Page 68 of Just the Beginning

‘Caroline and I broke up,’ Liam said, not looking at Rick as he put on his seat belt.

‘I’m sorry to hear that, I knew things weren’t great when we spoke the other week, but still, it’s a shock.’

‘What does it say about us that we were both more relieved than sad to admit it was finally over?’ Liam propped his chin on his hand and stared at the side window. ‘At least I didn’t have to feel bad about moving out. Lucinda and that awful Tarquinbloke split up as well, so she’s moved into the spare room and is paying half the rent.’

Liam fell silent and Rick concentrated on the light traffic through Port Petroc and out onto the main road back to Halfmoon Quay. Even if the weather hadn’t been terrible, he was keen to avoid the scenic route. Not that it stopped him from thinking about Anya. She seemed to fill his every waking thought, even more so than for the brief time they’d been together. ‘If it’s any consolation, things didn’t work out between me and Anya either.’

Liam shifted in his seat and Rick could feel his eyes on him. ‘No! Oh, mate, I’m so sorry, what happened?’

Rick spent the rest of the journey going over it all. ‘Harry reckons there’s nothing I can do to fix things, that I’m just going to have to wait and see if Anya can forgive me at some point.’

Liam gave a soft chuckle. ‘Good luck with that.’

‘Oh come on, the twins have already given me enough grief. Why didn’t anyone bother to tell me you all found me so overbearing?’

‘Not overbearing, but maybe a little over-caring. There are a lot worse things to be than the kind of person who wants everyone around them to be happy, Rick.’

‘But maybe I need to try a bit less hard to fix everything.’

‘Exactly. You know what the most surprising thing about all this is? That Harry’s the one dishing out sensible advice.’

Rick laughed. ‘He’s changed a lot since he’s been working with Russ at the restaurant.’

‘Sounds like it. How’s Ed getting on?’

‘Still hopeless! He’s working for me at the moment thanks to an affair at work that turned sour.’

Liam groaned. ‘What was he thinking?’

‘I don’t think there was a lot of thinking going on, certainly not with his brain, anyway.’

‘What about his course?’

Rick pulled the car up onto the drive. ‘Thankfully, that’s the one thing we don’t have to worry about when it comes to Ed; he’s still as dedicated to his studies as ever.’

‘That’s good.’ Liam stared up through the car window at their parents’ house, his expression unreadable. ‘Here we are, then.’

Rick turned off the engine and looked at his brother. ‘How long are you planning on being home for?’

Liam shrugged. ‘Your guess is as good as mine. I’ve taken a leave of absence from work. I had so much holiday accrued they couldn’t really object, and I’ve just completed a massive project I’ve been working on, so the timing was on my side. I need a bit of space to think, and it’s easier to do that here rather than waste money on renting a hotel room while I try and find somewhere else to live.’

‘Well I’m glad you’re home for a bit. I’ve missed you.’

‘I missed you too.’

It didn’t escape Rick’s attention that Liam hadn’t said anything about being glad to be home.

Rick didn’t get much of a chance to delve further into Liam’s troubles that evening. Their parents were both thrilled to have him home, and although his mum seemed to have forgiven him, Rick was still very much on the outs with his dad. Not wanting to spoil his brother’s homecoming, he’d made himself scarce. When he woke the next morning, Liam was already out and Rick was too busy down on the beach all day to think aboutanything other than keeping an eye on Ed as well as their customers. By the time he got home there wasn’t much time to do more than jump in the shower and get changed ready for Ma’s birthday party.

It didn’t take long to walk to the restaurant and they arrived to find the rest of the family already there. They were sitting on the sea wall and rose to greet them. Rick stood back and let Liam enjoy the hugs and kisses and backslaps. It was so good to have him back, like a missing piece of their family puzzle had been found under the sofa and returned to the box where it belonged. Rick wasn’t the only one who stayed back. Anya had remained seated on the wall, Freya on her lap. Rick raised a quick hand to her but kept his distance.

Harry appeared looking smart in his chef’s whites, his thick curly hair tied back off his face with a blue and white bandana. ‘Table’s ready when you are,’ he called. ‘Where’s the lady of the night?’

‘Henry Penrose, did you just call your grandmother a sex worker?’ their mother exclaimed as the rest of them laughed.

Ma sashayed up to the door. ‘If you only knew the half of it.’ She grinned up at Harry as she tapped her cheek.

Harry leaned down and planted a kiss. ‘Hello, Ma, you’re looking gorgeous as ever.’

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