Page 13 of The Midnight Bakery
Tam grinned and ducked through the office doorway.
Trish had been at Chawston House for eleven years now, and Tam had liked her from the moment he met her during his interview. As deputy manager, she’d played the role of good cop alongside her colleague, Donna, who was definitely happier playing bad cop. Tam had wondered whether it was just the way they’d decided to conduct their interviews, but since joining the staff he’d discovered it was how they always were. Both were fair and straight talking, but, as the more senior manager, Donna maintained a rather aloof approach. You could have a giggle with Trish.
The office, however, was empty, so Tam stayed no longer than the minute it took him to sign in and check his pigeonhole for notices. It was more than likely that Trish wanted him to swap a shift, or, with any luck, work an extra one. With that thought in his head he went off to say hello to the residents and see if he could find her.
As it was, it took until well after dinnertime before they both had a moment to chat.
‘Just pop to the office with me a minute,’ she said. ‘I need my diary.’
Tam followed her down the hallway, thinking that whatever it was he would say yes. Any extra money was a help. The quicker he finished paying off his debts, the quicker he could start saving for his future.
It didn’t even occur to him that something might be amiss until Trish closed the office door behind them and asked himto take a seat. Routine business was usually conducted standing up, occasionally perched on the edge of the desk, but sitting down was serious. Sitting down was trouble.
‘I’m not sure whether you’ve realised but your six-month review is coming up in a couple of weeks,’ she said, opening the big black book at the side of her desk. ‘And Donna has asked me to get a date in the diary.’
‘Okay.’ Tam nodded. That wasn’t serious. So why did Trish have trouble meeting his eye?
She flicked over a couple of pages in the diary before settling on a week Tam couldn’t quite see. ‘It’s not until the twenty-first, so how about we make it for the week after? The twenty-eighth? It’s a Wednesday, so you’d normally be on duty.’
Again, Tam nodded. ‘Any day is fine, whatever suits you best.’
She looked up. ‘Although I had been thinking of taking some holiday…I’ve a few days left which I’ll lose if I don’t take them.’ She studied the diary once more. ‘But if I do that, it would mean pushing things back a bit. It might give you a bit more time though,’ she added.
‘Time?’ queried Tam, not quite sure what she was getting at.
‘Yes. To… prepare.’
‘Oh, I see, yes, sorry. I wasn’t sure how you did things here. There’s a form, is there? Like for an appraisal?’ He smiled. ‘Happy to do that. Do you need it in advance, is that it?’
‘On the day is fine,’ Trish replied, still staring at the page. ‘I think Iwillmake it a bit later. How about the thirteenth of March? That gives you two more weeks.’
‘Whatever works best for you. I don’t want you to lose your holiday.’
Trish plucked a pencil from a pot on the desk. ‘Shall we say four o’clock? If we need to change anything we’ve got plenty of time. I’ll book my holiday with Donna later. It won’t be aproblem, she reminded me about it the other day, and look, no one else is off if I go that week.’
Tam was too far away to make out the dates clearly, but he nodded and smiled. There wasn’t much else he could do. Not until Trish revealed why she was behaving so strangely. This was very much a standing up kind of conversation.
‘Right, there we go then. Four o’clock on the thirteenth. I’ll get that form for you, shall I? You won’t have any problem with it, it’s quite straightforward. Really just an opportunity to say how you’re feeling about your role here. How you’ve found your induction, that kind of thing.’
‘I’ve enjoyed it,’ replied Tam. ‘As you know, it’s not the kind of work I’ve ever done before, but the residents are a great bunch.’ He grinned. ‘As are the staff. And I think things have gone well.’
Trish held his look for just a second before glancing back down. ‘It’s been good having you here,’ she replied. ‘I don’t think there’s any argument about that.’
Comforting words, but Tam had the strongest suspicion she was still leaving something unsaid. He stared at her back as she fished through the sections in the filing cabinet behind her desk.
‘Here you go.’ She handed over the form with a tight smile. ‘I’m sure everything will be fine.’
Up until the last few minutes Tam had been sure it would be too. He took the piece of paper and turned for the door. He’d almost made it through before Trish spoke again.
‘Erm, Tam…? Sorry, it’s just…it doesn’t matter to me in the slightest, but you know what Donna’s like…’
Tam turned around slowly. ‘I’m not sure I follow,’ he said, anxiety flicking around the pit of his stomach.
Trish’s cheeks had flushed bright pink and it was clear she was struggling to find the right words. ‘I was in town the otherday. In that little car park up behind the baker’s…and I couldn’t help noticing…Is everything all right, Tam?’
A wave of heat made its way up his neck. ‘Perfectly,’ he replied. ‘I’m fine.’
Trish nodded. ‘Right…Well, I won’t say a word to anyone, you don’t need to worry on that score, only…’ She tapped the sheet of paper. ‘Perhaps when you fill in that form, when you come for your review meeting…it would be really good if you had a proper address…a permanent one.’
