The Affair

‘Ah yes, Linus. Will he be at Eva’s tonight?’

‘Probably,’ Scarlett said as she began reapplying her eyeliner.

Scarlett had spent most of the summer helping her best friend Eva convert her parent’s garage into a crash pad. She had stayed over so often that Nina had felt obliged to send groceries as a contribution to Eva’s parents’ burgeoning shopping bill. According to Eva’s mum, they had a strict no smoking and no drinking policy in place, and thanks to an internal door that meant an adult could barge in at any moment, Nina was reassured that they weren’t up to anything else either.

‘I hope you behave yourselves.’

There was a split second where Scarlett might have been about to ask her mother what she meant, but they had already had that conversation and Scarlett was in no hurry for a repeat. ‘We will.’

Having remained on the threshold, Nina looked over her shoulder towards Liam’s closed door. ‘Boys might seem a mystery to you now, but, believe me, it doesn’t get any better.’

The comment had been directed to herself as much as it was to her daughter, and Scarlett chose not to respond.

‘You do know you can talk to me about anything, don’t you?’ Nina continued.

Scarlett huffed, suggesting she didn’t quite agree.

‘What?’

‘I would have thought you’re too loved up to be bothered about what’s going on in my life any more.’

‘Just because Bryn is here, it doesn’t mean I haven’t got time for you, Scarlett,’ Nina said carefully. ‘I know you’re getting to an age where you can make your own decisions, and I trust you to make the right ones, but sometimes it helps to talk them through with someone, and not only me. Maybe Bryn can give you the male perspective where I can’t.’

Scarlett put down her eyeliner. ‘OK, Mum, is this conversation about me, or could it possibly be about Bryn?’ she asked.

Nina felt her heart being pulled in two opposing directions. She and her children had made a formidable partnership over the years and she didn’t want that part of her life to change. ‘All I ask is for you and Liam to give him a chance. He’s not trying to foist himself on you as your new dad. We both know you’d only resent him if he tried.’ Nina left a pause in the hope that Scarlett might tell her she was worrying for nothing, but her silence told her all she needed to know. ‘Please, Scarlett.’

Scarlett bit her lip. This was another conversation they’d had many times before, right up to the eve of her wedding, in fact. Both Liam and Scarlett had needed some convincing that Bryn wasn’t a con artist preying on a lonely woman who just so happened to have a house and a business. It didn’t help that Bryn had made the mistake of mentioning to Sarah that he had been made bankrupt in a previous life, and so Sarah had sided with the children. Nina had told them to trust her judgement, and although that argument hadn’t been completely won, she clung to the hope that one day Scarlett and Liam would come to love Bryn as much as she did.

‘I’ll try,’ Scarlett promised.

Leaving a pause that was thick with disappointment, Nina asked, ‘What time are you planning on coming home?’

‘Eleven.’

‘Ten.’

‘Ten-thirty?’

‘If you’re expecting me to pick you up, it has to be ten o’clock, Scarlett. Some of us have to get up at five.’

‘I could walk. It’s not far.’

‘Not at that time of night.’

‘I’ll get a taxi.’

‘Bryn will be out then, I could ask him to pick you up?’

The refusal was already forming on Scarlett’s lips, but with her promise to her mum still fresh in both their minds, she managed another shrug. ‘I suppose.’

‘Great, so that’s settled. And like I said earlier, don’t think this is a regular occurrence. As of next week, studying begins in earnest. You’ve worked really hard to get this far, don’t fall at the last hurdle, Scarlett.’

‘Mum, it’s the first day, at least give me a chance to mess up before you go into nag mode,’ Scarlett replied before returning to the task of putting on her makeup.

Rather than leave, Nina crept deeper into the room until she was standing behind her daughter. She waited for Scarlett to stop what she was doing and look at her mum through the reflection in the mirror. Nina kissed the top of her head. ‘Sorry. I should have more faith in you,’ she said.

‘No arguments from me,’ Scarlett said with a smile and the kind of assured tone that Nina was convinced would see her daughter achieve the A-star grades her teachers were predicting.

Sunday, 6 September 2015

There was a varied selection of restaurants in and around Sedgefield, and if it were up to Nina, she would have been happy enough with the local pub for Sunday lunch, but Sarah had other ideas. The two friends had known each other from childhood, back when Nina had helped out at her dad’s shop and Sarah had faced a similar plight in the shop next door. Unfortunately for Sarah, her father had been a butcher; she would often sneak off to help Nina with her flower arranging, if only to avoid the smell of blood and guts.

Despite the similarity in their backgrounds, Sarah’s life had taken turns that neither of them could have imagined. Sarah would say she had more of an incentive to turn from the paths their parents had led them towards, but it also helped that she had a driving ambition. She had gradually taken over the management of the butcher’s and introduced new product lines until the business was as well known for its delicatessen as it was for fresh meat. When she had married Miles, he had encouraged her to diversify into property management and goodness knew what else. Nina often wondered what she might have made of herself if she had hated flowers as much as Sarah hated raw meat. Would she have gone on to explore new and exciting opportunities instead of being satisfied with business as usual?

As things stood, Nina lived an average life with average expectations, while Sarah had become accustomed to a certain level of service. Pub grub would not do and a table had been booked at the Stone Bridge, a restaurant that overlooked the Bridgewater Canal and was on track for its first Michelin star.

‘Are we happy with the table?’ Miles asked, pulling out a chair for his wife.

Nina had already taken her seat and felt Bryn’s hand on the back of her chair in a clumsy attempt to follow Miles’ example. ‘It’s a lovely view,’ she said.

‘Hmm,’ Miles said, glancing out of the window only briefly. They were on the upper floor of the restaurant, which had a grand view of the dense Cheshire countryside that had yet to be touched by autumn’s scorching fingers. Sarah’s husband was more interested in checking the distance between their table and those on either side, which were both occupied. Even if he had wanted to move, which he was obviously considering, the restaurant was almost full and their options would be limited. ‘I suppose it will do.’

‘I hope you’re all hungry,’ Sarah said, ‘and I don’t want to hear anyone suggesting we skip starters.’ She was directing the comment towards Scarlett and added, ‘You can always give dessert a miss if you want to watch your figure.’

Scarlett blushed fiercely but said nothing.

‘She doesn’t need to watch her figure. She’s perfect as she is,’ Bryn said.

His tone had been light but there was no mistaking the defensiveness in his remark and it made Nina smile. He was protecting her family, but judging from Sarah’s expression she wasn’t reading it that way.

‘You think so?’ she said, raising an eyebrow.

Nina held her friend’s gaze long enough to let her know she should keep her thoughts to herself. The only reason she had gone along with Sarah’s suggestion that they all have lunch was because she saw it as a way to cement her new husband’s place amongst her friends and family. It was not another opportunity for Sarah to sit in judgement of Bryn, and she had told her as much.

‘Of course it’s perfect,’ Sarah continued, with a small nod of apology to Nina. ‘You’re turning into quite a stunner, Scarlett. Your mum’s going to have to keep her eye on you.’

Scarlett slunk lower in her chair, threatening to disappear and never return.

‘How’s business, Miles?’ Nina asked, to divert attention. After all these years she still wasn’t sure what exactly Miles did, other than he was something big in engineering and the demand for his skills took him all over the world.

‘Busy as always,’ he said, ‘and it doesn’t help that my darling wife has a habit of jumping from one new project to another while expecting me to sort out the paperwork for what is meant to be her company.’

‘But you’re far better at it than I am,’ Sarah said with a playful smile. ‘And there’s so much to do.’

‘Which means I should be back at home sorting things out, but you insisted, and what Sarah wants, Sarah gets.’

‘Well, we’re glad you could make it,’ Nina answered, ‘aren’t we, Bryn?’

‘Most definitely. I know how work can take over your life.’

Miles gave a disinterested nod and it was Sarah who asked, ‘Have you never thought of starting up a business again?’

Bryn seemed to consider the possibility for a moment, only to shake his head. ‘Printing was all I knew, but the industry changed so fast. I wouldn’t know where to begin these days, and I wouldn’t want to try. Taxi-driving suits me fine: not as much stress and more time to spend with Nina and the kids.’

‘Have you been working this weekend?’ Sarah asked.

‘Yeah, and I’ll probably go out for a few hours tonight, although it’s hardly worth the effort on Sundays.’

Scarlett stopped gazing out of the window and turned an arched eyebrow towards Bryn. ‘Could you pick me up later?’

‘Pick you up from where?’ Nina demanded.

‘Eva’s,’ Scarlett said, as if it were obvious.

‘You were there last night and it’s school tomorrow.’

‘Oh, let the girl live a little,’ Miles said. ‘Is there a boy on the scene by any chance?’

Nina was about to come to her daughter’s rescue again, but this was a question she had asked often enough and it was refreshing to hear it from someone else.

‘No.’

‘How about you, Liam?’ Sarah asked.

All eyes turned to Nina’s eldest, who had kept his head down and his eyes fixed on his smartphone throughout the entire conversation. Nina had warned Sarah not to make any remarks if he insisted on using it during their meal; it had been part of the deal to get Liam there in the first place.

‘Yes, Liam, are you seeing any boys?’ Miles said. He was the only one to laugh at his joke.

Nina was about to say that it didn’t matter which of the sexes her son preferred provided he was happy; but saying such a thing would only expose the fact that this was a possibility she had considered. She really didn’t care if he was interested in girls or boys, just as long as he was interested in someone with a pulse. She had shared her concerns with Sarah and suspected her friend had continued to speculate on Liam’s sexuality with Miles.

Liam lifted his gaze and fixed it on Miles. Her son didn’t speak often but when he did, he used his words to full effect. ‘Sorry, Miles, you’re not my type.’

From the corner of her eye, Nina knew Bryn was trying not to laugh, which made it doubly hard to suppress her own smile. She would have liked nothing better than to high-five her son.

After placing their orders, it was Sarah who kept the conversation flowing. And while she was busy telling Bryn how her company supplied the hummus he had ordered for starters, Nina let her mind wander. She looked at her children in turn and wondered how the next critical years in their lives would play out. She was hoping that her marriage would add some stability to their lives; although they weren’t quite there yet, Scarlett appeared more comfortable in Bryn’s company of late, possibly because she had worked out that she had a chauffeur at her beck and call. Except she didn’t look comfortable now, Nina realized when she saw a deep blush rising in her daughter’s cheeks.

‘What’s wrong, Scarlett?’ Nina asked quietly.

‘Nothing.’

Scarlett pressed her chin to her chest. Her sleek blonde hair fell over her shoulders and partially obscured her face while she played with her hands.

Liam was first to locate the source of her embarrassment. ‘It’s Mr Swift,’ he said, tipping his head to the far side of the restaurant.

Scarlett’s form tutor was even more handsome than Nina remembered and, in contradiction to his students’ teasing, his thick dark hair showed no signs of thinning. On the few occasions she had spoken to him at parents’ evening, she had been almost tongue-tied, but it was Mr Swift who looked lost for words at present. He was with a small group consisting of two women and a young child, and was as yet unaware of the attention he had drawn from their table, being fully preoccupied with the two helium balloons that had been tied to the back of his chair. A large silver number three and a matching zero.

‘I remember him, he was one of Charlotte’s teachers,’ Sarah said. ‘Why didn’t we have teachers like that in our day, Nina?’

‘Maybe we should go and say hello,’ she suggested.

Scarlett snapped her head towards her mum. ‘Don’t you dare!’

‘She’s only teasing,’ Bryn said. ‘Even your mum wouldn’t embarrass you that much.’

‘I think the embarrassment is all his,’ Miles said. ‘I spent my thirtieth in New York having a whale of a time.’

‘Would that be the business trip you were forced to take while I was at home caring for our baby girl?’

‘Ah, yes,’ Miles said and cleared his throat. ‘When I said a whale of a time, what I meant was because I was working so hard, dearest.’

Nina bit her tongue. Unlike her oldest friend, who would jump at the opportunity to scrutinize the cracks in someone else’s relationship, Nina preferred to focus on the positives. Sarah’s marriage might have its faults, but it had been strong enough to endure an affair, and if Miles had strayed since, he was a brave man indeed. By contrast, Nina’s first marriage had disintegrated at the first hint of a problem, and Nina would be eternally grateful to Sarah, who had stopped her falling apart by convincing her she could go it alone.

‘Thirty is so old,’ Scarlett was saying.

Sarah choked on the sip of wine she had been taking. ‘God knows what she makes of you then, Miles.’

‘Fifty is the new forty.’

‘And twenty years more than thirty,’ remarked Scarlett.

When the starters arrived, the English teacher and his family were all but forgotten as the grown-ups focused their attention back on their own table.

‘So what are you up to, Liam?’ Sarah asked.

‘Not much.’

‘Have you picked a university yet? I’m sure it was around this time that Charlotte dragged us all around the country for countless open days. Typical of Charlotte, she opted for the first one we’d seen.’

‘She’s at Liverpool, isn’t she?’ Bryn asked.

‘Yes. I can’t believe it’s her final year so soon, and now the little madam has her mind set on a career in advertising. If I’d known she wouldn’t be coming home to work for me, I might have thought twice about paying for all that extra tuition that got her into uni in the first place.’

‘It’s a different generation,’ Nina offered.

‘Maybe, maybe not,’ Sarah told them. ‘By hook or by crook, I’ll rope Charlotte in eventually. I know I take advantage of Miles, but we can’t go on as we are. It’s only going to get busier in the next year.’

‘I can’t imagine convincing any of mine to become florists,’ Nina said, confirmed by the expressions on her children’s faces. ‘And I wouldn’t want them to. I’d like them to go off and explore the world. Liam came up with a long-list of possible unis over the summer, but I suppose we do need to whittle it down. Isn’t January the deadline for getting applications into UCAS?’

‘It doesn’t matter any more,’ Liam said. ‘I’ve changed my mind.’

‘Pardon? What do you mean, you’ve changed your mind?’

‘Not everyone has to go to uni.’

‘I know,’ Nina said slowly to keep her temper in check, ‘but up until now, it was what you wanted. And if you don’t go, can you please tell me what you do have planned?’

‘My company has a very good apprenticeship programme,’ Miles offered. ‘Or failing that, there could be opportunities with Sarah’s new housing development. It’s still going through planning, but once we get the green light, I’m sure we could persuade one of the contractors to take you on. What kind of career were you thinking about?’

Nina was struggling to keep up with the pace of the conversation. ‘Hold on, can we rewind for a minute. We haven’t ruled out university yet.’

Rather than answer, Liam returned his attention to his phone. The argument was closed, for now at least, and perhaps that was for the best. She didn’t want Miles mapping out her son’s life for him, she had managed well enough on her own so far.

‘I’ll be out this evening and, by the sounds of it, so will Scarlett,’ Bryn said. ‘Maybe you two could have a chat about it later?’

‘Good idea,’ Nina said, admonishing herself for forgetting she was in a partnership now. The conversation she needed to have with Liam might be better alone, but it felt good knowing she had backup.

While everyone had been concentrating on Liam, Scarlett became disengaged from the conversation. She had finished her starter and was looking absent-mindedly around the restaurant. Taking her lip gloss from her purse, her mouth open in a pout, she stroked the wand across her lips in soft, sensual strokes.

‘A word of advice, my lovely,’ Sarah said, her note of caution laced with a hint of envy. ‘Don’t do that in public unless you want to attract the attention of every hot-blooded male in the room.’

Bryn and Miles remembered themselves and looked away from the fifteen-year-old schoolgirl.

Scarlett

I used to think I could tell Mum anything, but not now, at least, not everything. Actually, not even close.

I know all this is driving her crazy, but it’s not like I meant to cause so much trouble. It just happened, and it happened so bloody fast. It was like, one minute I hadn’t spoken two words to him, and the next, he was the only one I could talk to. I’m not saying I didn’t know it was wrong, but I honestly couldn’t help myself and neither could he. You have no idea what it was like. We fell truly, madly and deeply in love and it was like we became addicted to each other.

And do you know what really annoys me? People won’t take my feelings seriously. Like, they assume because I’m technically underage, I couldn’t possibly know what real love is like. I’m sorry, but what does a date on a calendar have to do with anything? I was in love. I still am.

I know I shouldn’t say this, but it was actually funny looking back at how I acted. I didn’t have a clue he was interested in me, not in that way. I’m sort of used to people staring at me and I don’t want to sound vain or anything, but I know I’m pretty. It doesn’t matter how big a group I’m in, people always look at me first. I used to think it was because I was the tallest, but now I get it. It was always the men who looked at me the longest.

I’ve been told that I could hypnotize men with my dazzling violet eyes, but the person who said that was interested in a lot more than my eyes.

‘That mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble one of these days,’ he told me.

I bit my lip and said, ‘I don’t know what you mean.’

To be honest, at the time I wasn’t sure if he was talking about all the backchat I’d been giving him, but when he glanced at my mouth, I swear to God, it was so obvious he was wondering if my strawberry lip gloss tasted as good as it smelled. But the next minute he was laughing.

‘OK,’ he said, ‘if not you, then most definitely me.’

3

The Accusations

Vikki Swift didn’t know why she had been lying awake all night worrying about Scarlett. It must be so awful for Nina, but teenage pregnancies were a sad fact of life and Vikki had been little more than a teen herself when she had had Freya. Of course the difference was that Vikki had been married by that point, but who was to say Scarlett wasn’t in a loving relationship? Except that seemed extremely unlikely, if what Scarlett had said was true. How was this man she was involved with going to explain himself to the world in general, and more especially to his wife?

Refusing to dwell on the subject, Vikki turned on her side and slipped an arm around her husband. She reminded herself how lucky she was to have Rob. He was her one and only love, and even though she was still only twenty-four, she couldn’t imagine life without him. She held him tightly as she thought about everything they had been through, and how much growing up she had had to do. She might be a teacher’s wife and a mother, but up until six months ago they were simply labels she had collected, certificates she had acquired without actually passing the exams. She had always depended on other people to make sure she didn’t mess up, and although she was trying her best to think more for herself these days, it was still so hard. There were some things that she could never have been prepared for. It was scary how life could change so quickly.

‘What’s wrong?’ Rob whispered.

Vikki was surprised that he had been awake enough to notice her clinging to him. Or was there something keeping Rob from sleep too?

‘Nothing,’ she said.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Hmm,’ Vikki said, which was as near to a lie as she was prepared to go.

The truth was, she wasn’t sure of anything all of a sudden.

4

Before

Sunday, 6 September 2015

As thirtieth birthday parties went, having lunch with your wife, mother-in-law and daughter was not how Vikki thought the occasion should be celebrated, but Rob had insisted that he didn’t want a fuss. Reluctantly, she had gone along with his wishes, although she had been a tiny bit naughty. There were two helium balloons tied to the back of his chair which he obviously hated.

‘Sorry, is that annoying you?’ she asked when a balloon hit Rob in the face as he turned to fill her mum’s glass.

‘It’s fine,’ Rob said. There was a smile on his face and a glint in his eye when he added, ‘Who wouldn’t want to be assaulted by an inflatable number three. It could be worse; I might get my head stuck in the zero.’

When Rob leant over and gave her a peck on the cheek, she relaxed; she had done the right thing. Smiling, Vikki pushed back a rogue curl that had escaped the hair grip pinning back her dark golden curls, leaving only a select few tresses to fall over her round face in an attempt to lengthen her features. She often wished it were as easy to lengthen her petite figure, which was also a bit more curved than she would like since the birth of her daughter.

‘Maybe we could re-tie them so they’re floating higher above your chair,’ Vikki’s mum suggested helpfully.

Rob was still smiling when he said, ‘Great idea, Elaine. There are probably people at the far end of the restaurant who haven’t realized I’ve turned into an old git yet.’

‘If you’re an old git, what does that make me?’

‘Have you never heard of the term Cougar?’ Rob asked.

Elaine had stood up to rearrange the balloons and swiped him across the head. ‘Yes, I have, and I think I’d prefer to be called an old git.’