“So.” Jack wriggled his eyebrows up and down at her. “Baby. Want it?”

Cora laughed, her chest tightening even as she did so. “Not as much as these folder people do.”

He slumped back down. “Damn.”

“Yeah.” She smiled at the top of his head. “Damn. Okay, let’s talk about that in a little while. What about after, the next six months?”

He straightened and hugged his milkshake close to himself. “I like the idea of TAFE.” He said it slowly, like daring there to be a hole in the plan. As if a future like that wasn’t built for him.

“Great, I have a whole bunch of paperwork here.” She slid it over, and he picked up one of the TAFE brochures, thumbing through it. “And I’ve got some paperwork from Centrelink we can get started.”

“I can get assistance with TAFE?” His eyes didn’t leave the page in front of him.

“You sure can.”

Cora might be tearing down her own life with her bare hands, but she could help Jack build a new one.

He nodded, clearly trying to squash down something like glee. “Cool.”

“Cool indeed.”

* * *

The training had gone well.

They had five new mentors, including the nurse from A&E who had soaked up all the information Frazer provided, eyes focussed and interested. They’d all asked a lot of insightful questions, questions that showed they all held compassion and an understanding of what their clients could be going through. All the things Frazer could hope for from potential mentors.

But again, no Cora.

Frazer had messaged her, but had been secretly relieved when she hadn’t replied. Her own inner revelation had left her feeling more ill than anything, and she didn’t feel like seeing Cora.

But tomorrow night, Cora had to be there; it was the social service side of things. So tomorrow, Frazer would find her and kick her butt into gear. If being near each other was apparently so intolerable, Cora could take tomorrow’s session alone.

Frazer had just packed up the room and was switching the lights off when her phone chimed. Expecting it to be a text from Cora, finally, her eyebrows raised when she saw it was her friends.

They wanted drinks. Apparently it was ladies’ night at the bar down the road.

The one all her co-workers frequented.

Just as she was about to blow them off, another message came through. This time, it was a photo of Rob and Andy glaring at her. The caption said: Show or we will come to your house drunk.

In spite of herself, Frazer grinned. She could use something to keep her mind off everything. Even if that thing was her drunk friends.