‘Thank you,’ Dido said shyly. ‘Will you?’
Persey looked into her glass. ‘I don’t know now. I can probably be of use in England … do something for the war effort.’ The pain of Stefan’s rejection still hung around her. Everything had changed. And nothing had changed.
The two girls held hands across the table and Dido looked at her wristwatch. ‘Best get a whip on with supper. Shall we get the wireless out? Might be a spot of music or a play on before the news.’
Persey nodded. ‘Yes, let’s.’
Chapter 28
2016
It was Molly who suggested the painting party. Lucy had winced at the thought of a five-year-old let loose in the house with a range of paints and rollers, but Clara and John had both agreed it was a wonderful way to get the lower parts of the walls sorted without any of the ‘grown-ups’ bending down too long and hurting their backs.
‘How old are you?’ Lucy had teased rhetorically. ‘Moaning about a bad back?’ But after helping Molly paint some of the lower walls upstairs, Lucy had rubbed her sore back and taken to the stepladder to apply the higher parts with paint.
She and Molly painted the bedrooms, covering ground slowly but surely while John and Clara continued the good work Lucy had begun downstairs.
It was almost comic relief painting with Molly, who was flicking paint everywhere despite protesting that she wasn’t. Thank goodness the carpet would be ripped up. She was grateful for the little girl’s buoyant attitude. Lucy couldn’t have dealt with the seriousness of being side by side with Clara. Not yet. It was all just too awkward, still.
The house was being transformed with only a lick of paint. Already it looked different, cosier, less stark and far more inviting.They only had what had been Dido’s bedroom to apply the first coat to and as it had been the only room truly lived in upstairs of late, Lucy had been putting it off until last, although she didn’t really know why. Perhaps because it felt too personal, too intrusive.
Clara popped her head round the door to the small back bedroom where Lucy and Molly were replacing the faded magnolia with a subtle pale pink.
‘You’ve a visitor,’ Clara said with interest. ‘It’s the famous Will.’
‘Great,’ Lucy said and then tried to mask her enthusiasm by hastily removing the smile from her face.
Lucy went downstairs and found Will and John talking in the hallway. John had stopped, halfway through painting the bannisters. Clara stood on the stairs and watched.
Lucy, uncomfortable, just said a casual, ‘Hey, what are you doing here?’ in a bid to look nonchalant.
‘I thought I’d come and help. But you look like you’ve got it covered.’
‘No,’ Lucy said too quickly. ‘Stay. It would be lovely.’
Will agreed and Lucy introduced them all. He glanced at Clara who made a fuss of heading back into the sitting room to continue painting.
John stopped staring and handed Will a paint roller. ‘I was going to start on the bathroom next. You’ll need this scraper and pot of filler first.’
Lucy watched as Will, already dressed in an old hoody and ripped jeans in preparation for painting, made his way upstairs to the bathroom to get started. She let him pass her and he gave her a smile, which she returned. Aware she was being watched by her sister and brother-in-law, Lucy stiffly said, ‘Right, must get on.’ But at the top of the stairs she paused to watch Will as he took off his hoody, his old, frayed T-shirt rising to expose a gap of skin that she couldn’t take her eyes from. Downstairs, Clara and John began talking excitedly. Lucy tried to ignore them.
Hours later, Molly had given up, bored, and had curled up onthe settee, watching Netflix on John’s phone while the adults had given up to reward themselves with a glass of wine as they considered what takeaway to order in. They opted for fish and chips and Will suggested Cobo Fish Bar, which he said he was happy to drive out and collect from.
‘Come with me?’ he suggested to Lucy and she tried to ignore the knowing look Clara threw John.
In Will’s car Lucy became suddenly aware of his proximity and the silence, which was deafening. She stared at the radio, willing with her eyes for Will to switch it on but he didn’t. As he changed gear he brushed her leg and said a quick, ‘Sorry.’ Lucy quickly moved her legs to the left of the car and mumbled, ‘It’s OK.’ They weren’t like this with each other yesterday so why so strange today?
‘That was odd, earlier,’ Will said.
‘What was?’
‘John and Clara. They’re nice, by the way. Just a bit odd with me or am I imagining?’
‘You’re new on the scene, that’s all,’ Lucy said.
‘Am I on the scene?’ Will asked as they pulled up to the fish and chip shop, which was a corrugated metal structure on the beach, unimposing but very much a landmark.
‘Um …’ was Lucy’s dreadful reply, not at all understanding the question. ‘Oh goody, we’re here. I’m starving,’ she said, opening the door and climbing out. The sun was beginning to set over the beauty spot of Cobo Bay and they looked out across the sea as the orange line developed along the horizon, pulling the sun down towards the crystal water.
