The Way We Were_ A Novel - Marcia Willett [63]
Chris was ludicrously relieved; at least it was nothing to do with him or Val. ‘What's Andy up to?’ he asked cheerfully. The relationship between Liv and Andy had always amused him. They were fiercely loyal to each other but competitive, too; each reserving the right to criticize the other's life yet very open about their own affairs.
‘Does Andy have to know everything about us?’ he'd asked Liv once, way back in the early stages of their relationship.
‘Oh, I don't tell him everything,’ she'd answered airily. ‘Only the bits that I think will interest him.’
‘I'm not sure that I find that particularly comforting,’ he'd murmured.
‘It's nothing really,’ Liv said moodily now. ‘It's just that I hate the beastly girl he's taken up with. The whole family hates her. And her mother. He's being stupid and disloyal.’
Chris couldn't help smiling. ‘How old is he?’ he asked. ‘Thirty-one? Thirty-two? Isn't he old enough to choose his own girlfriends?’
‘Age has got nothing to do with it. She's just very bad news. Aunt Em feels the same about her.’
‘Does she?’ He was surprised. Liv's Aunt Em gave him the impression of being a very well-balanced woman. ‘What's wrong with this girl?’
‘It's family history’ Liv said reluctantly. ‘Private stuff.’
He could see that she was longing to confide and he wondered if he should push it a bit, tell her she could trust him, but before he could speak the door opened and Val came in. He could see that she was still on a high, though he knew that it wasn't simply because of the praise she'd received earlier from the visitors. It was much more than that: she'd overborne his caution and they'd embarked on a new and exciting journey.
‘Don't tell Liv we're trying for a baby’ she'd cautioned him. ‘I don't want anybody to know yet.’
He hadn't needed the warning; he had no desire to tell Liv the news. He had the oddest feeling that he was somehow betraying her, though the idea was ridiculous. He knew, looking at Val, that this shiny bright mood was all to do with winning and being in a new position of power. She was already displaying ‘I am a pregnant woman’ symptoms, which he felt touching and irritating by turns, depending on how much of a power struggle was involved at the time.
‘I was just thinking about Saturday,’ Val was saying. ‘I'd forgotten that you're going to see Zack and Caroline tomorrow evening, aren't you, Liv, and staying the night? We've got two changeovers the morning after, and I suddenly wondered how we'll cope.’
Chris felt a tug of irritation. This was so typical of Val: an attempt at manipulation, a private hinting to him that she might already be in a delicate condition and that the extra work shouldn't fall to her. What did she want him to do: forbid Liv to go out?
‘It's fine,’ Liv was saying, not at all put out. ‘I'd already thought of that. Myra's sister is coming up to help. No problems.’
‘Oh.’ Val looked disconcerted. ‘Oh, well then.’ She gave a short, rather artificial laugh. ‘As long as we can afford the extra labour.’
Chris was angry now. ‘I doubt that paying Myra's sister for a few hours will break the bank,’ he said coolly. He picked up his telephone rather pointedly, pulled a file towards him, and Val shrugged and went out.
Liv was still sitting, elbows on desk, chin in hands, and he smiled at her awkwardly, apologetically She smiled back at him, understanding, and he was seized with a deep, simple and overwhelming affection for her.
1976
The family return from their holiday, and Tiggy and the dogs are delighted to see them. The twins and Charlie are glad to be home and settle happily into their routines, Pete goes daily to the dockyard where a new captain is about to join the submarine, and a new pattern emerges that is very similar to the old one but with small significant differences. Tiggy makes an effort to be alert to Pete's presence, and tactful when he and Julia have time together and the children are in bed, but their natural acceptance of her makes it very simple and she begins to feel as if she might be a sibling, truly one of the family,