‘You look really peaky.’ ‘Peaky!’ Oliver snorted. ‘That’s the sort of word only mothers can use with credibility.’ ‘I am a mother,’ Sybil pointed out. ‘You saw to that.’ ‘What I need,’ Jenna said, ‘is to get a new job.’ ‘Not until you’ve had a break. You’ve suffered a shock, and you need to get away,’ Sybil said. ‘Also I’d like to be able to say, when Patrick phones again, that you’re not living here.’ ‘You can say it,’ Oliver mentioned. ‘I’m no good at lying. If she weren’t here I could sound convincing.’ ‘I don’t have any money,’ Jenna said. ‘She needs a job,’ Oliver said, ‘and it may not be easy in the current climate.’ ‘Well, then,’ said Sybil, ever practical, ‘we must find her a job that feels like a holiday.’ Jenna liked the sound of that. ‘What sort of thing would that be?’ ‘Oh, I don’t know. Tour rep, or tourist guide maybe.’ ‘But those would be long-term jobs.’ ‘OK, tour rep would be, but I’m sure a lot of the smaller tourist attractions must take on temporary staff for the summer.’ ‘A lot of those places we went to down in Cornwall last year certainly would,’ Oliver agreed.
