Page 81 of Someone For Everyone

If only that was true, but life wasn’t that simple. He wished it was.

Realising Larry was waiting for an answer, he chose his words carefully. ‘We’ve both recently come out of long-term relationships, and we’re trying to rebuild our careers. I don’t think either of us is in the right frame of mind to start something new with someone else.’

Larry seemed to ponder this, as Calvin resumed shaving the back of his head. ‘You know, when I met my Francie, she’d just got divorced. Bad marriage to a bad man, who’d destroyed her confidence and left her with two broken fingers.’

Calvin frowned. ‘Nice man.’

‘He was a jerk, that’s for sure. When I saw her at the club that first night, waitressing, she was so sad she wouldn’t even lift her eyes to mine. I wanted to whisk her off and marry her that very day.’

Calvin stopped shaving. ‘And did you?’

He shook his head. ‘It took months of persuading. I’d walk her home each night after her shift and tell her I loved her. The following day I’d show up with a single rose and ask her to marry me. I did that every day for six months and every day she’d turn me down. Said she was too damaged and no good for me, I could do better, and she was doing me a favour refusing me.’ Larry looked wistful as his eyes drifted to the dressing table and the sepia photo of his wife. ‘But I knew she was the gal for me, and I wasn’t gonna stop asking until she agreed to marry me. Deep down inside, you see, I knew it was meant to be.’

Calvin resumed cutting. ‘How did you know?’

‘Gut instinct.’ Larry patted his stomach. ‘That feeling you get when you know something’s worth fighting for.’

‘And she eventually said yes?’

‘Hell, yes. Happiest day of my life. Hers, too. Years later she told me she’d wanted to say yes from the beginning, but she didn’t trust I was being genuine. She didn’t feel worthy of love and felt it was too good to be true.’

Calvin angled the clippers around Larry’s ear. ‘What changed her mind?’

‘She had this bad dream one night about lying in an old folks’ home on her deathbed, with no loved ones, and she realised she didn’t want that. She’d rather risk another heartbreak than spend her days alone.’

Calvin blew on the clippers to disperse the loose hair. ‘So it worked out in the end?’

‘We were married for over thirty years.’ Larry glanced at the photo again, his face easing into a smile. ‘What d’you think?’

Calvin smiled, too. ‘Persistence won out, huh?’

‘It was more about trusting my instincts. Some relationships aren’t always perfect, they start out in the wrong place, or at the wrong time. But maybe that’s what makes them work, because you have to battle through the hard stuff to get to the happy ending. It makes the reward that much sweeter.’

‘You’re an old romantic, you know that, Larry?’

‘I’m a blues musician, we all are,’ he said, with a wry smile. ‘You decided whether you’re staying at Rose Court yet?’

Calvin moved to Larry’s other side. ‘Not yet.’

‘What’s holding you back? Don’t you enjoy looking after us old folk?’

‘It’s not that. I don’t mind the work, and I like the staff and residents. I just don’t think care work is my calling.’

Larry met his eyes in the mirror. ‘How d’you figure that?’

‘If it wasn’t for Hanna and Natalie, I’d be lost. Without them the place wouldn’t survive. I don’t have the knowledge or experience to run a care home. It’s not fair on the residents to have someone in charge who isn’t trained to do the job. I need to find something I’m good at.’

‘Like soccer, you mean?’

‘Exactly.’ Calvin gave one last sweep over Larry’s head, checking he hadn’t missed anything. ‘I knew how to playfootball, what was expected of me, and I felt confident in my abilities.’

‘Of course you did – you’d been doing it long enough, you’d had time to develop and build your skills. All that training and being coached meant that by the time you stepped onto that pitch as a professional player, you were up to the task. You think you’d have been as good if you hadn’t had that time to develop and learn your craft?’

‘Of course not.’ Calvin unclipped the guard. ‘Tilt your head forwards so I can tidy up your neck.’

‘So why do you expect to be proficient at running a care home when you’re brand new to it? I hate to break it to you, son, but whatever career you go into, you’ll be starting at the bottom. It’ll take time and patience for you to learn a new skill. There’s no shortcut, or bypassing hard work and commitment. The sooner you accept that, the easier it’ll be.’

Calvin sighed. As depressing as it was, the man had a point. He hated feeling like an amateur; he wanted to feel the heady heights of success he’d felt as a footballer. But expecting to step straight into another job at the same level was naive.

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