I’d been at Megan’s for three days. James had been round, but she’d kept him at bay, and I’d ignored his persistent calls and messages.
I’d told Kate to go and see James. I wanted him to know he could still be a father to our child; I just couldn’t face him myself. She told me he looked grey when she’d turned up, like a shadow of his esteemed former self. He was relieved about the baby. What did he expect? I wasn’t a monster. I wouldn’t use the baby against him, for the baby’s sake. Kate told him she’d have castrated him if he had been her husband, and that he didn’t deserve my kindness. Apparently, he’d stood and nodded pathetically like a scolded boy.
‘Thanks, Kate.’ She gave me a sympathetic rub on the back. It was odd, but I wished for fiery Kate. I was so angry with James, furious that he’d thrown away our family. He’d always needed the house, the cars, the women . . . Why couldn’t he care about what really should have mattered? It was niggling at me, gnawing away, the little seed of thought that had started to sprout. Would he even care about the baby? It horrified me to think that way. I’d thought it was what we’d both wanted, but that seed was planted and it was growing.
‘We should change the subject,’ I said.
‘I have some news,’ Megan piped up. Our heads all turned to her, desperate for the distraction. Her eyes flitted about between us and she chewed her lip.
‘I’ve had a letter from Mike’s solicitor.’ She paused. ‘He wants the house.’
It hadn’t occurred to me that she was still living in the house they had bought together, and I felt awful for not asking about it sooner.
‘What, all of it?’ Kate said.
‘Yes, all of it. He said he’s put more money into than I have. He’s right in a way – my wage isn’t exactly much . . .’
‘But you must have contributed to the house – perhaps not the mortgage but bills, food, and so on but something surely?’ I asked, glad of the new topic.
She nodded. ‘Well, yes. It’s just going to get all messy now. I either have to back down or fight, and that will be expensive and I can’t afford to buy him out anyway. All so he can move her in.’
‘They’re still together?’ Kate asked.
‘Apparently so. He moved in with her, so I’ve heard through a friend. So after all the begging he did, he was shacked up with her all along. I’m past caring.’ She looked at Sam, who gave her a reassuring squeeze.
‘You can’t let him get away with this!’ Kate said.
Megan shrugged. ‘What am I supposed to do about it?’
‘I don’t know, but you can’t give up before we’ve even thought about it.’
‘James should pay too,’ I said suddenly. ‘Why should they get away with what they’ve done to us?’ That earned me three surprised expressions. ‘Well, I forgave him once, but I’m not a complete doormat.’
Kate disappeared out of the room. ‘Where do you keep your pens and paper?’ she shouted from somewhere else in the house. Megan disappeared after her.
‘How are you coping, Sam?’ I asked when we were alone.
He shrugged. ‘I was devastated, but being around Megan has helped. She’s so honest and dependable. I’m getting there.’ His expression darkened. ‘I think Samantha always treated me as inferior, and I let her because I was in awe of her. In a way I feel like a huge chunk of my life has been wasted.’
I gave him a small, sympathetic smile.
‘I hate what she did to you and James too,’ he said, taking me by surprise.
‘I’m sure he needed little persuasion, from what I saw in the emails, at least.’ The thought of them still made me sick. ‘I think we were both taken for fools.’
‘After everything he did, James had a second chance. He had the chance to build a happy family. I can’t believe he threw it away!’ Sam shook his head. ‘I can’t believe she turned up at his office naked, and you had to see it. She’s a completely different woman to the one I thought I knew.’ He was still shaking his head as Megan and Kate returned with pens and paper.
Sam was right, of course – James had had a second chance with his pregnant wife, and he should have been grovelling, not swivelling other people’s naked wives around on his office chair. I never knew he could stoop so low.
‘Okay, so Mike, Samantha, James . . . what does each of them value the most?’ Kate said, perching on the edge of the sofa, pen poised.
***
I excused myself from plotting to go and lie down on the bed in Megan’s guest room. The pretty pastel room had become a triage for scorned spouses. Sam had been assessed and treated before being transferred to his own apartment, but I wasn’t sure what they’d do with me. I supposed at some point I’d be discharged but they wouldn’t be able to cure me based on their incorrect diagnosis. It wasn’t a James deficiency I had . . . it was vitamin A. A for Andrew.
I considered sending him a text message but had a better idea at the last minute. Grabbing my laptop, I sat back down, logging straight into the Me & You website as it booted up. Setting up my own profile, would show the real me and be the perfect way to win back Andrew’s trust. I checked off the ‘interests’ as I’d done for Megan after uploading a picture of myself.
Interests:
✓ Keeping fit
✓ Socialising
✓ Cooking
✓ Walking
✓ Films
✓ Dining out
The next section asked about personal preferences. I ticked everything that applied to Andrew.
✓ Dark hair
✓ 6'0" or above
✓ Medium
