Chapter 33
33
The heat of the past few weeks had broken with a spectacular downpour which entirely suited Rick’s own gloomy mood as he wove his way through Port Petroc towards the railway station and parked up in the twenty-minute pickup zone. According to the train company’s app, the rush hour service from London was running only five minutes late – a miracle in itself. A handful of taxis filled the rank opposite and several other cars formed a queue behind Rick’s SUV . The train pulled in and Rick turned on the engine, activating the wipers so he could peer through the heavy rain as people emerged from the front of the station. They peeled off in different directions, some towards the taxis, others putting up umbrellas or lifting the collars on their summer jackets as they headed out on foot. A group of four men dashed across the road and into the pub, which made Rick smile before he turned his attention back to the station entrance.
Where is he?
The rush of people had slowed to a trickle, the last few stragglers making their way out, and then a familiar figure stepped into view, struggling with two large suitcases, one of which appeared determined to steer off in the opposite direction to where Liam wanted it to go. Clicking off his seat belt, Rick jumped out and ran over to help, wincing as a large raindrop managed to sneak inside his shirt collar, splatting down his neck. ‘Blimey, I thought you’d missed the train for a minute!’ he exclaimed as he grabbed the handle of the rogue case.
‘Bloody lift’s out of action,’ Liam grumbled. ‘So I had to wrestle these up the stairs and over the footbridge.’
They hurried towards the car, Rick pressing the button so the automatic mechanism on the boot opened it by the time they got there. ‘You sure you’ve brought enough with you?’ he asked as he heaved the first case into the rear compartment. ‘You look like you’re planning to stay for a month, not just a couple of nights.’
‘Yeah, about that…’ Liam lifted the other case and wrestled it in beside the first.
Rick shut the boot and stared at him in surprise. ‘What’s happened?’ Another raindrop splashed off the end of his nose. ‘No, tell me in the car.’
They jumped inside and Rick turned the air up full blast to fight the mist forming on the inside of the window from the sudden rise in humidity caused by their wet clothing.
‘Caroline and I broke up,’ Liam said, not looking at Rick as he put on his seat belt.
‘I’m sorry to hear that, I knew things weren’t great when we spoke the other week, but still, it’s a shock.’
‘What does it say about us that we were both more relieved than sad to admit it was finally over?’ Liam propped his chin on his hand and stared at the side window. ‘At least I didn’t have to feel bad about moving out. Lucinda and that awful Tarquin bloke split up as well, so she’s moved into the spare room and is paying half the rent.’
Liam fell silent and Rick concentrated on the light traffic through Port Petroc and out onto the main road back to Halfmoon Quay. Even if the weather hadn’t been terrible, he was keen to avoid the scenic route. Not that it stopped him from thinking about Anya. She seemed to fill his every waking thought, even more so than for the brief time they’d been together. ‘If it’s any consolation, things didn’t work out between me and Anya either.’
Liam shifted in his seat and Rick could feel his eyes on him. ‘No! Oh, mate, I’m so sorry, what happened?’
Rick spent the rest of the journey going over it all. ‘Harry reckons there’s nothing I can do to fix things, that I’m just going to have to wait and see if Anya can forgive me at some point.’
Liam gave a soft chuckle. ‘Good luck with that.’
‘Oh come on, the twins have already given me enough grief. Why didn’t anyone bother to tell me you all found me so overbearing?’
‘Not overbearing, but maybe a little over-caring. There are a lot worse things to be than the kind of person who wants everyone around them to be happy, Rick.’
‘But maybe I need to try a bit less hard to fix everything.’
‘Exactly. You know what the most surprising thing about all this is? That Harry’s the one dishing out sensible advice.’
Rick laughed. ‘He’s changed a lot since he’s been working with Russ at the restaurant.’
‘Sounds like it. How’s Ed getting on?’
‘Still hopeless! He’s working for me at the moment thanks to an affair at work that turned sour.’
Liam groaned. ‘What was he thinking? ’
‘I don’t think there was a lot of thinking going on, certainly not with his brain, anyway.’
‘What about his course?’
Rick pulled the car up onto the drive. ‘Thankfully, that’s the one thing we don’t have to worry about when it comes to Ed; he’s still as dedicated to his studies as ever.’
‘That’s good.’ Liam stared up through the car window at their parents’ house, his expression unreadable. ‘Here we are, then.’
Rick turned off the engine and looked at his brother. ‘How long are you planning on being home for?’
Liam shrugged. ‘Your guess is as good as mine. I’ve taken a leave of absence from work. I had so much holiday accrued they couldn’t really object, and I’ve just completed a massive project I’ve been working on, so the timing was on my side. I need a bit of space to think, and it’s easier to do that here rather than waste money on renting a hotel room while I try and find somewhere else to live.’
‘Well I’m glad you’re home for a bit. I’ve missed you.’
‘I missed you too.’
It didn’t escape Rick’s attention that Liam hadn’t said anything about being glad to be home.
Rick didn’t get much of a chance to delve further into Liam’s troubles that evening. Their parents were both thrilled to have him home, and although his mum seemed to have forgiven him, Rick was still very much on the outs with his dad. Not wanting to spoil his brother’s homecoming, he’d made himself scarce. When he woke the next morning, Liam was already out and Rick was too busy down on the beach all day to think about anything other than keeping an eye on Ed as well as their customers. By the time he got home there wasn’t much time to do more than jump in the shower and get changed ready for Ma’s birthday party.
It didn’t take long to walk to the restaurant and they arrived to find the rest of the family already there. They were sitting on the sea wall and rose to greet them. Rick stood back and let Liam enjoy the hugs and kisses and backslaps. It was so good to have him back, like a missing piece of their family puzzle had been found under the sofa and returned to the box where it belonged. Rick wasn’t the only one who stayed back. Anya had remained seated on the wall, Freya on her lap. Rick raised a quick hand to her but kept his distance.
Harry appeared looking smart in his chef’s whites, his thick curly hair tied back off his face with a blue and white bandana. ‘Table’s ready when you are,’ he called. ‘Where’s the lady of the night?’
‘Henry Penrose, did you just call your grandmother a sex worker?’ their mother exclaimed as the rest of them laughed.
Ma sashayed up to the door. ‘If you only knew the half of it.’ She grinned up at Harry as she tapped her cheek.
Harry leaned down and planted a kiss. ‘Hello, Ma, you’re looking gorgeous as ever.’
Clearly enjoying her moment in the spotlight, she hooked her arm through his. ‘That charm will get you into trouble one day.’
‘Let’s hope so! Come on, guys, let’s get you all sat down.’
There was a bit of a faff as everyone tried to take charge of who was sitting where. To no one’s surprise, Ed hadn’t got around to his promised seating plan. Again Rick was happy to stand back and let them get on with it. As long as he wasn’t sat next to his dad he’d be happy. Anya had taken Freya to the far end of the table where a waitress was waiting with a booster cushion for Freya to sit on. Anya got her settled and as she turned to take her own seat she caught Rick’s eye. He was about to turn away, embarrassed at being caught staring like some lovesick puppy, when to his surprise Anya patted the seat next to her.
He hesitated with his hand on the back of the chair. ‘Are you sure?’
She nodded. ‘Yes. It’s Ma’s evening and I don’t want her worrying that I’m still upset with you.’
‘Thanks.’ It was only after he’d sat and was placing his napkin across his lap that Rick realised she hadn’t said she wasn’t still upset with him, only that she didn’t want to give Ma that impression. He glanced across the table to where Davy was sitting further up on the other side, between Chloe and Helen. ‘How’s things at the hotel?’
‘Fine, thanks. It’s been a busy couple of weeks as we’re at capacity, but nothing I can’t handle.’
‘That’s great to hear.’
There was a stilted silence for a moment. ‘How’s things with The Hire Hut?’
‘Same, same. Busy, I mean, but Ed’s been helping me out, which takes the pressure off.’
‘That’s good. And it must be nice to have Liam home.’
‘Yeah, it is.’ Rick didn’t think it would be a good time to mention Liam and Caroline splitting up. He was also regretting accepting Anya’s offer to sit by her. If the choice was between her ignoring him and this tortured, awkward politeness, he’d take the former. More for something to do than anything else, Rick reached for the basket of bread and offered it to her. Their eyes met and he was instantly back on their first date when she’d been so worried about eating too much, as if he was the kind of man who cared about anything other than the woman he was with feeling content and well-fed. I will always want you to eat the bread , he’d told her, and damn it, he’d meant every word.
Anya stared down at the basket then back up at him. Was he fooling himself that he saw the same regret he was feeling? With a stiff smile, she shook her head and looked away. Rick set the bread down and swallowed a sigh. How had they gone from so much promise to this painful awkwardness in just a few short weeks?
Things improved a little once Ed and Matt came and sat opposite them. The pair kept up a steady stream of chatter with Anya. The waitress arrived with an activity pack to keep Freya occupied and the next minute Matt was rearranging the chairs and Freya was knelt up between him and Ed, playing spot the difference.
‘It’s about their intellectual level,’ Rick muttered to Anya from behind his hand and was pleased when she properly met his eyes for the first time and laughed. After that things felt a bit easier between them and the noise level around the table ramped up as one plateful of delicious food after another was placed in front of him and glasses were topped up for a second and then a third time.
‘Can you pour me some water, please?’ Anya asked him, gesturing up the table to a large jug.
‘Of course.’ He retrieved the jug and poured them both a glass.
‘Thank you.’ She took a long drink, her lashes fluttering down to shade her eyes, and she let out a little sigh as she set down her glass. ‘That’s better.’ Her cheeks bore a rosy glow. It was warm in the restaurant, even with the door open, but he thought perhaps it might be something to do with Ed’s generous pouring hand. Even flushed and with her hair rumpled from where she’d pushed it off her forehead, she’d never looked more beautiful. Regret flooded through him that he’d messed everything up between them and he had to look away before he did something unconscionably stupid like fall on his knees and beg for her forgiveness. God, Harry better be right about this .
Instead of dessert, Harry appeared from the kitchen bearing an enormous three-tiered chocolate cake with a pair of gold sparklers sticking out the top of it. They sang ‘Happy Birthday’, the rest of the guests who were in for dinner joining with both the singing and the round of applause afterwards.
‘Speech! Speech!’ Ed called out and, to more applause, Ma stood, beaming from ear to ear.
‘I’d like to thank you all for making such a lovely fuss of me,’ she started.
‘It’s no more than you deserve,’ Ryan interrupted, and they all cheered in agreement.
‘We love you, Ma!’ Chloe said, after the cheers had died down.
‘I love you too, dearest. I love you all.’ Clasping her hands together, she looked around the table. ‘The most important people in my life are all sat here with me tonight. Especially you.’ She reached out a hand to Pa, who was sitting to her right. ‘From the day I first set eyes on you, I knew you were the one, Ron Penrose. You’ve made every day since a delight.’
‘And you mine, my love,’ Ron replied.
Rick wasn’t the only one who had to have a gulp of their drink as Pa took her hand and kissed the back of it. He couldn’t resist stealing a quick glance at Anya. She was looking back, her eyes shining.
That could be us, one day . He longed to give voice to the ache in his heart, the desire to put things right almost overwhelming his vow to give her the space he knew she needed.
A chair scraped loudly, breaking the moment, and they both looked around to see Davy rising to his feet. ‘I don’t want to distract you from tonight’s celebrations, but I can’t let the chance to apologise to you all pass me by. I don’t know what to say other than I was scared and I was selfish and I’m sorry that I’ve put you all through so much unnecessary worry.’ He looked along the table and met Rick’s eyes. ‘I’m especially sorry for the position I put you in, Rick, and I don’t want anyone here taking out what was my decision on this boy a moment longer.’ Davy’s gaze rested on Jago for a long moment until Rick’s dad nodded. ‘Good, now that’s sorted, there’s just one more thing I need to do.’ He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope. Rick assumed it was a birthday card for Ma until Davy tossed it over the table to land in front of Liam.
‘What’s this?’
‘Best open it and find out,’ Davy said with a wink. ‘Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got somewhere else to be.’ He pushed back his chair and walked towards the door, one hand held out and a broad smile on his face.
They all turned to see Maud step out of the shadows, her neat bob dyed a fetching shade of lilac and her jeans so tight they looked sprayed on. Davy leaned over to peck a kiss on her cheek then tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and the pair of them walked out. The table was silent for a moment before they all began to talk at once. Rick turned to Anya, who was smiling to herself. ‘Did you know about that?’
She shook her head. ‘I had no idea, but good for them.’
Rick wondered if it was such a good idea given what Davy might be facing, but then decided that it didn’t matter what he thought about it. ‘Yes, good for them. ’
‘I can almost hear your brain whirring from here, Rick.’
He gave her a sheepish grin. ‘I’m trying, okay.’
Ed leaned across the table and Rick had to reach out and grab a half-empty wine bottle before his brother sent it flying. ‘Come on, Liam, the suspense is killing me. What’s in the envelope?’
Clearly uncomfortable at suddenly being the centre of attention, Liam pulled up the flap and slid a thick wedge of documents out. He scanned it over, his frown deepening, before he eventually handed it to their father.
‘What is it?’ Ed demanded again.
Looking completely dumbfounded, their eldest brother sat back in his chair. ‘It’s the deeds to the hotel.’
As uproar broke out around the table, Rick heard Anya murmur, ‘Oh, Davy, what are you playing at now?’