Kylie & Jack 1: Humble Beginnings

47. A Fresh Start

Sunday, 9th Jun. 2019

School resumed this week. Tomorrow would be a pupil free day and would be spent meeting the new principal – Linda Clapham. Kylie wasn't going to take any chances and took a leaf out of Amy's book and tried to find her on Facebook, then when she came up dry, looked up her details in the Department staff portal and didn't find out much there either. Despite this, Kylie felt sure this one would be a winner.

Not only were they back to work tomorrow, but Tuesday would be Mike's fortieth birthday and Janelle convinced him to go out for dinner.

It hadn't taken Mike long to settle into his new home and job – running Hume University's IT department, whereas Lizzie was having good days and bad. Mostly good because as luck would have it, Lizzie's teacher was a university friend of Kylie's and was exceptional at hitting the ground running with her students' needs. Kylie didn't even need to word her up.

Another thing that Mike was grateful for, was having his whole family right there – and the fact that Karen hadn't made any contact still, nor had anyone mentioned her.

While she drove home from Woolies one afternoon, Mike rang to tell her Lizzie mentioned her mother for the first time since their split last year.

"Wow! Ok, so – so what prompted Liz to bring up that dog's breakfast?" Kylie asked, waiting at the lights.

She heard Mike's sigh throughout the car.

"Someone said something about families or parents or whatever at school. She came home saying someone asked her about her mother – and well, it was only because the mum of the kid that asked her came up to me and apologised when I picked her up –"

"– so what'd Liz say?"

"Said 'I don't have a mum anymore'. Seemed ok about it too ..."

"She didn't!" Kylie rolled her lips. She didn't want to laugh, but even Mike was known to make a scathing comment about his ex–wife from time to time.

"Yeah – yeah, she did. Then she said – and I shit you not, that the reason she doesn't have a mother anymore is so she could get a new uncle – talking bout Jack, obviously –"

Kylie let out a small noise, like a weep. "Oh god, she didn't!"

"Yeah. Mind you, it was pretty fucking funny, whoever she said it to must've thought she meant she had two dads. Fuck me, I just laughed –"

"– don't let her teacher hear you laughing at that!" Kylie teased. She knew plenty of teachers, especially who taught Kindergarten, who tended to support the ultra – modern and controversial attitudes, such as refusing to identify students as boys or girls or calling mothers the 'gestational parent'. It was an obvious and easy trigger for a classic Mike rant that, regardless of how harmless he is, would lead to a very awkward misunderstanding with Lizzie's teacher for sure.

She heard Mike groaning as she explained all of this to him and then finally asking who Lizzie's teacher was.

"Ah ... it's a woman. Only young, little blonde piece ... uh ... Miss Wheeler? Hayley? Hilda –"

"– Hannah? Hannah Wheeler?"

"Yeah, her."

"She's great. We were at uni together. She can be a bit guarded at first, but once she knows more about you she's fine."

Their conversation ebbed and flowed until she arrived at home. Jack was at his place today, something about his lease, so she kept talking to her brother while she unloaded the groceries. That was when she finally remembered to ask about his birthday.