Page 48 of New Beginnings At Pencarrow Bay

Peggy woke to a painfully bright morning. Her mouth was so dry it was as if her tongue was six times its normal size and riveted to the roof of her mouth, her brain full of lagging.

Gingerly, she raised herself to a sitting position.

Then, when that didn’t kill her, she eased back the duvet and swung her legs over the side of the bed– which also turned out to be a successful manoeuvre, apart from her pounding head.

Standing felt literally like a step too far.

But she gave it a go, fell back. Tried again.

Stood for a second. Sat down again. It was a good ten minutes before she was once more in the bathroom, splashing cold water on her face and gulping handfuls of it, in an attempt properly to wake up.

Downstairs, all was quiet. She’d dressed in jeans, thrown a warm cardigan over her T-shirt because she felt shivery.

Is Liam here? she wondered, going over to the sink to fill the kettle for a cup of tea– she needed fuel before she went to check.

A pair of dirty stop-outs , she thought wryly. No wonder Ted despairs of us.

Having organized hot tea and a slice of buttered toast, she wandered out onto the terrace to sit in the sunshine and warm up.

Taking her mobile with her, she checked her messages.

Six increasingly agitated ones from Ted last night, asking where she was.

She groaned guiltily. None, worryingly, from him this morning.

He’s really pissed off with me , she told herself gloomily.

And rightly so. However upset she’d been with him, it wasn’t fair to stay out half the night without at least telling him where she was.

She knew he would have been worried. But she hadn’t intended to stay out, of course.

Hadn’t realized she was doing so, either, once the dope flowed into her system.

As she sat there in a daze, she heard a voice behind her.

‘Hi, Mum.’ Liam, in shorts and a scruffy T-shirt, strolled across the flagstones from his room.

‘Oh, you’re home,’ she said.

Looking down at her, his blond hair still tousled from sleep, he raised his eyebrows in question.

‘Ted said you hadn’t come in last night,’ she said.

‘Yeah, he was spark out on the sofa. I crept past.’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘Anything you want to share with me, Mum?’

Peggy had no desire to ‘share’ the details of last night’s high jinks with her son. It didn’t seem too dignified in the cold light of morning. Although she couldn’t help smiling when she thought of them lying on the cool grass at the castle, singing into the starry night. It had been fun.

Trying to appear nonchalant and not meeting Liam’s gaze, she said merely, ‘Nope.’ Ignoring his sceptical smile, she hurried on, ‘Did you see Gen?’

‘No, she was with Jake. Probably just as well. Got chatting with Gina, who works in the Co-op, and her boyfriend.’

‘Yes, I know her to say hello to. She won the swimming race.’

Liam nodded. ‘She was a bit tiddly.’ He sat down, stretched his bare legs towards the sun. ‘Apparently Lindy is sponsoring her daughter to go to ballet school. She made Gina swear on her life that she would never tell a living soul.’ He grinned. ‘But no such thing as a secret, eh?’

Peggy wasn’t surprised. When Annie had told her about the anonymous benefactor, she’d thought it might be Lindy.

She was touched, though. It was such a generous thing to do.

And admirable that she didn’t want her generosity bruited around the village.

Did this kindness square with the cruelty of those emails?

It seemed not, and it made her already-compromised head hurt when she tried to make sense of it.

‘So she’s clearly not all bad,’ Liam commented, closing his eyes against the sun and leaning back in his chair.

Peggy sighed and gave a half-hearted nod. She didn’t want to talk about Lindy right now.

‘That was a weary sigh, Mum.’

‘Yes, well…’ She didn’t continue, her mind elsewhere.

She was fretting about the best way to contact Ted and apologize for last night.

Better in person, at the stall? Or a grovelling text?

Wait for him to come home? Her brain wasn’t firing on even half its potential cylinders this morning and she couldn’t decide on the best plan.

‘You look a bit rough,’ her son commented.

Peggy summoned a grin. ‘That’s my line, isn’t it?’ she said, making him chuckle.

‘Everyone in the pub seemed excited about movie night,’ he added.

Peggy groaned. ‘I’d forgotten it was tonight.’ She was dreading it. Dreading seeing the look in people’s eyes as they pretended they hadn’t heard the gossip about her.

‘You don’t have to organize anything for it, do you? I can help.’

‘Thanks, but no. Ted’s just doing popcorn and Coke from the van. We can help if he needs us. Paul said he’d hired a hot-dog stand too, which will be very popular. It’s more the social side that worries me. Not really in the mood to face the village right now.’

‘So you’ve heard? That word about the emails got out?’ He winced as he spoke.

She nodded. ‘I’m beyond caring, to be honest.’ That wasn’t true, of course, but she was so worn down by it all. Bored with it constantly nagging at her thoughts, too– which was why last night had been so blissful.

‘I think I’ll nip down and see Ted,’ she said, rising cautiously from her chair, pleased to find that her head was no longer spinning.

‘Great. I’ll come with you. Could do with one of his muscular Americanos.’

Peggy bit her lip. ‘Could you wait a bit, sweetheart? Come down in half an hour, say? I need a few minutes alone with him.’

Liam looked concerned. ‘Knew something was up. Ted on the sofa, you looking as if you’ve got a head like a bag of chisels. What’s going on, Mum?’

‘Bag of chisels’ just about sums it up , she thought ruefully.

‘Something I need to sort out,’ she told her son, as she bent to kiss his cheek.

‘We could go for a swim later if you fancy? Or a drive somewhere? Take a walk along the coastal path? It’s your last day, you choose.

’ She was gabbling, she knew, in a vain attempt to make everything normal.

Liam frowned as he pondered the goings-on between his mother and Ted. ‘Yeah, let’s think about it,’ he said, as she picked up her plate and cup, her phone, and went inside.

Ted and Shona– co-opted for a few hours because of Ted being in and out organizing movie night– were busy.

It was another beautiful day. The queue to be served was long, but everyone seemed in a relaxed mood, happy to wait and chat to the others about their good fortune in having found such a delightful spot in the sunshine, about Bolt– who always drew the crowds– about the excellent coffee.

Ted glanced up as Peggy approached. He gave her a smile, but it seemed tight-lipped.

Nipping round to the back of the van and opening the door, Peggy said, ‘Can I have a quick word, please, Ted?’

He gave an almost imperceptible harrumph and gestured to the queue. ‘It’ll have to wait till we clear this lot.’

‘Fine,’ Peggy said. ‘Hi, Shona,’ she added, to receive a warm greeting from the South African– in marked contrast to Ted’s frosty response.

She backed away from the steps and closed the door.

Then, bending to stroke Bolt as she passed his basket, where he was basking in the sun, she wandered off to sit on the wall that edged the car park.

It seemed like a long time before Ted emerged from the van.

Customers were served, then replaced by more.

Peggy didn’t mind. She was happy to rest there in the heat, give in to her dazed state.

She’d closed her eyes and was almost drifting off when she felt a shadow fall over her face.

Ted was standing uneasily in front of her.

‘Brought you a coffee,’ he said, in a conciliatory tone, holding out a takeaway cup.

She took it gratefully and thanked him, shifting her bum along the wall so that he had room to sit too.

Sipping the coffee to give herself time to make sure she said the right thing, in the end Peggy just delivered a heartfelt apology.

‘I didn’t mean to worry you last night. I just got carried away by their mad antics,’ she added.

Ted was silent. ‘Might have guessed they were potheads,’ he remarked sourly.

Peggy did not know what to say. Her staying out late was not the real issue here. But she was not looking to antagonize him today. ‘Can we not fight any more, Ted?’ she asked, reaching for his hand.

He took it in his and squeezed it. ‘Agreed.’

Neither spoke.

‘Listen…’ Ted broke the silence, sounding uncomfortable. ‘I know you’ve seen something ominous in my friendship with Lindy. But it really is just that: friendship. Nothing more. I really want you to trust me on that front.’

Peggy glanced at him, but he looked away. There’s that odd insistence on trust again , she thought. She replied, ‘Lindy is an amazing woman in many respects. But…’ She tailed off, then said wearily, ‘You know what I think.’

Ted’s head was lowered, hands clasped firmly between his knees. Then he looked up at her. ‘Peggy…’ he began, his expression so pained it made her wince, her heart jump.

‘What?’

She watched Ted take a deep breath. He was silent for a long moment. Then he said softly, ‘Nothing. It’s nothing. We can talk later.’

Peggy waited. Ted had dropped his head again, his hands clasped together so tightly that the tanned skin of his fingers was now white. But she felt dizzy and washed out– she wasn’t going to press him.

Getting off the wall she told him, ‘I’m going to hang out with Liam today. He’s leaving in the morning.’

Ted nodded.

‘Are you OK for tonight?’ she asked. ‘Liam and I are very happy to help.’

He glanced up and met her eye. ‘Thanks.’ But he spoke as if he were miles away, as if he wasn’t hearing what she said.

Peggy walked away across the car park with a heavy heart and a pounding head. The conversation was as unsatisfactory as all the others she had with Ted these days.