Page 6 of Be Less Panda

‘How does that fit in with being groomed to take over the family business?’

‘You really think my father wants me to take over running his beloved business? He thinks all women are fit for is keeping a nice home and producing babies. I’m allowed to do some secretarial work to keep me out of mischief until asuitable man is willing to marry me, but that’s all. Not that running a factory is my idea of fun.’

‘Manufacturing car headlights not lighting you up, then?’ Olivia grinned.

‘Ha ha!’ Nancy had no desire to spend the rest of her life working at G Smith and Son Ltd. She was only tolerating it now to save enough money to fund her place on Patty’s trip. Her grandfather had set up the business in a small garage in the centre of Coventry in the 1920s, but now her father ran the large sprawling factory it had evolved into. When he retired, there would only be Nancy and her older brother Eddie in line to take control. And Eddie was a budding actor who preferred much more artistic pursuits.

‘Has he given up on Eddie ever taking an interest in manufacturing?’ Olivia asked.

‘I think so. Eddie’s got his sights set on Hollywood. And I don’t mean the one in Birmingham. Car headlights are nowhere near as appealing as film set lights as far as Eddie is concerned. What about you?’

‘I’ve not considered car part manufacturing as a career.’

Nancy chuckled. ‘I meant your New Year’s resolution.’

‘I’m not bothering with one of those this year. I'm enjoying life in France. I don’t want that to change for a while.’ Olivia looked thoughtful. ‘If you’re fed up, why don’t you come and live with me?’

‘I’d need a visa or something. And what would I do?’

‘Paint views of the Seine?’

‘You remember what our art teacher used to say to me? “Even Jackson Pollock would consider your creations messy, Nancy.”’

‘Write a book, then. You were much better than me in Creative English classes.’

‘And how will that earn me enough money by June?’

‘June? I thought Patty was planning to set sail in September?’

‘She is, but she needs my financial contribution by June, and even if it was September, I’d have barely finished the first draft of a book by then, let alone got a publishing deal. Looks like I’m stuck in Coventry for the time being.’

‘It’s not like you to be this negative.’

‘I’m sorry. The postman delivered a Christmas card from Billy before I left home yesterday.’

‘The Hot Ozzie?’ Olivia grinned. She obviously remembered Nancy’s racy tales of how she’d spent last summer on the North Devon coast. ‘And what did he have to say for himself?’

‘He won’t be able to get over here from Australia again. He’s getting married.’ Nancy tried to hide the disappointment in her voice, but Olivia knew her too well.

‘You were expecting him to come back, weren’t you?’

‘I suppose I hoped he would.’ Nancy sighed. Billy, with his cheeky attitude and, let's face it, very fit body, had been the most exciting thing that had happened to her so far. He’d taught her how to surf and a lot more than besides. English men, at least the ones in her social circle, were plain dull by comparison.

‘You didn’t fall in love with him, did you?’

‘No.‘ Nancy wasn’t so sure about that. ‘He was just fun, that’s all. I feel like I’m stuck in a rut.’

‘So join me in Paris. There are plenty of attractive, eligible men there.’

‘I’m not looking for love. There’s no point if I’m only going to be there for a few months. I don’t need a man holding me back.’

‘We’ll see,’ Olivia said, not looking convinced. ’As you need to earn a living, you could work in the English bookshop near my apartment. They’re always looking fornew staff. Father dearest knows the owner, Madame Dubois. She seems charming whenever I go in there. I’m sure he could pull a few strings to get your paperwork sorted quickly.’

Olivia’s father was a civil servant who did something important in the Foreign Office, which probably explained how Olivia had got a job as a translator at NATO HQ as soon as she’d graduated from Oxford last year.

‘I don’t think my French is good enough. It wasn’t my favourite subject at school. I wouldn’t have got any marks if I hadn’t copied your homework,’ Nancy said.

Olivia had always been top of the class. Her regular summer holidays to the Dordogne must have helped. But as there wasn’t much call for speaking French in Devon or Coventry, Nancy doubted she could even manage to introduce herself now.

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