The Daughter-in-Law, page 8
‘I looked everywhere for you. I thought you were meeting your NCT friend so I wasn’t expecting you to be outside the playground. That’s why it took me so long to find you.’
There it was.
‘We did have a chat and then Daniel’s dog ran off, so we were trying to find it.’ The dog story was the best excuse Edie had been able to come up with.
‘Really?’ Hope didn’t sound convinced.
Edie upped her game, using her skill at manipulating conversations and self-preservation. ‘Yes, a sweet little thing. Otto – a grey whippet. Moves like lightning. His son would have been devastated if he’d lost it.’ Don’t overdo the lie or you’ll tie yourself in knots.
‘But you were in the bushes?’
‘I know. We couldn’t see him anywhere. We’d been standing by the gate when he ran off, so I simply went out to help Daniel find him.’
‘Oh, right,’ Hope said, hesitantly. ‘That explains it.’
What had she seen? Not the imaginary dog, obviously. Not the kiss, please not the kiss, Edie thought.
‘I’m glad Betty’s okay, at least. And Paul?’
If Hope was changing the subject then presumably she hadn’t seen anything that mattered. Relief flooded through Edie.
‘He started a new job today.’ Talk of Paul usually smoothed things over. ‘A complicated bookcase. He was looking forward to it.’
‘I’m glad. I was worried when he gave up business management for something so unpredictable. I always worry that he won’t have enough work.’
‘Don’t,’ said Edie. Because worrying about whether he has enough work or earns enough money is my job now, not yours, she thought. ‘He’s always in demand because he’s so brilliant at it.’
‘Of course.’
Edie recognized Hope felt she was being brushed off. ‘Are you busy at the moment?’ she asked quickly, trying to keep the conversation going.
‘Yes, it’s all good. I’ve a couple of dinner parties coming up, more classes, and some freezer fillers. Hence the curry. I’m also working on changing the menus.’ She sounded more relaxed suddenly, comfortable talking about what she loved doing.
Edie felt more confident that they were moving the conversation away from Daniel, hoping she had said enough to be convincing but not too much. Meeting Daniel at the playground was sailing too close to the wind and risked everything just for the briefest of encounters.
She stayed as long as it took to finish her coffee, having achieved what she set out to achieve. Her version of events was out there and, with luck, Hope wouldn’t question it too hard.
9
Hope stood in her living room, watching Edie go down the path and through the gate. When she turned to close it, Hope raised her hand in farewell as if all was well between them, although she felt distinctly uneasy. The whole thing was most odd. Edie coming round on her own was such a rare occurrence, she must have had an ulterior motive. The conversation about the playground was not one Hope had wanted to have. She had been too obvious, too accusatory, allowing Edie to take control. On the other hand, what could she say? If that ridiculous story about the dog was the one Edie wanted to tell, Hope wasn’t in a position to argue. She knew what she had seen. The last thing she wanted was to interfere with her son’s marriage, but shouldn’t she find out the truth for Paul’s sake? And then she could decide what to do with it. Should she tell him of her suspicions? No. There was no point stirring up trouble if she turned out to be wrong.
But this wasn’t the only thing on her mind. There was that letter. She went down to make the poached pears, relishing the scents of the cardamom, vanilla and cinnamon from the poaching liquid. Upstairs, her reply to Patrick remained unposted. The envelope sat on her desk, sealed and stamped.
Just as she finished taking the bread rolls out of the oven, Vita came down from the office.
‘She didn’t stay long. What did she want?’
‘She came to give her side of yesterday’s story and then left as soon as she could. That’s probably the closest she’ll ever come to an apology for being so vile to me. I suppose that’s something.’ She didn’t want to go into details with Vita until she knew the truth.
Vita lifted one eyebrow, sceptical. ‘I suppose that’s something.’
‘What have you been up to?’
‘We’ve just had an email from that awful Mrs Carswell. She wants you back on the tenth of next month. What do you think?’
Hope grimaced. ‘She was a nightmare. I know, I know, we shouldn’t refuse business. Have we much else in the diary?’
‘It’s pretty busy, but we could fit her in.’
‘Then we’d better say yes. But perhaps we could specify that she gives us a clean kitchen this time. Will you do the menu?’
‘Will do. That smells delicious.’ She turned to go, then paused in the doorway. ‘By the way, Martin called. Not urgent, apparently.’
‘Really? Why doesn’t he just call my mobile?’
Vita shrugged. ‘Habit? Anyway, I’ll leave that one to you. I’m going back up to finish what I’m doing.’
What could her ex-husband possibly want? They had separated twenty years ago now, and although they were both devastated, they had been unable to see a future together after the affair. There was no point. The damage had been done. After licking her wounds for a year, renting a tiny holiday flat in Polzeath, hoping he’d change his mind, Hope’s head cleared and she began to piece together her new, single life.
She’d left for London, where Vita was living, and suggested they set up a business together. Their children were grown up, they were both keen cooks and if not now, when? Of course, Paul had moved to the big smoke too, which was another attraction. By then, Martin was dating Nora – the young vet’s assistant who had taken Hope’s place in his life. Then, with almost embarrassing haste, they had their own family, two girls. On the rare occasions Hope and Martin spoke now, he couldn’t stop talking about how the pair had most recently exceeded all expectations. She had to give him one thing: although his marriage to Hope hadn’t survived, he was unswervingly loyal and committed to all his children. They might not have a lot of contact, but what they had was friendly now.
Curious, she called him.
‘Hope!’ He always sounded pleasantly surprised to hear from her, as if she’d been kidnapped and returned without notice.
‘You called me,’ she reminded him. ‘How is everyone?’ She listened as Martin reeled off his children’s achievements. She loved his enthusiasm for everything they did. He took equal pleasure in Paul and his family and loved to hear any news. ‘Have you seen Betty and Hazel? Actually, don’t answer that. I know you have.’
‘Did Paul tell you about Betty?’ she asked.
‘Not Paul. But Edie FaceTimed me, so I could see for myself. Poor little thing.’
‘Edie called you?’ Hope couldn’t disguise her surprise. She had no idea they had become close.
‘Yes. Didn’t you know? I read to Betty every fortnight on FaceTime now. Edie’s idea. And it works a treat. At least, it does for the few seconds that Betty concentrates. But I enjoy it, and it reminds her I exist. It’s fun.’
‘It must be.’ It was not something that had ever been offered to her. But you live nearby, said a voice in her head. It’s not the same. You see them. All true, but the thought that Martin had negotiated an independent relationship with Edie obscurely hurt. What a failure she had been on the in-law front.
‘What happened? Edie said you were looking after Betty.’
Of course she had.
‘That’s not quite right. I was looking after both of them.’ She hesitated. Should she tell him the whole story? ‘Hazel was throwing a complete strop, the playground was packed and I lost sight of Betty.’
‘You shouldn’t have taken them both if it’s too much for you.’
‘Edie was there too,’ she protested. ‘I don’t think it was too much to assume she might have an eye on her own children.’
‘Ah. Then, I misunderstood. But she would always keep an eye on them, surely, unless something important stopped her.’
His support for his daughter-in-law over her was infuriating. She remembered how Paul and Martin would take sides against her when Paul was a kid, even over something as petty as who liked broccoli. Not them. Men against the woman. It was happening again.
‘Martin! She wasn’t even in the playground. I found her in the bushes with some guy, looking very friendly.’ There. She’d said it.
‘Really?’ At last, he sounded taken aback.
She was pleased to have rocked him.
‘There must be an explanation.’ Of course he wouldn’t believe anything bad of Edie.
‘She said she was helping look for his dog.’
‘Well, then. What’s the problem? The main thing is that Betty’s okay.’
‘I know. But don’t you think it’s a bit strange?’
‘Innocent till proved guilty, I say. She’s given you a perfectly reasonable explanation. I can tell that’s not what you want to hear.’
Men! So easily swayed. Hope gave up. ‘You’re probably right. I hope so. Tell me, why did you call?’
He laughed. ‘I’m going to bring Amy up to London for an interview at Central Saint Martins. She’s bent on studying art there for reasons I simply don’t understand, seeing as we’ve got Falmouth on our doorstep. But I don’t want to stand in her way. Could we stay the night?’
‘What? Here? With me?’ She was astonished. He had never stayed with her since they’d split up. Nora would never have allowed that in the early days. ‘Why not with Paul?’
‘Nora thought it would be too much for Edie, given she has two small kids and is about to go back to work. Perhaps they could come over for lunch?’ Hope noticed he had already assumed her answer would be yes, but she wasn’t going to give in to him that easily.
‘Haven’t you any other friends up here?’ It would be odd having them stay with her.
‘Not who I could ask. Besides, I thought it would be fun to catch up.’ Martin was an innocent. His approach to life had been one of the things that attracted her to him in the first place. He was the kind of person who didn’t see the bad in anyone until he was forced to.
‘All right. I’d love to meet Amy.’ She was curious about his children, having heard about their prowess in all things. She was curious about him, too. They hadn’t met up for some time, but they got on well when they did now.
‘Her interview’s next Monday morning so I thought we could come up on Saturday, perhaps see Paul on Sunday and go home on Monday afternoon. What do you say?’
‘Good,’ she said. ‘I’ll get on to Paul and see if they can come over.’ Perhaps this was serendipity offering her the chance to make good with Edie through Martin. She was already running through what she might cook, keeping it simple for the kids and for her ex.
‘Thanks, Hope. I was sure we could rely on you.’
She bit back the ‘Don’t be’ that almost came to her lips. She didn’t want to be that person anymore. Martin should rely on Nora, not on her. But perhaps letting the past back in was a good thing and would give her a chance to put one or two things to rest. Far better to get on with Paul’s father than not.
‘Let me know what time you’re expecting to arrive. If I’m working, I may have to leave a key somewhere for you.’
Arrangements made, they said goodbye and Hope was left with a pleasant sense of anticipation.
* * *
As soon as she had finished cleaning up, she went up to the office where Vita was getting ready to leave. ‘Don’t you want to taste the pears?’ asked Hope. ‘I made a tarte tatin as well, as a trial.’
‘I can’t stop. I promised to meet Angie at the park with the kids. Maybe I’ll come back later.’ She snapped her bag shut, keen to get off to meet her grandchildren and daughter-in-law.
Hope picked up the envelope that had been lying on her desk… waiting. ‘I’ll walk with you. I need to go to the postbox.’
‘I can take it.’ Vita held out her hand.
‘No, I’d like some fresh air.’
They walked the length of the street together, Vita’s bicycle between them, as Hope told her what Martin had wanted.
‘Isn’t it a bit odd that he wants to stay?’ Vita steered the bike round a rogue dustbin lid.
‘Thriftiness and faute de mieux, I’m afraid. But yes, and maybe – just maybe – he’ll be a way to put things straight with Edie. Though I can’t quite think how.’
Vita’s dubious look said everything.
They stopped at the postbox. Hope slipped the letter into its mouth and held it there for a moment, not quite able to let it go. Once she did, there could be no turning back. The box would be opened, the postman would take it away and the consequences were unknowable. Whatever happened, however, she knew she wanted to see Patrick again, so she let the letter fall. As soon as she heard the rattle as it hit the bottom, she wanted to reach inside and retrieve it, but short of waiting for the delivery van at six p.m. and fishing it out then, it was too late. She could only wait for a reply.
10
Edie poppered Hazel into her newest pair of dungarees, to her daughter’s hysterical enjoyment. Nothing brightened the day more than a baby’s laugh, she had to admit.
Betty had draped herself over Edie’s right shoulder, waving her rainbow and unicorn hairclips in her face. Her plaster cast knocked against Edie’s cheek.
‘Ow! Sooner that’s off, the better. Just let me finish this.’ She tucked in Hazel’s pink T-shirt and fastened the straps. ‘Can you find her shoe?’ She wanted Hazel looking her cutest for Martin and Amy, and slipped on her soft leather shoes. They had cost a ridiculous amount, but Edie hadn’t been able to resist.
When Paul came in, she was just clipping back Betty’s hair. ‘Doesn’t she look gorgeous? Smile for Daddy.’ She kissed her daughter’s cheek.
Betty’s attempt at a smile was more of a toothy grimace, which made them both laugh.
‘My three beautiful girls.’ Paul dropped a kiss onto Edie’s forehead before looking at his watch. ‘Are you ready? I don’t want to be late.’
He was pleased to be seeing his father. Although they kept in touch, he often said he would like to see Martin more often. Edie liked her easy-going father-in-law as well as Nora, so had done her best to build a bridge between their two families, most recently instituting the fortnightly FaceTime reading slot. She felt so much more relaxed with that side of Paul’s family.
‘Did you feel left out once he had the girls with Nora?’ she asked.
‘No,’ he replied immediately, but she saw through him. His father had another family that Paul would never be a proper part of. They all played at Happy Families, but his half-siblings were much younger, had a different mother, and lived too far away for that to be truly possible. And Paul recognized that. That was one of the reasons he felt so responsible for his mum, the one parent who had been devoted to him. It wasn’t long after Edie met Hope that she’d realized the strength of the mother–son bond between her and Paul. At the time, she’d been confident that she could loosen it. If only Hope wasn’t quite so devoted.
‘Let me wash my hands and change,’ she said. She felt pressured. Everything was done at such a rush. If she was quick, she might even have time for a dab of make-up too.
By the time she was ready, Paul had loaded the kids into the car. Hazel was tired and fractious, but Betty was content with her PAW Patrol comic.
‘At last!’ He shut the door on them. Hazel’s mood had obviously rubbed off on him.
‘What do you mean? I’ve been five minutes at the most.’ She got in the car and slammed her door.
He gave a slight shake of his head as he got behind the wheel. ‘Whatever.’
‘Well, ten anyway… I don’t want to look like some old drudge who only looks after your beautiful children and not herself.’
He put his hand on her thigh. ‘You don’t look like that at all. I’m sorry.’
‘Thank you.’ She rolled up the sleeves of her white shirt. ‘How do you think they’ll be together? Awkward?’ She couldn’t help being intrigued.
‘Mum and Dad? It’ll be fine. Better than when they were together, probably. They were okay at the wedding, remember?’
‘Only because they kept to opposite ends of the room!’ She turned to check on the ominous silence from the back, but Hazel was fast asleep, her head lolling against her seat. Betty was still engrossed in her comic. ‘Sad how many relationships don’t stay the course.’ Through her work, she had seen so many marriages founder for all kinds of reasons, some apparently trivial and others terrible infringements of a partner’s rights. She felt sick, thinking of her own dilemma.
‘At least it won’t happen to us.’ He signalled left.
His confidence made her feel terrible. And yet, why shouldn’t she love him and Daniel at the same time, as long as no one got hurt? The French took extramarital affairs for granted. Why were the English so uptight? She couldn’t see how anyone could realistically satisfy all of someone else’s needs. It wasn’t Paul’s fault. But neither was it hers. She had known Daniel and loved him for so long. Never mind what her own work threw up, the news was always full of affairs, divorces, murders even. But did she love both men in the same way? These were questions she had asked herself, over and over again.
‘I wonder why Hope hasn’t found someone else,’ she said instead.
‘She has. Don’t forget Keith. He was knocking around for years. Then Liam.’
‘I liked him.’ She stared out at the rows of Victorian terraced London houses they were passing. ‘Do you think she likes living on her own?’
Paul stole a look at her. ‘I guess she must. She told me she doesn’t want to try online dating again. Liam was enough. To be honest, I find it a bit off-putting thinking of Mum dating…’
‘Takes the burden from you, I suppose.’
