The Summer Guest

by Emma Hannigan

  Lexie climbed in beside Sam, who was pretending he was asleep.

  ‘What’ll we do?’ she asked.

  ‘I dunno.’ He sighed. ‘If we tell your brother and Dee, they’ll have a total meltdown. She’ll be grounded until she’s forty.’

  ‘I know,’ Lexie said. ‘But don’t we have a parental duty or whatever it’s called?’

  ‘Well, we’re not actually her parents,’ Sam pointed out. ‘Our daughter is called Margaret, apparently.’

  They giggled quietly. ‘Shush,’ Lexie said. ‘Whatever you do, don’t let her hear us laughing. I’d say she nearly died when the police arrived.’

  ‘I have to hand it to her, though, she can think on her feet. She was dead right not to go back to her own house in the squad car. She’s not that stupid.’

  Chapter 8

  ‘Two days in a row of sunshine!’ Lexie said to Sam, as he bit into his toasted brioche the next morning.

  ‘Hm,’ he mumbled. ‘Let’s hope it holds out for the weekend. I’d like to get a bit of work done in the garden. Any sign of Sleeping Beauty up there?’

  ‘She’s having a shower and going home to study for the rest of her life.’ Lexie grinned.

  ‘How long do you reckon that’ll last? Until lunchtime?’

  ‘If we’re lucky. I’m thinking we won’t tell Dee and Billy about the shenanigans last night. What do you reckon?’

  ‘It’s your call because it’s your family, but I don’t really see what good telling them would do. There’d just be out-and-out war.’

  ‘She seems really sorry this morning,’ Lexie said.

  ‘Yeah – sorry she got caught.’ Sam smiled. ‘Let’s leave it so.’

  ‘We were teenagers once,’ Lexie said. ‘She got a fright and it might make her think twice before she behaves like that again.’

  ‘Or she has a taste for drinking in parks now and she’ll be off again tonight.’ As Sam stooped to kiss her goodbye, he paused. ‘I forgot to mention it last night, but your mother called me yesterday.’

  ‘Really?’ Lexie looked mildly surprised. ‘What did she want?’

  ‘For me to cajole you into having a fortieth birthday bash at the yacht club.’

  ‘I meant to discuss it with you, but it went out of my mind when Kathleen came,’ she said. ‘I hate the idea. I couldn’t think of anything worse than having to be on display like a prize turkey, with my mother’s cronies clucking around me.’

  ‘Then there’d be the added hassle of forcing our friends to come along, make small talk and smile politely.’

  ‘I told Mum straight up that I abhor the idea. But she’s so enthralled with it, I don’t reckon she heard me,’ Lexie said.

  ‘Oh, she heard you all right,’ Sam said. ‘She was very cross with you, actually. Apparently you were, and I quote, “less than gracious about the generous offer”.’

  ‘Oh, bloody hell, what is she like? Seriously! She’s so stubborn at times. It gets on my wick.’

  ‘And we don’t know anyone else like that, do we?’ Sam said, fixing her with a stare.

  She rolled her eyes. ‘The only reason I’m remotely considering it is because I know it’ll make Mum ecstatic and keep her off my back for the summer. She’ll drive poor Dad nuts too. It might be a mercy call for his sake, if nothing else.’

  ‘I see your point, but don’t be bullied into it if you really don’t like the idea,’ Sam said. ‘This is like Groundhog Day from our wedding. Will you ever forget the fracas when we announced we weren’t going to a church or a hotel?’

  ‘The final nail in the coffin was my refusal to wear a meringue and a pair of curtains on my head!’ Lexie giggled. ‘Poor Mum, I have to feel sorry for her. She has only one daughter and I’m pretty dreadful. I give her no girly fix at all, do I?’

  ‘Ah, stop now,’ Sam said. ‘Don’t start tearing yourself apart. Just because you don’t always do things Penelope’s way it doesn’t mean you’re awful.’

  Lexie stood and hugged him. They kissed briefly and he reluctantly left for work. Lexie wanted to tell him about the baby comments but she knew it wasn’t the right time. She was still smarting after her mother’s parting words.

  It seemed as if the sands of time had run out with regard to Penelope’s patience on that subject. Lexie knew she needed to have a very frank and open discussion with Sam. They’d agreed very soon after they’d met that children were not on the agenda.

  ‘I have the maternal instincts of a marble slab,’ Lexie had confessed one night, Dutch courage fuelled with a few glasses of wine.

  ‘As in you’re a cold, hard cow?’ Sam had teased.

  ‘Not in every way.’ She had become oddly serious all of a sudden. ‘But I don’t ever see myself as one of those women who doesn’t mind a small person wiping their hands on her linen trousers. I’d resent being woken during the night and I don’t have an overwhelming urge to give birth to a mini-me.’

  After she’d spouted her true feelings, Lexie had sat with her eyes screwed shut, praying that Sam wasn’t going to spew his wine in horror and tell her she was a witch.

  ‘Wowzers,’ he’d said. ‘I feel as if you’ve read my mind. Bar the linen trousers, naturally. If I ever start wearing those you’ll know there’s something very wrong with me.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I’m a redhead, Lexie. Milk-bottle white skin doesn’t go with loafers and no socks, topped off with linen trousers.’ They laughed.

  She had sidled over to him and gazed into his eyes, longing to read his soul. ‘Are you certain you’re with me on the childfree-future plan?’

  ‘Lex, when my brother had his kids I had to feign interest after the first couple of conversations. Each to their own and all that, but I’m beyond relieved you’re happy to proceed with just you and me.’

  ‘We’ll have the best life together, right?’ she’d said, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

  ‘You’d better believe it,’ Sam had replied, kissing her.

  Lexie couldn’t have loved Sam more at that moment. She’d managed to exorcise her biggest inner demon without having to go into that episode in France. He’d simply accepted her wishes without question. She’d always known it, but right there and then, Lexie knew she and Sam were most certainly soul mates.

  Over time, as each of their friends had babies, they had grown more certain of their joint decision.

  When Calvin had been born, Maia and Josh had been rocked to the core. ‘This is the worst day of my life,’ Maia had cried, from her hospital bed, almost four years before. ‘None of my scans showed any defects,’ she said to Lexie. ‘How can this have happened to us?’ She sobbed, terrified and heartbroken. ‘Apparently he has all the classic signs. The facial features … The space between his big toe and second toe is larger than usual …’

  ‘I never knew that was a sign,’ Lexie said, trying to take it all in.

  ‘Neither did I,’ Maia said. ‘And he has no crease in his palms.’

  ‘Can they do a test or something? Maybe they have it wrong.’ Lexie was flailing.

  ‘They’ve taken bloods, but only to determine which type of Down’s he has. There are three apparently.’

  ‘Shit.’ Lexie had sat on the bed with a thud. Then, as the nurse wheeled the tiny baby back into the room, she had peered into his cot. ‘Oh, Maia, he’s so beautiful.’ She had burst into tears.

  ‘I know,’ Maia agreed. But as she curled her legs towards her chest she began to howl. ‘But I wanted a perfect child. God forgive me, Lexie.’

  Lexie had hugged Maia for the longest time, stroking her hair. There was nothing she could say. All she could do was be there. ‘Can I hold him?’ she asked eventually.

  ‘Sure,’ Maia said, eyeballing the little bundle.

  Lexie had scooped him out of the cot and nuzzled his little face. ‘He’s so soft and sweet.’

  ‘It’s so fucking unfair, Lexie,’ Maia said, thumping the bed. ‘This was meant to be the happiest day of our lives
…’

  Lexie held the baby and let her friend vent.

  ‘How do I announce this? Do I send a text saying, “Hey, all, guess what, bit of a pisser, but …”?’

  ‘Jesus, no!’ Lexie said, appalled.

  ‘What, then?’ Maia asked, as tears poured onto her hospital gown. ‘You’re the arty, creative one. Come up with a line that sounds better. While you’re at it, come up with something that makes me feel like I don’t want to kill myself.’

  That time had been awful. They had all gone through a sort of grieving process. Maia had slowly come to terms with the fact that her little boy was not what she and Josh had expected. The hospital confirmed he had Trisomy 21, which meant he had one extra copy of chromosome 21 in his make-up.

  ‘Apparently ninety-five per cent of babies born with DS have this type,’ Maia said. ‘Look at me using initials like I know it all,’ she said bitterly. ‘The good news is that he doesn’t have a heart defect. That’s lucky, according to the doctors.’

  ‘Great,’ Lexie said encouragingly.

  ‘Yeah? Why don’t I feel the luck, then, Lex?’

  ‘Because you’re in a tail spin right now, honey, that’s why,’ Lexie said honestly. ‘The dream you had originally is not coming true. You have a new one, though,’ she added carefully.

  ‘More like a really terrible nightmare,’ Maia said, as anger washed over her yet again.

  Lexie and Sam had spent as much time at the hospital as they could during the days following Calvin’s birth. Sam and Josh had never been that close. They knew one another, but only through their wives. Their relationship altered massively at that time.

  ‘We really appreciate the support you guys are showing us,’ Josh said. ‘It’s such a shock. So many of our friends are avoiding us like the plague right now. Thanks for sticking around.’

  ‘Hey, we’ll be here to help in any way we can,’ Sam said, banging Josh on the back.

  ‘Of course,’ Lexie reiterated. ‘If you make us godparents, not that we’re fishing,’ she raised an eyebrow, ‘we’ll get him the coolest stuff!’

  ‘Godparents you are,’ Maia said, sighing heavily. She looked to Josh and he immediately nodded in agreement. ‘Thanks, guys,’ she said, as fresh tears sprang. ‘Jesus, I’ve turned into a leaky mess. This being-a-mummy thing isn’t what I expected, in any shape or form.’

  ‘What about this little trouper?’ Sam asked. ‘Have you thought of a name yet? He’s nearly four days old.’

  ‘Yeah, we chatted about it last night as a matter of fact,’ Josh said. ‘Maia wants him to have a really cool one.’

  Maia had grinned through her tears. ‘Josh is too polite to repeat what I actually said.’ Taking a deep breath, she continued, ‘I vowed he wasn’t having a boring or run-of-the-mill name. He’s going to have tonnes of challenges during his life, so he’s going to meet them head on,’ she said, taking Josh’s hand. ‘And he’s going to be Elvis or Dahl or Zack. The cool kids have names like that, right?’

  Lexie had been unable to hide her concern. ‘For the love of God, Maia, don’t call the poor child Elvis! I know this is a rotten time and you’re both stressed to the hilt but, as his godmother, I won’t stand for it. Give him a cool name by all means. But not a downright stupid one.’

  For the first time in days Maia had laughed. Belly-laughed with snot involved. ‘Lex, you’re a tonic. Even though I’m going through the worst moments of my life, I need a kick in the arse. No better woman to administer it! What does everyone think of Calvin?’

  ‘That’s gorgeous,’ Lexie said, stroking the baby’s cheek. ‘It suits him. It’s rock-star enough without being farcical.’

  As the months had rolled by Maia and Josh had adjusted to parenthood, just the same as any new family. The initial shock had dissipated and they took to their new role like ducks to water.

  Baby Calvin was as cute as a button and Lexie, for one, was besotted with him. Her phone was full of photos of him and Maia often teased her by opening her eyes wide and doing rocking motions with her arms. ‘What’s that for?’ Lexie asked.

  ‘I’m rocking and being the bunny-boiler in that movie The Hand that Rocks the Cradle. Get your own baby and stop grabbing mine all the time.’

  ‘I don’t want my own. I just adore snuggle-time with Calvin,’ she said.

  The comment had made her think, though. That evening she’d asked Sam what his thoughts were. ‘Do you still feel happy that it’s just you and me?’

  He hesitated. Then, holding her gaze, he answered, ‘I don’t have a burning desire to be a father this second. Is that awful of me?’

  ‘Hey, that’s perfect. I feel the exact same way.’ She sighed. ‘Maia and Josh are amazing parents and I take my hat off to them … but there’s so much to consider. What happens when Calvin grows up? What if they can’t be there for him? He’s strong as an ox so far, thank goodness, but how about long-term? What if he becomes ill? What happens when they die?’

  ‘Jesus, Lexie,’ Sam said. ‘Those things are relevant no matter what. That’s the choice people make by becoming a parent full stop.’

  ‘I know. That’s my whole point. That’s why I don’t see myself being a mother any time soon. I don’t think I can make that commitment. And, for the record, Calvin’s condition has nothing to do with my opinion.’

  She wasn’t being completely honest, she mused. Calvin’s condition had made her think far more deeply about the prospect of parenthood. In fact, the idea of him being left alone without Maia and Josh or herself and Sam freaked the hell out of her. But it might come to pass. She and Maia had talked it over, strictly between themselves.

  They’d gone for a meal, just the two of them. Josh and Sam had stayed in for a lads’ night while minding baby Calvin. Maia had ordered a bottle of delicious yet very strong red wine, and they’d moved on to Irish coffee followed by gin and tonic. ‘I’m feeling lashed,’ she said, giggling. ‘I’m going to be so hung-over tomorrow. It’s not worth it with a small child. I’m an idiot.’

  ‘Ah, sod it, don’t beat yourself up,’ Lexie said. ‘You need to let loose every now and again.’

  They clinked glasses and the question came out of Lexie’s mouth before she could stop it. ‘What’s going to happen to Calvin when we’re all dead?’

  ‘I can’t bear to imagine that scenario,’ Maia admitted. ‘There are wonderful care centres and we’ll have to go down that route at some stage. But right now I’m trying to block it out.’

  ‘I don’t blame you,’ Lexie said. ‘Obviously if you get cancer and die any time soon, or get hit by a truck, I’ll be there one thousand per cent, right?’

  ‘Thanks, doll,’ Maia said, grasping her hand.

  ‘Not that I’m organising your funeral or wishing you dead.’

  ‘I know,’ Maia said. ‘But thanks for saying it. Millions wouldn’t.’

  ‘Millions aren’t you and me, Maia.’

  Over the years, friends had made the odd comment about Lexie and Sam’s lack of children. But as time passed less was said. Even Maia avoided the subject. Lexie knew time was marching on, though, and her mother was on a mission to become a grandmother again. It was only a matter of time before she started bringing up the subject with Sam as well. Damn her, Lexie thought angrily, as again she remembered her year in France. She’d been as gutsy and naïve as Amélie was right now. She’d thought she was invincible and that the world was there to show her a good time.

  The art college had helped her find a part-time waitressing job to subsidise her year away. The on-campus digs weren’t exactly palatial but she’d settled in immediately and adored being immersed in her new life in Bordeaux.

  Maia had visited for a week and gone home pea-green with envy. ‘I have to go back to my slog of a course in law while you swan around here absorbing culture, alcohol and the admiring gazes of delicious Frenchmen.’

  Everything had been just perfect until Christophe had crashed into her life and jeopardised everything.

  Lex
ie’s moments of daydreaming and reflecting on the past came to a shuddering halt as Amélie thudded down the stairs, fresh-faced and dewy in a stripy T-shirt dress. ‘I found this in your wardrobe. Okay if I borrow it? My clothes stink of cider.’

  ‘Nice. I get to wash those, do I?’ Lexie said.

  ‘Would you?’

  ‘Go on then. Put them in the wash basket.’

  ‘I already did.’

  ‘Listen, Sam and I have agreed we’re not telling Dee and Billy about your little stunt with the cops last night,’ she began.

  ‘Oh, thank you, Auntie Lexie,’ she cried, throwing her arms around her aunt’s neck.

  ‘As long as you realise you get one strike of this kind, okay? Do anything like that again and we’ll have to tell your folks. I’m really in two minds about this, so don’t make me regret having faith in you.’

  ‘I won’t. I’m so grateful. I promise I won’t let you down.’

  ‘Right you are,’ Lexie said. ‘Now get your butt home and knuckle down to some study today.’

  ‘Totally,’ Amélie said, grabbing her shoulder bag and skipping out of the door.

  Lexie stood in the hall for a moment, second-guessing her decision. She knew Billy would tear her head off if he even suspected she was covering for Amélie. But she remembered so clearly what it had been like having a strict parent. Penelope hadn’t allowed Lexie to go anywhere or do anything. If it hadn’t been for her father, Lexie knew she wouldn’t have gone to a single disco, let alone her year in France.

  ‘Ah, let her go,’ he’d said to Penelope. ‘She needs to spread her wings. Where better to learn French than Bordeaux? And she’ll get a whole different perspective on life while she’s away.’

  ‘I can’t see how you think it’s advisable for your only daughter to fly halfway across the world, stay in some flea-bitten digs and develop a drinking problem.’

  ‘Who says I’m going to end up an alcoholic just because I live in France for a bit?’ Lexie flared.

  ‘Everyone knows French people think nothing of pouring wine for children, let alone students. It’ll end in tears, mark my words.’

  But in the end Reggie had won. Somehow he had managed to convince Penelope that Lexie would come home in one piece.