interesting. And good to be around. Like Dad, and Peggy. Me too, now, of course. Lessons to be learned. Respect.
I hadn’t realized I’d said it out loud, but my son, watching me from his high chair, echoed it gravely: ‘Rethpect.’
I smiled and leaned across to take the squashed piece of toast he was offering me. Just then my back door opened and Angie stuck her head around.
‘Coo-ee,’ she whispered, head on one side, anxious.
My smile became slightly wan. I dropped Archie’s soggy bread. ‘Coo-ee, Angie. Come in.’
‘Are you all right?’ She shut the door softly and tiptoed theatrically across the room. Sat down terribly carefully at the table making sure the chain of her handbag didn’t make a noise. Annoying. Very dressed up too, I noticed, in a little pink suit.
‘Fine, thanks, just a bit tired.’
‘Blimey, I’m not
‘Do,’ I said drily, determined not to tell her the smell of the marmalade was guaranteed to make me heave.
‘And there’s nothing worse,’ she said firmly, buttering away, ‘than everyone avoiding you the next day and giving you sly looks in the village, so I wanted to pop round and say it didn’t matter a bit. In fact we all enjoyed seeing you let your hair down for a change. Especially when you went on stage and grabbed the microphone.’
I gazed at her horrified. ‘No.’
‘Mm,’ she nodded through a mouthful of toast. ‘Thanked everyone for coming. And then asked if we’d like to hear “Climb Every Mountain”, but Sam wrestled you from the stage.’
‘Oh, God,’ I whispered, appalled, sinking my forehead into my hands. I had no recollection of that. Odd. Huge memory losses in some areas and wild hallucinations about buttocks in others. What was in those glasses? What
‘And whatever you do, you mustn’t think the whole village is laughing at you over that man.’
‘Are they?’ I yelped, jerking my head up.
‘No, of course not. That’s what I came to tell you. I knew you’d be feeling wretched – and of course I’ve been there myself, made a bit of a fool of myself in that department – so I came to say you absolutely mustn’t worry.’
‘Yes, but you cornered him in his kitchen and stuck a rose between your teeth,’ I said testily. ‘I didn’t do that.’
‘Well, you cornered him in the downstairs loo.’
‘No!’
‘We thought you’d passed out in there and Sam went to find you. You bundled him in and locked the door. He had to stop you swallowing the key.’
I got up, horrified. Stared out of the window at the back garden. Then I swung back to her. ‘Oh God, I was thinking of moving to Clapham, but that’s not far enough,’ I whispered. ‘It’ll have to be Sydney.’
‘That’s where Simon’s going, apparently,’ she said conversationally, as if we were discussing popping to Ikea. ‘Jennie had a long chat last night. He’s been offered a job, wants to make a fresh start. Getting a divorce too.’
Angie had clearly done the rounds this morning.
‘I’ll look into flights,’ I muttered, tottering across to the computer. Ryanair. Quite testing at any time. Particularly now. On second thoughts … I felt my way back to the table, holding on to the furniture.
‘Oh, don’t be silly, everyone drops a bollock now and again. It’s very refreshing. Can’t bear those who don’t, actually. Pious twats. And he
‘Whose fault is it, then?’
‘God’s,’ she said firmly, after a pause. ‘He’s no business making men like that. Tom’s back,’ she said, apropos, clearly, of attractive men. She reddened. ‘Or at least, he was last night. Whether or not he’s still there now is another matter. Perhaps I shouldn’t have given in so easily.’ She looked at me anxiously. Ah. So that’s what this was all about. Ashamed of her own behaviour, she’d come round wanting to remind me of mine. But why should she be ashamed of sleeping with her husband?
I voiced this and she gripped my wrist across the table. ‘D’you really think so? I felt so cheap this morning, such a pushover, so I slipped out to see you and Jennie. Didn’t want to seem un-busy. Told him I was going out for lunch, in fact.’
Hence the pink suit. ‘Leaving him doing what?’
