Page 57 of Don't Fall in Love (and how to break the rules)

“Yes,” agreed Nisha, raising her eyebrows. “Yes, you’re right, you do. Congrats, Chris. Your news has been swept up into allthis, but I want you to know how proud I am of you.” She walked over to Chrissie, who was standing with her back to a phonics display board. She put her arms around her and held her. Chrissie brought her arms up to Nisha’s back and allowed her head to fall on Nisha’s shoulder. It felt so good to be together, sharing this moment in this way. But it only made it more painful, knowing their days were probably numbered.

Chrissie brought her lips to the smooth skin on Nisha’s neck and planted a soft kiss. “Thank you. Whatever happens now, I’ll never regret this,” said Chrissie.

Nisha put her finger to Chrissie’s chin and brought her face up. “Nor will I,” she said. “Do you want to stay at mine tonight?”

Chrissie smiled, a sadness in her heart. “I’m not sure I can,” she said. “I’m not angry, I’m just trying to sort things out in my head. You wanted to stop running away from things, and I can see you’ve made that change in facing Jake, going back to your new school, taking this amazing opportunity. And I want to be happy for you. I really do. But right now, I need some time to process that. I hope you understand.”

Nisha frowned. “I’m sorry. Yes, you must take all the time to yourself you need. I can see I’ve made things hard for you and I feel bad about that. How about we get through Ofsted and then regroup on Friday? We can work everything out then.”

“Ms Rajan,” said Mrs Hemingway, once again looming in the doorway. The two women leapt apart, Chrissie pretending to be pinning up work that had been displayed since September and Nisha collecting mugs. “I wonder if you might have a moment to discuss your email?” the head teacher asked, a smile playing on her lips.

“Certainly,” said Nisha, more formally than she would normally talk even to Mrs Hemingway. She was obviously trying to make up for being caught in an embrace with a colleague in the workplace. Chrissie giggled quietly, in spite of herself.

Alone in the classroom, Chrissie had a sinking feeling. She didn’t know exactly what they were talking about, but realistically, it had to be about Nisha’s new job in London. Nisha would have emailed the head teacher to let her know. Chrissie looked up at the display she’d been pretending to amend, displaying all the different colours of autumn leaves. She was reminded of something her father once told her – that some friends were for a reason and some for a season. Perhaps she and Nisha had only ever been passing leaves in the breeze. They gave each other what they needed at the time, then moved onto their own paths, moving in opposite directions.

Chrissie shook her head to try and rid herself of the vision of her and Nisha as leaves, floating away from one another.

Chapter Fifty-Four

Chrissie’s doorbell went. It was past nine pm and she didn’t think it would be Nisha – they’d agreed to give each other a bit of space until the end of the week.

She went to the door to find Philippa standing there, smartly dressed as usual, holding two carrier bags of what smelt suspiciously like curry.

“You may already have eaten, but Dottie told me you got the call from Ofsted, so I thought you might need some additional sustenance,” said Philippa.

“How does that girl find out everything that happens in the school?” asked Chrissie with a laugh.

“Try living with her,” replied Philippa, deadpan.

“I have eaten,” said Chrissie, “but I think I may have a separate stomach for naan bread and paneer, so come on in.”

Philippa grinned. “I also wanted to say well done on the training place you secured – thanks for texting to let me know.”

“Ah, you’re welcome,” said Chrissie, showing Philippa into the kitchen and getting out plates and cutlery. “It was partly you that encouraged me to apply.”

“Well, you deserve it,” said Philippa. “But may I say, you look exhausted. Was it a long one?”

“It really was,” said Chrissie. “Wait, where is Dottie?”

“At home with her father,” replied Philippa, her mouth pursing. “He’s in the house all the time now.”

“Oh yes, of course,” said Chrissie. “He’s not found another job yet, then?”

“No,” said Philippa with a sigh. “He’s talking about taking early retirement and working on his golf handicap.”

Chrissie wasn’t sure why this was such bad news, but if the look on her face was anything to go by, then for Philippa, it clearly was.

“But enough about him. How about you? Are you getting on ok?” asked Philippa, clearly keen not to talk too much about her own domestic situation.

“Yeah, ok, I guess,” said Chrissie with a shrug.

The friends sat down at the small kitchen table. “Everything ok with Nisha?”

Philippa was incapable of holding back, and Chrissie knew she had to tell her something. But she couldn’t tell her the truth, not with Nisha being Dottie’s class teacher. It wouldn’t be fair.

“Things are a bit tricky, to be honest,” said Chrissie. “I can’t go into it in detail. It wouldn’t be fair,” she added, pulling apart the naan bread so they could both have some. “It’s like our lives continue to pull us in different directions. I just wonder whether it’s really meant to be something that lasts.”

“Oh,” said Philippa, her face falling. She looked genuinely upset. “But you seem so good together.”

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