Chalk Dust & Broomsticks, Chapter 34

Shirley sees the counsellor to discuss her redundancy at the school.

Chapter 34

The sun filtered through the leaded panes of Shirley’s cottage in Woodend, casting long, golden fingers across the worn rug. A vase of asters on the dining table seemed to stand with a defiant cheerfulness that Shirley felt was entirely misplaced. She smoothed her skirt, her heart performing a nervous flutter against her ribs.

She hadn’t asked for this. The local council in Langwich had arranged it, a bureaucratic gesture that felt like a patronizing pat on the head. Her union rep, a man who spoke in riddles about "optics" and "procedural compliance," had insisted. “Go, Shirley. If this ends up in a tribunal, you need to show you were willing to engage with support services. It looks good for the record.”

A sharp knock at the door startled her. She’d seen the sensible sedan pull up, yet her nerves remained frayed. She opened the door to find a man who looked entirely too relaxed for a house call. He had a kind face, crinkled at the edges from years of smiling, and a presence that seemed to dial down the frantic energy of the room.

“Mrs. Shirley Midnight?” he asked, his voice possessing a lilt that felt like a warm hearth in winter. “Liam O’Flaherty. The office sent me over to see how you’re keeping.”

“Come in, Mr. O’Flaherty,” Shirley said, gesturing toward the living room. “Please, sit there. It’s the most comfortable chair.”

He settled into the winged armchair with an ease that suggested he’d sat in a thousand such chairs before. “Now, none of that ‘Mr. O’Flaherty’ business. Just Liam will do fine. And I appreciate you seeing me. I know it wasn’t exactly your idea to have a stranger poking his nose into your affairs.”

Shirley felt a small, reluctant smile tug at her lips. “I appreciate you coming, Liam. Though I suspect you’ll find my situation quite stubborn.”

“We’ll see about that,” he said, leaning back and tenting his fingers. “But first, why don’t you start at the beginning? Just let it flow, like tea from a pot.”

For thirty minutes, the cottage was filled with the cadence of Shirley’s story, the years at the school, the shifting tides of management, the sudden coldness, and the agonizing sense of betrayal. She spoke of the training, the history, and the sting of being cast aside like a worn-out textbook.

When she finally fell silent, the room felt lighter, though the weight in her chest remained. Liam didn’t rush to speak. He looked out at the garden, his expression thoughtful.

“You’ve a great passion for that school, Shirley. It’s clear as day,” he said softly, turning back to her. “but tell me, does the fight feel like an anchor or a sail? Because from where I’m sitting, it looks like an awful lot of weight to be dragging behind you.”

“It’s about justice, Liam. Thirteen years!”

“I hear you. I truly do,” he said, his tone gentle but firm. “but let’s look at the horizon. You’re holding onto a branch that’s already snapped. This ‘unfair dismissal’ claim, it’s a long, dark tunnel with no light at the end but more lawyers, more stress, and more heartache. Is that really the price you want to pay for a school that’s already decided to move on?”

“But I was loyal!”

“And that loyalty is a fine thing,” Liam replied, leaning forward with a disarming smile. “But you’re trying to use it to buy back a past that’s gone. You’re a talented woman, Shirley. Why waste another day of your life waiting for a court to tell you what you already know? Why not take that experience and find a place where they’ll value you from day one, rather than having to fight to prove you belong?”

“It feels personal,” she whispered, her eyes stinging. “It feels like I’ve been erased.”

“It’s just a reorganization, Shirley. It’s the messy, unthinking machinery of institutions, not a judgment on your worth as a human being,” Liam said, his voice as soothing as a soft rain. “Let them have their reshuffle. You go find somewhere new, where you can breathe again. Don’t let them take your peace as well as your job. Wouldn’t it be a lovely bit of magic to just... walk away, head held high, and find something better?”

Shirley looked at him, the tension in her shoulders easing just a fraction. He made it sound so simple, so human.
“You make it sound very easy, Liam,” she said quietly.

“It’s not easy, love,” he conceded, his eyes twinkling. “But it’s a whole lot better than the alternative. Now, how about we start with what you’re good at, and forget about what they failed to see?”

After an hour, Liam left and Shirley was left wondering if he was right about moving on. ‘Perhaps I should move on, after all I have been here for more than ten years….. but I love it here, I love the children and all their funny little ways… perhaps I won’t be able to get another job. I am sure to be typecast! Where would I start? I’ve been here for so long, I’ve grown into the walls! Maybe I should resign and leave at Christmas, after all it has been so very stressful for a year now and it doesn’t look as if it is going to get any better… I wonder if I should take something completely different? Otherwise I will be comparing all the time!’

All these thoughts and more were put to Ranjit when he phoned Shirley early that evening. Her tone of voice immediately alerted him to the fact that she needed a shoulder to lean on, so he made haste and drove round to be with her and listened as she poured out all her worries. When she had finished, he offered her his biggest, cleanest handkerchief and gave her a big hug. It was all she needed and when he had left, she went to bed and cried some more; but night-time is always a magic time and Samhain was just around the corner.

Shirley’s cats, Bast, Sparkle and Little Mo, could also feel it in the air. The winds of change were beginning to blow. The cats were starting to get restless and the gusty winds were part of it. Bast had been with Shirley for quite a few years, but Sparkle and her daughter, Little Mo, were fairly recent arrivals. They had arrived in a cardboard box, dumped on Shirley’s doorstep, one Spring night a few years previously. Sparkle was unkempt and undernourished, but she did a marvellous job looking after the five, small homeless kittens. Naturally, Shirley took them in and looked after them, helping Sparkle to get fit again and when they were old enough, Shirley found four of the kittens a new home, but she kept Sparkle and Little Mo, who both thrived and grew into beautiful cats. Bast was King of the house, protecting Shirley and the new arrivals to the best of his ability.

The next morning Shirley woke up early feeling refreshed and determined to enjoy the last few weeks at the school as best she could before her life would change forever.