Free The Price of Love by Rosie Harris Page B

being on my own.’
    He looked so dejected that both Robert and Lucy magnanimously declared that they didn’t want to go to New Brighton.
    ‘If that was what we wanted to do, then we could have taken you with us,’ Robert pointed out. ‘In fact,’ he added, ‘why don’t we do that next Sunday? We can make a whole day of it, how about that?’
    ‘Do you think Patsy will come as well?’ Sam asked eagerly.
    ‘We can ask her, but she may already have something planned,’ Lucy sighed.

Chapter Eight
    Lucy found her life was increasingly frustrating. Sam’s leg was taking far longer to heal than had been expected. Also, when the wheelchair had toppled over, the impact of his hand with the pavement had torn the skin on his palm which was still thin and tender from the fire and an infection had set in. This not only caused him a great deal of pain but it also meant that he had to have fresh dressings on it every day for several weeks.
    For the first few weeks after the car accident, Miss Yorke had been understanding about letting Lucy have time off to take Sam to hospital but as the weeks extended into months she started to raise objections whenever Lucy asked and told her she would have to ask Mr Carter herself for permission.
    ‘Why don’t you ask Patsy to take a turn at taking Sam to the hospital?’ Robert suggested when Lucy mentioned the matter to him and said how curt Mr Carter had been.
    ‘What’s the good of asking Patsy when she always says that she can’t manage the wheelchair on her own and that she isn’t prepared to take the responsibility?’
    ‘Well, I can’t very well ask for time off; we’re far too busy,’ Robert protested.
    ‘Exactly, which means that I am the one who has to do it all the time,’ Lucy pointed out.
    Arranging to take Sam to hospital wasn’t Lucy’s only worry. It was now over five months since the accident and she was finding that her meagre wage was nowhere near enough to cover all their household bills.
    Night after night she found herself unable to sleep because she was trying to think of ways they could economise and worrying about how she was ever going to pay all their debts if they didn’t.
    Mr and Mrs Collins had not had any personal insurance so there was no compensation after the accident. They had been hardworking and practical but Lucy had been forced to use most of their savings to pay for the funeral. Now she was finding that dipping into what little there was left in order to pay the rent each week meant that she and Sam were rapidly becoming penniless.
    As well as that, because of all her other responsibilities, in addition to going to work each day, she was desperately tired. Often she felt either too exhausted or was too busy with household chores to take Sam out at the weekends. In desperation, she once again asked Patsy if she would be willing to do so.
    At first Patsy said that she was far too busy but when Lucy pressed her she reluctantly said that she’d take Sam out if Robert went with them in case she tipped the chair over again.
    ‘If Robert has to go with you, then he may as well be the one to take Sam out,’ Lucy grumbled. ‘I was hoping that if you could take Sam for a walk, it would give Robert a chance to do some of the odd jobs around our house that need attention and also give us some time together; I hardly ever see him alone these days,’ she added wistfully.
    ‘Sorry, Lucy, but the wheelchair is far too heavy for me to push,’ Patsy maintained with a dismissive little shrug.
    ‘Sam’s going to be very disappointed; he’s been looking forward to it,’ Lucy persisted. ‘He says he doesn’t see very much of you at all these days.’
    Patsy was adamant and, knowing how fed up Sam was with being on his own so much, Lucy finally agreed to her demands. At first Robert protested that he didn’t see that it was necessary but reluctantly he gave in rather than disappoint Sam.
    Once the routine was established Lucy couldn’t help