The Poppy Factory by Liz Trenow Read Free Book Online

you?’
    ‘He deserved it. The idiot.’ Her anger was cooling now.
    ‘You’re not wrong, but you shouldn’t call your boyfriend’s boss a “pathetic, clever-dick know-it-all”, however much he deserves it.’
    ‘His boss ? That was the other woman, the tall one, Mary.’
    ‘No, Matt’s his boss. Mary’s the maths teacher.’
    Icy fear replaced the vestiges of her fury. ‘That little fat man’s the head of sports? You’re quite sure?’
    ‘’Fraid so.’ Vorny shook her head. ‘I was talking to him earlier. About how he rates Nate, what a great asset he is. How well the football team’s been doing under his training.’
    ‘Bloody hell. I’ve blown it, haven’t I?’
    ‘You’ve got some serious apologising to do, that’s for sure.’
    It would take a lot more than that, Jess knew.
    She tried to apologise but Nate refused to discuss anything that evening, and when she offered to clear up he told her sharply that he didn’t need any help, thank you, and she should go to bed before she caused any more damage. He’d sleep on the sofa. End of story.
    In the morning she reached across the bed for him before remembering, with a wave of self-disgust, what had happened. She found him already at work on the dining table, marking school books.
    ‘Nate, I am so, so sorry about last night.’ She moved behind him and stroked the back of his neck – his weak spot.
    He swatted her hand away and swivelled round, his face fiercer than she’d ever seen before. No wonder he makes a good teacher, she found herself thinking, he must be utterly terrifying to the kids.
    ‘I think you’d better sit down,’ he said.
    ‘I’m going to make a coffee.’ Her mouth was dry, her stomach turning somersaults. ‘Do you want one?’
    He shook his head and turned back to his marking. She boiled the kettle and made a mug of strong black instant, then went to sit at the table, facing him.
    ‘Okay. Let me say my piece first, please?’
    He looked up and nodded, his face impassive, his eyes coal black.
    ‘What I said last night was completely out of order,’ she started. ‘I don’t know what got into me. It felt as though he was attacking everything I stand for, the reason why James and all those others have died. I just lost it, and the words came out without thinking. I am really, really sorry.’ She looked back at his stony expression and felt tears burning the back of her eyes. ‘Please forgive me, Nate. I can work through this and get better. I love you.’
    He sighed wearily. ‘I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. All night, as it happens. This is the conclusion I’ve come to: I can’t deal with it any more, Jess. The drinking, the anger, all that. You’ve turned into someone I don’t recognise.’
    ‘I know. I’m sorry.’
    ‘You keep saying you’re sorry, but what have you done about it?’
    ‘I didn’t drink all last week.’
    ‘And when you did, look what happened. What I’m sorry about, Jess, is that I’ve stopped believing that you want to change. When you’ve sorted yourself out, rediscovered the old Jess, then get in touch.’
    She managed an aghast, ‘Are you telling me it’s over?’
    He nodded, but could not meet her eyes. ‘Till you get yourself sorted, yes.’
    She just had time to say, ‘You don’t mean it? Just like that?’ and hear his retort, ‘I do, Jess. I really mean it, just like that,’ before the nausea hit her. When she finally emerged from the bathroom, Nate didn’t even raise his head. ‘When you feel better, please pack and leave,’ he said. ‘I’ve got work to do today.’
    ‘But …’
    He held up a hand, like a policeman stopping traffic. ‘Please, I don’t want to talk about it. I’ve told you what I think and I’m not going to have another row. Don’t make it more painful than it is already. Just go.’
    Once she’d packed she tried again: pleading and trying to reason. But he was immovable. ‘I’ve made up my mind,’ was all he would say.
    In the