Page 60 of New Beginnings At Pencarrow Bay
Liam put down the coffee pot and crossed his arms. ‘We didn’t get off to the best start, I guess.’ He gave Ted a cautious grin. ‘But I really appreciate your having me to stay, Ted. Thank you. You might have been a tad “grumpy”– as you put it– at times, but hey!’
Ted stared at him for a second, then roared with laughter, as did Liam. Peggy gradually let out her breath and smiled. Her son came over to where Ted sat and held out his hand. They shook firmly, with obvious purpose.
‘Listen, you know you can be here as long as you want,’ Ted said. ‘I was just having a moment earlier.’
Peggy wasn’t sure this would be entirely true if Liam were to declare he intended staying all summer, but she was pleased Ted had at least proffered an olive branch.
‘Thanks. But I need to get back to town, anyway,’ Liam assured him.
There was a momentary silence in the kitchen, everyone embarrassed by the interlude and not knowing how to move on from it.
‘Got stuff I need to see to,’ Liam said, grabbing his cupof lukewarm coffee and his mobile. Before either she or Ted could respond, he was striding off, back to the guest room, the door banging shut.
Peggy and Ted looked at each other across the table. ‘I don’t believe he has an interview with anyone, Swedish clothing or otherwise,’ she said, her voice low. ‘He hasn’t mentioned it before, and it just seems a bit too convenient.’
‘He made it up?’ His face fell. ‘Not because of what I said, surely.’
Peggy shrugged, her mouth tight. ‘Well, you made it pretty clear you don’t want him here.’
‘Yes, but I’ve apologized. It was just a reaction to all the shit going on,’ he muttered, head down. He reached for her hand. ‘Sorry, Pegs.’
Peggy let out a long, slow breath. But she sensed something had shifted. She no longer felt the unquestioning trust she’d loved so much about their relationship. Ted had become unpredictable, his temper close to the surface. She seemed to irritate him. Liam definitely irritated him. He was drinking more. Wanting now to tell him about Bunny, she held back, unwilling to introduce yet another escalation of her problem into the already fractured atmosphere. She gazed at her partner.I love you, she whispered silently.
‘I’m going down to check on the road works,’ Ted said suddenly, scraping the chair back as he stood.
‘Now?’
‘I need to find out when they plan to finish.’
‘Oh. I thought we might…’
Ted clearly didn’t want to hear what she thought they might do. He gave her a quick kiss and stuffed his mobile into the back pocket of his jeans. ‘Bye, then,’ he said,seeming flustered, as if he was terrified she was going to stop him leaving. Bolt got to his feet when he saw Ted making for the front door. ‘Stay here, boy,’ Ted said, fending him off as he opened it.
Peggy watched him go, heart contracting. This sudden flight seemed like an excuse, as if he couldn’t bear to be with her for a moment longer. If she’d been alone, she might have burst into tears.
27
Ted strode away from the house feeling a mixture of anguish and fury. He didn’t consider himself a deep thinker– Peggy was much smarter than he– and sometimes he said things he hadn’t thought through, like this morning with Liam. He knew he’d been less than generous and was ashamed of his behaviour, recognizing Peggy had been unfailingly patient and kind to his own daughter.
What Peggy didn’t realize was that something else was winding him up that morning, something he’d really needed to tell her… but really didn’t want to. His hangover was making him tense and inarticulate, say the wrong thing, and he knew she was still annoyed with him from last night’s row– perhaps from his late and drunken return. But he’d been trying desperately to find the right moment to reveal what he’d heard in the pub.
Sensing how upset she’d be, though, and horribly aware of the threat hanging over him– Peggy declaring she couldn’t stay another moment in Pencarrow Bay– he’d dragged his heels like a coward instead of coming out with it. But with every word he uttered, he seemed to be digging himself in deeper. So, feeling the hole was now deep enough and sure his head was about to explode, he’d simply fled.Better, he thought,to get away– from both Peggy and Liam. Let things settle before he added to Peggy’s woes with his news.
After the fight about Felix last night, Ted had gone down to the Wisket. Tina and Emerald had been there, ensconced at a table close to the bar. Emerald– unusually, because she never really acknowledged him– had pulled at his sleeve as he passed. Her dreadlocks were tied back in a loose ponytail, and if it hadn’t been for her aggressive black ink neck tattoo– reminding Ted of a photo he’d seen once of a collar-bomb and which he’d found grimly fascinating– she would have looked quite attractive with her large blue eyes and handsome features. Especially as tonight she was actually smiling.
‘Hey, Ted. How’s it going?’
‘Fine,’ he said, immediately wary.
‘Sit with us?’ Tina suggested.
He didn’t feel he had a choice– Tina was such a sweetheart– so after he’d paid for a glass of single malt from Dean, the landlord, he took it to their table and sat down on one of the wooden stools.
‘Dean showed us the layout of the new menus earlier,’ Tina had told him. Everything in the community pub had to be passed by the committee, on which Tina sat. ‘They look good. Way more modern, more stylish than the last ones.’
‘Great,’ he’d said. They had asked him to be on the committee when he’d first invested. But it already boasted nearly twenty people, and he balked at the thought of the long-winded meetings, everyone arguing and banging on about their own pet enthusiasm. He loved the thought of the community owning the pub– especially in the face of corporate greed– but it wasn’t an easy thing.
‘So,’ said Emerald, casually, as she sipped her pint,‘seen your Tripadvisor page recently?’ Her clipped South Kensington accent made her sound nonchalant and aloof.
