A Secret Schemer (11 page)

I hope so too…only time will
tell on that score.

Chapter 15

The next week was spent
organising the Christmas festivities, me and Jena had garnished the
bar and restaurant tastefully. We were serving Christmas lunches on
specific dates and the restaurant was always fully booked. I’d had
pocket diaries printed with the logo of the Frog and Toad enhanced
on the cover, we will start to hand these out on Christmas
lunchtime. Bands had been booked well in advance and Jena had
devised a quiz to be held during the party week, when the Christmas
raffle would be drawn. During this hectic time I hadn’t been out
with Tim again, to be perfectly honest there had been no time to
dwell on my liaison. Also there had been no further revelations
about Archie and Jodie, which was a relief. Possibly Andy had been
wrong when he thought he’d seen them together.

At last it was the morning of
December the twenty fourth, Christmas Eve, all the gang was
working. Kate was serving the last of the Christmas lunches, as I’d
given her Christmas Day and Boxing Day off to spend with her
family. Apart from Grace the rest of us would be working
throughout, although the bar will close at three o’clock on
Christmas afternoon giving everyone a free afternoon. Jena and Andy
were going to spend the rest of the day with his family and not
returning until the following lunch time. Lucas was staying at the
pub so Kate had left a chicken curry ready for anyone who was
hungry. I hadn’t managed to ask Tim if he’d made alternative plans,
so I was assuming he would stay and eat with me and Lucas. So
feeling reasonably sure all plans had been put in place I headed
down to the kitchen to begin a hectic day.

Much later that evening,
actually the early hours of Christmas Day I crawled into bed
totally bushed. All day and evening had been manic with meals,
music and merry making, whereby everybody seemed to have had fun.
Tim had left me suitably speechless when at lunch time he’d
announced that as I was working he’d be visiting his parents for a
couple of days. This had come as a bolt from the blue as I couldn’t
recall him speaking of his parents…obviously he had some? Perhaps
he felt a little in the way as I was committed to work…who knows.
Now far too knackered to think I drifted off into a dreamless
sleep.

As I slowly joined the land of
the living on Christmas morning, flashbacks from the previous day
sprung to mind, Tim had gone, nevertheless he’d left me a present
and a card in the lounge. As I’d been so busy I hadn’t had a chance
to return the favour, so he’d have to wait. Since it was already
eight o’clock I dashed into the bathroom for a quick shower, as I
had to sort yesterday’s takings out. Mary and Lucas were enjoying a
cuppa in the kitchen.

‘A Happy Christmas darling.’
Mary exclaimed cheerfully. ‘Sit yourself down and I’ll pour you a
cuppa.

Lucas pulled a chair out for
me. ‘Happy Christmas Lucy.’

‘Happy Christmas to you both,
early birds.’ I added. ‘Wow that was one busy day.’

‘It certainly was.’ Lucas
replied.

‘At least we don’t open until
noon and close at three, so a tad lighter today.’

‘Who’s on the bar Lucy I forgot
to check last night.’

‘You, me and Jayne, Archie’s
off until tomorrow, Mary why don’t you take tomorrow morning off
love?’ I suggest.

‘I wouldn’t dream of it girl,
I’m happy working.’ Mary added as she passed me a mug of steaming
tea. ‘Get that down you and I’ll cook you and Lucas a decent
breakfast.’

‘You’re an angel Mary.’ Lucas
adds smiling.

‘I’ll second that.’

‘Can I do anything to help you
Lucy?’ Lucas offers.

‘No I’m going to sort the
takings out, you’ll have plenty to do in the bar and cellar.’

‘Hey I can multi task you
know.’ He grinned mischievously.

‘Well that’s a first eh Mary?’
I laugh.

‘Oh he’s a good’en girl.’

‘Hold on Mary you’ll have me
blushing.’ He quipped.

The Christmas lunchtime bar
proved to be exceptionally busy; in fact the volume of punters
actually exceeded those from Christmas Eve. Me, Lucas and Jayne
served unceasingly, plus handing out the free diaries until three
o’clock. The punters were dragging their feet, no one seemed to be
in a hurry to leave, by the time the doors were locked it was
almost four o’clock.

‘I’ll finish clearing up in
here Lucy.’ Lucas offered.

‘OK then I’ll lay a table and
heat up the curry, bring a bottle of wine in Lucas it is Christmas
Day.’

Me and Lucas shared the bottle
of wine with our curry and even indulged in chocolate fudge cake
and cream for dessert.

‘Will you be going out this
evening Lucas.’

‘No Lucy I guess I’ll watch TV
or read a book, how about you?’

‘I’ll be staying in also, Tim’s
gone to visit his parents and Jena and Andy are away until
tomorrow, so looks like TV for me as well, how about another glass
of wine?’

‘That sounds good to me.’ He
replies heartily.

As we sip our wine I attempt to
try and get Lucas to open up, he is such an enigma. ‘Is there
somewhere you’d like to be today Lucas?’ I ask tentatively.

‘No not anymore Lucy, I suppose
I’d class myself as a free spirit now.’

The last thing I want to do is
cross the line with Lucas, if he wants to open up he will, I just
want him to know he has a friend in me if he wants to share his
plight. Because as sure as eggs are eggs he certainly has one. ‘Hey
you know if you ever want a shoulder I’m always here.’

‘You must think I’m an
irregular kind of guy, who is contented to work and stay
indoors.’

‘Not at all Lucas, what ever
floats your boat? However I just want to endorse that you have a
friend here that you can trust.’

‘I’ve come to realise that
since I’ve worked with you Lucy, although I’m sure you have better
things to do than listen to my life stories on Christmas Day.’

‘We have a bottle of wine, no
more work today, so what better time than to share our
stories.’

Breaking the silence at last
Lucas cleared his throat. ‘I was in a relationship until almost a
year ago; I’d known Helen for a couple of years before we set up
home together. We had made long term plans and decided to marry and
have kids, so primarily the relationship was serious. The whole
shebang was going well, then Helen became pregnant, after a long
discussion we decided to postpone the wedding until after the baby
was born. For reasons that still baffle me, she became rather
introverted, knowing very little about pregnancy I put it down to
her hormones. When she was almost three months pregnant I had to go
away on a course in the midlands for ten days. I rang her each day
on my mobile and she didn’t pick up once, so I sent her text
messages on the night before I was due to go home, she sent me a
message to say she’d be staying at her mothers. This was very
strange as her mother lives in the West Country. All was made
abundantly clear when I arrived at our flat, she’d left a letter,
very short, curt and definitely to the point. I quote ‘I’m sorry
had to tell you, the baby isn’t yours, staying at my mothers, don’t
contact me.’ To say I was gobsmacked would be an understatement; my
whole world had suddenly been blown apart.’

‘Wow that is some story, I’m so
sorry…. did you ever discover the truth?’

‘Oh eventually yes, like most
things it all comes out in the wash so to speak. Apparently Helen
had been seeing one of my mates (who just happened to work with me)
during the last year of our relationship, and he’s the father of
her child. They are now married and have a daughter so that’s my
story in a nutshell Lucy.’

‘Would it be fair to ask how
you are now?’

‘Pretty good Lucy; though it
will take a lot to ever trust again, I must admit working here is
helping enormously.’

‘I’m pleased to hear that
Lucas, come on let’s top these glasses up.’

‘Now it’s time for you to share
your secrets I believe.’ Lucas declares.

‘Not a great deal to share, a
few shall we say flings, nothing serious. This is my first tenancy
although my third pub, I believe people see me as a workaholic (far
better than the alkie type I guess) a dedicated career girl.
Marriage and children have never been on the cards for me.’ I say
honestly.

‘You’re certainly committed I
envy your dedication, so where does Tim fit into your life?’ Lucas
asks tentatively.

As I once again top our glasses
up with the remainder of the wine, I reply thoughtfully. ‘There’s a
bit of a tale to this, I’m sure Jena won’t mind me telling you, she
met Andy on a dating site and encouraged me to give it a try, hence
that’s how I met Tim. So to answer your question honestly, I’m a
tad perplexed by it all. As you’ve witnessed during your time here
I’ve been totally absorbed with the pub opening and all the
relevant ‘nuts and bolts’ linked to the same.’ I state with
ease.

‘I hope it works out well for
you both anyway Lucy.’

Several times during today I’ve
thought about the card and present that Tim said he’d left for me,
nevertheless I felt it would be rather heartless to open presents
in front of Lucas, so I’ll save that little treat for when I go up
to bed.

‘So how shall we spend the rest
of the evening, any ideas?’ I ask confidently.

‘TV perhaps or a movie.’ Lucas
suggests.

‘I have a better idea, how’s
your spelling?’ I laugh.

‘Mm I’m fine if I break the
words down in syllables.’

‘That good, then scrabble it is
Mr Carr, I’ll be back in a jiff.’

We spent the next couple of
hours playing scrabble and of course drinking wine, we made up
words that were definitely not included in the Oxford dictionary.
Mind you they will possibly be entered in the next edition, as
youngsters have a lingo of their own so why shouldn’t we. By ten
thirty we had laughed so much and the third bottle of wine being
empty… we high fived and concluded it was time to hit the sack.

‘Thanks for a really fun
evening Lucy it’s been great, you go on up and I’ll put the alarms
on.’

‘Cheers Lucas it’s been my
pleasure, a delightful evening, see you in the morning.’

Up in the flat I find the
present and card that Tim had left me, like a child on her first
Christmas I unwrapped the parcel to discover a pretty red negligee,
inside the card Tim had written ‘Can’t wait to see you in this,’
with love. How sweet, what a pity he wasn’t with me now.

Slipping into bed I reflected
on the day, feeling a pleasant sense of contentment that I had
cheered Lucas’s Christmas, as he must feel dreadfully lonely at
times. Within seconds I had drifted into a deep and dreamless
sleep…

I woke to the sound of teaming
rain, as I gathered my thoughts I picked up my mobile and sent a
text message to Jena telling her to stay until tomorrow morning.
There were plenty of staff for today and no food to worry about, so
to give Jena and Andy another day to them selves seemed like an
excellent idea. Archie would be back in today, plus Lucas, Jayne
and me, more than enough especially in this weather. As it was
eight o’clock I dressed quickly and headed down to the office to
sort out yesterday’s takings. This is becoming a regular habit
leaving the cash and paperwork until the morning, what the heck
it’s only me who has to cope. As always Mary and Lucas were
enjoying a cuppa at the kitchen table. ‘Good Morning guys what
lovely weather.’ I say shakily.

‘Hello Lucy let me pour you a
drink love, you look frozen.’ Mary said as she grasped the
teapot.

‘Did you sleep well Lucy?’
Lucas enquired.

‘I slept like a log, how about
you Lucas?’

‘Like a baby.’

‘What time’s Jena coming back
today love?’ Mary asks.

‘I’ve told them to take another
day Mary, there are four of us in today so we can manage, plus
there’s no food on.’

‘Good idea it’ll give them a
bit of time with Andy’s folks.’

‘With the weather as it is I’m
not expecting a great turn out today.’ I add.

‘Maybe quieter at lunch time
Lucy but tonight they’ll be ready for a pint.’ Lucas laughs.

‘Now you enjoy your tea you two
and I’ll get breakfast underway.’ Mary added happily as she went
over to the fridge.

‘I won’t argue with that Mary
you spoil us, I’ll take my tea in the office if you give me a call
when it’s ready please.’

Checking my mobile I notice I
have two messages, the first one from Jena thanking me for the
extra day with many smiley faces included. The second one is from
Tim to say he’s back, and could I sneak up to see him later for at
least an hour….Well there’s a turn up for the books evidently I’ve
been missed. He certainly must slip in the back door very quietly
and nip upstairs, I really wish he’d come into the kitchen just to
say hello would be nice. Nevertheless I wasn’t expecting him back
until tomorrow, so that’s a bonus.

As me, Lucas and Mary were
enjoying breakfast, the back door swung open and Kate appeared
looking wet and bedraggled. I could tell instantly that something
was wrong so I jumped up and helped her off with her coat.

Between sobs I managed to
unravel her muttered words that Jodie hadn’t come home last night
and she’d heard nothing from her since….

Chapter 16

Within seconds of Kate
arriving, the kitchen door burst open again and Archie made his
entrance resembling a rather drowned rat. After hastily hanging his
coat up he headed towards the bar saying, ‘Hi all I’d better start
bottling up.’ In a flash he was leaving the kitchen.