Oh, She Liked That Sound
“Betsy Swain!” Lisa called up the stairs “We’re gonna be late if you don’t get a move on!”
Lisa ran a frustrated hand through her hair. This girl was going to send her to an early grave if she kept it up. Chronically late. She got that from Becky. When Bex had been alive, it was always Lisa waiting on the two of them, yelling up the stairs or waiting by the front door. Not that she wouldn’t give anything to go back in time and experience that one last time. The sight of both Becky and Betsy running down the stairs, laughing at her annoyance as they grabbed their coats.
Becky would whisper a quiet ‘Sorry, Babe,’ and kiss her cheek and she’d forget why she was annoyed in the first place, a little Betsy giggling behind her.
Now she was just met with an eye roll as her daughter stomped down the stairs.
“Alright, don’t get your knickers in a twist,” Betsy said, shrugging on her leather jacket “There’s gonna be loads of parents there, they won’t even notice if we’re a few minutes late.”
“That’s not the point, young lady,” she said as she swiped her keys off the table in the front entryway and turned to open the door “It’s rude to keep people waiting,”
She could feel Betsy’s eyes roll from behind her once again but she didn’t say another word. They climbed into the car and drove mostly in silence. Lisa was used to that these days, Betsy’s head being buried in her phone, not wanting to converse with dear old mother. After the third question she asked her daughter, getting a monosyllabic response, Lisa opted to keep quiet.
As they pulled up outside of the school, they climbed out of the car and made their way towards the entrance. Lisa spotted the sign out the front that read ‘Parent Teacher Conference This Way’ with an arrow. Following the signs, the pair made their way towards the gymnasium.
Lisa had only ever been inside the school for the formal tour given by the Deputy Head, Sarah Platt. The woman was lovely, and she seemed passionate about the kids, which was a good sign in an educational leader. So the decision to enrol Betsy was easy.
Now looking around at the transformed gymnasium, there were rows upon rows of desks, dozens of parents standing around with their kids, and teachers idly roaming the room, talking to each other mainly.
Lisa recognised a couple of them, but not many. This being her first Parent-Teacher night at Weatherfield Secondary, she was about to find out how well Betsy was adjusting to her new surroundings. With Lisa working long hours at the hospital, it was hard to talk to her about her life, not that Betsy would willingly volunteer any information about how she was feeling anyway.
To the right, she spotted a refreshment station. A few tables lined up with a table cloth over the top. Checking her watch, she saw they still had some time before the first meeting.
“Brew?” Lisa asked her daughter, who still had her head in her phone.
“No, ta,” Betsy mumbled back.
Well, at least she got a ta this time.
Lisa made her way over to the table, reaching straight for the coffee pot and a paper cup, pouring the black liquid three quarters of the way. Hopefully she wouldn’t be here long enough to warrant a full cup. If she sipped at pace, she could throw the cup away as she was leaving the gym.
Betsy didn’t have too many teachers, did she?
“Bit late for that, innit?”
A voice pulled her from her musings as she put the coffee pot back in it’s place. She looked to her right side at the owner, a brunette woman, slightly taller than her, placing a teabag in her own cup.
“You’d think so, wouldn't you?” Lisa replied, her mouth twitching ever so slightly at the side as she glanced back down at the dark liquid in her cup “Unfortunately, the stuff barely makes a dent anymore,”
The woman huffed a laugh, focusing on filling her cup with hot water “Not me, if I had one of those right now, I’d be jitterin’ ’til sunrise,”
“I wouldn’t say that’s a bad thing,” Lisa replied just as the other woman turned to face her completely, allowing Lisa to take her in completely. She was stunning. Long brown hair falling over her shoulders as she tilted her head to the side, a glint in green eyes and cheekbones that could cut glass.
The other woman seemed to ponder for a second before she responded “Well, that depends if you become more or less susceptible to caffeine with age…”
Lisa gave a huff of laughter “Well, scientifically speaking, as we get older, our metabolisms start to slow, which means that our bodies start take longer to process things…including caffeine,”
The brunette seemed to study her face for something as Lisa took a sip of her coffee “…interesting” she said.
“What?”
The woman shrugged, peeling her eyes away and pulling the tea bag from her cup, and throwing it in the bin before turning back to her “From just looking at you, I wouldn’t have pegged you as a nerd,”
Lisa’s eyebrows shot up. Normally she would be annoyed at such a comment, but the light teasing tone put her at ease. In a weird way, it made Lisa feel lighter, taking the seriousness and professionalism out of the room, even if were just for a moment.
So she had laughed. A genuine, bubble to the surface bark of laughter.
“Thank you for laughing, that joke was risky,” the brunette said with a smile before turning her gaze out toward the rest of the room, people bobbing and weaving through the room “Which one’s yours?”
Lisa followed her gaze out into the crowd of people and nodded toward where she had left her daughter standing, who was know accompanied by her friend Sabrina “The gobby blonde one over there,”
“Ah, young Betsy,” the woman said, a small smile resting on her face “The cheek on that one…”
Lisa huffed a laugh “You’re preaching to the choir,” she responded “What about you?”
Lisa looked over at her just as she shrugged and took a sip of her tea before responding “Technically all of them,”
“Teacher?”
“Something like that,” she looked back over at Lisa and held her hand out “I’m Carla,”
Lisa looked down at her outstretched hand, rings on delicate fingers (not the left ring finger…just an observation), and extended her own “Lisa,”
“It’s nice to meet you, Lisa,” Carla replied, but didn’t pull her hand away right away as green eyes looked into her own.
Carla’s hand was warm, maybe from her tea, maybe from her soul…who knows. A jolt of electricity making it’s way through Lisa’s body, something she hadn’t felt for a very long time.
Before she could say anything else, Sarah Platt rushed over to them “Carla, we’re about to start,”
Both woman were pulled back into the atmosphere around them, breaking apart and stepping back slightly as Sarah looked between the two of them. The younger woman looked at Lisa and smiled “Dr. Swain, it’s nice to see you again,”
Lisa felt Carla’s gaze shift onto her as she gave Sarah a tight smile “You too, Mrs Platt,”
Sarah looked back at Carla expectantly as the brunette hadn’t moved an inch “Headmistress?”
Lisa’s head snapped back to Carla, the Headmistress. Carla turned her attention back to Sarah, a ghost of a smirk resting on the corner of her mouth.
“Let’s do it,” Carla responded, before glancing back at Lisa one last time, an amused look on her face as she sent the blonde a quick wink.
Lisa hated the way her neck started to warm, a flutter in her stomach as she watched the brunette walk away. She was nothing like Lisa had imagined. She remembered Mrs Platt taking her through the corridors of the school, passing the Headmistress’ office, C. Connor written on the door.
She had pictured a harsh woman, bun tight on top of her head and a permanent scowl.
She wasn’t expecting Carla.
Carla with her tailored pants that fit her oh-so-right, and the matching pinstripe waistcoat over the white button up shirt. An outfit made perfectly for her. Hoop earrings poking out through brunette hair and heels, making her taller.
Lisa shook her head out of her thoughts as she walked back over to her daughter, who now stood by herself as Sabrina went back to her parents.
“You looked cosy with Mrs. C,” Betsy smirked at her, and Lisa paused. Her daughter was taking the mick and she knew it, but she wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of a reaction.
The conference went about as can be expected. Betsy was a bright young girl but would do better if she adjusted her attitude-blah, blah, blah. It wasn’t anything Lisa hadn’t heard before. It wasn’t anything Lisa hadn’t had serious discussions with Betsy about before, but it always fell on deaf ears.
Her daughter was bright, maybe too bright for her own good, always ready to argue with anyone. In another life, Betsy would make a great solicitor. Mind you, she’d be working for the defence for sure.
So after 45 minutes of Betsy’s teachers telling her the same things over and over again, she waited for the blonde gremlin to grace her with her presence as she stood on the front steps of the building, and Betsy yapped to her friends inside.
She should be glad that Betsy has friends, she didn’t make them easy.
“So was it better or worse that you expected?”
Carla’s voice pulled her from her thoughts, as the woman approached her, leaning on the railing of the steps effortlessly.
Lisa matched her position, so they were standing side-by-side, leaning back against the cool metal “Honestly? Better,” she responded “I was worried that she was struggling being at a new school,”
Carla nodded “Change can be tough on kids,” she responded gently “For what it's worth, she’s doing just fine,”
Lisa let out a breath of relief she didn’t even know she was holding. The sincerity in Carla’s voice lifting a weight on her shoulders “So…Headmistress, aye?” She turned to her “You’re not who I pictured,”
Carla smirked, turning her body to lean her hip of the railing and leaning in ever-so-slightly “Oh yeah? Who’d you picture?”
“Mrs Trunchball,”
Carla laughed loudly, and the flutter in Lisa’s stomach returned. Oh, she liked that sound. She liked that sound a lot.
Get it together, Lisa.
“Some might say we’re similar in spirit,” Carla responded, amusement covering her features “Hard-faced cow isn’t the worst thing I’ve been called,”
Lisa laughed softly “Well, kids say all sorts of thing when they’re in trouble, don’t they?”
“Who said anything about the kids?” Carla teased, a smirk resting easy on her face “The parents are way harsher than any bratty teenager has ever been,”
Lisa imagined what it would be like having to come into the Headmistress’ office. She couldn’t imagine anyone yelling at the force of a woman in front of her. Carla was a woman used to being in control of any situation, sat behind her desk as she gave a strong telling off to the students.
She wouldn’t mind Carla pulling her into her office for a good telli-what the fuck?
Lisa shook herself out of whatever little episode she was clearly having.
“Well, I know exactly what you mean,” Lisa pushed forward, out of her thoughts “Families are usually the hardest part,”
“Ah, yes, Doctor Swain,” Carla drawled. She hated the way it sounded coming out of her mouth, because it sent a shiver up her spine and a flutter in her stomach “Explains the nerd stuff,”
Lisa laughed “You don’t know the half of it,”
Carla smirked, tilting her head to the side, a hoop earring now in full view as her hair fell to the side. Lisa wanted to reach out and touch it “So what’s your thing?” Carla asked “Brains? Feet? Bones?”
“Hearts,” Lisa responded, a small smile making her way to her face “I’m a cardiothoracic surgeon,”
Carla let out a whistle “Damn,” she responded “That’s impressive,”
Lisa could feel her neck heating up again and she averted her gaze, clearing her throat “Not as impressive as wrangling 300 teenagers,” she deflected. Normally she wouldn’t react to a compliment like that, she knew it was impressive. But coming from Carla, who stood impossibly confident and strong in front of her, it felt like Superwoman complimenting the kid down the street.
Carla snorted “Please,” she waved off “These monsters are a cakewalk compared to what you do,”
Lisa let out a soft chuckle as she watched Betsy saunter over to her, a shit-eating grin plastered on her face.
“Well, hello, Mrs Connor,” Betsy said with an ease that made Lisa pause “Don’t you have some poor student to yell at?”
“Betsy!” Lisa scolded, but Carla just grinned.
“I’m actually still deciding on that, I’m feeling a little restless,” Carla joked back “Might have to be the next gobby little teenager that I see standing right in front of me,”
Betsy shrugged “I’m immune to your charms, Mrs C, that don’t work on me,”
Lisa watched the interaction in front of her. She’d never seen Betsy so at ease with any of her teachers before, even before their lives went to shit. But there was an easy back and forth here, and it seemed like this was a regular thing with how well they played off each other. Carla not only didn’t seem to mind it, she encouraged it. Lisa couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or not.
“Isn’t it past your bedtime, Boomer?” Betsy shot at the headmistress “Won’t the old folks home be wanting you back before curfew?”
“Oi, cheeky mare,” Carla whacked the teenage girl’s shoulder lightly and Betsy grabbed it dramatically “Watch your mouth, I’m Gen X, me,”
“I could have you done for that,” Betsy replied cheekily, rubbing her shoulder.
Lisa rolled her eyes affectionately “Alright, Trouble, best we be getting off,” she turned to Carla “It was lovely to meet you, Headmistress Connor,”
Something flashed behind Carla’s eyes, but as quickly as it appeared, it was replaced with a mischievous grin “And you, Doctor Swain,”
Goddammit. There was that flutter again.
Neither of the women noticed Betsy looking between the two, eyes narrowing as she studied them. As Lisa turned to walk away, Carla looked at Betsy “See you tomorrow, Betsy,”
“Bye,”
As soon as Lisa and Betsy got home, they flopped onto the couch, Betsy insisting they watch MAFS. Lisa couldn’t stand the show, but she’d watch anything if it meant Betsy was next to her on the couch, even if for 5 minutes.
Lisa could feel Betsy looking over at her every few minutes, but never saying anything.
“Can I help you?” Lisa said the next time she felt her looking. She settled her gaze softly on her daughter, who looked slightly nervous “What is it?”
Betsy seemed to contemplate what she was going to say for a few seconds before she finally settled on “Have you ever thought about dating again?”
The question took Lisa aback, she felt like the wind had been knocked out of her.
This was the first time Betsy had ever brought up the idea of Lisa seeing anyone else. Quite frankly, Lisa would’ve put money on the fact that Betsy would kick off if she ever started seeing another woman who wasn’t her mum.
“Not really,” Lisa replied, her brows furrowing slightly “Why?”
Betsy shifted in her seat and averted her gaze “Aren’t you lonely?”
A second blow to the stomach. She knew Betsy wasn’t being unkind, in fact, this was her reaching out. She chose her next words wisely as she reached out and ran her fingers through the girl’s hair gently.
“I miss your mum every day,” Lisa replied simply.
“That’s not what I asked,”
“I-“ Lisa faltered. She didn’t really know how to answer it “Sometimes.”
Betsy nodded and looked back at the TV, and Lisa thought that was the end of that. Until a few moments later, she heard Betsy say quietly “I think you should,”
Lisa swallowed. Emotions running through her mind at a 100 miles an hour.
“And I think mum would think so, too,”