Back to Bristol Ch. 11

I looked at her for a long pause, "I'm not going to get away with it, am I?"

Carole looked straight into my eyes, and her eyes were sympathetic, "Yes you can. If you want to get away with it, then I won't press you. But if you'd like to talk...."

I thought about it for quite a long pause, then I smiled, "OK. Get the canteen to send up a tray for two. It might do me some good to try and put it into some form of logical order. It's all going around and around in my head, and every one I talk to about it already knows the story, so I haven't actually worked through it as one whole story."

And that's what we did. Sitting in my office, I talked and Carole listened. It took me almost an hour to get through the whole thing. Carole only asked questions when she didn't understand and she made no comment.

At the end, I paused. "Well, you must admit that's as good as any of your soap operas."

She ignored that, "What are you going to do?"

"I hoped that you'd tell me."

"I can understand why you need some time to think it all through. For every thought I have there is an equal and opposite thought in the other direction. That Susan's a piece of work though, isn't she?"

"Well, the real question is: How much did she actually influence Molly. Molly did a terrible thing in marrying Peter, but how much was she sort of brainwashed into doing it?"

"I can't answer that. I can imagine that Susan was driven with selfish maternal instincts. I've felt them myself."

I waited.

"When the twins were sixteen, seventeen, eighteen and still at school, there was a whole bunch of them, girls and boys, and they seemed to use our house as their base. And, of course, they would pair off and have dates. I loved that time, the house was always full of noise and young people. And the girlfriend-boyfriend thing was just young love. Now they're at university, and they bring home serious girlfriends. Young ladies who are going to take my sons away. And if they don't, then another one will come along and do so. It takes all my resolve to welcome those girls into my home, and my first thought is where are they from, where will they take him off to. It would be easy to let those emotions slip into something sick and damaging. I guess that's what she did. But she was so wrong, very wrong. In the end, what she did was hurt her own child, and no mother can be forgiven for doing that."

I listened, I guessed there was some truth in what she said, "I'm sure your twins will marry nice girls, and you'll have a great relationship with them."

She smiled, "Oh, I'm sure they will, and I'm sure I'll love the girls who win their hearts. But I know I will worry, and have to keep an eye on myself at the beginning. It's a whole new relationship to learn, and that can be hard."

We paused and there was a thoughtful silence between us, until Carole summed up, "Susan was wrong, but I don't really know what to say about the rest of it."

"Nor do I." I said, smiling and standing up, "And in the meantime, we have a company to run."

On the Wednesday evening, Molly phoned to say that she'd called the solicitor, but the earliest that she could have an appointment was last thing on Thursday afternoon. And she told me, that as Jamie's birthday was on Tuesday, and Mum and Len were going to be up in Newcastle with Brian by then, it had been decided to give him a family birthday tea at Susan and Ralph's house on Friday afternoon. I told her I wouldn't be able to make it in the afternoon, but she seemed OK with that, and I agreed to get there as soon as I could after work.

On Thursday I had a good morning down in Exeter. That place still impressed me, and over a working lunch with Stephen Hobbs, he was telling me of the business they had had to turn down from old clients after the takeover by TDF. As I'd predicted to Carole, I was back in my own office by four.

At about five o'clock Piers came through my office door, "Ta-Raaaa!" He stood just inside my office with his hands held high in triumph.

I was sitting in my comfortable easy chair, reading some papers, and I just looked at him.

"You are looking at the greatest grandfather ever of the greatest grandson ever!"

"Congratulations! What's his name and congratulations to Jeanette and Ester."

He made his face fall, but he couldn't keep the smile off it really, "Edward. Of all bloody names. I ask you? Edward!"

"Edward's not bad. Ed, Teddy, Eddy. No, it's OK. More than OK. What's wrong with it?"

"Longshanks? Edward I? You must have at least seen Braveheart. Now what decent Scot would have his grandson called Edward?"

"I suspect you will survive the scorn and damnation that will fall upon your family."

He smiled, or more accurately, he continued to smile. He sat down opposite me, "Anyway, you wanted me?"

"Only briefly. A word to the wise and all that. How's Peter working these days?"

"OK. He isn't sparkling, he spends most of his time in his office. I've noticed he isn't particularly sociable, but he's OK as far as work is concerned. Why?"

"I just got whiff of a rumour that some of the team think that he's not playing as much of a part as he should be. That's all. I thought I would pass it on."

Piers sighed. "Bugger!" he looked at me, "OK. I'll have a word. It might be partly my fault. I haven't been too sociable to him lately either. I just feel that he possibly brought some of his problems onto himself. But maybe I should give him a little more of my time to kick him into a bit more action at work."

I smiled, mainly to myself, "I'm pretty certain that he brought it on himself."

"Why? What's happened?"

I glanced at my watch and then at my whisky decanter. I knew he followed my eyes. "I think you'd better see me as a fucking bastard, in fact quite a big fucking bastard to tell you all that. And it's a bit early."

Piers considered things, "What are you doing this evening?"

"Nothing, why?"

"Well, Edward has a very dry head, which needs wetting. And if you've been a fucking bastard.... Well, I know this pub in Bath, surprisingly not far from my flat actually, that has the best range of malt whiskies that I know of around here, and haggis is always on their menu. And Jeanette is up in London, cooing and clucking and practicing being a grandmother. So I'm a bachelor..."

"I shouldn't. I'd like to, but I couldn't do that and drive home."

"Get a taxi."

I called out for Carole and as she came into the room I asked, "Do you think you could book me a car to pick me up at my place at about seven thirty say. And take me to the Doc's place in Bath. And then bring me back at ..." I looked at Piers, "...eleven thirty, say. This evening."

"Of course, think it done. Congratulations, Doctor. Isn't he a bit early?"

Piers turned to Carole, "A couple of weeks, but everything's fine. He just felt like surprising us."

I thought: Carole has a database mind for everyone in this company apparently.

Piers left after that, and I went on reading and making notes.

When Carole was leaving she put her head around my office door, "I'll have the Alka Seltzer ready in the morning."

"I hope it won't be that heavy. But, the way I feel, it might just..."

"It'll do you good. Goodnight. See you in the morning."