Page 68 of Christmas for the Village Midwife
If it was possible to combine the two, Magnus looked equal parts horrified and yet thrilled by the prospect of drama. ‘Do you think he may be violent?’
‘I don’t know about that, but it might get awkward for you. It’s not really up to you to police someone’s alcohol intake anyway, is it?’
‘If it was a pub, it would be,’ Zoe said.
‘Yes, but it’s not a pub,’ Alex replied patiently. ‘Yes, you could refuse to sell it, but I don’t know what grounds you could give. I think he’d kick off.’
‘We could stop selling alcohol for a while,’ Geoff said thoughtfully.
‘You really want to do that?’ Alex asked. ‘This is your livelihood – do you really want to make less money on a thing you know locals buy for the sake of one man? And at the end of the day, business is business. His money is the same as anyone else’s. Like I said, it’s not up to you to look out for him.’
‘I think it is,’ Zoe said.
Everyone turned to her.
‘It’s not just about whether he likes to get drunk or not, or whether he can afford it. I think there’s a moral obligation here.If he likes a drink, that’s OK, we all do. But there’s a line, isn’t there? If someone likes a drink so much they’re hurting the people around them, then that’s crossing the line as far as I’m concerned.’
‘But is it up to us to decide if he’s crossing the line or not?’ Alex asked.
‘It’s up to us to find out.’
‘And then what?’ Alex put down his cup and held Zoe in a challenging gaze. For one moment, she wondered if they were about to have their first proper disagreement as a couple. They’d argued before, and it had been horrible, but since they’d got together properly, it had been fairly harmonious. ‘I know you have your concerns, but, realistically, what are we meant to do about it? Georgia and Emilia don’t want people getting involved – that much is obvious from yesterday.’
‘Yesterday?’ Magnus asked. ‘What happened yesterday?’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Alex said, turning to Magnus. ‘Sorry, but I don’t think it’s our place to say.’
‘Actually,’ Zoe said, a sudden idea occurring to her, ‘perhaps it is. Magnus and Geoff might have thoughts about it, and it may be that they decide to stop selling booze to him.’
‘Since when has that ever stopped an alcoholic getting booze?’ Alex asked. ‘He’ll just go somewhere else. If he wants it badly enough, he’ll find a way to get it.’
‘Nobody said he was an alcoholic,’ Zoe insisted. ‘He might not be yet; he might only have a drink problem.’
‘Same thing.’
‘It’s not. Alcohol dependency can be nipped in the bud before it becomes alcoholism.’
Alex arched an eyebrow. ‘Is this your professional opinion or wishful thinking?’
‘It’s neither; it’s fact, and don’t patronise me.’
‘I’m not. I…’ Alex paused, perhaps realising that tensions were building and it wasn’t the time or place to have an argument. Zoe wouldn’t have backed down if it had come to that, but she was glad Alex did.
‘I didn’t mean to patronise you. I know you’re worried – I went with you yesterday to check, remember? There’s only so much we can do, that’s all I meant. In the end, it’s up to him and Georgia to deal with whatever is going on.’
He was right, to a point, but that was the problem as far as Zoe could see. They couldn’t be sure anything was going on, and if it was, they couldn’t be sure Georgia was equipped to deal with it either.
‘I’m worried as her midwife,’ she said finally. ‘That’s my main concern.’
‘I get that,’ Alex said, and Zoe could see he’d backed away from the fight entirely now. ‘I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to sound flippant.’
When she looked around, she could see that both Magnus and Geoff were pretending not to follow the discussion, and she had to laugh. ‘Crisis over, you two. We’re not going to start a fight, so you can look at us again.’
Magnus grinned. ‘Thank goodness for that.’
21
When Zoe got to work the following morning, Lavender was slamming a pen down on her desk, muttering under her breath.
