Oh my God! Today is the day. I think everyone on Twitter knows how excited I have been to give you this.
As I said in First Time, it feels like I have been teasing you with this for ages. Well, the wait is now over.
Now, do you think that you know what the white lie was?
Fenshaw Is Now Mason
Eddie had no idea what Ria wanted and, if anything, he didn't really want her sticking her nose in already. It was bad enough what Jack had done and Eddie knew that it all had to be rectified. He hoped that he was the man for the job and he felt like Nigel had given him more than enough of a wink to make it seem that way.
So for Bridget to tell him that they were in his office, he was a little surprised, as well as the laughter.
"Who is it?" He asked.
"Mrs Cheetham and Mrs.."
Bridget trailed off as the laughter got louder and Eddie knew that he had to just go in there and get this over and done with.
What he didn't expect was to see Fenshaw sitting on the sofa, laughing with Ria. It threw him and he could tell that it threw her as she slowly stood up as Ria did. He couldn't find his voice as he found himself in front of Fenshaw again. Although he was sure that Ria had just called her by a different surname.
"I'm sorry," Eddie said.
"This is Rachel Mason. Rachel, this is Eddie Lawson. Rachel's the new headteacher." Ria said.
He probably would have focused more on the new headteacher part if his thoughts didn't keep flicking between him being happy to see Fenshaw again and him being angry with her that she never told him that night.
"Do you two know each other?" Ria asked.
"We met briefly years ago." Rachel said, being the first of them to compose themselves. "It is good to see you again."
At that moment, Eddie couldn't say that he felt the same and the anger that she lied to him all those years ago plus the fact that his brain had finally caught on to what Ria had said about Fenshaw being the new headteacher rose in him.
"I'm sure you two have a lot to discuss and catch up on," Ria said as she made a move to leave.
Eddie probably would have followed Ria and asked why Nigel told him that he would be acting head for them to ship someone in. But he had wanted answers from Fenshaw for the questions that had been bugging him for the last 17 years.
"You told me that your surname was Fenshaw," Eddie said before Rachel could say anything.
"It was back then."
"When you were a prostitute." He said through his teeth.
Her shock took him aback a little.
"How?"
"My friends. Let's just say that Pretty Woman didn't exactly help me. It was the only thing that they went on about for a year and I still get the jokes now."
"I am sure you didn't mind being compared to Richard Gere."
"And I am sure that you are fine being compared to Julia Roberts."
"I wanted to tell you." She said after a moment of silence. "I just didn't know how. You had no idea of the club you had walked into and… you. Just you. It felt like you were genuinely interested in me. Was it so wrong of me to want to feel… normal for one night? To be like every other girl being picked up by a guy?"
Eddie could feel his anger slowly disappear at her words and he hated that she could do that. But he knew that she was right. Because he had never thought about it like that before and he knew that it made a lot of sense why she didn't tell him.
"Can we start over?" She said, holding out her hand to him. "Rachel Mason, the new headteacher. I used to be Amanda Fenshaw and I used to be a prostitute. But I have now made a better life for myself and… I managed to do what I have always wanted to do, despite everything that happened."
He couldn't do anything else but take her hand, as she had done that night.
"Eddie Lawson, deputy head and maths teacher." He paused as he tried to come up with something else to say. "I'm sorry. I just… never thought I would see you again."
"Nor did I."
They let go of each other's hands and he felt like she was waiting for him. All the questions that he had been building up over the last 17 years had disappeared and he couldn't think of which one to ask first.
"Wait, how the hell have you become a teacher?"
"Now that is part of a very long story. One that we don't have time for right now. I think it would be a better use of our time if I explained what my plan is for today. I will tell you, Lawson. Just not now." She closed her eyes. "Eddie. Your name is Eddie."
"I am having to replace Fenshaw with Rachel. And Mason."
"I am sure it will get easier the more we know each other."
"Wait, what plans do you have for today?"
"Quite a few. From today, there are going to be quite a few changes around here. I think there are a few students that are in need of inspiring."
"And how are you going to do that?"
Eddie didn't know whether he did like Rachel's smile or the way that she walked to be behind (what would have been) his desk and picked up a folder to hand to him. He didn't quite think that they would be under the same understanding that they were that night. Maybe too many things had happened in 17 years for them to be as compatible as they were on that night.
Maybe this was just a disaster waiting to happen.
Rachel was fairly certain that her day couldn't get any more bizarre. She knew that she had taken the job at the last minute, shocking quite a few people in the process. She had finished the term as headteacher of Fazakerley in Liverpool and was now starting the term as the headteacher of Waterloo Road in Rochdale. There was one person that was rather angry at the decision that she had made without them but Rachel knew where she needed to be and that was now Waterloo Road.
Although, never in her wildest dreams, would she have expected Lawson to walk into the room. When Ria had told her about the current deputy being Eddie Lawson, she had the weirdest momentary thought that it might be him but she put the surname down to coincidence.
The problem was Rachel knew that she had a lot to tell Eddie. More than she could ever imagine. She meant it when she said that she would tell him. But she needed an evening where she could sit him down and go through her mental list of everything that she needed to say.
Part of her was glad that the whole prostitute thing was out of the way. It wasn't high on her list of things that she needed to say that night but she did feel like that was the hardest topic for her to talk about.
If anything, the first thing that she was going to mention to him, when she saw him again, was that she had never forgotten about him or that night that they had together. That she knew that she would always remember him and that he showed her what love was like that night. From there, she would go into the things that she had left unsaid that night and what she needed to tell him since that night.
Rachel watched Eddie as he went over to the two new students, wondering whether he would work it out by himself. Because there was no coincidence as to why two new sixth formers (who had recently turned 17) started on the same day as she did. There was also no coincidence why they were already enrolled in the school and already knew their timetables.
But then again, maybe it was only no coincidence to her because she was the only one who knew the truth.
Maybe it was why she would be the only one who could see it.
She just hoped that they were all going to take it well.
"What a first day. I mean, it wasn't that exciting at Fazakerley."
Rachel almost threw her bag onto the island as she glared as James.
"Not funny." She said.
"It was just a tiny bit."
"Mum, just ignore him," Amelia said, not looking up from her sketchbook.
"Why? I mean, made things interesting. Maybe the posh prick deserved it." James said.
"You don't even know him. He might be nice."
"And the newspaper would have been right up your street. Why didn't you accept his offer?" Rachel said.
"Like I said he is a posh prick." James paused for a moment. "And your new deputy seems like a bit of a prick as well."
Rachel knew that she had to think about what she was going to say next. She didn't partially want James to call Eddie a prick but she couldn't deny that he was acting like one. If only they knew.
"I think I stole his job." Rachel ended up saying.
"No reason for him to be a prick about it."
"I think I would be the same."
"He seemed nice when he was talking to us earlier," Amelia said.
"How did you introduce yourselves?"
"You know. By our names. The ones that you gave us. You know, Amelia and Jamie." James said.
"Well, you are wrong there. Because I called you James."
"And like I've told you. James reminds me of that… bastard's father, who we fucking called granddad for a while. I would rather have no association with the name after what he did."
"I know darling. But I am still going to call you James."
"I know. You and Amelia are the only people I can take calling me it."
"Well, finally, I am kinda getting used to calling you Jamie now," Amelia said, finally looking up at them.
"And when I asked that question and got your sarky answer, I was just trying to get at whether you mentioned that you were both Masons. Whether the maths teacher would put two and two together."
"Mum, as much as we love you, we would like to build some sort of reputation before we get it ripped to shreds for being the kids of the head," James said.
"I suppose so."
Rachel knew what James was going to do before he did it. But it was still nice the way that he walked over to her and placed a kiss on her forehead. He might have been 17 and six-foot but she knew that he was one of the biggest Mummy's boys going.
"How about I head to the local chippy and get us something to eat? I know that we managed to get a quick purchase on this place. We can start properly tomorrow." James said.
"That reminds me that we have some unpacking to do tonight." Rachel said.
"Well, we got the beds up while we were waiting for you. You might want to make sure that you have some fresh clothes but everything else can wait until the weekend."
"Have you got enough money?"
"Of course. Another thing to think about, Amelia. Try and find new jobs."
"You don't have to."
"Mum, we do," Amelia said. "You have looked after us for the last 17 years, pretty much on your own. Maybe it is time that we started looking after you properly."
James gave Rachel a look to tell her that he agreed with what his sister had just said before he left to go and get the chips. Rachel sighed as she walked over to see what her daughter was doing.
If anything, it might not just be Eddie that would react badly to it. There was a chance that all three of them could react badly to what she needed to tell them and she wondered how she was going to find the words to tell the twins that they could finally meet their dad.