mess. I’ll sort it out. I’m just staying with a friend—’
Fury gathered in the pit of her stomach. ‘A friend? Who?’
‘You have to trust me,’ he said, adjusting his glasses.
‘Trust you! Are you serious?’
‘I’ll sort it out. Look, there’s more. I just can’t tell you right now.’
She was only just beginning to digest what he’d told her. More? What about Olive? It was one of the reasons she’d come back. ‘Tim, you need to visit Olive. I saw her today. I—’
‘Olive? Look, I’ll try, but I haven’t got a lot of time for all that. You’ll see her, visit her, won’t you? Please?’ He looked at Maddie, a man reduced to pleading.
All that.
‘Of course I will, Tim. I love Olive, but she wants to see you. We don’t know—’
‘Maddie, that’s what the nursing home’s for, to look after her. I can’t cope with that now as well as everything else. And listen, don’t go near the house, not till I tell you it’s OK.’ He glanced at his mobile phone.
Who was this man opposite her? She’d shared a life, a bed, a son with him. He was a stranger. He loved his cars, provided for them all, he was proud. Did she even know him? The house, her home, the debts – the earring – where did it leave her in all this?
‘Tim—’
‘Look, Maddie,’ he said, eyes wild. ‘There’s stuff you don’t know about. I’m trying to sort it,’ he said, pushing his chair back and started to get up. ‘I’ve got to go.’
A rage started to boil up inside her, but just as she was about to ask him more questions, infuriatingly, his phone rang. As he answered it, he gestured that he needed to go outside and started walking away.
‘Tim!’ she called out, but by the time she had gathered her things and left money on the table, he had gone.
*
When Maddie got back from meeting Tim, Rachel was in the kitchen making supper. Taffie bounded up to her and started licking her hand as she bent down and tickled him.
‘In here, darling. Listen—’ Rachel turned around from the sink ‘—I’ve made up some soup – you can take that in for lunches this week to school. I know you’re a bit strapped for cash, Maddie, and I do not want to discuss it, all right. You look like you’re about to collapse. And we need you to be strong. According to Carole, that pillock they got in to replace you can’t even mash potatoes!’
And then the tears started.
‘Oh, petal, come here.’ Rachel bustled over and put her arm around Maddie as Taffie tried to leap onto Maddie’s lap. ‘Down, Taffie!’
‘I’m sorry, Rachel, you’ve been incredibly good to me already. I just – I just…’ She let out a deep sigh.
‘Don’t worry. Sit down.’
Maddie sat down as Rachel placed a steaming mug of tea in front of Maddie. ‘I’ve put two sugars in there,’ she said softly as she sat down next to Maddie. ‘Now, tell me what happened.’
Where, oh where, should she start? She was homeless, didn’t know where or who her husband was anymore, what he’d been doing behind her back. He’d lost them their house and all their savings, her son was a million miles away and she was broke. At least she still had her job at the school. Au revoir, Bali; now she really was coming back down to earth with a bump.
26
It was almost a relief having to stand and wash up dishes; something to do as her brain tried to process what to make of her life. She’d missed the school in a funny sort of way, missed the routine, but they’d been really good about giving her unpaid leave when she’d explained about Ed. Take all the time you need. She stood, watching the children tear around in the playground, the wind whipping up the girls’ hair, the silent laughs and muffled screams of the playground chaos as seen behind a pane of glass. A thud of a football, a gaggle of girls with plastic hula hoops.
The last few leaves of autumn were chasing each other around the playground. November next week. They had choir practice tonight, gearing up for the big Christmas Carol Mash-Up in the village square on Christmas Eve. She smiled. It would all be so perfect, if the rest of her life was in order. Her mind wandered back to those photos on Facebook.
She had shown Rachel her pictures of the Bali trip, but when Rachel