Page 34 of New Beginnings At Pencarrow Bay

Ted gave Liam a wary welcome as he and Peggy approached the van, her son bringing out his best smile.

‘Did you sleep well?’ Ted enquired of him.

Liam nodded. ‘Thanks, yes. It’s a seriously comfy gaff. I really appreciate you and Mum having me to stay.’ Then he added, piling on the enthusiasm, ‘Liking your blue wagon.’

‘He answers to Henri,’ Ted said, with a smile.

‘So solar panels power it?’ Liam asked, checking out the roof.

Ted nodded. ‘Cheap, efficient and environmentally friendly,’ he intoned.

It was painful watching them so restrained with each other, but it was better than hostility, Peggy thought, as she accepted the coffee Ted made for her.

A few minutes later, they were setting off for the beach.

As they neared Lilac House, Peggy groaned inwardly as she saw Felix on the raised terrace, battling to unravel a grubby yellow garden hose.

She had wondered when the family would be back from Paris.

Now she dipped her head, quickening her pace.

There were so many people on the road today, she was confident they’d get by unnoticed– he wasn’t paying any attention to the passers-by.

Then she heard her son, walking silently by her side, shout, ‘Felix Pearson? Is that really you?’

Felix turned at the sound of his name and put his hand to his brow, squinting towards the road, his eyes clearly compromised by the sun.

When he caught sight of Liam waving, he did a double-take.

Then his face lit up with amazement as he hurried over to the wooden fence.

‘Christ, Liam! What the hell are you doing down here?’

‘Same as you, I imagine. Taking a break.’

There was an awkward pause, during which Felix noticed Peggy at Liam’s side and said, ‘Oh, hi, Peggy,’ as he clearly tried to work out what was going on. Then he turned to Liam again, adding, ‘I live here now.’

It was her son’s turn to look surprised. ‘ Live here? No way. Since when?’

Felix shrugged, uncomfortable with the question. ‘A while. It’s Kim’s mum’s house.’

‘Right,’ Liam said slowly, moving his head sideways to check out the rather grand structure behind his friend. ‘This is my mum, by the way. You obviously know each other.’

Felix nodded and smiled at Peggy. ‘Listen, Liam, got to get on, but drop by anytime. Love to catch up.’ He turned away.

Then obviously an idea struck him and he swung back.

‘Remember Fitz? He’s bringing his boat over from Falmouth tonight for his fortieth bash.

Come along. Muster on the quay at six? I’m sure he’d love you to be there. ’

‘Fitz is forty?’ Liam pulled a face and they laughed. ‘But, hey, I can’t just turn up if I’m not invited.’

‘The boat’s the size of a ferry– he’ll definitely want you to come. Give me your number.’ Felix tugged his mobile out of the back pocket of his shorts, unlocked it and handed it to Liam.

After they’d said goodbye to Felix, Peggy and Liam strolled along in silence until they reached the beach, unable to chat properly as the crowded street meant walking side by side was virtually impossible.

She was dying to hear how her son knew Felix, what he knew about him, but realized she had to be careful with her questions. It was a tricky situation.

‘Can’t believe Fitz is forty,’ Liam mused, as they headed down the path to the beach.

The tide was incoming, halfway up the sand, and a number of people were gingerly stepping into the water– which was obviously bracing, judging from their timid progress.

Only the kids looked as if they were not fazed by the chilly waves.

‘How do you know Felix?’

‘We all used to hang out at a pub near Dad’s gallery. Felix and I played squash together quite often. He’s a great guy.’ He plonked the sports bag Peggy had lent him– one of Ted’s– on the concrete ledge by the sea wall. ‘Fuck, poor man.’

‘Yes, not a good situation. Obviously he’s got dire financial problems… although I’m not sure exactly what caused them.’

Liam looked at her, surprised. ‘He hasn’t told you?’

She shook her head. ‘I didn’t like to ask. I know something shady went on with manipulation of stocks at the bank where he worked.’

‘Who said that?’

Peggy shrugged noncommittally, not wanting to drop Ted in it– her son sounded so fierce.

‘He was shafted, Mum, if you want the truth. Fitz works there too, so he got the complete low-down. Felix’s boss set him up, so when the shit hit the fan, Felix got the blame. Bastard.’

‘So Felix didn’t do anything wrong?’

Liam snorted. ‘If not being as super-ruthless as everyone else isn’t a crime, then no. Love Felix. But he was totally duped, according to Fitz, who was steaming about the whole thing.’

‘Goodness, poor Felix indeed,’ Peggy said. Not what I heard , she thought.

‘Should be fun tonight. Fitz is a bit bonkers but he loves a party,’ Liam said, as he pulled his T-shirt over his head. ‘You don’t mind me going out, do you, Mum?’

‘Not at all,’ she said, her mind elsewhere. Would someone not ‘super-ruthless’ manage to manipulate a woman as clever as Lindy so easily?

While Peggy had always sympathized– and believed in– Lindy’s distress, this wasn’t the first time she’d questioned the reason behind it.

She had found the whole thing puzzling, right from the off.

But it was the first time she began seriously to entertain the notion that Lindy was not seeing things right, somehow misinterpreting Felix’s behaviour.

She was clearly very disturbed about something, but her heinous accusations just didn’t seem to match the amiable man to whom Peggy had just been chatting– who also turned out to be her son’s good friend.

She sighed, wondering if she was being swayed by Liam’s obvious liking for the man.

Now she pushed her confusing thoughts aside, keen to enjoy the unexpected treat of having Liam at her side.

They spent a very pleasant morning in the sea.

The water was chilly but invigorating, once you were used to it.

They swam lazily around the blue pontoon and further out into the bay, sometimes chatting, sometimes lying on their backs in silence, enjoying the rocking of the waves, the spring sunshine warm on their faces.

It was a while until they made their way back to the beach, where they flopped on the towels Peggy had brought and sipped from the sodas they’d cadged from Ted’s van. She loved every minute.

That evening, as Ted chopped the onions for the ragout he was making, Peggy, a glass of white wine in her hand, sat on the other side of the kitchen island and told him what Liam had said about Felix.

‘What do you make of it?’ she asked, when she’d finished the story. She’d had a lovely day with her son, but she was relieved he was out tonight– Liam and Ted’s relationship might benefit from being broken in gently.

Ted shrugged. ‘We don’t know how accurate this Fitz’s story is, though, do we? Felix might have spun him a yarn, passed off the blame.’

‘Well, Fitz was actually there. He works for the same bank.’

Ted frowned, but didn’t address her remark. ‘Lindy came up to the van this afternoon, by the way, but I was too busy to talk to her beyond a quick chat.’

‘How did she seem?’

‘Tense, as usual. They’ve been to Paris, apparently. She wanted to show Ada the Louvre.’

Peggy said, ‘Things can’t be too bad, can they, if they managed a trip to Paris together?’

‘You’d think not. But I suppose you can bully someone anywhere.

’ Ted paused. ‘She asked to meet tomorrow for coffee… said she had something really important to tell me. But I said I was taking the day off and we had plans.’ He looked uneasy at the memory.

‘I felt bad. But I’m trying to create some distance.

It was getting a bit too intense, as you pointed out. ’

‘So you’re taking tomorrow off?’ Peggy was thrilled. She could cook a Sunday lunch for them all. Not something she’d done in a long while.

‘Shona said she’d step in– she needs the shifts, apparently. I thought, what with all that’s gone on this week, we could do with a quiet day together.’

She smiled and reached up to kiss him. ‘Thank you.’

She watched Ted as he slid the onions into the saucepan and opened the packet of mince. ‘I didn’t tell you. Sienna’s got some geek friend of Paul’s looking into the email.’

Ted looked up from the pan. ‘That’s great, sweetheart.’

She nodded, really appreciating Sienna’s efforts on her behalf– there was no need for her to go to all that trouble.

But although Peggy wanted desperately to know who the sender was, she couldn’t help wondering what they would do if they did find out…

and knew for sure who would do this cruel thing.

‘Would you take Liam running?’ she asked later, as she and Ted sat on the terrace after supper with mint tea and mini bars of Kernow chocolate. The sun was going down in a cloudy sky and it was getting chilly, but neither wanted to make the move inside. The early-summer evenings were so precious.

He frowned. ‘Does he run?’

‘I don’t know. But you could ask. He looks so wasted– he needs to get his health back, get into shape again. Liam’s always been sporty.’

‘Okay.’ He sounded reluctant.

‘Ted, please. Make an effort.’

‘I said okay.’ He sounded irritated. When he saw her look, he softened. ‘I’m sorry, Peggy, of course I’ll ask him. It’s just been hard getting through to him and Dan.’ After a brief pause, he added, ‘How long do you think he’ll stay?’

Peggy’s nerves were generally frayed by the last couple of days, and she found herself snapping, ‘I’ve no idea. But he’s my son , Ted. He should be allowed to stay as long as he wants, don’t you think?’

Ted’s handsome face stiffened but he didn’t speak.

‘Sorry for snapping,’ she said, only marginally contrite. Ted nodded, but the atmosphere of the evening was ruined and they went to bed with nothing more than polite exchanges.

Peggy knocked on the door of Liam’s room at around midday on Sunday morning. There was no response. When she gingerly opened the door, she saw the bed was empty and unslept in.

She texted him: Where are you? Doing Sunday lunch. Pls ring x

There was no immediate reply.

‘He didn’t come home last night,’ she said, when she was back in the kitchen, where Ted was reading the paper with a cup of coffee. ‘And he’s not answered my text yet.’

They’d patched up their differences, both apologetic about the part they’d played in the row last night, and were keen not to shadow the day.

‘Got trolleyed and stayed on the boat, is my guess,’ Ted suggested.

She was mildly annoyed with her son. ‘What shall I do about the lamb? It’ll need at least a couple of hours. Shall I stick with lunch or cook it tonight instead?’ She’d taken the meat out of the freezer the night before, and was intending to slow cook it with rosemary and lots of garlic.

‘Put it in. If he misses a delicious lunch, he can have leftovers later,’ Ted stated firmly.

Peggy let out a frustrated breath. Her son’s absence was ruining her image of a cosy family day, where Ted and Liam would bond over her excellent roast potatoes and succulent lamb, find out they had loads in common and agree to go on a jolly run together at the first possible opportunity. ‘Should I text him again?’

Ted’s expression was barely patient. ‘Leave him, Pegs. He’ll come home when he’s ready.’

Liam wasn’t ‘ready’, it seemed, till gone two. He slouched into the house looking like a down-and-out, his eyes red-rimmed, skin sweaty and pallid, a sour reek of alcohol coming off his body– apparent to Peggy even at a distance.

Having acknowledged his greeting, she regarded him in silence. Ted glanced up, then mutely bent his head to the remains of his lamb.

‘Sorry, sorry, really sorry, Mum. Bit of a bender. Forgot my phone was off.’ He slumped onto a kitchen chair, brushing his blond hair off his sticky forehead, his eyes glazed as they swept over the table. ‘Feel like shit.’

He looked, Peggy thought, as if he were about to throw up. ‘Go and have a shower and lie down,’ she said briskly.

Her son nodded. ‘Fun party. Met Gen. You probably know her?’

Ted’s head jerked up from his plate. ‘Gen Dixon? What was she doing on the boat?’

Liam shrugged. ‘Didn’t catch her last name. Runs the dress shop in the village.’ He had the grace to look a little sheepish. ‘We went back to hers.’

‘Jake’s girlfriend,’ Ted said dully, raising an eyebrow at Peggy.

Liam’s bloodshot eyes twitched. ‘Yeah, she might have mentioned that.’

Peggy sighed as she watched Liam get up and go over to the sink, where he gulped down two large glasses of water, then staggered off to bed to sleep off his hangover with a casual wave in her direction.

‘Sorry,’ she said, when he’d gone. Liam was certainly not an edifying sight, shambling about still half cut, stinking of alcohol, at two in the afternoon. Nor was his behaviour in hooking up with Jake’s girlfriend exactly dignified.

‘Poor old Jake,’ Ted commented drily.

They fell silent, consumed by their thoughts.

‘Not making excuses, obviously,’ Peggy said eventually, ‘but maybe this’ll spur Jake on to ignore his bossy mother and commit to Gen.

She’s so attractive and charming. If he shilly-shallies much longer she will find someone else, not just a one-night stand.

’ It was a tawdry image, though, the two of them together in a drunken stupor, and she tried to wipe it from her mind.

‘Hmm,’ Ted said, his tone noncommittal, although the implication was obvious: Ted was not impressed with Liam’s behaviour.

But she felt torn. She’d seen so little of Liam and Dan since they’d moved to Cornwall.

So, having Liam ensconced in their guest room, knowing he would be there tomorrow, maybe the day after and the day after that, knowing she would have proper time to talk alone with him in a relaxed environment and the chance to show how much she loved him…

It was so unexpected, like gold dust. Was it really such a sin, her son letting off steam with his friends?

she asked herself as she began to clear the lunch.

Even if he did fail to text me and rolled in looking like death warmed up.

But she found, unusually, that she didn’t want to share her thoughts with Ted– potentially creating more tension between them.