Civvy Street

by Fiona Field

  CIVVY STREET

  Fiona Field

  Start Reading

  About this Book

  About the Author

  Table of Contents

  www.headofzeus.com

  About Civvy Street

  Susie Collins’s world falls apart when her husband, Mike, is made redundant by the army. Suddenly they are no longer part of the regimental family, with all its support systems and protective hierarchy. Life outside has never seemed so bleak.

  But worse is to come, when Susie learns that the family finances are in a much rockier state than she realised. Their rebellious twin daughters will have to leave their fee-paying school for the local comprehensive and there will be almost no money left to buy a decent house.

  These are desperate times and Susie knows that she must find a job quickly. But will the regiment really accept her back in the post of humble mess manager? What will her friends think? And how on earth will Mike and the girls cope? Life is tough for newcomers on civvy street.

  To Ian, who still believes in me

  Contents

  Cover

  Welcome Page

  About Civvy Street

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Acknowledgements

  About Fiona Field

  About the Soldiers’ Wives Series

  From the editor of this book

  An Invitation from the Publisher

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Major Mike Collins walked into the adjutant’s office feeling relaxed and reasonably cheerful. It was almost the weekend, tomorrow the kids were going to come home from boarding school on an exeat and the weather was lovely. All in all, life could be a lot worse.

  ‘Go right on in, Mike,’ said Andy, the adjutant. ‘The CO’s expecting you.’

  Mike nodded, crossed the office to the adjoining door and knocked. He’d been summoned by the new commanding officer of 1 Herts in a phone call a few minutes earlier. Jack Rayner wasn’t his favourite person – in fact, thought Mike, a more ambitious, back-stabbing, self-seeking officer would be hard to find. His predecessor, Tony Notley, had been pretty pushy and ruthless when it came to furthering his own career but nowhere near Rayner’s league. It was like comparing a Vauxhall Conference football player with David Beckham or Ronaldo. Still, Mike was due a posting in the not too distant future – probably to some staff job somewhere – so, in all likelihood, he wouldn’t have to suffer Rayner for much longer.

  ‘Come.’ Lieutenant Colonel Rayner’s voice rang through the solid oak.

  Mike pushed the door open, saluted as he stood on the threshold and then shut the door behind him. He wasn’t concerned about this summons. No doubt the CO wanted to discuss how members of his company were shaping up: who might be a suitable candidate for this or that course; who might have the potential for promotion; which of his junior officers ought to be posted out to a staff job to broaden their experience. Or maybe that posting Mike was expecting had come through. Or if not that, perhaps he had a job for Mike: some committee to chair; an inquiry to lead; maybe a board to sit on. That was the thing about being in an infantry regiment; if you weren’t actually doing what infantry soldiers did – fighting battles, killing the enemy or romping around the ranges on exercise – then the days had to be filled by training, courses or just being kept occupied in one form or another.

  ‘Have a seat.’ The CO nodded towards the armchair to the side of his desk.

  Mike removed his beret and sat down.

  The CO looked at him and sighed. ‘Look, Mike...’ He bit his lower lip and paused. ‘There isn’t an easy way to say this.’

  Mike felt the first twinge of apprehension. What the hell was the CO finding so hard to spit out?

  ‘The thing is... the thing is... I’ve had the list of names of soldiers in the battalion who are being made redundant.’ There was another pause. ‘And, the thing is, you’re on it.’

  If Mike hadn’t been sitting down he’d have reeled and staggered. Then he cleared his head. Surely he’d misunderstood. He’d thought the CO had said he was being made redundant but he must have got hold of the wrong end of the stick. He was a career soldier. He had a regular commission. Provided that he kept breathing and stayed alive he had a job for life. He did, didn’t he? The CO was still speaking but Mike realised he hadn’t heard a word.

  ‘Sorry, Colonel,’ Mike said, shaking his head, completely puzzled. The CO fell silent. ‘Sorry, could you say that again?’

  ‘You’re being made redundant.’ The CO didn’t meet Mike’s eye. ‘Sorry, Mike, that’s how it is.’

  Mike’s shoulders slumped. His head rang and he felt dizzy. Redundant? There had to be a mistake. ‘But I can’t be. I’m on a regular commission. I’ve got years left to serve.’

  ‘I’m afraid the nature of your commission has got nothing to do with it.’

  ‘But... but...’

  The CO shook his head. ‘Look, Mike, no one is sorrier than I am to be the bearer of bad news. I was devastated when I read the letter from the MoD.’

  Mike stared at his boss. For someone who professed to be ‘devastated’ he looked remarkably sanguine. A bit embarrassed maybe, but not gutted.

  ‘Really, sir?’ Mike felt cold anger start to consume him.

  ‘I was shocked when I saw your name.’

  Not half as shocked as me, thought Mike, bitterly.

  ‘You’re a valuable officer,’ continued the CO.

  ‘But not valuable enough, eh?’

  ‘It’s not like that, Mike.’

  ‘Isn’t it?’ Mike sank back in the chair as he tried to come to terms with the awful enormity of what he’d just heard. Sacked. Chucked. On the scrapheap. The army could dress it up however they liked but the cold, stark reality was they didn’t want him. A thought struck him. Important stuff from the MoD always got sent out to commanding officers well ahead of time – generally it was embargoed till the due date but that didn’t necessarily stop the recipients opening it for a sneak preview. And Rayner, for a bet, would have been unable to resist the temptation. ‘How long have you known about this, Colonel?’

  ‘I... well...’

  Mike stared at the CO coldly. No further confirmation of his suspicions was required. ‘And you didn’t fight it? You didn’t tell the MoD that, seeing as how I am so “valuable”, they ought to look at someone else to cull?’ Mike shook his head. ‘Obviously not.’

&n
bsp; ‘Mike, Mike, it’s not like that. This isn’t how these things work.’

  Mike snorted. ‘Really.’

  ‘And there’ll be a redundancy package. It’s very generous.’

  ‘Generous enough to pay for the twins’ boarding school fees for the next seven years?’ He glared at the colonel who remained silent. ‘No, I thought not.’

  ‘No... Mike... I mean, I don’t know the exact details of your personal package but... but...’

  Mike shook his head, bringing the CO to a stuttering silence. ‘But with all due respect, Colonel,’ his tone clearly implying he had no respect for his boss whatsoever, ‘whatever it is, it’s going to be crap when compared to my potential earnings from the army for the next twenty years, and you know it.’

  ‘But you’ll get another job, have another career.’

  ‘I don’t want another job. I want this one.’ He stopped. He sounded petulant and he felt his emotions were on the brink of getting out of control. And no way was he going to lose it in front of Rayner. ‘If you’ll excuse me, Colonel, I ought to go and tell Susie. I think she should get to hear of this before the regimental grapevine gets to her first.’ Mike replaced his beret on his head and, with a perfunctory salute, left the office.

  ‘Mike...?’ Andy began, as Mike swept through his office, his expression thunderous.

  ‘Not now, Andy,’ Mike snapped at him, over his shoulder.

  Andy stared after him in bewilderment and wondered what the hell had gone on between him and the colonel.

  *

  Susie heard the door slam and the sound of her husband’s footsteps thump along the hall.

  ‘Mike? You’re home earl—’ The rest of the sentence was forgotten when she saw the look on her husband’s face as he pushed open the sitting room door. ‘Dear God, what on earth is the matter?’

  Mike stared at her, his mouth working.

  ‘Mike?’

  ‘Redundant. They’re making me redundant.’

  ‘But... but they can’t.’

  ‘Apparently, they can.’ For a second, Susie thought he was going to cry, but then he straightened his back and took a deep breath. ‘The CO told me a few minutes ago.’

  Susie stared past him as she tried to take in the news. ‘When? When will you have to leave?’

  Mike shrugged. ‘I don’t know, I didn’t ask. I had to get out of his office. If I’d stayed there to ask questions I think I might have been tempted to punch him.’ He slumped into an armchair. ‘Arrogant, fucking bastard.’

  ‘Oh, darling.’ She knew her husband hated Rayner, but she hadn’t thought it was this bad.

  ‘You know what he’s like. He didn’t give a toss about me. He’s only ever been out for his career, worrying about his own back. I’ve never liked him, never trusted him. Right back when I first came across him at Sandhurst I always thought he was a slimy shit.’

  ‘Mike!’

  ‘Come off it, Susie. You know as well as I do what he’s like. He’s hell-bent on getting to the top and he doesn’t care one iota about who he has to trample on to get there. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if I found out he’d actually put my name forward for redundancy.’

  ‘Surely not.’

  ‘I wouldn’t put it past him. Of course he gave me a load of bollocks about being devastated that my name was on the list. Well, I can tell you something... he didn’t look fucking devastated.’

  Susie nodded. ‘Do you think that if Tony Notley had still been in charge he would have fought to keep you?’

  ‘I dunno.’ Mike put his elbows on his knees and rested his chin on his hands. ‘And to think about all the years I’ve given to the army, all the loyalty... and for what? All the shit that we’ve had to put up with, the postings, the short tours, the separation, the crap housing and then they kick me in the teeth with this.’

  ‘How long have you got left?’

  ‘Dunno, told you, I didn’t ask. A few months. Well, one thing’s for sure, from now till I go, they’re not getting anything out of me. From here to the end I’ll be spending my days in the office sorting out my future and my next job. Much as this’ll put a burden on Seb and the others in the company they’ll just have to get over it. As far as I’m concerned the army can sod off.’

  Susie nodded. Why should he carry on busting a gut for an organisation that had done this to him? ‘They can shove those committees that I’m on too. In fact, first thing in the morning I shall take great pleasure in going round to Camilla Rayner’s and dumping the files in her lap.’

  ‘So,’ said Mike, ‘I suppose I need to start looking for jobs and you’d better get out there and start house-hunting. Where do you fancy living?’

  ‘Here,’ said Susie, without hesitation. ‘Our friends are here. It’ll be bad enough having to start over without losing all our friends too.’

  ‘Fair point,’ said Mike. ‘I’d better find out how quickly we need to get our act together and how much I’m going to get. One thing’s for sure, unless I get a staggeringly well-paid job, we won’t be able to afford the fees for Browndown.’

  ‘We’ll have to take the twins out of boarding school? But they’re so happy there.’

  ‘I suppose we could ask if there are any grants or bursaries going...’

  Susie got to her feet. ‘I suppose we could.’ She didn’t like the idea of asking for charity. It was all a bit demeaning.

  ‘Your parents couldn’t tide us over...’ Mike’s voice faded into silence before he finished the sentence properly. He pretty much knew the answer.

  Susie shook her head. ‘You know how tight things are for them with interest rates being so low; their savings are hardly bringing them in any income at all. And Mum is still thinking about moving back to the UK and if they do it’ll take every last penny they have. I always thought going to live in Spain was a mistake.’ She sighed heavily. It certainly had been a mistake in her view, but not as bad as the one Mike’s parents had made, investing in a dodgy equity release scheme, which had meant that they’d died with hardly a penny to their name, not even the value of their house. But now wasn’t the moment to rake all that up again. She dropped the subject. ‘I’m going to make us a cuppa. Things always look better over a nice cup of tea. Well,’ she smiled ruefully, ‘less ghastly, maybe.’

  Mike looked at her. ‘I tell you, this is an occasion when I really regret being on the wagon. The temptation to hit the gin...’

  ‘I know,’ said Susie. ‘But it won’t help or change things.’ Besides, there wasn’t anything to drink in the house anyway – nothing alcoholic, at any rate. They hadn’t had a drop of the hard stuff in the house for a couple of years now – not since that episode when she and Mike had been so pissed the girls, left very much to their own devices, had found one of Mike’s more dubious ‘adult’ DVDs they’d failed to hide properly. The twins had then copied it and flogged the copies to their friends at prep school. The fallout from that affair had been what had finally convinced Susie and Mike to sign the pledge, once and for all.

  She went into the kitchen and plugged in the kettle. Christ, it wasn’t just Mike who wanted a drink, she did too. Good job they had none in the house. It was all very well staying strong on the outside but on the inside her willpower was crumbling to bits.

  Mike had followed her and was leaning against the doorjamb. ‘Why me, Susie, why me?’

  He stared at her as if by doing so the answer would magically materialise but Susie couldn’t think of a reason – or not one she wanted to admit to him... or herself. Maybe those years when her drinking had been pretty much out of control had put a black mark against Mike’s name. Nothing had been said officially, that much she was sure of, but the army’s rumour machine was second to none. Maybe the word had got about, reached the ears of people in high places...

  ‘Tea or coffee?’

  ‘I don’t want fucking tea, I want a drink.’

  Susie shook her head. ‘We mustn’t...’ Although, God knew, she was gagging for one too.


  Mike rubbed his face with his hand. ‘No... no, you’re right, tea’s fine. Sorry.’ He paused and gave her a tight-lipped smile. ‘Just a bit overwrought here. This doesn’t rank as one of my better days.’

  ‘So, who else is for the chop?’

  Mike pulled out a chair from under the kitchen table and plonked down onto it. ‘Didn’t ask that either, but when I came out of Rayner’s office there wasn’t a queue of other officers waiting for their turn to hear the glad tidings, so it might just be me.’

  ‘It can’t be, that would be so unfair. God knows but there are some officers in this battalion who are a complete waste of space.’ Mike nodded in agreement – his own second in command was a case in point, and everyone knew it. She got a couple of mugs out of the cupboard above the counter. ‘Can you appeal?’

  ‘I don’t know but I’ll have a go, though. It isn’t as if I’ve got anything to lose. What’s the worst they can do? Sack me?’ Mike laughed without mirth. ‘I know one thing, though, I’ve had it with Rayner. If he wants me to do anything, anything at all, he can shove it.’

  Susie wondered if that was altogether wise; after all, the CO would still be the man to write Mike’s final confidential report and give him references. However satisfying it would be to piss off Jack Rayner, it mightn’t be the best course of action. But given the mood Mike was in, Susie decided it would be a waste of time to point this out. Maybe later, when he’d calmed down a little.

  *

  Maddy Fanshaw was bathing the children when her husband, Seb, got home from work. She heard the front door slam followed by him bounding up the stairs as she lifted her youngest, Rose, out of the tub and wrapped her in a towel.

  ‘You’ll never guess,’ said Seb as he stood by the bathroom door.

  ‘Never guess what?’ said Maddy as she levered herself to her feet and then sat on the edge of the bath to dry Rose.

  ‘Mike Collins.’

  ‘What about him?’

  Seb drew a hand across his throat theatrically as he said, ‘He’s got the chop.’

  ‘Don’t be silly,’ said Maddy, rubbing Rose’s fine blonde curls. Rose giggled and squealed with pleasure and was rewarded with a kiss from her mother on the top of her fluffy head.