Free Best Laid Plans by Patricia Fawcett Page B

bits and pieces, and she could observe them together and come to her own conclusion.
    ‘I like your hair like that and it’s lovely to have you here, sweetheart, even if it’s only for a few days.’ She hoped that didn’t sound like a criticism but honestly you would have thought she could have got a few more days off as they hadn’t seen her since August, just before she met this man. She knew that it was partly their fault as she did not relish the trip down to Leeds. Amy’s flat was poky and they had to stay in a hotel and after a few days she was left with the distinct impression that their daughter would be glad to see the back of them as they were causing serious disruptions to her routine.
    ‘A few days off is the best I can manage,’ Amy said without a trace of regret or apology. ‘You’ve no idea how busy it is just now. We need our Christmas figures to be a big improvement on last year so it’s make or break time. It’s a tough business, Mum.’
    ‘I know.’ She very nearly said that perhaps it might have been easier if she had stuck to what she had known from childhood. Amy knew all there was to know about the removal business, had gone into the office with her dad when she was quite young to ‘learn the ropes’ because they had always known that getting Mike motivated would be a challenge.
    And so it had proved. Frank had come close to sacking him but she had persuaded him otherwise for how on earth could they live with themselves if they did that? As it was, his job description was vague in the extreme and the rest of the workforce did not know quite what to make of him, unsure if they should treat him as one of the lads or the boss-to-be?
    ‘Are you missing the office?’ Amy asked. ‘I was surprised when Dad said you had walked out on him.’
    ‘Did he tell you that?’ She knew that Frank rang Amy more than she did although he rarely bothered to tell her when he did so. ‘I didn’t walk out on him. What a daft thing to say. I’ve been threatening to do it for ages so it came as no surprise.’ She laughed. ‘I might have been only going in a couple of times a week but I suddenly realized I was working twice as hard as everybody else. I was just paid a token wage because I needed to be on the books.’
    ‘I told you that was a mistake. You should have paid yourself a proper salary, Mum, otherwise you’re just fooling around with the figures.’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘Is Shirley still bossing everybody about? Dad’s allowed that woman to get too big for her boots and I was never that impressed with her. She forgets things.’
    ‘Your father likes her and she’s been there for ever.’ She had to put a stop to this conversation as it was always difficult to talk about Shirley. She didn’t really believe Frank was having an affair but it wasn’t for want of Shirley trying. She was one of those women who enter a room bosom first. ‘I’ll leave you to unpack, darling. Come down when you’re ready.’
     
    Now, some time later as she brought a pot of coffee and mince pies through to the drawing room, the flakes were becoming bolder and starting to lie.
    Perfect. It was Christmas Eve and most people would now be where they needed to be so travel disruption wouldbe at a minimum. In any case, even though it was a selfish thought, her little family was safe so that was all that mattered.
    She looked happily around the room trying to visualize it through Brian’s eyes. It was difficult to achieve a cosy feel in a room this size and it was maybe a touch cluttered for the modern man but frankly she did not care. She loved it and that was all that mattered.
    ‘Look, it’s snowing,’ Amy said delightedly, turning to Brian who was sitting beside her on the sofa. ‘I love snow. One winter when we were little we made a snowman and it was so cold that he stayed out there for weeks.’
    ‘Days, sweetheart, don’t exaggerate.’ Frank was burrowing into the drinks cupboard. ‘We’ve got the