WHEN I FALL AT YOUR FEET
Wrote this in the sun! Hope you enjoy!
CHAPTER 10 – We're 'an us'!
It was Sunday afternoon and Eddie And Rachel had decided to have an afternoon out, they'd driven a couple of hours from Rochdale and were enjoying lunch in a country pub. Taking Rachel's hand in both of his, Eddie spoke.
"Do you realise that tomorrow we will have been an us for exactly 3 months?"
She smiled at him, about 6 weeks after they'd decided to make a go of things they'd been trying to define exactly what was going on between them. Eddie had felt that dating was too casual and Rachel felt that saying they were in a relationship put too much pressure on them, she also hated referring to Eddie as her boyfriend, thinking it made her sound like a teenager and she felt that she was too old to be someone's girlfriend, on the other hand, partner didn't sound right either. That night they'd decided that they were both happy being an us and had used the term ever since.
"How could I forget"
It was so true, the past few months had been the happiest of her life, they'd had some great and memorable dates. Rachel had taken Eddie to a line dancing class, she'd felt guilty for teasing him about the country music, and was surprised by how much she'd enjoyed herself, poor Eddie didn't have her co-ordination though. Eddie had taken her to see Les Miserables in Manchester and held her hand as she cried through most of it, she'd loved it and she's loved him for taking her, it really wasn't his cup of tea. They'd been to the cinema, had meals out, stayed in with a take away, they'd played tennis – Rachel won, Eddie was mad!, they'd played Monopoly – Eddie won, Rachel was furious! They'd had a truly wonderful few months.
They had adapted to being a couple easily, it felt very natural to them both though, like in every relationship, there were little things that annoyed them about each other. Eddie was often frustrated by Rachel's obsession with doing things by the book, she would only get her car serviced by the dealer, despite Eddie telling her it was a rip off and she always wanted things done in a particular way, Eddie had been doing the washing up one night and was putting the last couple of glasses away when she started telling him off for putting them in the cupboard the right way up, she always stored the glasses upside down, she'd then checked everything else he'd put away to make sure it was done right. Eddie had told her it was like having his mother checking he'd washed behind his ears which earned him her best death stare and silent treatment for at least an hour! Rachel sometimes found his easygoing nature exasperating, last Friday she'd asked if he wanted to go out or stay in, he said he didn't mind, he was happy doing whatever she preferred, she'd decided to stay in and asked him whether he wanted to cook or order in, he said he didn't mind either way, she'd decided she couldn't be bothered cooking so had asked whether he fancied Indian or Chinese, he replied that he wasn't fussed and would have whatever she was having. So when she'd asked what DVD he wanted to watch and he'd said he wasn't bothered and that she should choose, she'd nearly thumped him!
"Do you know Eddie, sometimes you drive me up the wall but these past few months have been amazing, I love you!"
"Ditto" he replied, giving her a quick peck before going to the bar to pay their bill. This was another thing that annoyed her, he wouldn't let her pay for anything despite the fact that she was his boss and earned more than he did! She'd learned not to argue with him on this, he wasn't so easy going when he passionately believed in something and taking care of her was something he truly believed in.
They'd just about managed to keep things professional at work, though they had to admit to a few stolen moments in her office, during the day their relationship was very much Miss Mason & Mr Lawson and they'd made a pact early on not to talk about work too much at home, but evenings, weekend and holidays allowed them to be Rachel & Eddie. They'd also managed to keep their relationship to themselves, the only member of staff who knew was Tom, though Rachel had her suspicions that he'd told Davina who kept giving her knowing looks whenever Eddie was around, not that Rachel minded, after all, she'd told Eddie when she'd found out that Jasmine and Rob had been dating.
Coming back from the bar, Eddie sat down again.
"Rach?"
"Mm hm?"
"How would you feel if we started to tell people about us?"
"I've got no problems with it, I'm proud there's an us to tell people about! I just don't know how best to do it"
"We could mention it at the staff briefing" he said, the shook his head "nah, stupid idea, we don't want to announce it like we would a school inspection"
"We could just tell Steph" she offered
"No, though I've no doubt the news would spread like wild fire, I don't fancy being the subject of the gossip, you know as well as I do that it always gets out of hand and the rumour mill goes into overdrive!
"We've got the mid-term staff do coming up, we could just go as Eddie & Rachel and not the head and deputy?"
"That's a better plan, they can come to their own conclusions and when they ask questions, which they undoubtedly will, we can just be honest"
"True, that's the staff taken care of, what about the students"
"It's really none of their business but if you insist, I could just kiss you in front of them all in assembly" he grinned
"Subtle Eddie" she teased "but seriously, they're going to find out eventually"
"Why don't we just get the staff sorted first then we can think about the students"
"OK" she replied, taking hold of the hand he offered as they left the pub and headed home.
It was the last day of school before the mid-term break and both the students and the staff were excited, the students looking forward to a few days of freedom, Miss Mason had promised there would be no homework much to Mr Lawson's despair. Some of the teachers were all looking forward to their night out, funded by a weekly kitty that some of them opted in to, the dinner followed by a comedy club and drinks was set to be good fun.
Although she had the facilities to do so in her office, on days like today Rachel liked to get her coffee from the staffroom, there was always a buzz about the place on the last day of term, plus Eddie was at a course all day, so she had no reason to stay holed up in her office.
"Gracing us with your presence Miss Mason, to what do we owe the honour? Muttered Grantley
"Just thought I'd come down and check that everyone's still on for tonight?" Most of those going nodded at her.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world" Grantley muttered into his tea.
"Oh, shut up Grantley!" Steph said as she threw herself down next to him almost sending his tea flying. "It's not like you to turn your nose up at the opportunity for a drink" Jasmine and Matt who were sat nearby burst into fits of laughter as Grantley's expression became even more thunderous.
The girls had all gathered at one side of the room discussing their outfits and giggling as Davina told them how she was trying to get Tom to wear a tie that matched the dress she'd chosen, he was still refusing but she'd not given up.
"Hey Rachel, you don't live far from me, do you want to share a cab?" asked Steph
Rachel didn't want to lie but wanted Eddie with her when the news broke.
"Sorry Steph, I'm not going home first, I've got a few things to tie up here and a few errands to run"
"No worries, we can share one home"
Just then Rachel's mobile rang and she smiled when she saw his number flash up on the screen, saved by the bell!
"Hi Eddie" blushing slightly as she left the room to talk to him
"You ok?" he asked
"Yeah, just been in the staffroom and Steph wanted to share a cab later"
"Oh, what did you say?"
"Just that I wasn't going home first, she said she wanted to share one home but you rang so I didn't have to answer!"
"Good timing! Well, they'll all know soon enough and then we can just tell them the truth"
"How's the course going?"
"It's so dull! Remind me again why I'm here representing Waterloo Road when all the others are the head teachers of their schools"
"Because I went last year and was bored to tears"
"I'll get you back for that later!" he warned. She laughed.
"Were you phoning for a reason Eddie?"
"Charming!"
"You know I didn't mean it like that, it's just that I've got Danielle Harker's father waiting for me in my office, he's not happy about something!"
"What's new! And yes, I was phoning for a reason! I've booked us a hotel in Manchester for tonight to save us having to stay sober and drive home, I just wanted to let you know to pack some overnight things"
"That'll be lovely Eddie, thanks. See you later"
"Love you"
"You too, bye"
"Bye"