darkness of early December mornings. That, and the fact that it was so beautiful to run along the south bank of the Thames.
"Ready?" Sarah asked.
Jane nodded and added, "By the way, thank you. I know you were up late last night." Sarah could have slept in if she had wanted to.
Sarah shrugged. "If it weren't for getting up with you, I might blow off both running and my paper. So thank you."
The women ran for about forty-five minutes before returning to Jane's office. Sarah retrieved her backpack and said goodbye, planning to spend the rest of the morning in a nearby café to finish her paper, which was her final big assignment of the term. After she departed, Jane pulled out the flat iron and small bag of toiletries she kept in her desk and took them, along with her backpack, to the full bathroom down the hall. Eugenie had had it installed when their organisation had first moved into this building five years earlier, in order to encourage employees to bike to work with the knowledge that if they needed a shower afterward, they could take one. She even supplied towels, which they all took turns washing in the mini washer above the toilet, and hanging to dry on racks. The washer and shower both supplied gray water for flushing.
It had taken Jane a while to get comfortable with the idea of showering at work, even though she could lock the bathroom door and knew there was another toilet down the hall if someone needed it while she occupied the shower. After hanging her trousers and blouse so that the steam would remove any wrinkles, she showered quickly, changed clothes, and spent some time curling her hair before returning to her desk to start her workday.
Jane sat down with a cup of Earl Grey tea and, as she did each morning, looked at the pictures on the wall above her desk of the four women who provided her daily inspiration. Two, of course, were Grandma and Aunt Maddy, but the other two she had never met. The first was Majora Carter, the MacArthur fellow and environmental justice activist from the South Bronx. Jane had watched her TED talk, "Greening the Ghetto," as a freshman in college and had been so inspired by her passion and determination that she remembered thinking, I want to be her when I grow up!
The second was Wangari Maathai, the late Kenyan environmentalist and women's rights activist who had been the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Underneath the photos were quotes from the two women, including Carter's definition of environmental justice: "No community should be saddled with more environmental burden and less environmental benefits than any other," and Maathai's tribute to her land: "Earth and water, air and waning fire of the sun combine to form the essential elements of life and reveal to me my kinship with the soil."
"'Lo, Jane."
Jane looked up and waved at Alyssa, who occupied the desk opposite hers. Tall and slender with long brown hair, Alyssa sported her usual bright grin, eager to start her work day. She had been a top student before running away from an abusive home at age sixteen. After struggling to make her way off the streets and finish her education, she was now a part-time university student. Alyssa had joined Sustainable London as an intern the previous summer, and was hired on as a permanent employee when autumn began.
"Is Eugenie in yet?" Alyssa asked. "I can't wait to tell her about the workshop yesterday."
"I haven't seen her. I think she had a meeting with one of the borough councils this morning."
Eugenie had founded Sustainable London in 2007 and continued to serve as its director. Her goal was to ensure that all of Greater London was prepared to meet whatever environmental challenges the future would pose. When Jane was doing research for her Social Policy master's thesis, she had interviewed Eugenie about Sustainable London's work in the lowest income communities of the city. Jane had asked Eugenie some rather pointed questions about why there was only one person of colour working for the organisation and none on the board. Apparently, they had each come away from the interview suitably impressed with the other; at the end, Eugenie had asked if Jane would like to come work for her upon graduation. Since she was hoping to stay in England and couldn't without a work permit, and recognized this as an opportunity she would love, Jane had accepted readily. Jane and the other staff members—Alyssa, Derek, Arjun and Andrew—worked with community members throughout London's boroughs to identify ways to improve the sustainability of their communities, while Eugenie spent much of her days reaching out to potential donors to fund community projects, and to local politicians who decisions and support would determine whether identified projects could move forward.
At the end of the workday, Jane traveled by bus to Hackney, where she offered free keyboard lessons twice a month on Thursdays, and twice a month on Saturday mornings. She had moved to London in the summer of 2011, shortly after graduating from Oxford and not long before riots rocked the city following the shooting death of an unarmed black man by police. Watching the violence on the telly with Sarah each night, Jane knew she had to step up and do something to help in this, her new home.
She decided to visit Pembury Estate, a large housing development in Hackney where some of the worst of the riots had taken place. Sarah had freaked out a bit, considering the trip too dangerous, but Jane was determined. She had grown up in South Central L.A., and so knew how to carry herself in a similar neighbourhood. Not to mention that as a Los Angelena, she was familiar with police/community conflicts.
On that first trip to Hackney, Jane has spotted a small community centre on the street where the bus had dropped her off. She entered, unsure what to do except offer whatever services she could provide. She had had the opportunity to speak with the programme director, Margaret, who expressed her appreciation for Jane's willingness but was uncertain how she could use her.
While they spoke, Jane noticed a piano in the corner of the small lobby. "What do you use the piano for?" she had asked.
Margaret glanced over. "Oh, that. It was a donation, but it's out of tune. Some of our clients play it on occasion, but it mostly takes up space. I'd really like to get rid of it."
An idea came to Jane. She had purchased a keyboard during her time at Oxford, but she missed her piano from home. Playing a keyboard just wasn't the same when it came to classical music. "What if..." Jane paused, then continued. "What if I take the piano off your hands, and swap it for a keyboard? A keyboard can be stored away when not in use, to free up space. And then I could come back to offer free keyboard lessons to whomever wants them?"
It took Margaret a mere minute of thinking before she agreed. Peter was able to help Jane find a few friends and a truck to move the piano to her flat and bring back the keyboard, and so Jane's musical service to youth in Hackney began.
This evening she had four students, Diya, Amir, Jessica and Daniel. Shortly after she began her lesson with Diya, her mobile chimed, indicating the receipt of a text message. Jane silenced her phone to prevent any further interruptions.
Each lesson progressed smoothly. Jane always enjoyed having ten-year-old Daniel as her final student of the evening. He was a sweet boy and immensely talented, and his mother Rose always brought Jane a thank you gift that would become her dinner. Tonight was no exception. When Rose arrived to pick Daniel up, she carried a still-warm plate wrapped in aluminum foil. It smelled delicious, and Jane couldn't help but lift a bit of the foil for a peek. "Mm, fried plantains, my favorite!" she said. The plate also contained rice and beans and salad.
"I have good news for you, Rose," she told her. "I've already told Daniel that I spoke with the director of the Winthrop Music Academy. He is willing to give Daniel an audition. He'd like you to call to set up a time for it." She handed a business card to Rose.
"Ohhhhh, Jane!" Rose cried. "I am so happy! My husband Roger said nothing would come of it, but I told him that you're a fellow Bajan and you would make it happen!" She reached over to hug Jane, and then to embrace her son, who squirmed away from his mother in embarrassment.
Jane grinned. Although she had told Rose before that she had only visited Barbados once at age ten for her great-uncle's funeral, she didn't mind being referred to as a "fellow Bajan." Rose's accent—and food—reminded Jane so much of her grandmother that it always made her feel a little less homesick.
It was after nine PM when Jane arrived home and began preparing herself for the following day. As she plugged in her mobile to recharge, she remembered that she had received a text message earlier that evening. She opened it and read, "In town this weekend and hoping you're not busy. F.C." She didn't recognize the number, and it took a few moments of thinking before she recalled anyone she knew with the initials F.C. Was she at last hearing from Frank Churchill?
If he would be in town this weekend, did that mean he was currently out of town? If so, where was he, and was it too late to respond to his text? She hesitated for a moment, and then decided to type back, "I'm free." If he were busy or asleep, he could just respond the next day.
Within thirty seconds, however, she received a response, "How about dinner and a show on Sat?"
Not wanting to seem too eager, she texted back, "Sure."
His text came immediately. "Great! I'll call u tomorrow when I get back. Have a good nite."
Jane stared at her mobile for a few seconds before a huge smile broke out on her face. She had a date with Frank Churchill!
