PART NINE

The next few days were tense as Nikki waited with jangled nerves for the letter to arrive. Finally, it came.

"I've got the job interview," Nikki said in flat tones," Day after tomorrow. Do you mind if I borrow the car. I might as well make a good impression."

"Of course, Nikki. I'll be able to bus it for work." Helen said but not too eagerly. There is no sense in letting her natural enthusiasm wash all over the flat. She knew enough of Nikki that she was holding her enthusiasm down in case her hopes were dashed again.

A flashback crossed her mind of when she was with Claire and Nikki was brought in to see her. She had spotted that very same tendency to bottle down her hopes and prepare for failure and how Nikki's emotions welled over in tears of inexpressible gratitude. Just keep things quiet and natural, Helen resolved. It had felt a long time since Nikki had started the long, mentally draining haul to get a job.

"I'm off to work, Nikki," Helen called out in a deliberately casual tone of voice after giving her a brief hug and a kiss." Best of luck."

That day at work was a complete write off as far as Helen was concerned. She did her best to lose herself in her work but her anxieties kept coming back to haunt her. She knew that Nikki would give of her best to get the job but was that sufficient? The whole thing

was out of her control twice over, once, that only Nikki could do it, not Helen and twice, that the job interview was in the lap of the Gods, or Goddesses as the case may be. In the end, Helen resorted to confining herself to routine housekeeping work, which didn't demand anything exacting for her. She could always catch up with what she was supposed to do the next day. At lunchtime, she paced around restlessly outside, even though spots of rain spattered down on her and the wind blew her hair awry. These little matters were totally unimportant in the grand scheme of things, she reasoned. The day crawled its way onwards relentlessly at the slowest funeral march imaginable. She had never had such a burning desire to be away from work, while suppressing the fear that bad news might await her when she crossed the threshold.

To her surprise, there was no sign of Nikki when she got home. In her restless frame of mind, she wiped and dusted the already clean surfaces until she got fed up of it. Finally, she slumped down on the sofa with a more generous measure of vodka than was her habit.

Helen jumped out of her skin as she heard the key in the lock, Her senses were highly attuned to the minute Nikki walked through the door. A swift glance told her that Nikki seemed slightly dazed and had a wry smile on her face. She was very quiet as she took off her favourite black coat, which caused Helen's inquisitiveness to go on mental overload.

"How did it go, Nikki," Helen asked at a machine gun pace of verbal delivery.

"It's strange, Helen……." Nikki said at last and lit up a cigarette."I thought that I was looking for a job with them but I got the feeling that they had been looking around for me until I walked through that door. The more questions I answered, the more it seemed that I was there already. They kept me there for a long time and showed me every detail of the job. They really wanted to sell me the job. We were talking for ages about my experiences at Larkhall as a prisoner standing up for prisoner's rights, the sort of problems I had, how I got on with prison officers……"

At this moment, Nikki grinned

"Don't worry, I kept our secrets safe though I couldn't help mentioning our present situation. It didn't do any harm. They wanted to know every last bit of detail and we had a friendly chat for ages afterwards. They're really nice and I felt that I was among friends. They wanted me to not commit myself to anything else from next Monday onwards and promised to write to me very soon. The signs were good, really good………..".

"So it means that…." Helen broke in excitedly.

"….that I guess that I've got the job. I think I'll be starting on Monday, part time research, part time troubleshooter with London prisons on my patch, Holloway but mostly, wait for it, Larkhall. They'll send me my credentials, visiting passes and contract of employment."

"The prison service won't know what's hit it," grinned Helen

"Won't it just. They'd better shape up or they'll know just what I can do." Said Nikki in a firmer tone of voice with an undertone of definite satisfaction. Recounting the interview to Helen made everything seem all the more real. Her thoughts started clicking into gear as to what she should set to work to do.

"…… I never got round to getting a present for Shaz Wiley or write to Barbara. Guess I'd better make up for lost time……..."

Helen gave a squeal of delight and virtually jumped on Nikki who lay sprawled on the sofa, lying on her back, coat awry and hair disheveled. Tears of joy were coursing down her cheeks. This was more like her Nikki. Their lips met in a long kiss. Their future was about to begin for real.

Many hours later, they lay in bed, Helen's arm gently supporting stroking Nikki's head and gently stroking her hair. The other woman lay there in a total blessed-out state.

"You really have been here for me, Helen, just being around when I needed it."

"I wasn't sure if I was doing any good, sweetheart. I just hung around hoping for the best."

"It was enough."

"It's what lovers are for, sweetheart." Helen said softly, totally unselfconsciously. "You've done the same for me when I was wing governor. If it hadn't been for you, I would have definitely gone under."

They lay there as a dim light cast a gentle glow around them. It was paradise.