The Way We Were_ A Novel - Marcia Willett [103]
‘Oh.’ Val was disconcerted, even embarrassed; she wondered if Liv could have guessed her feelings, or if Chris had voiced them, and she experienced a little flare of irritation that Liv should have got in first. ‘Well, we don't really want to turn you out.’
Liv grinned at her, knowing that Val would have liked to be the one in control here. ‘You've always looked on the annexe as an extra bit of income, we all know that. I think you're quite ready to manage without me and I shall only be in Truro. It's not a million miles away if you have a problem.’
‘Truro?’ Chris tried to hide his shock so as to match her cheerfulness. ‘So what exciting thing will be happening in Truro this autumn?’
‘An acquaintance of mine has bought a wine bar and he's extending it. He seems to think I'm the right person to get the new extension up and running and I agree with him. It's certainly a challenge but, hey!, so was Penharrow.’ She looked away from the bleakness in Chris's eyes and smiled inwardly at the expression on Val's face: relief battling with indignation. ‘It's just a warning shot across the bows, as my dear old dad would say. There's plenty of time to get used to the idea and make adjustments. And now I'm off for an hour. See you later.’
She went out and Val looked at Chris. ‘Why didn't you say something?’ she demanded. ‘I felt a bit of a fool. Did you know anything about this?’
Chris shook his head. ‘Not a thing. But it was on the cards, wasn't it? She wasn't going to spend the rest of her life with us. And you've been saying that we could use the income from the annexe.’
‘I know, but it's still a bit of a surprise. I think she should have consulted us before accepting this new job.’
Chris shrugged. He was shocked but strangely relieved: Liv had let him off the hook and he was grateful to her. He wondered about this acquaintance with whom she would be working, and felt an odd stab of jealousy.
‘I thought it was what you wanted,’ he said.
‘It is,’ said Val after a moment. Her indignation at being wrong-footed was tinged with a slight anxiety. ‘Well, in a way it is. But, if I'm honest, I shall miss knowing she's there. There's something reassuring about having Liv around. I know I go on sometimes about her but you were right when you said that we wouldn't have coped so well without her. There is much more to it than I'd imagined.’
Chris pushed back his chair. The prospect of managing without Liv was a desolate one but he knew it was the right decision: it would encourage him to be whole-hearted.
‘Well, we'll have a few weeks to get used to it,’ he said. ‘I'd better get on, I suppose.’ He paused and then, to Val's surprise, he put his arm round her shoulders and gave her a hug. After a second or two she responded.
‘What's all that about?’ she asked lightly, slightly embarrassed by such an uncharacteristic gesture.
‘I think we've been getting our priorities a bit confused just lately, that's all,’ he answered. ‘We need some “us” time.’
The sharp retort with which she would have replied a few days earlier seemed unwise; some instinct warned her that, without Liv around, Chris's love and support would be crucial to her and to Penharrow.
‘Sounds good to me,’ she said casually. ‘When do we start?’
‘I think we might book a few days away sometime at the end of summer, before Liv goes anyway. Not too long for starters but I'm sure Myra and Debbie could manage for a long weekend. I think it would do us good.’
Once again a sarcastic rejoinder trembled on Val's lips but she swallowed it down. She sensed some kind of change in him; a new concentration on her and a commitment to their bond that had been lacking lately. Whatever it was, the same instinct warned her to nurture it and she nodded agreement.
‘OK, then,’ he said cheerfully. ‘Have a trawl on the Internet and see what you can find.’
He went out and she began to clear away the lunch things with an unusually light heart.
Julia just had the time to thrust her knitting into