Page 67 of Atticus Arnott's Great Adventure
‘I don’t care what Mungo thinks,’ Atticus said.
‘Aye, you say that now, but he is family after all,’ Cheryl warned. ‘Tread carefully, that’s all I’m saying.’
Atticus was about to make more coffee when Erik appeared. He’d been on his usual morning run and was wearing jogging gear, with a towel resting on his athletic shoulders.
‘Hey, Lover Boy!’ Erik called out. ‘How was your date?’
Erik leaned in to kiss Cheryl as Ness rolled over and held up a paw. With a smile, Erik rubbed the dog’s tummy and then pulled up a chair.
Atticus wondered if the whole campsite would be stopping by to check on his love life, and seeing Erik make himself comfortable, he knew that the question couldn’t beavoided.
‘Coffee?’ Atticus asked.
‘Strong and black, just like me,’ Erik replied, giving Cheryl a wink. ‘Now let’s hear all about it…’
In the office at Barn Hill Farm, Mungo stared at the Instagram account on his phone. The Travelling Grandad had clocked up considerably more followers – now over fifteen thousand. By the looks of things, comments were coming in thick and fast as the latest posts went viral.
‘More from the Costas?’ Ali cheerfully asked as she sat at her desk and watched her boss’s expression change from curiosity to astonishment, then anger.
‘I can’t believe it,’ Mungo said and shook his head, his eyes never leaving the screen. ‘He’s dining out with a woman and has posted a dozen selfie photos of a blonde sharing a bowl of mussels. He’s even recorded a video of the two of them paddling in the sea.’
‘Sounds like he’s having a great time,’ Ali commented, thinking that heading to Spain was the best possible move Atticus could have made. She wouldn’t mind a bit of sun, sea, and whatever else Atticus was having.
‘He’s making a complete fool of himself,’ Mungo said, slamming the phone down. ‘This woman looks years younger and is bound to be after his money. Why on earth would she have reason to be with him?’
‘To enjoy his company?’ Ali asked, silently thinking that if an attractive silver fox like Atticus wanted to spendtime with this woman, she would have to be insane or blind to turn him down.
But Mungo ignored the comment. ‘God knows where he’s picked her up from. I can’t imagine what my mother would think.’
Ali was about to say Clara was probably punching the air with delight but knew that would only infuriate her boss. ‘Maybe you should stop following him for a while?’ Ali suggested.
‘And see our inheritance whistle into a Spanish wind with some woman he’s only known for five minutes?’
Ali stared at Mungo, who was immersed again in the images on his phone.So that was what it was all about…she thought. Mungo was worried about his inheritance. It wasn’t the thought of his father enjoying himself so much as the possibility that Atticus might meet someone, fall in love, and even remarry.
Ali smiled. Stranger things have happened, and folk who find themselves single in the later years of their lives are often lonely and want to find a partner to share the final chapter. Being aware of the legalities surrounding the Arnott family, Ali knew that Atticus’s name was on the business alongside Mungo and Mary, which encompassed the whole farm. If Atticus died, everything would go to his children, but if Atticus remarried, Ali knew that his share, by law, would go to his wife unless they had a premarital agreement. There was no current clause in the will to stop this, as no one ever envisaged Atticus remarrying.
Ali swivelled in her chair and turnedto face her computer. Mungo was still cursing his father, and Ali wondered why offspring never saw their parents as the rest of the world saw them. Mungo was preoccupied with his own life and business, and Ali knew that he thought Atticus was old, uninterested in their lives, and now, an embarrassment.
Over time, through conversations with Helen over coffee in the village or during evenings at the local Women’s Institute, Ali had come to understand the depth of Atticus’s devotion. Helen spoke of her father-in-law with fondness and admiration, knowing how tirelessly he must have worked to provide for his family and ensure they had a comfortable home and a good education. Ali wondered if Mungo ever thought of the grief that consumed Atticus when Clara died, and the unbearable loss when he parted with his precious herd.
What a shame Mungo doesn’t stop and smell the roses, she thought. Only then would he see that his dad was happy, not a burden to his family, and enjoying his life for the first time in years.
The phone suddenly rang, and Ali picked it up. ‘Barn Hill Farm, Ali speaking. How may I help you?’ she said. But as she half-listened to the caller, she reached for a pen and made a note on her pad:
Open Instagram account today & follow The Travelling Grandad.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Three weeks had passed since Mary learnt the truth about Conor and his relationship with Lucinda. Three nightmare weeks, where Mary barely knew one day from another as she struggled to come to terms with her husband’s infidelity while caring for her children.
Initially, after the office incident, Conor didn’t come home. He’d told Mary to tell the children he was on a business trip, adding that he needed time to ‘sort his head out’.
Mary thought that a good punch in the jaw might make Conor see some sense, but with his refusal to take her calls, she was at a loss as to what to do. When he returned a week later, he moved into the spare bedroom and wouldn’t entertain any conversation with Mary – not even in whispers behind closed doors.
‘You have to let me come to terms with things while I decide what I want,’ Conor selfishly told her as they crept around the children, each trying to mask their feelings and not cause concern.
‘You’ve had three bloody weeks!’ Mary retorted. ‘If you don’t sort yourself out soon, I’ll sit the kids down and tell them we’re divorcing.’
