‘Charlene…it isn’t a problem at all!’ Nathan says wearily, dropping a file on his desk and sitting down to read it.. ‘If he wants to come, let him’
Charlene turns her head, watching him as walks from behind her to his chair. ‘It int what he thinks me and you…’ her voice trails off.
‘I know, okay?’ Nathan lifts his eyes and looks at her from under lowered brows. ‘We went through all that. He can travel up with us if he wants. No big deal…’though I don’t know what he’ll do with himself all day’
‘That int no good cos he’d have t’be here early and if he’s got t’come here before we go up there, it’ll take him ever such a long time’
‘Travel with us, I meant. In my motor’ Nathan reaches for the telephone, the index finger of his left hand marking the number in the file.
‘Yeah…but he’d still have t’come here first wouldn’t he? And he’d have t’leave work early and everything….. and it int a straight line, it’s two straight lines, cos I looked! And if he was gonna come it’d be best if he had one straight line cos the first one goes down before it goes up’
‘Right’ Nathan says carefully
‘So.... if he can come....’ Charlene worries at a fingernail.
‘He can come! Okay?’ Nathan abandons any idea of making a telephone call and sits back in his chair. ‘I don’t give a shit when or how he gets there, I only said he could come with us if he wanted to’
‘But then I couldn’t come back with him if we was both in your car, could I?’ Charlene spreads her hands. ‘Cos that’s what he wanted t’come for in the first place, so we could go somewhere on Sunday before we come back and that int no good if you got t’come as well, is it?’ she rolls her eyes.
‘For Christ’s sake! Do you want to come to this wedding or not?’
‘Yeah, a course I do’
‘And you want Bruno to meet you there?’
‘Yeah…if he wants to’
‘Right…so he’s booked a hotel for the Saturday night, has he?’ Nathan tries to get some straight answers.
‘I don’t think so cos he were waiting f’me t’say what it was alright cos I told him what I didn’t think he trusted me an’ everything’
‘But he knows that he can?’
‘Can what?’ Charlene looks confused.
‘Trust you!…Trust me for that matter’
‘Yeah…cos you told him as well, dint you?’
‘I did…Right….so he’ll travel up on the Saturday, stay over and bring you back on Sunday?’
‘Yeah…but he might get there early cos he does churches an’ things and he said what…’
‘Never mind about that’ Nathan interrupts. He scratches the side of his nose, hesitating before asking ‘Are you…you know…’
‘What?’ Charlene frowns.
‘Are you just friends…or a bit more….You know what I mean’
She draws her brows together in deep concentration. ‘I don’t think I do’ she says slowly.
Nathan sighs. ‘Never mind. Right…so’
‘No, what were you going t’say?’ Charlene takes his cigarettes and lighter from the blotter in front of him and holds them hostage against her chest. ‘Go on, tell me…cos I shall only be wondering what it was’ she grins
Nathan groans and beckons their return with his finger. ‘You’ve got a double room, remember’
‘I have? What you want t’go and get me one a them for?’ She looks at him crossly. ‘You said what…’
‘Whoa! We’ve BOTH got double rooms’
‘Whaffor?’
‘Did you really want to be stuck at the back in a broom cupboard? Cos that’s what single rooms tend to be like. I always book a double room if I’m going anywhere’
‘Yeah…’ Charlene snorts derisively. ‘But you usually have…..company’
‘Good word!’ Nathan jabs a finger ‘Right…. if Bruno keeps you company, he can stay in your room. It wouldn’t be any bother to fix up and it’s only be the cost of another breakfast’ He sits further back in his chair, smiling at what he sees as a satisfactory solution.
‘Nooo!’ Charlene looks shocked.
‘Sorry…I thought perhaps…’
‘Well, we int!’ Her cheeks flame with indignation.
‘Sorry, okay?’ Nathan apologises with a grimace. ‘He can bunk in with me then’ he decides ‘Save him trying to book anywhere else. Up to him. See what he says. Give him a ring or something and let me know so I can update the booking’
‘Right’ Charlene looks unsure.
‘He can get there anytime he likes, then. There’s a bit of a break between the reception and the evening do so he won’t be on his own all day’
‘Okay’ she smiles uncertainly.
‘Now bugger off’ Nathan waves her away and reaches for the telephone again ‘I got things to do’
Samms Plant Hire, Oatfield
Chapter Twenty
The Village Library
‘Just a little thank you from me and Marcus. It was good of you to let me spend some time with him’
‘You didn’t need to do that!’ Helen takes the flowers, fingering the petals. ‘But thank you anyway’
‘He says he’s sorry he didn’t get to see you and Kester but he hopes you’ll understand’ Marie looks over her shoulder to say as she hangs up her jacket.
‘Gosh, neither of us would have wanted you to waste your precious time on us!’ Helen fills a mug with water and pushes the stems into it. ‘How are you feeling?’ she asks, setting the mug on the draining board next to the small sink.
‘Not half so bad as I did when he went back before’ Marie replies, smoothing down her skirt ‘because I know I’m going to see him again’
‘Did you manage to get all you wanted to talk about done?’
‘There’s such a lot to think about. Loads to decide and I don’t think we’re halfway there yet! He’s going to ring as soon as he gets back and we’re setting the computer up so we can talk to each other face to face’
‘Oh. a ring! ’ Helen says, her eyes widening as Marie pushes a stray tendril of hair from her cheek. ‘‘Let me see!’ She takes Marie’s left hand and sighs over the ring on her third finger. ‘That is beautiful’ She lifts her eyes to Marie’s face. ’Congratulations’ she says, giving her a hug.
‘It’s a for now ring rather than an engagement ring’ Marie smiles softly. ‘I couldn’t make up my mind about that either. It was all such a rush but he wanted me to have something before he flew home. Stake his claim, he called it’ she laughs.
‘Big surprise for everyone, I guess’ Helen observes, moving back to the sink unit to rinse the few mugs laying in the washing up bowl ‘How have your Mum and Dad taken the news?’
‘They like him…they met him when he was over before…only the once but they did like him. Mum’s a bit upset at the idea of me going over there to live, she thinks it’s too soon to be talking about settling down…especially since I’d have a ready made family’
‘She doesn’t know about…’ Helen finishes the question with a sympathetic look rather than words.
‘Noo…only you and Kester….and Marcus, of course. She’d be so hurt and upset. That’s why I couldn’t tell her’ Marie replies quietly.
‘So, you are going to live in Australia?’
‘It hasn’t been decided yet. Marcus has got his job and of course, Amy’s family would miss Luke terribly if he came over here’
‘You’ll never be able to please everyone. That’s why you will have to make your decision on what’s best for you and Marcus’
‘I know…but it’s deciding what IS best! I don’t suppose my job’s important in the grand scheme of things’ Marie says thoughtfully. ‘But Marcus’s family is here…so’s mine come to that. It’s whether or not we could afford to live if Marcus had to retrain for other work. There's not exactly many ranches over here’ she sighs.
‘Is that what he does?’ Helen raises a questioning eyebrow,
‘He works for Amy’s father. They’ve got a big farm…fruit mostly’ Marie takes a clean tea towel from the sink unit drawer and dries the mugs as Helen washes them. ‘He does something of everything but he does all the selling and marketing. He’s got no qualifications as such, that’s the problem. He didn’t get to uni, so he’s got no degree, even though he can do the work standing on his head’
‘There must be somewhere who would take experience over qualifications, surely. Marketing is marketing, no matter what you’re trying to sell’
‘It’s persuading an employer to give him a shot in the first place’
‘Could he go back to uni and get a degree?’ Helen asks, tipping away the washing up water and rinsing and drying her hands before slipping her rings back on.
‘There’s that, yes…we have talked about it but that would mean him living with his parents and being reliant on them’ Marie sets two of the mugs next to the water boiler and puts the rest in the cupboard. ‘They don’t mind but it would mean that either we would have to wait or I’d have to live there too. Not sure that would work’
‘They’re very nice people’
‘Oh, I know that…but….it would be lovely to be on our own from the start’
‘What would he do, sell up over there? I take it he has got a place of his own?’
‘Yes…but whatever he got from that wouldn’t pay for anything over here…unless we want to live in a shed. It would see him through uni though. You see? It’s all such a muddle; we’ve been going round in circles’
‘I’ve got a very nice cottage you could rent!’ Helen laughs.
‘Not sure we could afford anything quite as posh as that….’ Marie grins ‘And then there’s Luke’ her worried look returns ‘At the moment there’s no problem with childcare at all. We couldn’t expect his Mum to be on hand all the time even though she said she wouldn’t mind. I’d have to give up work to look after him. I’m making myself dizzy trying to think of ways round things’
‘I’m sure it will all come right in the end and you know if I can help out in any way at all, I will’ Helen touches a sympathetic hand to her arm and reaches past her to pick two tea bags from the box on the worktop.
‘Thank you’
