When Kate McKenzie heard sniggers instead of the scratching of pens on paper, she lifted her head. It didn't take long to work out the source of amusement; William Elliot was fast asleep at his desk.
"Boys. Work." Kate was quick to admonish. Thankfully she had enough authority that they quietened immediately, but her eyes stayed on William with concern. She wasn't worried about him not doing the work, she knew he would catch up, but it was unusual for anyone, let alone her best student, to fall asleep at their desk during her class.
With only a few minutes to go, she let him sleep, and once everyone else was out of the classroom she shut the door and sat at the desk beside him. "William? Will?"
He blinked awake and then had the good grace to look mortified. "I'm so sorry."
"It's fine. You must have needed it."
William lowered his eyes to the desk. "..I'll catch up, I promise."
"It's ok. I know you will. I'm not worried about that, I'm worried about you. Are you-"
"My dads had an affair." William blurred out. He had no one to tell, no one to vent to. Usually when something upset him he would talk to his mum, but he couldn't do that with this.
"..oh." Kate was stunned.
"Mum's not…she's angry. With him. And she's not sleeping very well, and I stay awake in case she needs me."
"..that's lovely of you, but from what I know of your mother, she wouldn't want you so tired you're falling asleep in class, Will."
"…could you talk to her? See if she's ok? She won't talk to me."
"Me? I.." Kate was mortified at the thought of going into the notoriously private headmistress' office to tell her she knew her husband had had an affair. "Ok. If you think it will help. As long as you promise to get a good nights sleep from now on."
William nodded, relieved enough to give a small smile. "Thank you, Miss McKenzie."
…
Kate wrung her hands nervously that afternoon. Beverley must have already gone home, her desk empty. She could have done with Beverley to announce her to Caroline and give her the opportunity to put her game face on. Deep breath. It's just your boss. Who you're going to talk to about her husbands affair. Simple.
She knocked softly on the open door. "You're here late."
Caroline glanced up and over her glasses. "It's that time of year, unfortunately. The same could be said for you, Miss McKenzie."
"I'm afraid it wasn't altruism. I was enjoying uninterrupted time on the organ."
"I'm glad someone has been having a good afternoon." Caroline sighed, surveying her stacks of paperwork.
"…at the risk of making your day worse, I do need to talk to you. About William."
Caroline's eyebrows raised with surprise. Usually any talking about William had a positive effect on her day.
"He..he fell asleep in class today."
"William did? My William? Is he sick?" Caroline pulled out her phone to see if he had called or texted her.
Kate hesitated and then entered the room properly, moving to sit opposite her. "It's..he..he hasn't…"
Caroline looked at Kate's inability to explain, and her heart sank. "He's told you."
"He's.. told me that he's worried about you, and that he has been staying awake in case you need him." Kate admitted.
Caroline slipped off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to suppress the tears and panic that were so close to the surface. "I would..appreciate it if you wouldn't mention this to anyone else."
Kate looked taken aback at the thought Caroline might think she would tell someone, and Caroline found herself wanting to stop the hurt she had caused. "My husband had an affair. He's left the house. And to be honest I'm relieved. Because our marriage has been… anyway, I'm fine. I'm okay. And I will talk to William, and I'm sorry he fell asleep in your class. I will make sure he catches up." Caroline put her glasses back on and looked back at her work.
Kate knew she had been dismissed, but she knew that the woman before her wasn't okay. "..would you like to go for a drink. With me. Tonight."
Caroline's head raised again, studying the woman in front of her.
When no words were forthcoming, Kate ventured "I think William will feel better knowing you've got someone to talk to. And I know you appreciate your privacy, I won't discuss anything with anyone. I'm not that sort of person. And I hope I might be of help somehow. My..I was married before, and my husband cheated on me. With my best friend. So I get it. The anger. The fear. Even if you weren't happily married, you could pretend everything was fine, but then he took any power from you."
"Tomorrow."
"Sorry?"
"I don't drink on school nights, but tomorrow is Friday. We could- if you're free.."
"Absolutely. Though I have 9F tomorrow afternoon so I might need a very large glass. Or several."
Caroline suddenly realised there was a proper smile on her lips. "Noted. I try not to say anything bad about the students, but 9F..well, I'm sure there are good ones but on the whole I think you'll agree they're little shits."
Kate laughed. "At the end of the day on a Friday, I would say that is a polite understatement." She scribbled down her phone number. "Pick somewhere you want to go and text me. I'll arrange everything else."
"I'm looking forward to it."
"Me too."
And Caroline found she was.
