Kate liked to listen and observe, she'd often sit in the staff lounge and watch the things others rarely noticed, the little habits, quirks and traits. How each teacher made their tea, the way they'd shuffle papers or even how they would laugh or groan in frustration. She'd often make a game of it and guess who it was by the sounds they'd make and then look up to confirm if she was correct or not. It didn't take long into her tenure at Sulgrave Heath before she was rarely wrong.

This skill transferred into the classroom as she'd observe which students were having difficulties. Often, it was less about the subject rather than some problem outside of school; their love life, a sick family member, parents divorcing and sadly on a few occasions, much more serious issues.

One Monday, during a free period, Kate was in the staff lounge looking through some papers when she heard the door open. The sound of the steps perplexed her, she didn't recognize them, perhaps a substitute teacher. When she looked up, she was surprised to see it was Dr. Caroline Elliot who had walked in. That was one gait she never got wrong. The heels she wore, her stride; the combination always seemed so unique. They nodded at one another but neither said anything as Kate wondered how she missed this one.

Later that day, Kate noticed William Elliot appeared a little off during choir. It was minor but his eyes lost their luster. Not every change meant something, it could just be a bad night's sleep or a cold coming on, but she filed it away and would continue to observe him.

The next day, she spotted Lawrence Elliot in the hallway. He wasn't in any of her classes, but she certainly knew of him. Normally she'd see him walking with his friend Angus, a student she knew all too well and today he seemed a little withdrawn, like he was going through the motions, physically there but really a million miles away.

Over the next few days, she continued to observe and it was more of the same, something was going on with the three of them. She wasn't sure how to approach Dr. Elliot about this. The boys were both students so professionally she should express any concerns but surely any issues at home would be known to the head teacher. Did she need to say anything? Should she say anything? She'd give herself the weekend to think about it and decide on Monday.

Kate opted for the easy solution, to check with William. She wouldn't ask him outright, but she'd find a reason to talk with him one on one and see if he'd offer up anything but unfortunately for her, he didn't.

She normally hated the monthly departmental meeting, but it was tomorrow in Dr. Elliot's office so the timing worked to her benefit. After the meeting, everyone rushed out but Kate took her time until they were alone, "Do…do you have a few minutes? If not, I can make an appointment." To both her relief and dismay, she had time.

As Kate sat, she immediately got off to a poor start, "this…well…hmmm…so…Dr. Elliot…"

Caroline always had a soft spot for Kate. They had started at Sulgrave Heath at the same time, neither initially realizing the other was new. Before the school year started, they bumped into one another in the hallway. New and nervous, Kate babbled about how excited she was to start her new job and asked Caroline if she had heard anything about the new head teacher, Dr. Elliot. Caroline smiled, and then officially introduced herself. Kate was mortified and from that day forward, was exceedingly professional with Caroline.

Trying to put Kate at ease, "we've known one another for years, can we skip the formalities, Caroline, please," said the head teacher.

She smiled nervously and summoned the strength to find the words, "Caroline…"

Caroline grinned; no one ever said her name quite as lovely as Kate did.

"…as you are aware, we are duty bound to voice concerns we have regarding the welfare of any of the students." She paused; nerves were creeping their way back in. "So…normally, we'd talk with our department heads or the counselor but…hmmm…this…this…this is a bit unusual…it's your boys."

The smile she wore melted away and Caroline's immediate thought was to tear into Kate, but she was only trying to do her job and doing it well. With a solemn look upon her face, not giving up any information, "Have they said something to you?"

"No…no but they don't seem themselves. I noticed William first since I have him in choir and while Lawrence isn't in any of my classes, I always pass him in the hall, and he seems lost. If it was just that one day, I wouldn't have said anything, but it has continued. I hope you won't take this the wrong way," bad choice of words, she immediately regretted her phrasing, "but you seem…you seem…is everything okay with you?"

For the second time in as many minutes, Caroline wanted to rip into Kate, but she was spot on. Should she put Kate out of her misery, tell her it's nothing or tell her she'll handle it and send her back to her classroom? Should she share with her what happened?

From the start of the conversation, Kate had noticed how Caroline changed, as if a switch was flipped and she suddenly looked both scared and relieved. She has an uneasy vulnerability about her, as though everyone would know her secret but at the same time, happy someone did. Kate was beginning to worry that the longer she stayed, the greater the chance the head teacher would lash out like a wounded animal. While she had a chance to retreat, she would take it, "well, I just wanted you to know and now you do and I won't mention any of this to anyone else."

Caroline smiled nervously.

Kate stood up, turned and walked towards the door but her deep-rooted kindness overpowered her self-preservation as she turned back around, "I guess, I hope it's nothing and I'm wrong, that you are all okay but if you ever need anyone to talk to, you know where to find me, you have my mobile on file." She left.

In her tenure at Sulgrave Heath, Kate had noticed how the staff all seemed to either love or hate Dr. Elliot with little to no middle ground but in a way, they all revered her. Many of the older teachers had worked under so many unqualified head teachers, they truly appreciated Caroline's 'firm but fair' approach while most of the staff just thought she was a bit snotty. Kate was one of the exceptions, somewhere in the middle. She didn't think about Dr. Elliot too often, most days their paths didn't cross but when they did, she dealt with her in a professional manner and never took any decisions personally; realizing the head teacher had a job to do.

After talking with Caroline, Kate still felt conflicted, knowing there was an issue, and it didn't appear that Caroline knew how to deal with it. Over the next few days, she went out of her way to accidentally, on purpose, cross paths as much as possible. Never to bother her or confront her, just a simple 'hello' or 'I like that blouse' or 'have a great day' along with a friendly smile. Caroline also went out of her way to bump into Kate, in the staff lounge, outside her classroom, and the day she unexpectedly stopped by choir practice to listen in.

Friday evening, just as Kate was sitting down to eat dinner, her phone beeped, a text from an unknown number.

'Hi Kate, it's Caroline. If it still stands, I think I might like to take you up on your offer to talk.'

'Hi Caroline. The offer still stands. Does tomorrow work for you?'

They made plans to meet for coffee and Caroline arrived early to look around to see if anyone she knew was there. She became flustered as she spotted Kate walking towards her, what's the etiquette for greeting a coworker who you aren't really friends with, when you plan to share extremely personal information. A handshake seems too formal, but a hug is too personal. Fortunately, Kate helped her. As she neared the table, she motioned for Caroline to stay seated thus taking away the handshake and hug.

As she sat, Kate laid a hand on Caroline's shoulder, "this place is lovely, I've never been here before, thanks for inviting me."

Caroline was nervous, very nervous, visibly nervous. She never shared much about her home life with those at school. If it weren't for the fact the boys went to the school, she wore a wedding ring and a single photo on her desk, the staff might know nothing about her at all.

After they ordered, picking up on her discomfort, Kate said, "We can talk about the weather, school, what's going on in our lives, whatever you want, it's up to you, okay?"

They spent most of the next hour talking about the boys and school, but Caroline was still working up the courage to say more.

As they walked to their cars, she looked around to see if anyone was lurking about and softly said, "My husband has been having an affair. He left me."

"Caroline, I'm…I'm so sorry."

"I thought we were all managing but then you came to talk to me, so we obviously aren't.

"Do you want to talk more? We can go back in or sit in the car or for a walk?"

Caroline's voice was small. "Maybe another day. If you don't mind meeting me again. Just telling you was therapeutic and exhausting."

"Of course, I don't mind; just let me know where and when."

"Thanks Kate."

"Anytime."

"Bye."

"Bye." Kate was about to walk away but turned back, "Caroline, it will be okay. It will take time, but it gets better." With that additional assurance, she walked away.

A few days later, Caroline sent Kate a text.

'Are you free Saturday, same time, same place?'

Kate pondered what she had gotten herself into. When she was separated, when she got divorced, it helped to talk to friends, but her situation was very different. Could she do this? She decided she could listen, most of the time, that's what people want, they don't want to be told what to do or how to feel, just a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen.

Kate texted back.

'Sure, sounds good'

That Saturday, Caroline felt a bit more comfortable about their meeting. She once again arrived early but wasn't as concerned if she had to give Kate a hug or if she knew any of the people in her proximity.

As Kate neared the table, she gave a quick wave but once again sat down with little more than "hi." She knew she could listen, but this was still new territory for her. This wasn't someone she'd been friends with since university, this was her boss.

Compared to the last time, Caroline shared quite a bit, in reality though, she was still very guarded in what she revealed. She had learned early on that family secrets should remain in the family. On one hand, she knew this was unhealthy; people need to talk about their problems but on the other hand, this was so ingrained in who she was, that sharing with an outsider seemed traitorous.

As the weeks went by, they continued to meet and little by little, as Caroline gained confidence, she revealed more of what had happened. It was always at a measured pace as though she had planned it all out beforehand. Like she was following some sort of script where she could easily edit out the parts she didn't want to share. She was grateful to have someone to listen and any doubts Kate had slowly faded away as the whole scenario felt less awkward.

Over the next few weeks, Kate continued to listen and observe. She carefully listened to Caroline as she shared the details of her marriage, her life, her feelings and she observed the body language that went along with it. She no longer looked like a deer in headlights when they met, she would stand up and greet Kate, first with a hand on the shoulder which evolved to a hug a few weeks later. When she was about to share something difficult, she'd always reach out to hold Kate's hand and once the words were out, would pull away, perhaps she no longer needed that extra support or perhaps a little embarrassed by the act. Kate had never thought of Caroline as a touchy-feely type but before her eyes, this was changing, there were so many small touches. None were inappropriate or uncomfortably long but each week, there seemed to be more than the week before. In the best way, it felt so ordinary, so natural, like they were becoming friends.

During that time, Caroline noticed how much she noticed Kate. On nice days, Kate would go for a walk at lunchtime, and she would see her. Walking between classes, at the far end of the hall, with fifty students between them, she would see her. In traffic, on their way to school, she would spot her car. With Kate nowhere in sight, like a bloodhound, she'd catch her scent, never quite sure if it was her shampoo or perfume or something else but it was so distinctly Kate. They'd known one another for years and this budding friendship might amplify it to some degree, but it was more than that, like everything and everyone at school was in black and white and Kate was in Technicolor.