of the little girls’ room. She would have made it, had she not barrelled headlong into a strong pair of arms instead just a few feet from the table.
‘Marla, I thought it was you.’
She looked up, and one glimpse of the familiar, craggy face of her ex-stepfather Dr Robert Black was enough to make her crumple against his crisp white shirt.
He was an unexpected and comforting lifejacket in a stormy sea, and she clung on tight.
‘Robert?’ Cecilia’s voice quivered from behind them, stripped bare of her trademark confidence.
Robert smiled warmly at his ex-wife. ‘Cecilia. Long time no see.’
When Marla returned to the table some minutes later, her main course was cold and her seat was occupied by Robert, head to head in quiet conversation with her mother. Marla couldn’t help but notice the way her mother leaned her body in towards him, or how her face had softened in his presence in a way that had nothing to do with the candles flickering on the table.
On Cecilia’s other side, Melanie looked up from her salad, giving Marla a sly wink over Gabe’s dipped head.
Marla comforted herself with a split second fantasy of gouging out Melanie’s eyes with one of the dainty silver fish knives that lay close at hand.
Perhaps Brynn would like to pop them into his pocket to dissect later. On second thoughts, maybe not. No doubt they’d be full of putrid, evil stuff that would splatter the walls if he sliced into them, because Melanie’s smug look was laced with pure bromide.
Robert spotted Marla behind him and jumped up to fold her into another quick hug. He held her at arms length and looked her over with a concerned frown.
‘Alright now, sweetheart?’
She blinked quickly as a fresh platoon of tears marched eagerly up her tear ducts. Left, right, left, right! Fall back! Fall back! His kind, fatherly tone threatened to unpick the good the five minutes she’d just spent deep breathing with Emily in the ladies’ had done. She smiled, her eyes overly bright.
‘It’s so lovely to see you,’ she answered. Robert had been more of a fatherly presence in his few short years as Cecilia’s husband than her own dad had been in a lifetime.
‘You too, honey. Call me soon, yes?’
Marla squeezed his hands and nodded.
‘Who are you here with?’ she asked, keen to steer the conversation into less emotional waters. Behind her, Cecilia leaned forward to catch the answer to the question she probably hadn’t dared to ask herself.
‘It’s a work thing,’ Robert said. ‘Bit dry, to be honest. Was a relief to spot my favourite girls over here … my favourite girl.’
He tailed off and corrected himself with an awkward smile. ‘My favourite girls’ had always been his term of endearment for Marla and Cecilia, and it was clearly inappropriate now. Hearing it then was almost enough to summon the tears legion back to duty.
Brynn shot around the table and screeched to a halt behind Cecilia’s chair. It was a tactical error. Standing near Robert only served to highlight the fact that Brynn was a head shorter and a darn sight less attractive.
‘Brynn Holt. Taxidermist. And, Cecilia’s intended.’
He slicked hair back into place and held out his hand towards Robert.
‘Intended for what?’ Jonny called. ‘A glass display case in the cellar?’
He earned himself a high five from a rather drunk Tom and a sharp elbow in the ribs from Emily.
Robert suppressed a smile.
‘Dr. Robert Black. Gynaecologist. And ex-husband number five.’
‘Oooh, excellent,’ Tom said, brightly. ‘You should be able verify Cecilia’s tiny fanny claim, then.’
Gabe spluttered on the large glass of wine that Cecilia had pressed on him. Brynn looked askance, Robert looked amused, and Cecilia, who loved nothing more than discussing sexual anatomy around the dinner table, nodded in excitement.
‘In my professional capacity, I most certainly cannot.’ Robert frowned at Tom, and then grinned. ‘However, in my capacity as ex-husband, I can indeed confirm that Cecilia is delightfully snug.’
Parting shot delivered, he turned on his heels and headed back to join his own party. Marla realised with a jolt that most of their own party had been too interested in Robert to carry on conversations between themselves, and now he’d gone they were all gazing at her like attentive students in a classroom. All except Jonny, who leaned back on his chair legs to watch Dr Robert’s retreating backside.
‘What an amusing man,’ Brynn ground out through gritted teeth as he made his way back to his seat.
‘Amazing,’ Cecilia corrected, too quietly for anyone but Gabe