Page 34 of Summer at Croftwood Cinema
‘See you tomorrow, Ollie.’
‘At the risk of sounding like your parents, can you text me when you get in?’
‘You got it.’ She pulled the door open as someone was coming in. ‘Oh, hi Matt.’
He held the door open for her to come out, then pushed it to slightly before he went in. ‘How are you?’
‘I’m okay, thanks. Have we got a meeting I’ve forgotten about?’
‘No, it’s a purely recreational visit. I’ve dropped the twins back to their mum and I need a coffee. Have you got time to join me?’
He was inviting her for a coffee. That was different and actually it would be nice to talk to him. Patsy looked outside. It was heading towards dusk. ‘I think I’ll get home while it’s still light tonight. Maybe another time?’
‘Sure. Take care.’ He looked earnestly at her and she knew that their days of antagonising each other were over.
‘Hey, Matt. Thanks for looking out for Patsy the yesterday.’ Oliver reached across the counter to shake his hand.
‘I’m glad I was there. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone look so terrified.’
‘It certainly shook her. Coffee?’ Matt nodded and Oliver began making his usual latte. ‘Sounds like a nasty piece of work. Pats said he’s just got out of prison.’
‘Really? What for? I’m guessing some sort of violent crime judging by how bloody sinister he was.’
‘Some kind of embezzlement, but that might be the tip of the iceberg. It’s hard to imagine the type of person that could frighten Patsy. He’s got to be pretty bad.’ Oliver passed the coffee to Matt and followed him over to a table so they could carry on chatting while it was quiet.
‘Any idea what he’s after?’ Matt asked.
‘No, by the sounds of it, there’s nothing left. They lost everything, I mean Patsy came here with nothing. She stayed with me until she’d saved up enough for the deposit and a month’s rent for the flat. She hasn’t got anything to give him, he must know that.’
‘She mentioned that he was controlling, maybe he’s trying to pick up where he left off? That’s almost worse than if he was after something like money, it might be harder to get rid of him.’
‘She’s adamant that next time she sees him she’ll be ready to stand her ground but I’m not sure it’s as easy as that.’
‘If you’d seen her the other day, Oliver, she’s a world away from being able to do that, whatever she might think. It’s good that she feels strong enough to face him again but I’m not sure things are going to be dramatically different, not while she’s so frightened of him. You can’t change that overnight.’
Oliver sighed and stood up as a new customer came through the door. ‘No, but at least now we know, we can be there for her, be on the lookout.’
Matt nodded. He’d been hoping to speak to Oliver and was glad that Patsy had told him what had happened. He was still stunned that the confidence Patsy exuded on the outside wasn’t imbued into every part of her, that there was a pocket of fear which had exploded, totally out of her control when she’d seen that man. Knowing that there was this vulnerable side to her had made him think very differently about her and he was interested to see how it was going to translate into their working relationship going forward.
15
PATSY HAD SUGGESTED that Ed call into the coffee house to meet her on his way to the cinema on Wednesday evening. Although there had been no sign of Dan over the past few days, she was still anxious that he would turn up again and given that he’d tracked her down through the cinema, she thought that was the most likely place for him to show up if he was going to. Despite feeling more strongly, now that she’d had time to reflect, that she wasn’t going to allow him to interfere in the new life she’d made for herself, she worried that her instincts would overwhelm her determination and she would find herself an emotional wreck again. Most of all, she didn’t want that to happen in front of Ed and given that it was not impossible that he would be there if and when Dan turned up again, she knew she had to say something to him about what had happened.
‘Hi,’ Ed said warmly when he came into Oliver’s.
Patsy felt the familiar spark of attraction flood through her as it did every time she saw him. She walked round to the other side of the counter and took his fingers in hers. ‘It’s good to see you.’
In return, he pulled her into a hug and then drew back to kiss her. ‘It’s great to see you.’
‘Give me ten minutes and we can be out of here. Do you want a coffee while you wait?’
‘No, I’ll hang on until the meal.’ He opened his backpack and showed her a four-pack of beers. ‘As we’re only cleaning parts tonight, nothing taxing, I thought this might take the edge off the monotony.’
‘That works for me.’
Once Patsy had locked up, they headed to the cinema via the Chinese takeaway then walked through the park.
‘Are you alright?’ Ed asked.
