Page 65 of Best Summer Ever

I didn’t remember ever mentioning Algy’s surname, but then I wasn’t the only person in Wynmouth Josh talked to, was I?

‘If you had taken me up on the offer I’d made for you to come and meet him,’ I wheedled, ‘then you’d know that’sexactlywhat you could call him. Everyone does. And in answer to your question, it did please him to know the cat was still around, but not as much as I had hoped…’

‘Oh, and why was that, do you think?’

I took a moment to consider how to answer. It wasn’t my place to talk about the melancholy that seemed to be holdingAlgy in its grip or his estranged family. That was what I was beginning to suspect might be the root cause of his low mood, now that he was thinking about his legacy and the future of Wynbrook.

‘There are a few things,’ I said evasively. ‘He got rather upset when I mentioned that I would be leaving at the end of the summer.’

‘I can understand that,’ said Josh, twisting around so he could look down at me. ‘I’m pretty upset about that myself.’

‘Well, you shouldn’t be,’ I pointed out. ‘Because given that I still haven’t got a clue about where I’m going, there’s every chance that you could be gone long before I am.’

‘I suppose,’ he said, looking troubled.

‘Do you know where you’re going after you’ve tired of here?’

‘I don’t think I could ever tire of here,’ he sighed, ‘but no. I’m still undecided.’

‘You must be bored witless,’ I teased. ‘You’ve not left the village since you arrived and there’s only so many hours you can spend on the beach and in the pub.’

‘Well, thankfully,’ he said, inching even closer to me, ‘I’ve found myself the most amazing distraction to stop me getting bored.’

‘Oh, have you now?’ I giggled.

‘Yes,’ he said, quickly standing up and pulling me to my feet in one swift movement. ‘Come on, distraction. Let’s see how you can amuse me today.’

‘How is it possible that you’re late for your shift, Daisy,’ Sam said with exasperation when I breathlessly rushed into the pub,‘when I know for a fact that you were only next door in my cottage?’

‘I’m sorry,’ I grimaced. ‘How did you know that’s where I was?’

‘George was in this afternoon and said he saw you going in,’ Sam told me, as I smoothed down my hair and stashed my bag under the bar.

‘That’s village life for you,’ said Tess, who was out of the kitchen for once.

‘And village gossip,’ I added, feeling frustrated that wherever I was, my every move seemed to be noticed and commented on.

‘George was under the impression that telling me how close to the pub you were would put my mind at rest about you turning up on time,’ Sam added, defending his friend.

‘Did you think I might be late then?’ I asked.

‘Let’s just say,’ Sam said sardonically, ‘it did cross my mind and as Marguerite isn’t coming in this evening, I really need you on top form.’

It wasn’t my intention to mess up, but for some reason that evening, I couldn’t seem to get anything right. I muddled orders, spilt soup and even smashed a glass ahead of upsetting an entire bowl of ice.

‘Like I said earlier,’ Sam huffed, as I started scooping up the ice and mopping the floor so it wasn’t such a lethal trip hazard, ‘top form.’

My ineptitude did, however, make the conversation that I needed to have with my boss somewhat easier.

‘Have you got a minute?’ I asked, as the last customer left and Sam bolted the door.

‘I was going to ask you the same thing,’ he said, looking thoroughly fed up.

‘In that case, would it be all right if I spoke first? It would be nice to say my bit before you fire me.’

Sam didn’t appear surprised by what I had said and I guessed that either a sacking or an official warning had been heading my way. If he agreed to what I had in mind, it was going to be a novelty for me to leave a position under my own terms. Even if that was only by the skin of my teeth.

‘Go on then,’ he said, offering me a seat at the table closest to the bar, ‘let’s hear it.’

---