Page 81 of Summer at Croftwood Cinema
‘No, thanks Oliver, for everything.’
Oliver shook his head. ‘It’s nothing, mate. I’ll drop your stuff over when I’ve closed, Pats.’
They stood in silence for a minute while Patsy gazed around and then took her coat off.
‘So how long have you lived here?’ She put the kettle on and started checking through the cupboards for mugs and teabags.
’Far left. Do you often go through people’s kitchen cupboards?’
‘I’m a guest so I think it’s allowed, and I am looking after you.’
He smiled. ‘I’ve lived here about four years. Nicole and I moved in together but it wasn’t long after that when things came to a head and she moved out. It’s always felt more like my house than ours and I don’t think the twins know anything other than that their parents have always lived apart.’
‘I bet they love coming over here,’ Patsy said, looking out the window to the garden which had a trampoline buried in the ground so that it was level with the lawn and a rope swing in a huge tree down in the bottom corner where the garden met the woodland beyond.
‘They love it. Sammy’s desperate for a treehouse. I should have got started on that before the summer. It feels a bit late now.’
Patsy could hear the guilt in his voice. ‘Come on,’ she said, spooning the teabags out of the mugs. ‘Have you got somewhere more comfy we can sit?’
He led the way into the lounge which had a huge fireplace made out of enormous pebble-like stones reminiscent of a ski lodge, and even in the middle of summer made Patsy want to start a roaring blaze in there.
‘That fireplace is amazing.’
‘Isn’t it? Brings out the caveman in me. When I moved in, I lit a fire every night and I pick up kindling on my walks in the woods.’
‘So is this the kind of house you’d design for yourself?’
‘I did design it. I was the architect for this development.’
‘Oh my god, I remember Ollie telling me that. That’s got to feel good, living in a house you designed, everything exactly as you want it.’
‘Apart from the fact that it’s a family home…’
‘You’re missing the children.’ He was down in the dumps. Obviously, he was black and blue, probably sore all over and he wasn’t allowed to see the twins for as long as he looked like he’d been in a fight, which Patsy guessed could be a couple of weeks.
‘Why don’t you give them a ring?’ she suggested.
‘We always FaceTime. They’ll think it’s weird if they can’t see me.’
‘Don’t be defeatist. You could legitimately be somewhere where the WiFi’s terrible and it’s not possible to video call.’
‘I don’t know what Nicole’s told them. Where they think I am.’
He might be understandably feeling sorry for himself but nevertheless, it was exasperating.
‘Ring, or text Nicole and ask her. Tell her you want to speak to the children. It’s not rocket science.’
‘Christ, is there no peace?’ he said, but she saw the hint of a smile which he quickly suppressed. He reached for his phone and sent a text as she’d suggested. A minute or so later his phone rang and his face lit up as he chatted in turn to Sammy and Flo. From what Patsy heard of Matt’s side of the conversation, they weren’t that interested in where he was or what he was doing, instead telling him all about what they’d been doing at school and that they’d been to a party at the outdoor swimming pool in Droitwich.
‘In two weeks, that’s about ten more sleeps,’ he said in response to a question from one of them. ‘I know, but we’ll do something exciting. You and Sammy have a think about what you’d like to do. The seaside? We’ll have to wait and see if it’s going to be a sunny day.’
Once he hung up, he looked a lot brighter.
‘Thanks. I don’t know why I thought that not being able to see them meant I couldn’t contact them at all.’
Patsy shrugged. ‘You had a bash to the head. Of course you’re not thinking straight.’
‘I think I might go up and have a sleep. I don’t suppose you’d be able to ring the police would you?’ He stood up pulled a card out of his back pocket.
