Taking Off
Chapter 10
Chapter 10
“Finally!”
“Mr Cooper, I’m afraid it’s not time for your appointment yet. You’re not due until this afternoon,” a young man in a grey suit said.
The older man fell back on his chair and let out a cry.
“Miss Trebworth?”
“Yes. I have an appointment with Dr Hays-Smith, not you.”
“I am Dr Hays-Smith.”
“Are you?” Katie frowned.
“Yes.”
“Are you Dr Hays-Smith junior then?”
“You may call me that. Though my father doesn’t exercise anymore.”
“Has he retired? How is he?”
“He’s passed.”
She followed him into his practice room and explained she worried about a relapse. He scrutinised her as she answered a series of questions regarding her past alcoholism and her current habits. When she finished, he wrote a few notes in her file and thanked her for coming, adding that she had everything under control.
“But I don’t. Or maybe I do, but I’m not sure. That’s why I’m here.”
“You seem very sound in your understanding of the potential pitfalls, I don’t foresee any danger for you. I’m not saying it is easy, but I don’t feel you are in danger.”
“Doctor, when I got terribly drunk a month ago, I was sick. Sick like a dog. My body was rejecting the booze, which I thought was a good thing. But lately, I’ve found myself enjoying one drink or two after work. Even worse, I’ve been craving it.”
Dr Hays-Smith didn’t interject as Katie unravelled her fears but, at the end, he stuck to his initial diagnostic.
“Find yourself a hobby. If you are busy all the time, you won’t have time to think about drinking.”
“I’m busy alright. I have two jobs at the moment.”
“Alcohol isn’t the root of your problem, only a symptom. Work on the root and the desire to drink after work will go away.”
Half reassured and half annoyed at his manner, Katie left the cabinet without booking any further appointment.
***
“That was great, wasn’t it,” Matt said as Jim carried back two pints from the bar.
“Two nil, perfect. They are back in the game.”
The two men enjoyed another drink in the pub and participated in a sing-along with other Charlton supporters. On the way home, they joined the long queue outside a kebab shop. Matt answered a phone call from Charlene and Jim one from Linda. After wolfing down their food, they rushed through the streets of Peckham and Jim chatted away about the highlights of the football match.
“You’re alright mate?” Jim asked.
“Yes. Yes, I am.” Matt smoothed his hair back twice.
“If there’s something you want to talk about, you know, man to man, now is a good time.”
“I don’t… I… Charlene sounded irritated on the phone.”
“What about?”
“I’m not sure.”
Matt sighed and rolled his eyes.
“You should get your own place, it must drive her crazy to see me and Linda each time she comes around.”
“Are you kicking me out? Mum would never do that.” Matt stopped and faced Jim. He crossed his arms and straightened up his back so he towered over his step father.
“Of course not-”
“So it’s OK for Peter to sit on his asshole all day and not even look for a job but it’s not enough for me to work and study in my spare time?” Matt pressed down on his Adam’s apple twice but his pulse increased nonetheless.
“Don’t be silly mate. Couldn’t you get some help as a key worker?”
“Yes, but the waiting list is long. I’m not the only nurse who can’t afford a place you know.”
“Ask your sister how she manages to get housing benefits, maybe she’s got tips.”
“Alcoholism. And thank God she does, she‘s in so much trouble right now, she owes almost ten grand.”
“What? Ten grand?”
“Yes.”
“She can’t seem to completely get over her past, can she? Thankfully, your mum doesn’t lose sleep over you, she couldn’t take it.” Jim patted Matt on the back and they resumed their journey home.
***
Before the week-end, Katie sent another batch of CVs and landed a job interview, which she attended on Tuesday. The following day, the restaurant owner called her and requested a meeting at five on Thursday. Elaine agreed for her to leave early and booked it on the online calendar. Less than a minute later, Steven stormed out of his room.
“What’s that? Attending to a personal matter during work hours?”
He didn’t wait for a reply from Katie and he marched to Elaine’s office. Once inside, he asked Elaine the same question.
“She has got an appointment she cannot change. This is very important so I allowed her to leave at 4.30.”
“When will she make up the time?”
“She has done a fair bit of unpaid overtime over the summer, when the ALA meetings regularly ran late.”
“Has she?”
“Yes, she has and she has never complained about it.” Steven shut the door.
Daniel and Katie resumed stuffing the newsletter into the one hundred and fifty three envelopes.
“Oops, he wasn’t happy,” Daniel said.
“I know. He doesn’t like me anyway.”
“He doesn’t like anybody.” Daniel picked up a sheet of paper which had flown out under his desk. “And nobody likes him.”
Steven came back into the main room and stopped next to the table where Katie had laid the different parts for the mailout.
“I have been really unhappy with your work recently, Katie, you are unreliable and disorganised. Look at this! They are all upside down.”
“No they’re not,” Katie said.
“We won’t be needing your services anymore, this is your last week here. I’m going to call the recruitment agency and let them know.”
The print heads continued their rattling, vibrating from left to right then sliding back to their starting position. After a few seconds, Daniel cracked a joke and Elaine brought a cup of tea to Katie.
***
“I’m sorry for coming around like this but I was going mad in my flat on my own,” Katie said as Fiona opened the door.
“Oh, look at you. I got your text. That’s so unfair. Would you like a cuppa?”
“Yes. No. You know what, I could do with a stronger drink right now.”
Katie kicked her shoes off and laid down on the corner sofa while Fiona filled up two glasses with white wine.
“Tell me all,” Fiona said.
Katie jumped from one sentence to another without completing any and Fiona interrupted her many times as she tried to follow the story. After much swearing, all of it aimed at Steven, Katie burst out crying.
“What is the fucking point of getting another job if I lose this one?”
“You’re not losing it. Your temp agency is going to get you another one.”
Fiona put her arms around Katie’s shoulders and stroked her back until Katie’s sobering quietened.
“Steven said I’ve been distracted lately but he’s never liked me since the day he introduced me to his stupid son.”
“Oh yes, I remember, that was quite something.”
“Yes. Lesbian worker refuses to go out with boss’s gay son.”
Katie chuckled and drank four gulps from her glass.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” Fiona said.
“Have I? Have I been sloppy recently?”
“You’re a bit tired at the moment-”
“Of course I am. I’ve been running everywhere, going for interviews, sending out CVs. It’s not been fun you know.”
“It might be slightly easier to send your CV first then go to the interview.” Fiona’s voice crackled. “It’s just a thought.”
“Oh, is this how it works? I didn’t know. So, as you seem the expert, is it alright to turn up for the interview in my gym outfit? I find it rather comfy.”
They both wiped tears off their eyes.
“It’s so nice to see you laugh, you’ve been looking so serious the last few months. Welcome back mate.” Fiona high-fived Katie.
“It’s good to be back! To tell you the truth, it’s the most fun I’ve had in ages. Shame I don’t get paid to laugh.”
“What do you want to do? You need a job you enjoy, especially if you’re going to do overtime or have two jobs.”
“I don’t know. Waitressing? I could do that I guess.” Katie shrugged and reorganised the pillows around her.
“No. I mean, what do you really want to do?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Maybe you could be a chef? You are so good, I would go to your restaurant.”
“That would be more exciting than standing next to the printer for ages, that’s for sure. But that might take the fun out of cooking for me.”
Katie sighed and rubbed her forehead.
“That was just an idea. What about your childhood dream?”
“What about it?”
“What did you want to be when you grew up?”
“A pilot.” Katie laughed and finished her glass.
“Cool.”
“Cool? It’s too late for that.”
“How do you know? Maybe you could be a pilot assistant or whatever it’s called.”
“Co-pilot. You still need a commercial pilot licence for that.”
“Couldn’t you get one? There must be some kind of pilot school.”
“I’ve seen ads for one called Airdrive School but it’s difficult to get in, you need maths and physics. Also, I’m looking for money, not for a way to spend money.”
“What level? Maths and physics, what qualifications do you need?”
“A level I guess.”
Fiona switched on her laptop and googled Airdrive School. Its website described all the requirements for entry, and, as they polished off the bottle of wine, the two friends checked the details and joked about Katie taking them on holidays on her own plane.
***
The next day, Elaine offered Katie to write her a reference letter. When Katie mentioned that she might retrain and that she needed five GCSEs, Elaine expressed her surprise but Katie didn’t expand on her school years nor on her potential new professional direction. A crazy thought jumbled up her mind and she was testing it out.
“Let’s say I was to go ahead with this. How would I study for my GCSEs? Where?”
“Council?”
“Do they do that?”
“Apparently they do. My neighbour took his last June.”
“Wicked. I will give them a ring right now in fact.”
Katie explained she had dropped out of school after failing her GCSEs and the adult education officer suggested she enrolled in the following year’s class as she had missed the application date for the current one.
