and stable influence that there had been in my life recently - had turned on me like this. She had been friends with Clare for almost as long as I had and I found her sudden lack of faith in either of us incredible and painfully hard to comprehend.
As far as I was aware, save for the unforgivable crime of not being at home to answer the telephone, I hadn't done anything wrong. Last Wednesday night had been perfect. We'd left the pub hand in hand and had walked back to her house in the cool moonlight. With the distant satellite's silvery rays dancing and playing on the rippling waves of the ocean she had been the one who had commented on how perfect and romantic our evening had been. There hadn't been any indication of the venom and hostility so evident in her voice now.
'Everything okay?' Rob asked, startling me. 'I heard you shouting. Was that Siobhan?'
I nodded and pushed past him and headed for the living room.
'I didn't realise you two were having problems,' he said, following close behind.
'Neither did I,' I grunted angrily. I was in no mood to talk.
I walked into the living room where the alien was stood at the bay window, looking down on the dark village below. I had forgotten he was there. He was the last person I wanted to see, certainly the last person I wanted to speak to. I was about to turn and go to my bedroom when I stopped myself. No, I thought. This is my house. The living room was the warmest, most comfortable room and it was where I wanted to be. Why the hell should I go anywhere else?
The alien turned round and looked at me before turning back to look out of the window again. 'So what's wrong?' Rob asked with genuine concern in his voice. 'What's happened?'
I didn't answer immediately. I didn't want to talk with the alien in the room. I wasn't even prepared to talk about the weather in his company and I was not about to share my private and personal problems while he was there. But at the same time there was no way I could avoid talking to Rob. It was obvious that he was worried.
'I don't know,' I mumbled. 'Haven't got a clue.'
'So what did she say?'
I shrugged my shoulders.
'She's decided that I'm having an affair.'
'An affair? Who with?'
'Clare.'
'Clare!' he exclaimed, surprised. 'Bloody hell, that's ridiculous. For Christ's sake, the way she feels about men at the moment is enough to put anyone off.'
'Not according to Siobhan it's not.'
'But you and Clare are just friends, same as me and Clare, same as Siobhan and Clare and me and Siobhan for that matter. So why does...?'
'We're more than just friends, we're good, close friends. And when a good friend of mine is hurting I want to do something about it. So I did something today.'
'Why today?'
'Penny's birthday, isn't it,' I said, my voice still quiet so our eavesdropping alien guest couldn't hear. 'Her ex let her down. Couldn't be bothered to turn up for his only daughter's birthday.'
'She's better off without him.'
'That's not the point.'
'You see, this is one of the things that I really have trouble understanding,' the alien said suddenly. I was angry that he'd dared to listen to and then interrupt our private conversation. Rob, on the other hand, was encouraging him to join in.
'What don't you understand?' he wondered.
'How you could even consider changing from one partner to another. Back home it just wouldn't happen, not even if our partner died. There's never any question of...'
'I wish you'd just fuck off home,' I spat, incensed. 'You come here with your bloody holier-than-thou attitude and then stick your nose into my business uninvited. Do yourself a favour and do me a favour and fuck off!'
'Tom,' Rob protested uselessly. 'Come on, he was only...'
I stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind me. All I wanted was an explanation. I felt empty and hollow. I loved Siobhan. I would have done anything for her. Christ, I would have taken a bullet for her. I thought she knew just how much she meant to me and I thought she knew how I felt. So why was she so hostile towards me? Had it really been that insensitive of me to have taken Clare and Penny out?
I sat alone in the darkest, quietest corner I could find and listened to the silence.
I loved her and I