The Woman Next Door

by Natasha Boydell

  It had been a great Christmas, as it always was, full of family time, playing games with the kids and generally chilling out. She was looking forward to a few more days of laziness before Alan returned to work, Tom and Katie returned to school and life went back to its normal pace again. She thought about her New Year’s resolutions, which she made every year out of habit but rarely kept to beyond the first couple of weeks. This year they consisted of the usual: lose a stone, drink less and work out what to do about her career.

  December was one of Sophie’s favourite times of the year, bringing back fond memories from her own childhood. She always went over the top with the decorations and festivities in the house and garden, which thankfully the children were still young enough to love. Helping to organise the school’s winter fair had got her into even more of a Christmas spirit this year. She had put her name down for manning the tombola stall and had been in the very thick of it when Jack appeared through the throng and made a beeline for her.

  ‘Christ on a bike, this is hell!’ he declared cheerily as he kissed her on the cheek.

  ‘Is this your first Christmas fair?’ Sophie shouted at him over the noise and chaos reverberating around the walls of the school hall.

  ‘I braved a few at the kids’ previous school but it was nothing like this. This is next level.’

  ‘We do go a bit all out at this school,’ Sophie admitted. ‘Do you want to play the tombola?’

  ‘Sure, why not.’ Jack reached into his pockets and pulled out some change and Sophie handed him the bucket of raffle tickets. As he read the ticket numbers aloud, she handed him his prizes – a bottle of cordial, bubble bath and a soap.

  ‘Congratulations,’ she said, giving him a thumbs up.

  He replied with a withering look. ‘What a haul. I’d better go round up the kids: they’ve scattered like sheep without a shepherd. See you later?’

  She nodded and got on with serving the next tombola hopeful. As she glanced up, she saw Jack being swallowed up by the crowds again. He had been doing the school runs for three months now and they’d fallen into a pattern of walking together most days. He didn’t seem to be showing any signs of returning to work full-time and she suspected he was enjoying himself.

  She had grown fond of him and now she looked forward to seeing him every day, feeling disappointed if she missed him. The children had grown accustomed to it too and now they automatically paused outside the neighbours’ house and waited for them to emerge. The friendship between Tom, Katie, Ellie and Freddy seemed stronger than ever.

  Despite her initial reservations about Jack, she had discovered that he was easy to talk to, funny and refreshingly self-deprecating. She could understand why Angie joked that she had five children, not four. She sensed that he had been acting the fool for so long that he didn’t know any different but underneath it all he was actually incredibly thoughtful. They talked about all sorts of things on their walks to school. Sometimes they were so engrossed that they kept going, even after they’d dropped the kids off. They would pick up a coffee and head for the nearest park, doing a couple of circuits until Jack had to go and do some work. Most of their subjects were light but as the weeks went by and the trust between them grew, they became more involved. Recently they’d shared what it felt like to be married to the breadwinner and Jack had made a joke of it, but she suspected that it affected him more than he let on.

  ‘I’m lucky,’ he told her, ‘I get to stay in a job I love without worrying about earning more money or climbing the career ladder. And I’ve had the opportunity to work reduced hours so that I can be around more for my family. How many men get to say that?’

  ‘That’s true,’ she agreed.

  ‘I’m lucky,’ he said again, and she wondered whether it was for her sake or his. It wasn’t that he resented having more parental responsibility because she could tell that he loved it, but she sensed that Angie’s career had always been more successful and that as much as he tried not to let it bother him, it affected his self-worth.

  It wasn’t just Sophie who was enjoying Jack either. The other mums had got used to seeing him at the gates now and he always seemed to gather a flock of women around him whenever he was waiting to pick up Ellie and Freddy after school. On their walk back home together he would regale her with stories he’d heard in the playground.

  ‘Apparently Frankie’s mum has hired an amazing private tutor but won’t give anyone else his number because she wants to keep him all to herself,’ he told her gleefully.

  ‘You’re more of a gossip than me,’ she said, one eyebrow raised.

  ‘I love a bit of school gate drama,’ he confessed. ‘It’s more exciting than EastEnders.’

  Sophie wondered whether Jack would ever want to go back to his old working pattern and how much Angie must be earning that they could afford it. She suspected it was well into six figures and tried not to wince when she looked at her own accounts spreadsheet and saw that she’d made £2,610 in the last financial year.

  But despite her growing friendship with Jack, it was still Angie who she looked forward to seeing at the weekend. Seven months after the storm, she had finally come round to tell her that they had chosen a contractor who was repairing the fence the following week.

  ‘Tom and Katie will be gutted,’ Sophie said ruefully.

  ‘Ellie and Freddy too. But it can’t stay like that forever.’ Angie paused. ‘Perhaps we could consider getting a gate put in? No pressure at all, I don’t want to invade your privacy.’

  Sophie loved it. ‘It’s a brilliant idea!’ she declared. ‘Let’s do it!’

  When she excitedly told Alan about their newly hatched plan, he rolled his eyes but said nothing. A week later the gate was installed, much to the children’s delight. They used the gate most days now. And it wasn’t just for their benefit either – a couple of Saturdays before Christmas, Angie had snuck round after the children had gone to bed, appearing at the back door with a mischievous look on her face. Sophie had suspected she was up to no good.

  ‘What is it?’ she asked, opening the door for Angie, who grinned and fished around in her pocket, pulling out a spliff.

  ‘Angie! I didn’t know you were into wacky-baccy!’

  ‘I don’t think they call it that anymore, darling,’ Angie replied. ‘Anyway, it’s not mine, well not really anyway. Someone gave it to me and I thought it would be a shame to waste it.’

  Sophie was dubious. ‘I haven’t smoked since I was a teenager.’

  ‘Come on, just this once, it’ll be fun.’

  ‘It’s bloody freezing outside, Ange.’

  ‘Oh, come on! Live a little!’

  Sophie looked at Angie’s face, daring her to be a bit naughty, and she sighed and grabbed her coat. Outside they huddled together, taking it in turns to share the spliff.

  ‘Didn’t Jack fancy it?’ Sophie asked, taking a puff and trying not to cough.

  ‘Oh God no, Jack doesn’t touch anything he can’t drink.’

  ‘Did you dabble when you were younger?’

  Angie looked thoughtful. ‘Not as a teenager, or at university actually. To be honest, I was a bit of a square. But just before I met Jack, I went out with someone for a few months who liked a smoke after work so I tried it a few times then. I didn’t like it much – or him.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘Well, the guy was boring. And the weed made me feel out of control, which I hated, but I’m in the mood to give it another go this evening, seeing as I’m in much better company.’

  The high from the drugs hit Sophie and she had to sit down on one of the freezing cold patio chairs. Angie perched delicately on the chair next to her.

  ‘So where did it come from anyway?’

  ‘A rather high-profile client who was being prosecuted for an excessive speeding offence found it in his pocket before his hearing and gave it to me to get rid of for him. I completely forgot and it was only when I was looking for something earlier that I discovered it.’

/>   ‘Ooooh, who’s the client?’

  ‘I can’t tell you that.’

  ‘Oh go on! Go on, go on, go on!’

  ‘No!’ Angie said, laughing.

  ‘Is he an actor?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Musician?’

  ‘No!’

  ‘Footballer?’

  ‘Stop it, Sophie!’

  ‘He is!’ Sophie said triumphantly. ‘He’s a footballer.’

  ‘I’m not telling you anything.’

  ‘Fine,’ Sophie said, starting to feel giggly. ‘You’re a bit of a rebel though, Angie Taylor.’

  ‘Not normally,’ she replied. ‘Maybe I’m having a midlife crisis.’

  ‘You’re not going to buy a Porsche, are you?’

  ‘Can you imagine,’ Angie said, her voice rising a few notches, ‘trying to cram four children into a Porsche?’

  ‘Benji and Indie would have to sit on the roof,’ Sophie said, feeling the hysteria rising inside her at the image.

  ‘Freddy could go in the boot!’ Angie said and they dissolved into uncontrollable giggles. Soon they were both bent double, tears rolling down their faces.

  ‘Bloody hell, the state of you,’ Alan said, standing over them with an amused look on his face. They’d been laughing so hard that they hadn’t even heard him coming outside.

  ‘Al, come and join us!’ Sophie said, recovering for a brief moment before she started laughing again.

  ‘You’re all right, Soph love, I think I’ll leave you to it,’ he said and handed them a packet of crisps and some chocolate. ‘Thought you might want these for the munchies.’

  ‘Oh, Alan, you’re a hero,’ Angie said, grabbing the crisps and opening them while Sophie took the chocolate.

  ‘Enjoy, ladies,’ Alan said, rubbing his hands together in the cold, ‘I’m going back inside.’

  After he’d shut the door, Angie turned to Sophie, stuffing crisps into her mouth. Sophie wasn’t sure she’d ever seen her eat junk food before. ‘He’s a keeper, that Alan,’ she said.

  ‘He really is,’ Sophie replied, smiling wistfully. Then she added, ‘So’s Jack.’

  She saw Angie’s face cloud over before she shrugged and ate another handful of crisps.

  ‘Everything okay, Ange?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes, yes, yes,’ Angie said. ‘Now pass me that spliff.’

  They stayed outside for forty-five minutes, until they could no longer feel their hands or feet. Eventually, they reluctantly called it a night. As they stood up to go in, rocking a little unsteadily, Sophie reached over and gave Angie a hug.

  ‘Night, Ange,’ she said.

  ‘Night, darling,’ Angie replied.

  It was amazing, Sophie thought afterwards, how you could go for years without knowing somebody and then they came into your life and you wondered how you survived without them for so long. She remembered how quickly she had dismissed the Taylors as ‘not our type of people’ but now, just a few months later, life didn’t feel right if she didn’t see them most days.

  They were having a New Year’s Eve party together that evening and she was looking forward to letting her hair down. Tom and Katie were fizzing with excitement and had dashed off to select which of their new toys to show Ellie and Freddy. Sophie left Alan to doze a little longer while she went upstairs to get ready. After a quick shower, she stood in front of her wardrobe in her towel and considered her options. Her usual going out clothes, which were normally perfectly adequate, suddenly looked frumpy and boring. She suspected that Angie would be looking even more glamorous than usual this evening, given the occasion.

  As she observed her clothes with a new-found distaste, she remembered the parcel that Angie had given her on Christmas Eve, before she had left to visit Jack’s family.

  ‘It’s for New Year’s Eve,’ Angie had said, giving her a hug and rushing off to supervise the children’s packing.

  Sophie ran downstairs and found the present, alone under the tree where it had been abandoned in her own dash to get ready for their trip. Glancing at Alan, who was now snoring, she picked it up and took it back upstairs with her. Sitting on the bed, she ripped open the perfectly wrapped gift and gasped when she saw what was inside.

  It was a beautiful silk gathered dress, with tones of black and bright blue running through it. She slipped it on and looked at herself in the mirror, running her hands down the dress and feeling the smoothness of it against her skin. It fit perfectly. She thought of the candle and chocolates she had given Angie for Christmas and felt horribly embarrassed, but it didn’t last. How could she feel bad when she had a beautiful dress like this? She blow-dried her hair and did her make-up while the children, who had drifted into the bedroom, lay on her bed waiting for her. When she was ready the three of them made their way downstairs to wake up Alan.

  ‘What the…?’ Alan spluttered as Tom and Katie launched themselves at him full pelt. Then he spotted Sophie and let out a low whistle.

  ‘Wow, looking good there, Mrs B,’ he said. She grinned and spun around in a little circle.

  ‘Stunning,’ he said, looking at her in admiration. ‘Right, I’d better up my game.’

  He stood up and climbed the stairs, emerging twenty minutes later wearing his best shirt and a smart pair of jeans. She could smell the aftershave on him. This was a big effort for Alan and she wolf-whistled at him. ‘Looking mighty fine there, Al.’

  ‘I can’t let the side down, not with you looking like that,’ he told Sophie, and then glanced at his watch. ‘Right, we’d better be off.’

  They let themselves out of the back door and through the gate into Angie and Jack’s garden. Tom and Katie ran on ahead, desperate to go inside and see their friends after a forced separation over Christmas, but Alan paused and turned to Sophie.

  ‘I love you, Soph, you’re something special.’

  She gave him a quick kiss. ‘You’re not too bad yourself.’

  Inside the party was already in full flow. Ellie had got a karaoke machine for Christmas and Jack was singing ‘Living on a Prayer’ at the top of his voice.

  ‘Brennans!’ he shouted with delight when he saw them, coming over to shake Alan’s hand effusively and give Sophie a hug. ‘Happy Christmas and all that.’

  ‘Where’s Angie?’ Sophie asked.

  ‘Upstairs getting ready, she’ll be down in a minute. Alan mate, what’s your tune?’

  Jack and Alan commandeered the karaoke machine again and Sophie went upstairs to find Angie. As she knocked softly on the bedroom door it opened slightly and she saw Angie inside, looking ridiculously beautiful in a long red dress, her dark hair loose around her.

  She turned and clasped her hands together in delight when she saw Sophie. ‘You look incredible, I knew that dress would suit you,’ she said.

  ‘I’m mortified,’ Sophie told her. ‘It must have cost a fortune. My present to you was rubbish in comparison.’

  ‘Nonsense,’ Angie insisted, ‘I love that candle.’

  ‘I brought you some champagne,’ Sophie said, handing a glass over to Angie, who took it gratefully and clinked glasses with Sophie.

  ‘To a new year,’ she said.

  ‘To friendships,’ Sophie replied and they both took a sip.

  ‘How was your Christmas?’ Angie asked.

  ‘Lovely. The usual eating too much chocolate, playing board games and watching the Strictly Christmas Special. How about you?’

  ‘Fabulous. It’s always a hoot when we spend Christmas with Jack’s family. They managed to get four of the five siblings together – one’s in Australia – and there were twelve children all together. Jack’s mum put on this vast spread. I don’t know how she did it. The children were in heaven: they love their older cousins. I don’t think they wanted to come home.’

  ‘Muuuuuum, I need a lift to Amber’s house! Now!’ came a shout from downstairs.

  Angie sighed. ‘Indie’s having a sleepover at her friend’s,’ she explained.

  ‘How’s she gettin
g on at school?’

  ‘Oh fine, she’s got a good group of girlfriends and there’s some boy she’s being all coy about. I’m not sure how much she’s actually learning, but she’s having fun.’

  ‘Jack certainly seems to be enjoying the school runs.’

  ‘I know. I must say, if you’d told me at the beginning of the year that Jack would be a virtual house husband, I’d have told you to stop being so ridiculous. Life is unpredictable, isn’t it?’

  For a moment Angie looked lost, completely absorbed in her own thoughts.

  ‘Are you okay, Ange?’ Sophie asked, waving a hand in front of her.

  Angie recovered and smiled at Sophie. ‘Oh yes, I’m absolutely fine. Now let’s get Indie off to her friend’s house so we can all relax and get the party started. We can’t spend all evening hiding away in the bedroom with dresses this fabulous on.’

  Sophie raised her glass again. ‘Amen to that.’

  As they walked down the stairs, listening to the deafening sounds of Jack and Alan belting out ‘Get The Party Started’, she turned to Angie and said, ‘I think they already have.’

  9

  Angie sat on the cold, hard garden bench, shivering. Despite the cold February weather, she wasn’t wearing a coat and she pulled the top of her turtleneck jumper up over her mouth and hid her hands in the long sleeves. She stared at the closed gate and wished that she was in a children’s book and could walk through it into a secret garden, another world where life was much simpler. Real life seemed to have become horribly tangled. She started when the gate flew open and Sophie marched through it, clutching a soft toy.

  ‘Bloody hell, Angie, you scared the life out of me,’ she said, putting a hand to her heart. ‘I was just coming round to drop off Freddy’s dinosaur, he left it at ours. What are you doing out here?’