7
Loose Ends
Kirsten was sobbing into a tissue and Jessica felt like Scrooge all over again. ‘It’s only for a few weeks,’ she said, patting Kirsten on the arm, then handing her another tissue as she paused sobbing just long enough to blow her nose.
‘Things were going so well,’ Kirsten sniffed. ‘Am I not doing a good enough job? I can work harder, you know. Show up earlier—’
‘It’s not you, it’s me,’ Jessica said, aware that she was becoming a living caricature of a comic strip character. ‘Things have got on top of me of late. I need some time away. It’s only a short-term contract. And I know several excellent plumbers who’d be happy to finish off your training.’
‘I want to stay with you,’ Kirsten blurted, in a rare show of emotion which left Jessica stunned. Usually quiet as the prover
