Page 40 of Autumn in Sycamore Park
His expression changed to one of pure pleasure. ‘Strawberry. Mum gets this one off the deli counter in Tesco. It’s great.’
‘What kind don’t you like?’
Gavin’s nose wrinkled. ‘Banana. It’s rank. It tastes like a dog’s—’
‘Sure, I get it,’ Jennifer said, putting up a hand. ‘But some people might like it, otherwise they wouldn’t sell it, would they?’
‘Yeah, but they’re dickheads.’
Jennifer winced again. ‘But even so—’
Gavin’s eyebrows lifted. ‘So what you reckon is, we could get them to make different kinds of cheesecake?’
Jennifer clenched a fist under the table. ‘That’s a great idea, Gavin. You could ask them to make different kinds, so that even the dickheads have something they can eat.’
‘Miss, you can’t say dickhead.’
Jennifer smiled. ‘I won’t tell anyone you said it, if you do the same for me. Secret?’
Gavin gave a frantic nod. ‘Okay. You’re all right, Miss. Better than Old Goldsmith.’
The sense of satisfaction Jennifer felt had a guilty veneer, kind of like eating too much low fat chocolate.
‘Why, thank you, Gavin. It’s nice of you to say so. By the way, how are things at home?’
Gavin beamed again. ‘Dad’s taking me to the game on Saturday,’ he said.
‘Is that right? Who are you going to see?’
‘Argyle.’
‘Oh, that’s too bad.’
Gavin appeared to ignore her. ‘Dad’s signed us up for the supporter’s club. We can go to all the home games for free, and get discounts on away. We’ve got new season kits and everything. I reckon we’re going to win the league this year.’
‘Are Argyle in a league?’
‘Two. Means we only need to win promotion three times in a row to be in the Premiership.’
‘Well, good luck.’ She smiled. ‘I’m glad things are going well. Anyway, you’d better get off to lunch.’
As Gavin raced off after the other kids, Jennifer let out a sigh of relief. So far, so good. The council building was not far from the town museum, so after attending the proposal meeting at the town hall, she would stop in and see Marlie, let her know that Gavin seemed happy. Parents’ evening was next Wednesday, but Gavin’s mother might not be able to attend.
Jennifer glanced at her watch. She was on playground duty today, but if she was quick, she could still run back to the staffroom for a quick coffee. With Angela’s birthday bash tonight, she needed all the caffeine she could get.
Angela,wearing a beige blouse so bright it was almost yellow under a fake fur jacket which made her look more like an elegant Duchess than a café owner, frowned at Jennifer and shook her head.
‘No, that will never do. You can’t wear dark blue on my birthday. Wait here a second.’
She went into the café’s kitchen. Jennifer heard another door open and close. She waited, shifting from foot to foot, then sipped from a glass of wine Angela had given her. She looked at the book on Zen living and the pot plant Angela had recently unwrapped, hoping her new friend liked her hastily bought presents.
‘Here we are,’ Angela said, coming back in. She held up a pretty one-piece. ‘This should be about your size.’
‘It’s … uh, yellow.’
‘Amber, dear. Not yellow.’
‘Why do I have to wear yellow?’
