Star Sullivan by Maeve Binchy Read Free Book Online

you’d like to stay for a bit, Star, we’re in no hurry. I didn’t know there was going to be a party to drag you away from.’
    ‘Star knew, she’s known for two weeks,’ Laddy said.
    ‘So what about –?’ Kenny began, eager to please, to be polite.
    ‘What about leaving now, Kenny?’ Star said, in a voice so unlike her usual tones that everyone looked up. And they went out to the car, carrying her picnic basket and looking just like a picture.
    Laddy stood at the gate, holding the two chairs, and watched them drive off. Kenny could see him in the driving mirror, still watching.
    ‘That’s the boy next door, then,’ he said eventually.
    ‘Laddy Hale,’ Star said.
    ‘Yes, well, he didn’t introduce himself. Nice guy, is he?’
    ‘Not really.’ Star spoke slowly. ‘No, not a nice guy, unreliable as anything.’
    ‘But very keen on you,’ Kenny said.
    Star laughed aloud. ‘If only you knew! Not keen on me at all. Hardly notices me in fact, but very keen on himself and the effect he has on people. That’s Laddy for you!’
    ‘Sorry to disagree with you, Star, but he hated seeing you come away with me. Hated it, I tell you.’
    ‘Good,’ said Star, pleased, and settled back in her seat.

CHAPTER SIX
     
    T HE PICNIC HAD SEEMED endless. Star thought that it would never be time to go home.
    Kenny had been so nice. He asked nothing more about Laddy, instead he talked about the supermarket and how wonderful Star had been with the disturbed customer. Even the General Manager had heard, Kenny reported back. Much praise had been directed towards Miss Sullivan in bakery and confectionery. If Star wanted to move on within the supermarket, or to go on a training course, she would find the management very willing to say yes.
    Kenny seemed to love the whole supermarket world and was always absorbed in all its comings and goings. Star was more interested in the woman who had had a breakdown. Her family had written to the supermarket, saying how grateful they were for the way it had all been handled.
    ‘That’s all down to you, Star,’ Kenny had said proudly, over and over.
    He didn’t know where the woman lived or anything about the man Declan who didn’t love her any more. The woman’s daughters were in their thirties and well heeled, he said, they had offered compensation for the smashed goods but it had been refused. The supermarket had behaved well, everyone had behaved well. The poor woman was on some medication, he said, which she hadn’t taken that day. It wasn’t her fault. It was good to be in a situation where everyone had done the right thing.
    ‘Declan didn’t,’ Star said. ‘Declan promised that he would love her always, but he stopped loving her, that’s what it was all about.’
    Kenny looked troubled by this. Star was reliving the woman’s agony too much. She should be glad that, thanks to her own quick thinking, it had all been tidied away.
    He produced a folding table and two little chairs. He told her he had bought them at a staff discount in the leisure section of the supermarket when Star had first suggested a picnic. He had even brought a checked tablecloth and a little vase with one flower in it.
    They ate their picnic meal together, the crab claws he had brought, the dainty tomato sandwiches and some little currant buns she had baked. They sipped their wine and drank the flask of coffee Star had made.
    Kenny searched for more subjects to entertain her but she was miles away. Star tried to listen and be interested but they seemed to be talking round in circles.
    ‘I hope your father likes me,’ he said suddenly.
    ‘Why wouldn’t he like you?’
    ‘Well, I hope to be coming round to 24 Chestnut Street quite often, taking his beautiful daughter out. It would be better if he liked me. You say he works in a hotel kitchen. Is he a chef?’
    ‘No, he’s just a helper really. He used to have a big gambling problem, you see, but he got over it.’
    ‘He must be a strong man,