by Leah McLaren
It takes a long time for Nick to fully round the corner, to make his way to where she sits at the edge of the tarp, back up against a jury-rigged tent pole. The wind carries with it the familiar citrus smell of her skin, now mixed with clay dust and camphor. She turns, just a slight shift, and for a while neither of them moves or speaks. Eyes racing over each other. Faces wide open. She is the first to talk. Her voice lifting him up like a cool wave.
“The twins are with my parents,” she says. “I had to see you. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No. Of course not. You came all this way?”
“I came to see you.”
“All the way across the world?”
“Yes. You’ve changed.”
“I have.” It’s not a question. This time he knows it’s true.
“I’m not sure about the beard.”
Nick lets himself exhale, and as he does Maya’s face opens into joy—a smile that lifts them up into the desert vibration, the place where light and sound meet. He smiles back. They could go on like this forever.
Acknowledgements
I wrote the first draft of this book while breastfeeding. Quite literally, I’d strap my newborn son to my chest while he fed and I typed (don’t ask me how I did it; I’ve blocked out the memory). I think I was scared that if I stopped writing I’d be sucked into the mushy quagmire of motherhood and do nothing for the rest of my life but bake banana muffins and die of love. This did sort of happen for a while (it’s pretty much inevitable) but somehow I managed to finish the book too.
But I never could have completed it without Jennifer Lambert, my brilliant editor at HarperCollins Canada. Jenn is a woman who knows more about balancing the maternal quagmire and work than almost anyone I know. She had two babies while waiting for me to finish a second novel! (To be fair, she did some other stuff too.) Though I wrote it quickly in the end, the novel was a long time coming and Jenn was Job-like (mom-like?) in her patience. Her editorial instincts are immaculate and without her I would be utterly lost. Also deserving of great thanks are Iris Tupholme (who never lost faith) and Jane Warren (who was there right at the beginning) and the marvellous Miranda Snyder.
Emily Griffin, my US editor at Grand Central, also did incredible work on the book. I am so grateful to her for acquiring it and for allowing me to hitch a ride on her ever-rising star.
Sara O’Keefe, Louise Cullen and Maddie West at Atlantic in the UK have given the novel a happy home in London. I have been astonished many times over by their encouragement, intelligence and humour.
My agents in Canada, Anne McDermid and Chris Bucci, have provided invaluable support since the beginning. And the incomparable Felicity Blunt and Emma Herdman at Curtis Brown UK have kept me laughing while working diligently to bring the novel to a wider audience. Nick Marston was the first person who told me to write it and his early blast of enthusiasm propelled me forward. And I’m also massively indebted to Jane Southern, Rachel Clements and my wonderful French publisher, Anne Michel, of Albin Michel.
An extra special, platinum thank you goes to my friend Tralee Pearce, a seasoned negotiator of the quagmire and one of the cleverest, biggest-hearted people I know. Without you there would be no idea, no story, no book. I thank you for your generosity, for your unwavering friendship and for calmly talking me down off a cliff’s edge more times than I can count.
My mother, Cecily Ross, and my sister, Meghan McLaren, were early readers and said only nice things, which is a massive compliment if you happen to know my (terrifyingly honest) family. I love you both like crazy.
Thanks to my regular editors who let me take time off here and there to dig into the book and who have made my writing better over the years: Gabe Gonda, Christina Vardanis and Kathryn Hayward at The Globe and Mail, Mark Pupo and Sarah Fulford at Toronto Life, Colin Campbell at Maclean’s and the marvellous Anne Marie Owens.
Big love to my beautiful boys, Solly and Jack, who take the time to remind me each and every day that they honestly don’t give a crap how busy and important I am. I would kill a Gruffalo with my bare hands for both of you.
And finally, thanks to my husband, Rob Yates, for being the finest partner, friend and cheerleading editor a writer could hope to have. I love you.
About the Author
LEAH McLAREN is a Globe and Mail columnist and Europe correspondent for Maclean’s. In 2013, she won a gold National Magazine Award in the arts feature category for her work in Toronto Life magazine. Her first novel, The Continuity Girl, was a national bestseller, spending nine weeks on the Globe and Mail bestseller list. She was born in rural Ontario, grew up in a small town and now splits her time between Toronto and London, England, where she shares a home with her husband and two boys.
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Advance Praise for A Better Man
“Inside every couple’s marriage is a secret known only to them. One of the many pleasures of Leah McLaren’s novel is the way she opens a window onto that secret, with great heart and wit. Wince in recognition then laugh out loud, just like life.”
Elizabeth Renzetti, author of Based on a True Story
“In this engrossing new novel, Leah McLaren deftly balances humour and pathos to weave a touching, entertaining portrait of a marriage in crisis. A great read.”
Terry Fallis, bestselling author of No Relation
“Leah McLaren’s A Better Man is ruthless and heartwarming by turns, filled with characters who refuse to conform to expectations. McLaren digs into the disorienting, hilarious, and sometimes flat-out absurd negotiations of modern relationships and identities with a sharp eye and a sharper wit.”
Grace O’Connell, award-winning author of Magnified World
Credits
Cover illustration: Shutterstock
Copyright
A Better Man
Copyright © 2015 by Leah McLaren
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPUB Edition March 2015 ISBN 9781443441582
Published by Harper Avenue, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
FIRST EDITION
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
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