Read The Way We Were for Free Online Page B

Come off it!’ He shoved the plate to one side. ‘You were just as keen as I was. It was you who wanted to live the good life, if you remember.’ A little pause. ‘And it was you who'd lost your job.’
    She stared at him angrily, arms clenched and folded tightly beneath her breast. ‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘Thanks for that.’
    He made a gesture of conciliation. ‘I'm sorry. But—’
    â€˜Always a “but”. Never just “sorry”.’
    Chris stood up quickly, snatched up his plate, but then stood for a moment, considering.
    â€˜We asked Liv to help us,’ he said at last. ‘We both wanted to try this holiday letting business and Liv was here, on the spot, knew the area and the locals. All of that. She's had a great deal of experience in getting new projects off the ground. Don't forget she's got a very good reputation for it and we were very lucky she agreed to help us. She found Debbie and Myra for us, talked to the local craftspeople about stuff for the shop, designed the layout for the café. She takes a very small wage because she knows we need time to build things up, and she grafts damned hard and doesn't mind what she does. Every now and then she freaks out and dashes off to go surfing or to the pub with her mates. She told us she would and we accepted it because we both know how Liv operates. She worked her way round Australia; she temps; does odd things because she doesn't like to be tied down. But you know as well as I do that she is putting in much more than she's taking out and neither of us is in a position to tell her what to do. It's not that kind of set-up. We'd have looked a right pair of tools without her, I can tell you that much.’
    â€˜And meanwhile who's going to help Debbie this afternoon now that Myra's got some kind of drama at home?’
    â€˜I will,’ he said briefly. ‘It's fine. I can manage.’
    Val was silent, fingers balled into fists, out of her depth for the first time in her well-ordered life. Chris watched her, his irritation dissolving into compassion.
    â€˜Val's finding it hard,’ Liv had said to him privately. ‘She always needs to be in control and it scares her when she isn't. She's too high-handed with Myra and Debs because she's frightened that they'll take advantage but she'll have to learn to trust them a bit more. Meanwhile she needs lots of hugs.’
    Chris thought: The trouble is I don't feel like hugging her at the moment. Right now I don't even like her very much.
    The thought shocked him into action. He went round the table and put an arm round Val's stiff, unyielding shoulders.
    â€˜Come on, love,’ he said. ‘Let's not make a drama out of a crisis. Or is it the other way round?’
    She wouldn't look at him or acknowledge his feeble joke, but he sensed a wavering and he bent and touched his lips lightly to her temple.
    â€˜I'm going over to help Debbie out,’ he said. ‘I enjoy it actually, chatting to the visitors. What do the locals call them? Emmets? It's good fun. Part of why we're doing this. Don't lose sight of that, Val.’
    â€˜I'm so tired,’ she said defensively, ‘and these headaches are wearing me down.’
    â€˜It's just the stress of getting everything in full working order in time for Easter,’ he told her. ‘And we've done it. The units are booked up way ahead and the café is picking up lots of passing trade. I know we can't sit back and put our feet up but we can try to enjoy parts of it.’
    â€˜I'm not so good at fooling about with the staff as you are.’ Val moved slightly away from him. She picked up his plate and began to load the dishwasher.
    He watched her dispassionately: she'd lost weight and this new thin tautness didn't suit her, made her face look too sharp, rodent-like. And for heaven's sake, did she have to call Debs and Myra ‘the staff’?
    â€˜Well, it's a good job that