Page 65 of Summer at Croftwood Cinema
‘I’m planning on hanging out with you two for the evening, if that’s okay. Me and you will be working, Ollie, Matt, you can keep us supplied with regular small amounts of alcohol to keep our stress levels down, everyone’s a winner.’
‘I’m looking forward to it already,’ Matt said drily but with a grin on his face.
28
PATSY WAS NERVOUS as soon as she woke up. Toby had texted her the day before to say that he was ready to serve the divorce papers on Dan. He’d needed her go-ahead, and she had given it. Dan would find out that she’d filed for divorce. She managed to sip a cup of tea but didn’t have any breakfast and although she wasn’t working a shift at the coffee house that day, she was there just as Oliver was opening up so that she could casually bump into Toby and find out what was going on.
‘Aren’t we meeting this afternoon for the projectionist training? I told Jack two o’clock.’ Oliver was bemused; neither of them came to work at this time in the morning unless they were opening up.
‘Yes, I know. I thought I’d give you a hand this morning and I need to go and see Jess about knitting.’
‘Okay, well thanks. It’s always nice to have you around.’
‘I’m hoping Toby will be in soon. He’s planning to have the divorce papers served on Dan today.’
‘Ah, so you’re a bit jittery,’ said Oliver.
‘No,’ Patsy said defensively. ‘I just want to know what’s going on.’ She reached for a croissant then her stomach got the better of her and she drew her hand away again. ‘Oh, alright. Yes, I’m bracing myself for some sort of reaction from him. He won’t take it lying down.’
‘Possibly not, but you’re doing the right thing. You need a clean break.’
‘I do, and it feels like the right time, so whatever happens, I’m not going to back down.’
Patsy made herself and Oliver a coffee while he carried on setting up for the day and then she took her laptop and sat at one of the tables near where Toby normally sat. The bug hunting had yielded precisely nothing towards the sum of money Oliver needed to hand over to Amy but Patsy wasn’t going to give up. She was desperate to do something to help out and surely persistence was the key to successfully finding a bug that was going to solve the problem. He’d said Amy was being flexible about the deadline but Patsy knew she wouldn’t wait forever.
‘Morning.’ Toby had come in while she was engrossed in looking for an issue with one of her bug bounty targets. ‘Busy?’
‘Just pottering at something,’ she said, closing the laptop.
‘Can I get you a coffee?’ he asked.
‘Thanks, that’d be lovely.’
He came back a couple of minutes later with two coffees and Patsy shifted over to sit at his table.
‘So, is it too early for anything to have happened?’
‘Yes. We can probably expect some news around lunchtime, if we’re lucky. Try not to think about it. I know that’s easier said than done,’ he smiled.
‘I’m keen to get on with it, that’s all. I feel good about having made the decision, but I am nervous about his reaction.’
‘I’m a lawyer and it was no easier with my own divorce. Knowing all about the procedures and things didn’t help me feel any better about it. It’s always hard knowing how the other party will react.’
‘I doubt your wife was quite as much of a loose cannon as my husband is,’ said Patsy, smiling.
‘Perhaps not but please, try not to worry. It’s quite often the case that people are, if not expecting divorce papers to be served, not all that surprised when they are.’
She hung onto the fact that he had vast amounts of experience in this field to be able to say that, but he didn’t know Dan. She’d bet the cinema on the likelihood of him doing something.
At around lunchtime, she checked her emails and found one from Toby. It was a confirmation that the serving of the papers had taken place with an attached video.
She looked across to him. He was in the middle of something, had his earbuds in and was typing furiously. She clicked on the file and watched the footage, which had presumably been filmed on a body camera, of the person knocking on the door of her in-law’s house, the door being opened by a sleepy-looking Dan who accepted the papers, signed for them and then closed the door. It was that easy. What had she thought was going to happen?
She bounded over to the counter, feeling lighter than she had for ages.
‘He’s got the papers,’ she said to Oliver while he was steaming some milk.
‘Brilliant, that’s good news. Not that I don’t want to celebrate that now but we’re absolutely slammed. Is there any chance you could clear some tables?’
