The Desperate Wife’s Survival Plan

by Alison Sherlock

  ‘Sorry,’ she said, fishing in her handbag for a tissue. ‘It’s the hormones. I’m pregnant.’

  ‘Congratulations,’ replied the woman, whose daughter was tugging at her arm. ‘Anyway, don’t fret. It’ll be half term before you know it.’

  ‘God help us,’ drawled another of the women. ‘Did you book that Euro Disney trip?’

  ‘Arabella’s father hasn’t come through with the child-maintenance payment yet. Probably too busy bonking his mistress.’

  Caroline tried to stop her eyebrows from shooting up but wasn’t sure she was entirely successful.

  ‘Poor you,’ cooed the other mothers.

  ‘She’s an actress too, apparently,’ the woman drawled on. ‘Just starred in the latest Disney film . . . Finding Nympho.’

  Caroline joined in with the laughter but felt the conversation was a bit inappropriate with their children still by their sides. It was their daughters’ first day at school. How could they all be so laid-back and stand around and gossip like this?

  All too soon, the time arrived to say goodbye. Caroline just about managed not to cry as she hugged Flora. Her daughter seemed unfazed by the new environment and followed the others into the classroom.

  Caroline said a quick goodbye to the other mums and was halfway home in the car before she really began to sob. She made it back before calling Julie.

  ‘So? How bad was it?’ said her friend, picking up the call.

  ‘Dreadful,’ said Caroline, voice breaking at the other end of the line.

  ‘I was the same,’ said Julie.

  ‘What do I do now?’ said Caroline.

  ‘Relax and enjoy the peace and quiet,’ Julie told her. ‘Watch daytime television. Read a book. All the things you can’t do when Flora’s at home. You’re pregnant. Put your feet up.’

  ‘It’s just so quiet,’ said Caroline.

  ‘I know,’ said Julie. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow night?’

  ‘Of course.’

  Caroline wandered around the house, unable to sit still. Her mind was racing, watching television unthinkable.

  So she grabbed her car keys and headed back out, anything to avoid the silence the house was now filled with.

  Chapter Fifty-three

  ONCE HER FRIENDS had been reassured that the noisy neighbours upstairs had finally been thrown out of their flat, Charley persuaded them to return to her home for the next meet-up.

  Unfortunately, she was hideously late getting home as the Mini had broken down on the way home from the shop. Unable to get it going, she rang her dad who had come out with a mechanic friend to look it over.

  The mechanic gave the engine a rueful look once he had fiddled with the electrics for a while.

  ‘Well? What do you think?’ asked Charley.

  He exchanged looks with her father.

  ‘Can it be easily fixed?’ Charley persisted.

  ‘Only if I jack up the roof and run a new car underneath in its place.’

  She sighed. Everyone had to be a comedian.

  Her father managed to establish that the Mini could be sorted out that weekend, ready for work on Monday morning. He dropped Charley off at her flat. She rolled her eyes when she saw her friends’ cars already outside in the car park.

  ‘Sorry!’ she exclaimed, rushing up to them as they huddled in the communal hallway. ‘Bloody car.’

  ‘Maybe your Aunt Peggy will take it back,’ said Julie.

  Charley grunted. ‘Would you?’

  She let them into the flat and they all breathed in the glorious smell. Julie had lent Charley her old slow cooker as she said she never used it. Charley could at least afford to buy the cheaper cuts of meat. A couple of mornings each week, she would quickly brown whatever bargain she had bought, throw in some vegetables and stock, and leave the slow cooker to bubble away during the day. It was wonderful to come home to find an appetising smell wafting out of the kitchen. And it was nice to eat meat again as well.

  Charley switched on the kettle to heat up the couscous she was going to serve with her sun-dried tomato and chicken dish.

  ‘It’s not a very glamorous meal,’ she told her friends. ‘But it’s healthy.’

  ‘Did you hear about Grove Castle?’ asked Caroline, once they each had a drink.

  ‘You mean the Valentine’s Ball?’ asked Charley.

  ‘So romantic,’ sighed Caroline.

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Julie. ‘I’ve never suited evening dresses.’

  They all glanced at Samantha who would normally have raved about the fashions but she was looking tired. She had just endured the longest fortnight of her life. Richard hadn’t called her before going on holiday with his family.

  She had been desperate and miserable, spending many hours on the phone to her friends to talk about the relationship. Charley, Caroline and Julie had all in turn tried to persuade her to give up on Richard. That he wasn’t worth it and was only using her.

  But Samantha didn’t listen, couldn’t bear to think that it was over.

  Finally, the previous evening, he had turned up on her doorstep. She had jumped willingly into his arms, grateful that he had come back to her.

  Charley frowned as she watched Samantha texting someone who could only be her lover, ignoring everyone else in the room. It was always the same, but it was beginning to grate on Charley.

  Samantha was a great friend during the good times, always up for a laugh and ready to party. But she was absolutely lousy during the bad times. She expected the world to revolve around her, but she would be more of a friend if she deigned to listen to someone else’s problems for once.

  ‘What’s going on?’ asked Caroline.

  Samantha grinned. ‘It would make you blush if I showed you what he’s just written.’

  Charley made her excuses to attend to the dinner.

  Whilst she was stirring the couscous, Caroline joined her in the kitchen.

  ‘I was just in search of another glass of water,’ she said.

  Charley watched her. ‘You don’t look very well.’

  ‘I feel a bit rough still.’

  ‘Have you talked to the midwives? Can’t they do anything?’

  Caroline shrugged her shoulders. ‘I’ll feel better when the baby comes.’

  ‘Can I do anything?’ asked Charley.

  ‘Carry the baby for me?’

  Charley gave her a brief hug before saying, ‘How about a bit of dinner?’

  ‘That would be great.’

  She dished up and handed everyone their plate, realising that Samantha was still going on about Richard.

  ‘He’s promised me he’ll throw a sickie on Monday. It’s the only time we can get to be together now his wife’s growing more suspicious.’

  Charley stayed quiet. She had never given much thought to Samantha’s being a mistress before. She’d known about the affair of course, but now it seemed wrong. Because somebody, somewhere, was as unaware of her husband’s affair as Charley had been of Steve’s.

  ‘Lovely meal,’ said Caroline, obviously trying to change the subject.

  ‘How was the cleaning today?’ asked Julie.

  But Charley never got a chance to answer as Samantha had suddenly swung round to face her.

  ‘I know!’ she said. ‘How about we make up a foursome?’

  ‘For what? Badminton?’

  ‘No, silly! You can come out with me and Richard. He must have loads of good-looking friends.’

  Charley’s heart lurched. Trying to make small talk with some stranger in a bar? Her battered confidence wasn’t ready for that.

  She shook her head. ‘Thanks but it’s way too soon.’

  ‘Come on,’ said Samantha. ‘You need to get out more. It’ll be fun.’

  ‘I can’t afford it.’

  ‘The men will buy the drinks.’

  Charley gave a heavy sigh. ‘I don’t want to. I’m not ready.’

  ‘Steve cheated on you,’ said Samantha. ‘He’s with her now. He’s moved on. I
t’s time for you to do the same.’

  ‘That’s all it takes to move on, is it?’ snapped Charley. ‘A quick shag with some stranger and that’ll have me as right as rain? Is that what you do? Is that why you shag everything in trousers . . . so you can forget about your man lying there with his wife? Maybe you’re right. Maybe that’ll help me forget. But it doesn’t seem to have helped you, does it?’

  They glared at each other for a minute whilst the other women exchanged looks.

  ‘Besides, have you seen the blokes in town on a Friday night?’ said Julie in a bright voice. ‘Talk about grim.’

  ‘That’s what I’ve been telling you lot for years,’ said Samantha. ‘The pickings aren’t exactly rich out there in single-man land.’

  She gave Charley a sheepish grin.

  Charley couldn’t fight any longer and began to gather up the plates. ‘I’ll get the ice-cream,’ she said.

  They all enjoyed the elderflower flavour. Charley served scoops of it inside small pastry cases.

  ‘This is great,’ said Julie.

  ‘Thanks,’ replied Charley. ‘I thought it might perhaps be a bit too sophisticated for the shop customers.’

  She was actually itching to make some different recipes but there was never any time to spare. But come the autumn, her life would be her own once more and then she could start to experiment.

  There were so many people suffering in the current economic climate. She had been so lucky to have had so much, and then she had thrown it all away. Before that she had never once considered the possibility that she might lose it all. Never thought everything in her life could change so drastically.

  She wondered if that were the reason why she didn’t want to start dating. She had got to a stage where she was as happy as she could be, considering her current circumstances.

  Change meant things could get unpredictable again. That she could become unsure about herself once more.

  Charley had only just found her feet. She really didn’t want to trip over them at this early stage.

  Chapter Fifty-four

  JULIE STARED OUT of the kitchen window, watching Boris gleefully pulling up clumps of grass and chewing on them. She sighed and looked back down at the note she was holding.

  It was from the veterinary practice, reminding her that Boris was due for a six-month check-up and suggesting that he be micro-chipped. That would be another £40 to add to the rest of the expense of having a dog. The food bill alone was creeping up month on month as Boris became bigger.

  Things were already tight as it was. The newspaper advert in which she had tried to sell him had not appeared as the debit card charge had bounced. She was beginning to receive stroppy emails from the bank regarding her overdraft. The second mortgage was causing her no end of financial heartache.

  It had all been for Nick’s sake, to help him towards a more stable future. But that hadn’t happened. He had rung her only the previous week to ask for some more money to be wired to him.

  Julie called Boris into the house. The last thing she wanted to do was go for a long walk in the oppressive heat of the late afternoon but she knew he would be hyper all evening if they didn’t go out.

  She put on his lead and set off. The sun had disappeared earlier in the day, leaving a muggy atmosphere in its place. The clouds were definitely getting darker. Perhaps they would finally get some rain after so many weeks of summer heat.

  She turned on to the heath and released Boris from his lead. He joyfully bounded off, free at last to explore.

  Julie followed him in a bit of a daze, mulling over her financial woes. Something was going to have to give. She had just been paid and finally had a bit of extra money in her account to pay for the newspaper advert.

  Not really concentrating on where she was going, she glanced at her phone and realised that they had walked for a lot longer than usual. Julie called out for Boris so that they could turn and head for home. She felt sweaty and hot, desperate for a refreshing shower.

  As she waited for him to finish sniffing around a tree trunk, she looked up and realised the sky was becoming darker and darker, the threat of a storm growing ever closer.

  ‘Come on,’ she called out to the dog.

  But Boris was too busy having fun.

  So Julie decided to walk away without him, which normally induced the dog to follow her, in case he was left behind. But she had only gone a few paces when there was a loud rumble of thunder.

  She spun round but it was too late. Boris had scampered off in a panic at the alarming sound and was heading across the heathland towards the trees at the outer edge. Julie began to run after him just as thick drops of rain began to fall.

  ‘Boris!’ she called out, trying to keep her voice cheerful and light.

  But a louder crack of thunder meant he kept on leaping across the heather, far in front of her.

  ‘Come back!’ she called, the rain now falling heavily.

  In the middle of the heath there was no cover. She was quickly drenched as she ran as fast as she could after the dog.

  By the time she reached the trees, she could barely see through the torrential rain. There was a flash of lightning as she stared around the small coppice, but she couldn’t see Boris anywhere.

  She called out his name once more and tried to listen out for a bark or whimper but the sound of the storm was drowning out everything else.

  Julie didn’t know how long she searched the woods for signs of his cream-coloured fur but there was still no sign of him and she began to get increasingly upset. He was still so young. What if he had run on to a road or got stuck somewhere?

  She had no idea what to do.

  Just as she was beginning to shed tears of fear, wondering what might have happened to him, there was movement to her right. She whipped round her head and saw Wes coming through the trees, holding Boris in his arms. His own dog Cadbury was trotting along beside them.

  ‘G’day,’ said Wes, coming to stand in front of Julie.

  His white t-shirt had become transparent in the rain and was showing the hard muscular torso underneath. Rain was dripping off his face but he was still smiling.

  ‘You found him,’ said Julie, her voice still tremulous as she reached out to stroke Boris’ fluffy head.

  ‘Poor little guy came rushing past us in a real panic. But I managed to get close enough to grab him.’

  The sky lit up once more with a flash of lightning but Wes had Boris tight in his arms.

  ‘Have you got your lead?’

  Julie nodded and attached it with shaking hands to Boris’ collar.

  ‘You all right?’ asked Wes, as he put the dog back on to the ground.

  ‘I couldn’t see him anywhere,’ she told him. ‘Do you think we should wait it out?’

  ‘Nah,’ said Wes. ‘It’s only water. Besides, there’s some clear sky on the horizon now.’

  Julie glanced across the heath and realised that he was right. The storm was continuing its journey onwards and away from them. The rain hadn’t yet eased, though, and there were still a few rumbles of thunder, which made Boris run between her legs for cover.

  So they walked back together, the dogs remaining close as the rain continued to pour down. Julie was soaked to the skin and patted her hair, feeling it plastered to her head.

  ‘I don’t have to worry about that,’ said Wes, rubbing his bald head and smiling.

  It lit up his face, she thought. It was such a nice, happy face. A friendly face.

  She glanced at his wet torso when she hoped he wasn’t looking. Lord, but what did they feed them on in Australia? Growing beans? He was the size of a house, all hard muscles and bulging biceps. Julie and the two dogs could easily have sheltered underneath him for cover from the elements.

  The rain was finally easing off as they reached the outskirts of the heath.

  ‘Thank you so much for catching Boris,’ she said, as they made their farewells.

  ‘No worries,’ said Wes, bending down to rub
the dog’s head. ‘He’s a bonzer little guy.’

  Julie said goodbye and headed home, more than ever determined to place the advert. Temporarily losing Boris had been dreadful. She didn’t need that kind of stress. There was too much else for her to worry about.

  Chapter Fifty-five

  WITH THE END of the summer heatwave came a lull in the frantic pace of Charley’s life. All the children were back at school and so she reduced the opening times to just weekends. Suddenly she had her late afternoons and evenings free once more.

  She found herself unexpectedly bored, though, almost grateful for the cleaning job which kept her busy during the rest of the day. It made her wonder how empty her life had really been when she hadn’t worked during the latter years of her marriage.

  That didn’t mean she loved her job, she just got on with it. But once rested she found herself in a relatively good mood. At least until she received a text from Samantha.

  The date’s set! it read. Next Saturday night!

  What are you talking about? replied Charley.

  The foursome, stupid! Our hot date! came a swift text.

  Charley was horrified and immediately called her.

  ‘You’ve set me up after I specifically told you not to? After I most definitely said that I didn’t want to go on any dates at the moment?’

  ‘It’ll do you good,’ said Samantha, adopting a soothing tone. ‘You’ll change your mind once you’re there.’

  ‘Anyway, how can you go on a date? What about Richard’s wife?’

  ‘She’s away,’ said Samantha. ‘So it’ll be us, you and Keith.’

  ‘Keith?’

  ‘His friend from work.’

  ‘No.’ Charley was violently shaking her head. ‘I’m not doing it.’

  ‘Please!’ begged Samantha. ‘You’ll be my cover. Richard and I can’t go out on our own, you know that. And you never know, it might be fun.’

  Charley pressed her lips together.

  ‘It’ll do you good as well,’ Samantha added. ‘When was the last time you went out on the town? Had a bit of male attention?’

  Around the year 2002, Charley figured.