Chapter 58
58
Giles marched past Holly and everyone else until he was standing at the front of the golf buggy. The front of the golf buggy that was exactly where Giles’s vintage car’s wing mirror had been only minutes before. All down the side was a long scratch.
‘It was the brakes,’ Craig said. ‘The brakes on these things don’t work properly. This is the hotel’s fault for having vehicles with dodgy brakes. This isn’t our fault.’
‘Please shut up, Craig,’ one of the friends said.
‘It’s the gravel. It’s?—’
‘Craig!’ This time, it was all three of his friends simultaneously. Finally, Craig turned around as if he was about to pick a fight with one of his friends, but Holly didn’t care what he was doing at all. What she cared about, or rather who, was Giles.
Giles had had this car for over a decade. Probably for over half his life. And as silly as it might be for some people to attach sentimental value to pieces of metal, she knew how many journeys he had been on with it, the places it had taken him. She herself was sentimentally attached to the car, so she couldn’t imagine what it was like for him.
‘Are you okay?’ she asked.
For a second, he continued to stare, but he didn’t move.
‘We can’t drive it like this,’ he said. ‘Legally. Not with a wing mirror like that. No, this needs to be fixed. Immediately.’
‘Yes, yes, of course it does.’ A woman wearing a tag with the word Manager written beneath her name, Evelyn, bustled her way next to Giles and Holly. ‘I assume this is your vehicle,’ she said. ‘I’m ever so sorry. We know several great mechanics in the area. I’ll get on the phone now. It’ll be sorted, absolutely sorted. And obviously, we will pay for all the repairs. A complete repaint. Anything it needs.’
‘Just get it good enough that I can drive it home,’ Giles said. ‘I’ll let my mechanic deal with it there.’
‘If that’s what you want,’ she said, ‘and please, sit yourself in the smoking-room bar. Whatever you want, it’s on the house. I’ll just be a minute.’
Holly smiled gratefully at the woman, although she didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t her place to speak and Giles didn’t look like he was in a place to say anything. Instead, he was crouching down by the car door, running his hand along the scratches as he inspected the damage.
‘It was all original paintwork,’ he said after a few minutes. ‘This entire thing was original. It’s not just the money; it’s the history, you know?’
Holly wasn’t sure if he was asking her, or if the question was rhetorical, but she replied anyway.
‘I get it. I’m really sorry. I know how much it means to you, but it can be fixed. It might not be the same, but it can be fixed and you can still make more memories together.’
Holly wasn’t sure what effect she expected her words to have, but immediately Giles stood up and nodded. ‘You’re right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t make a fuss. It’s just a car. Just bits of metal and rubber.’
‘Bits of metal and rubber that have meaning to you. That’s okay.’
As their eyes locked, Giles let out a slight laugh and Holly was sure he was going to say something more, but a sudden thought struck her.
‘You’d better ring Sienna. Tell her you’re going to be late. Ben’s staying with Hope so it’s not a problem for me. But I’m sure she’ll want to know where you are.’
As he shook his head, Giles let out a long groan that turned into a bitter chuckle.
‘You know I bet she’ll be happy about this. I suggested we use this car to take her to the wedding, or at least leave in it, but she dismissed that idea straight away. Apparently, she’d already got a theme in mind and this didn’t fit with it.’
‘Really?’ Holly said. ‘It’s perfect.’
He shrugged. ‘Her wedding, her choice.’
She could hear it in his voice. The defeatedness. Like he didn’t have a say in his own future any more, and she needed to tell him he was wrong. He did have a choice. It was standing right there in front of him. But she couldn’t say it Not now. Now he had enough on his mind.