Tomorrow's Promise

by Gillian Villiers

  ‘Hello, darling, is it that time already?’

  ‘What on earth are you doing?’ said Lara, forgetting to be polite.

  ‘I thought I’d have a go at this gate. I hope you don’t mind? Alex had done the sanding but she was a bit nervous about trying to paint it. And I quite enjoy a bit of fiddly painting myself, so …’

  ‘You do?’ said Lara faintly. This was a completely different side to her mother! True, they had got along well during the week, and Lara had begun to hope they might be able to build a better relationship. But for her mum to put herself out, to be willing to get messy painting that intricate metalwork, that was completely unexpected. Lara had been sure it would be difficult and no matter what her mother said she couldn’t believe was fun. And yet Elizabeth had done it, and done it well.

  ‘I hope I haven’t done the wrong thing?’ said her mother, putting down her paintbrush. ‘Is it not the right colour? Or did you want to do it yourself? I’ve tried to be careful but …’

  ‘I was dreading doing it, and so was Alex. You’re amazing.’

  Elizabeth’s cheeks, already a little pink from the effort of getting to her feet, darkened even more. ‘Do you think so? Oh Lara, I’m so glad.’

  Lara moved around so she could view the gate from both sides. ‘It looks even better than I imagined. I knew it was something special, but it had got so horribly rusty.’

  ‘It had, hadn’t it? And now it’s coming up so nicely, just like the rest of the house. Thanks to you and Alex.’

  ‘And to you.’ Before Lara even realised what she was doing she found herself hugging Elizabeth. Her mother hugged her tightly back.

  Lara was going to miss her mother. But at least she was only going to Devon this time. Compared to Dubai, that was no distance at all.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Lara wished she wasn’t such a fool. She had known getting involved with Mick was a bad idea, and it clearly was: look how he had backed off after the asbestos fiasco. Probably for him it was fine to switch from friendship, to kisses, then back to friendship, but that wasn’t her way. She knew, now, that it wasn’t her way. Her other relationships hadn’t worked out because she hadn’t cared enough. Maybe she had even chosen the men in question because she knew she would never care enough.

  With Mick it was different. With Mick she was afraid she could care too much. He had never intimated he was looking for a long-term relationship. Hadn’t he said he wasn’t serious like her? She gave a little shrug as she thought of his words. Fool that she was. Men like Mick were not for her. She should never have allowed herself to get involved, or at least have ended it after that first date, but her courage had failed her. Strange. She was usually good at ending things.

  Over a meal the day after Elizabeth left, Mick said, ‘Did you hear that Mark Frazer is retiring? Sandy Woods told me this afternoon. Bit of a surprise, I thought he was one of those who would stay until he dropped.’

  Lara turned. ‘So it’s definite, then?’ Then she caught the expression on Mick’s face and wished she had held her tongue. Mr McIntyre had asked her not to mention Mark’s possible retirement to anyone and she had been more than happy to keep quiet about it. ‘I mean, is he really?’

  ‘You knew, didn’t you?’ Mick frowned. ‘But you didn’t think to tell me.’

  ‘It wasn’t definite so I couldn’t say anything.’

  Mick’s friendly tone was suddenly gone. For a reason Lara couldn’t fathom he seemed put out. ‘So you’re thinking of going for the job yourself, are you? Goodness. Sandy implied as much but I said you wouldn’t be interested.’

  Lara shrugged uneasily. ‘Mr McIntyre mentioned something but …’

  ‘He wants you to go for the promotion? No wonder you don’t want to get into his bad books. Always the good girl, aren’t you?’

  ‘Mick, what’s the problem? I’m sorry I didn’t mention Mark leaving, but I didn’t think it was a big thing. And whether I go for promotion or not is up to me, isn’t it?’ Her heart sank as she said the words. She’d told Mr McIntyre she wasn’t interested and that was the truth, but now Mick seemed to be holding it against her and it was really nothing to do with him. She would make up her own mind.

  ‘Yes, of course, it’s up to you,’ said Mick, putting down his mug with a bang. ‘Just like everything else in your life. I think I’ll go out and see Steve.’ He strode out the front door without another word.

  Alex met Lara’s eyes but fortunately refrained from comment. Lara really didn’t understand Mick. The sooner Ladybank Row was ready the better.

  Lara headed over to Ladybank Row straight after school. Normally she worked much later, but it was the last week of term and even she couldn’t find much to do in the way of marking or preparation. She didn’t want to go home and face Mick, who was still being very aloof. So Ladybank Row it was.

  As ever, her spirits lifted as she turned into the little cul-de-sac. She had thought she might tire of the funny little houses and all the hard work they entailed, but so far she hadn’t. She loved them as much as ever. For themselves and for the good influence they were having on Alex. It was wonderful to see her friend getting back her zest for life. It wasn’t just the weight loss, it was the liveliness that had returned to her expression, the genuine bounce in her step.

  Lara wandered in through the open door of Number One calling, ‘Coo-ee, it’s me. Where are you, Alex? Alex!’

  ‘Upstairs. Come and see.’

  The cheery tone of Alex’s voice made Lara smile all the more. She took the stairs two at a time and joined her friend in the large front bedroom.

  ‘Wow!’ The plasterers had been and instead of tatty, uneven walls there was now an expanse of smooth grey. The joiner had fitted new windows the previous week and it was really starting to look like a proper house. ‘This is brilliant.’

  ‘Isn’t it? They did all the upstairs rooms today. And wait till you see the bathroom. The new bath has been fitted and …’

  Alex paused as they both listened. A vehicle was drawing up outside. They frowned at each other.

  ‘Who can that be?’ said Lara. ‘Are we expecting anyone?’

  ‘Not as far as I know.’

  They heard the heavy footsteps of a man approaching the house.

  ‘Better go and see,’ said Lara, feeling unaccountably nervous.

  She was right to be nervous. Their visitor was none other than Ed McAnulty. She had bested him in their last encounter, but she was still wary of him.

  ‘What do you want?’ she said.

  Alex shot her a disapproving look. Their school had put a lot of emphasis on good manners. ‘Hello there. Can we help you?’

  Ed stuck out a large hand. ‘I’m Ed McAnulty. How do you do? I don’t think we’ve ever been introduced, but I presume you are Alex? Lara I know, of course.’

  Lara stayed a step behind Alex, studying the man suspiciously. He wore jeans and a rugby jersey and was not so intimidating as in his suit, but he was still very large.

  ‘Pleased to meet you,’ said Alex politely.

  The man took a deep breath and Lara prepared herself for bad news or another threat. He said, ‘I’ve come to apologise. Causing you problems with the asbestos was absolutely wrong of me. I don’t know what I was thinking of.’

  ‘Scaring us off so we’d sell to you?’ said Lara, glaring.

  The man’s expression darkened by he continued. ‘I hope everything has been sorted out now? I know you’ve been making progress, having plasterers here and so on.’

  Lara supposed she shouldn’t be surprised her knew what was going on. Loreburn was a small town and if anyone had their ear to the ground it was Ed McAnulty.

  Alex waited for Lara to reply but when she didn’t, Alex said in her soft voice, ‘Yes, thank you, things are going well. Would you like to have a look around?’

  Lara opened her mouth to withdraw the offer but Ed was smiling, his whole face suddenly much more pleasant. ‘That’s very kind, if you wouldn’t mind? Pe
rhaps I could offer a word of two of advice? Not that I want to interfere …’

  Lara tailed along behind them. She supposed it was good of Ed to come and apologise. And he did have one or two useful suggestions, not that she was going to let him know she thought so. She allowed Alex to do the talking, and was proud of her friend for handling the visitor so well. Her quiet voice and gentle manner seemed to bring out the best in Ed.

  When he finally took his leave Lara said, ‘What was all that about?’

  ‘He probably just realised how much harm he could have done. It’s good of him to come and own up, say he’s sorry. He seems a nice man, really.’

  Lara wouldn’t have gone so far as to say that, but it was good to know they no longer had an enemy in the town.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The weather, which had been changeable during the last week of term, cheered up now the holidays had finally started. Today was the first day of Mick’s football tournament. There was a soft breeze and the sunshine was warm as he walked the fields, checking the condition of the pitches. Nobody else had turned up yet.

  He groaned inwardly, wondering if the whole event was going to prove a huge mistake. What hope did he have of putting on a decent show with these kids? He had invited teams from as far away as Ayr and Kilmarnock, not to mention their local rivals, Stranraer. They would expect the tournament to be properly organised, which was never Mick’s strong point. And they’d expect a decent standard of football – and behaviour. Neither of which he could guarantee.

  The first person to appear was Steve, closely followed by Ryan. They were thirty minutes late, but Mick was just relieved they had turned up, especially Ryan.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ he said to the boy, seeing the tense expression on his thin face. It made his spots stand out all the more.

  ‘Nothing. ’S fine.’

  ‘Nice to see they’re as enthusiastic as ever,’ said Steve, rubbing his chin. ‘You sure the rest of them are going to show up?’

  ‘They’d better. In fact, here are a couple now. Can you get them to put up the nets? I’ll go and find the footballs.’

  ‘Whatever you say, boss.’

  For the next hour Mick was too busy to worry, which was always the best way. He smiled to himself at the smart cars which brought the visiting boys. The Kilmarnock team had even found enough money to book themselves a bus. Or maybe their local council was supportive? Lara kept saying that there was money there to be tapped into, if you just knew how to get it. Perhaps he would take her advice and look into it when the new term started.

  But thinking of Lara just depressed him. Every time he felt he was getting close to her she seemed to slip away. Look how she hadn’t even told him about the head of Humanities post. It just showed she didn’t really want to admit him into her life. Getting annoyed with her wasn’t going to change that, but at the time he hadn’t been able to help himself.

  His team looked almost smart in their yellow and green strip. There was an air of pride in the lads as they ran out, self-conscious before the crowd who had drifted in to watch. When he announced Ryan as captain he took the increased pallor of the boy’s face as a sign of pleasure.

  ‘Just make sure you win, OK?’ he said, to hide the emotion he felt himself.

  The first match was a disaster, losing four-to-one to Stranraer. But after that the boys seemed to wake up and start taking things seriously. The second match was a goal-less draw. In the next match it was one-all at half time and the few spectators who had wandered up were starting to get enthusiastic. Ryan made one of those darting runs from midfield that Mick liked to think he was himself famous for. Dinking around the opposing defence, he didn’t even pause before taking his shot from the left hand corner of the box. He didn’t score, but the move rallied his team and had Mick and Steve shouting themselves hoarse from the sidelines.

  Five minutes from time it was still one-all and Mick was beginning to despair. If they could just win this one, they might make the semi-final. The team from Ayr were clearly going to win the tournament but Mick didn’t mind, he just wanted his lads to do well, to have something to be proud of.

  Ryan began a move forward again. He passed to Kyle and then ran the length of the pitch and was ready for the return. He was so quick he had left the opposition standing and now he had the chance to take a second touch, see where the goalie was and thump it into the far corner of the net. The keeper actually got fingertips to it and for a moment Mick thought he’d kept it out, but he fumbled and the ball bounced over the line. Yes! Two-one with a minute to go. When the final whistle blew his team went crazy and Mick was nearly as bad.

  His boys lost the semi-final resoundingly, but Mick didn’t care. They were chuffed with themselves for winning a game, and only one boy had been red-carded. Pretty good going, as far as Mick was concerned.

  ‘You did all right,’ he said to Ryan, cuffing him on the head. ‘Now make sure you all stay for the final, OK? It’s good to watch other players. There might be something for you all at the end of it.’

  There was a break for lunch before the other semi-final and then the final. The boys were supposed to have brought packed lunches with them but most of them disappeared to the corner shop where Mick suspected they indulged in nothing more healthy than chocolate bars and coke. At least most of them reappeared again.

  And then, just when he’d stopped looking out for her, because she’d only said she might come by, Lara turned up. She looked cool and beautiful as ever in white jeans and a short-sleeved T-shirt. He knew she had been working at Ladybank Row all morning, but her hair was smooth and glossy, her whole demeanour calm and controlled. That was what he loved so much about her – this ability to be understated, and yet beautiful. His spirits lifted another notch.

  He gave Lara a hug, which seemed to surprise her. She pulled herself gently away.

  ‘You look gorgeous,’ he said.

  ‘Haven’t you got things you should be doing?’ taking another step back.

  ‘This is my match off. Steve is taking my place as ref and I’m going to scout around and see what the standard is really like. Will you come with me?’

  She hesitated, then nodded. ‘As long as you don’t expect an informed opinion.’

  Mick liked the way people looked at him when he was with Lara. There was admiration and just a little envy. She was someone you could be proud to be seen with, even if she was walking too far away from him to catch her hand. He was delighted she had made the effort to come and see him here. He had to spend time glad-handing the other coaches, and keeping an eye on his boys, but he was aware of her in the background. It made the whole day seem more worthwhile than ever.

  Lara wished she hadn’t gone to see the football tournament. It made her realise all over again what it was that so impressed her about Mick. His way with the youngsters, his persistence, his competence. Everyone looked up to him, even the other coaches had seemed impressed, but he never seemed conscious of it, was never arrogant. He had seemed pleased that she had turned up, which confused her all over again.

  One good thing came from the tournament. Mick’s football group were keen to do more training, buoyed up by their performance. This meant he was out of the house most evenings. Lara spent her days at Ladybank Row and although she couldn’t actually ban him from accompanying her she did try to point out that this was their project, not his, and he had seemed to get the message.

  Or so she had thought, until the Thursday after the tournament when she was happily noting progress on the installation of the central heating. A thud of footsteps below alerted her to a new presence and a moment later Mick appeared at the top of the stairs, jogging up as effortlessly as though he had not just run across town. He looked as fit and scruffy and handsome as ever.

  Lara gave him a small smile. ‘Hi there.’ He was probably at a loose end, that was why he had come.

  ‘Hi yourself. Everything OK?’

  ‘Yes, of course. I didn’t expect to see you here to
day.’ That didn’t sound very welcoming so she added, ‘We’re getting on really well. Ryan’s around somewhere if you want to see him.’

  ‘It’s not Ryan I came to visit.’ He smiled at her, green eyes twinkling, and she looked quickly away.

  ‘Coffee?’ she said, before he could say anything else.

  They went down to the kitchen, empty save for the new sink and a stack of units waiting to be fitted. Lara set about making coffee for themselves and the plumbers, who had now moved to start work in Number Two.

  ‘Do you want to go out somewhere tonight?’ Mick said as he poured milk into each mug. ‘We can ask Alex if you want. Steve might come along if he’s free.’

  ‘Mmm. I’ll just take these next door.’ Lara purposely didn’t say what her plans were for that evening and when she returned he seemed to have dropped the topic.

  ‘Anything I can do to help out?’

  ‘No, no,’ she said quickly. ‘We’re getting on fine. I’m sure you’ve got other things to do.’

  ‘Seems like the only way to see you is to hang around here,’ he said, smiling that smile.

  She found herself weakening and agreeing that he should stay. They worked amicably for the rest of the morning, painting the newly plastered walls in the main bedroom. It gave Lara a great sense of satisfaction to see the way the house was coming together. And she had to admit that Mick was a good person to work with, thorough and not too chatty.

  ‘I’m going over to see my parents on Saturday,’ he said suddenly. ‘I don’t suppose you’d consider coming with me?’

  ‘No. No, I don’t think so,’ said Lara. That had come completely out of the blue. Why would he want her to meet his parents when they weren’t even going out?

  ‘Why not?’ he said bluntly.