Me-Before-You-by-Jojo-Moyes

‘Are you okay getting your own tea tonight?’
‘Sure. I can join Patrick at the pub later. Why?’ I hung up my coat on a free
peg.
The rack was so much emptier with all Treena’s and Thomas’s coats gone.
‘I am taking your mother out for dinner.’
I did a quick mental calculation. ‘Did I miss her birthday?’
‘Nope. We’re celebrating.’ He lowered his voice, as if it were some kind of
secret. ‘I got a job.’
‘You didn’t!’ And now I could see it; his whole body had lightened. He was
standing straighter again, his face wreathed in smiles. He looked years younger.
‘Dad, that’s fantastic.’
‘I know. Your mother’s over the moon. And, you know, she’s had a tough few
months what with Treena going and Granddad and all. So I want to take her out
tonight, treat her a bit.’
‘So what’s the job?’
‘I’m going to be head of maintenance. Up at the castle.’
I blinked. ‘But that’s –’
‘Mr Traynor. That’s right. He rang me and said he was looking for someone,
and your man, Will there, had told him that I was available. I went this afternoon
and showed him what I could do, and I’m on a month’s trial. Beginning
Saturday.’
‘You’re going to work for Will’s dad?’
‘Well, he said they have to do a month’s trial, to go through the proper
procedures and all, but he said he couldn’t think of any reason why I shouldn’t
get it.’
‘That – that’s great,’ I said. I felt weirdly unbalanced by the news. ‘I didn’t
even know there was a job going.’
‘Nor me. It’s great, though. He’s a man who understands quality, Lou. I talked
to him about green oak, and he showed me some of the work done by the
previous man. You wouldn’t believe it. Shocking. He said he was very impressed
by my work.’
He was animated, more so than I had seen him for months.
Mum had appeared beside him. She was wearing lipstick, and her good pair of
heels. ‘There’s a van. He gets his own van. And the pay is good, Lou. It’s even a