Chapter 168 · Month 61 · Starting a Family

The Long Walk

The question of who takes the leave

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            Penny
            teacher
            19:13
          
Mine sits under yours, so my name's the one covering October, and I'd rather your mum heard the whole thing from you first. My dad once put his own name on a shed and called it a loan, so I read twice before I sign anything.

            Algy
            designer
            19:14
          
Fair. Second name, read twice — noted. How did you know it was Susan, though? I told Dev the shopping-centre thing about my mum and he swears I said she retired.

            Penny
            teacher
            19:16
          
Honestly, I was showing off — I said "your mum" the way I'd say the shopping list, giving it weight I hadn't earned. So ask me plainly: do you actually want the twelve weeks, or just to look like you're handling them?

            Algy
            designer
            19:17
          
I want them — the twelve weeks, the whole twelve, not the noble photograph of them. But I keep the Friday: one Friday a month where nobody, including me, asks what I'm doing with it. Name mine first on the form, and that's the deal I'm signing.

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