The Art of Friendship

by Lisa Ireland

  And then there was Kit. She’d hoped this shared event would bring the two of them closer together. But it wasn’t turning out that way. She’d thought once Kit saw her here with her new friends she’d realise that Libby’s life wasn’t as empty as Kit imagined and she’d see that that the ‘housewives’, as she still called them, weren’t all bad. Sure these women had a lot of money, and yes they talked a lot about their clothes, their holidays and their endless number of handbags, but they did a lot of good too. They raised an enormous amount of money for various charities; they were good wives, good mothers and productive members of the community they lived in. And they were interesting in their own right, too. Most of them had their own careers before their husband’s lives had taken over. In her mind’s eye she’d envisaged Kit talking to Alli and Georgina and being impressed by them – maybe even a little envious of the lifestyle Libby was living. She might even finally understand that Libby’s life was worthwhile despite the lack of a big career.

  But Kit did not seem remotely impressed. The whole damn thing was a disaster.

  Why was the principal still there? Cam, bloody fool that he was, had given the man another drink and then he and Kit had disappeared, possibly to call a cab. But she couldn’t believe that man who’d made her doubt herself, who’d made her think her beautiful boy might be a monster, was still standing in her living room drinking French champagne she’d paid for and looking completely innocent. Why hadn’t he just followed Kit to wait in the hall for the cab?

  She swallowed the contents of her glass, grabbed a fresh drink from a passing waiter and downed half of it as she looked around the room. Where was Alli? She could really use someone to unload all this on and Alli was really the only person she could totally trust other than Cam. And judging by Cam’s reaction to what had just happened he wasn’t going to be much support. He’d huffed out of the ensuite after Kit had stormed off, clearly unimpressed with what he’d overheard. He didn’t say a word, just shook his head at her and headed off down the hallway after Kit. Honestly, Harry was his son too. She couldn’t understand his ambivalence towards Harry’s welfare at times. Cam’s opinion was that Harry needed to harden up and realise that life wasn’t always fair. And while that might be true, she wasn’t going to have her son ambushed at his mother’s birthday party. Surely he had the right to feel safe and free from judgement in his own home?

  Georgina touched her lightly on the arm. ‘Is everything okay, Libby? You look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders.’

  ‘I was just wondering if Alli has arrived yet. I haven’t seen her.’

  Georgina’s brow furrowed. ‘Now that you mention it, neither have I. I’ll text her and check everything’s okay.’

  Libby nodded. ‘Good idea. Let me know what she says. I’m just going to find Felicity and get her to start circulating some hot food, otherwise everyone will end up off their faces.’

  Georgina glanced around the room and then smiled approvingly. ‘It’s a party, darling. There’s nothing wrong with excess alcohol consumption. I see your glass is empty. We can’t have that.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll grab another one on the way to the kitchen. Let me know if you hear from Alli.’

  ‘No need.’ Georgina nodded her head towards the living room entrance. ‘She and Greg are walking in now.’

  ‘Oh, great. I’ll just go and say hi.’ She left Georgina to fend for herself and made her way across the room, grabbing a couple of champagnes along the way. She kissed Greg and then Alli, handing her one of the glasses at the same time. ‘Hello, gorgeous, so pleased you’re here. Have a drink.’

  Alli smiled from under the gigantic floppy hat she was wearing. ‘Thank you. Happy birthday to you. Cheers!’ She raised her glass in a toast.

  Libby turned to Greg. ‘Sorry, Greg, I could only carry two. I’d never make a barmaid.’ She laughed at her own joke. ‘But there are waiters everywhere. Let me see if I can track one down for you.’

  Greg shook his head. ‘No, it’s your party. You relax and enjoy yourself. I’ll go find myself a drink. Don’t you worry your gorgeous head about me.’ He looked at Alli. ‘Are you okay, honey?’

  Alli nodded. ‘Yes, yes of course. You go circulate. I’ll be there in a minute.’

  Libby waited for Greg to make his way into the crowd and then grabbed Alli by the arm. Alli winced slightly and Libby immediately apologised. ‘Did I hurt you? Sorry. I’m a tad overwrought.’

  Alli laughed. ‘Not your fault. I did a huge gym session yesterday, my first in over a week. I’m so out of shape these days that I’ve pulled up sore, that’s all. No drama.’

  Libby rolled her eyes. ‘Out of shape? I hardly think so. If anything you’re looking trimmer than ever. I’ve been dying for you to get here. I’m desperate to talk to you alone. Let’s go to my room.’

  Alli hesitated, her eyes skimming the crowd. ‘Oh really? Okay, but let’s be quick. You probably shouldn’t leave your guests to their own devices for too long.’

  Libby nodded and turned, but before she could make a start down the hallway Cam barrelled towards her with Kit in his wake. Cam stopped in front of her as Kit brushed past on her way back into the main living area. Hopefully she was about to tell the principal their cab had arrived.

  ‘Alli,’ Cam said, kissing her friend’s cheek. ‘So lovely to see you. Would you mind terribly if I stole my wife for a moment?’

  Alli smiled. ‘Of course not. I probably should make myself known to the other birthday girl and wish her many happy returns.’

  ‘Have you two not met yet?’ Cam asked. ‘I wish I’d known, as she just walked past a second ago. Girl with the long white boots.’

  Alli shrugged. ‘Never mind, I’ll find her.’

  ‘Alli, wait. I still need a moment with you. I’m sure whatever Cam wants will only take a minute.’

  Cam grabbed her hand. ‘I really must insist on having you all to myself for a bit, Lib. Sorry, Alli. You can have her back in a few minutes.’

  Alli dismissed them with a wave. ‘Take your time. I’ll be here when you’re ready, Libby.’

  Libby swung around to face her husband. ‘For God’s sake, what’s so important that you have to be rude to our guests?’

  ‘I’m not the one being rude,’ he whispered. ‘Come with me, please. There’s something we need to sort out right now.’ Cam’s tone was unusually stern.

  Libby followed him up the hallway and into their bedroom. He closed the door behind them before starting to speak. ‘I can’t believe you asked Kit to leave.’

  ‘I didn’t. Well, not exactly. I told her that the man she came with is not welcome in our house, which he is not. I’m frankly astounded that she had the audacity to bring him here.’

  Cam shook his head. ‘This has to stop. I’m really beginning to worry about you.’

  ‘What are you talking about? That man victimised our son. He suspended Harry and forced us to remove him from the school while the real offenders got off scot-free.’

  ‘That’s simply not true. Harry was punished because he did something wrong. You thwarted the school’s attempt to get Harry help to reform his behaviour so something like this never happens again. Your overreaction was the real problem.’

  ‘That’s ridiculous. You said yourself that Harry will benefit from going to boarding school.’

  ‘And I think he will, but that’s hardly the point. The whole thing could have been avoided if you’d just given the school the chance to help him.’

  ‘But they weren’t interested in helping him, only in blaming him and covering their own arses. I don’t know why it’s so hard for you to take the side of your own child.’

  ‘Libby. Stop the bullshit for a second, would you? You are being completely unreasonable and I need you to stop.’

  All the air left her lungs and her chest tightened. Why was no one on her side? Why c
ouldn’t Cam be more like Greg and just be concerned for her? Why didn’t he just take her in his arms and tell her she was a good mother and of course she knew what was best for their child instead of running around behind her back and undermining her? ‘Why do you always think the worst of me, Cam? And of Harry?’

  ‘I don’t. But you need to accept that Harry’s not perfect. Just like you’re not and I’m not. Don’t you see that your inability to accept Harry for who he is – even when he’s done something wrong – is part of the problem here? He thinks he needs to be perfect or you won’t love him.’

  Cam’s words hit her like a physical blow. She edged backwards and sat on the bed. Was that what Harry thought? She’d spent his whole life trying to give him unconditional love – the opposite of what her mother had given her – and yet Cam was saying her child felt he had to be perfect to win her approval. She’d become her own worst nightmare. ‘That’s not . . . I didn’t mean . . .’

  Cam sat down beside her on the bed. ‘Lib, you’re a good mum. Nobody doubts that you have Harry’s best interests at heart, least of all me. But I think you’ve lost a bit of perspective on this one.’ His voice was soft and conciliatory.

  She didn’t answer. She didn’t know what to say. Everything she’d known about herself had suddenly become uncertain and her thoughts were too fuzzy to articulate. She wanted to crawl into her bed and sleep until the fog lifted, but she couldn’t. There was still a party happening in her living room.

  ‘I don’t know what’s going on between you and Kit, that’s for you to sort out, but I do know that I’m not happy about you making her feel unwelcome. I’m not asking you to be nice to John Quinlan; I’m not even asking you to acknowledge him. But he’s Kit’s friend and as such he is welcome in our home as far as I’m concerned. I very much hope that you can be an adult about this situation and support me in this decision.’

  Libby’s head began to thump. Right now she was incapable of making a decision about anything. ‘Fine. But don’t expect me to be all buddy-buddy with him.’

  ‘I’ll settle for a thin veneer of civility if that’s all you can manage.’ He squeezed her hand. ‘Let’s go back out and enjoy your party, eh?’

  She allowed him to pull her up by the hand and lead her back out to the party, which was now in full swing. Someone had turned the music up and a group of Kit’s friends were dancing. John was still there – he was being held captive by Richard, who was no doubt boring him stupid with one of his golf tales – but she couldn’t see Kit anywhere, or Alli for that matter. Felicity sidled up to her and handed her another glass of champagne. ‘Well, darling, I’d say your party is a roaring success. Looks like people are enjoying themselves.’

  Everyone except the two guests of honour. Libby kept her thoughts to herself and raised her glass in a salute. ‘Cheers, Liss. Here’s to a job well done.’

  ‘Thank you, sweetie. It’s always great when one of these things goes off well. I was a tad worried about whether the two groups would get along together, but there seems to be quite a bit of intermingling going on now. Even Alli seems to have found herself a new friend.’

  ‘Oh?’

  Felicity nodded her head towards the alfresco area. ‘Yes, she and Kit have been outside talking for a while now. I’m surprised they’re not freezing. I did put a couple of braziers out there but the weather’s so awful I can’t imagine they’re making much difference.’ She lowered her voice. ‘I only put them there in case any of Kit’s friends were smokers – one never knows. Anyway, hardly anyone else has braved the outside, but those two have been out there nattering for a while now. Goodness only knows what they’re talking about.’

  A waiter wandered past with a tray of mini frittatas and Felicity’s brow creased. ‘I have no idea why the frittatas are coming out now. Something’s clearly gone awry in the kitchen. Will you excuse me, darling?’

  Libby could barely manage a distracted nod. She was focused on manoeuvring herself towards the sliding glass doors in order to get a better look at the exchange between Kit and Alli.

  From where she stood it was clear that the pair were not engaged in small talk. Kit was animated, gesticulating with her hands. She seemed to be doing most of the talking. Alli did not look like her usual self at all. Her head was down and she seemed smaller than usual. She had her back to Libby so her facial expressions were hidden but her body language indicated she was being attacked. Clearly Kit was giving her grief about something – maybe her friendship with Libby. Whatever it was, Libby wasn’t going to stand by while Kit bullied one of their guests. Her interfering behaviour had gone too far this time.

  She stepped towards the door only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder. ‘Hey, birthday girl.’ She turned to see Greg standing behind her. ‘Where are you off to in such a hurry?’

  She smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring way. ‘No hurry. I was just heading out to see your lovely wife. She’s outside with the other birthday girl. I’m worried they might be gossiping about me. Between the two of them they know all my secrets. I can’t have them exchanging information.’

  The smile faded from Greg’s face for a moment and she laughed uneasily.

  ‘I’m kidding, Greg. They’re probably exchanging . . .’ she hesitated for a beat while she searched her mind for something that Alli and Kit would have in common, ‘recipes,’ she finally managed, knowing full well cooking was not high on either of her friends’ lists of priorities.

  Greg’s brow furrowed as his eyes sought out Alli but his easy smile returned once he’d located her.

  ‘Alli can be such a chatterbox, can’t she? Come on, let’s go join this little tete-a-tete.’ He placed his hand on the small of her back and gently guided her through the doorway and outside.

  ‘Hey, Libby,’ Kit said loudly, the forced brightness in her tone immediately obvious.

  Alli swung around quickly, looking like a kid who’d been caught sneaking treats out of the pantry, but her lack of composure was momentary. She plastered a smile on her face. ‘Oh, hello, you two. What are you up to?’

  ‘We were just coming to ask you the same thing,’ Libby said as she drew closer. She noticed Alli’s eyes looked glassy, almost as if she’d been crying. A knot of anger formed in Libby’s chest. What the hell had Kit been saying to her? ‘It’s freezing out here. What are you two talking about that can’t be chatted about in the comfort of indoors?’ She laughed, attempting to keep the tone light for Greg and Alli’s benefit, but she gave Kit a cool stare to let her know she wasn’t going to be fooled.

  In response Kit raised an eyebrow and raked her left hand through her hair – their long-time secret signal for ‘abort’. Obviously she wanted to shut the conversation down, but Libby wasn’t having it. She didn’t want to embarrass Alli in front of her husband but as soon as the opportunity arose she’d be questioning Kit on exactly what she’d been berating Alli about.

  Before she had a chance to say another word, Alli piped up. ‘I’m afraid our reason for being outside is rather dull. I was just feeling a little light-headed and Kit was kind enough to come outside with me for some fresh air. I think I’m fine now though.’

  Greg sidled up to Alli and slipped his arm around her shoulders. ‘Maybe I should take you home, sweetheart?’

  Alli shook her head and exchanged a glance with Kit. ‘Oh no, I’m really fine. Besides, I don’t want to miss Libby’s big night.’

  Libby was confused now. Alli did look decidedly unwell so her story was plausible, but that didn’t explain Kit’s confrontational conversation with her. ‘Oh, don’t worry about that, Alli. If you’re not well you should definitely head home. I’ll catch up with you as soon as you’re feeling well enough.’

  Kit stepped forward and placed a hand on Alli’s forearm. ‘I hope you feel better soon. Don’t forget what I said earlier about that doctor who might be able to help with your headaches if they continu
e.’

  Libby knew bullshit from Kit when she heard it. Obviously she was trying to cover something up.

  Alli smiled – politely rather than genuinely, Libby thought – as she withdrew her arm. ‘Really, I’m fine. Just a little overtired.’

  Greg shook his head. ‘I don’t want to say I told you so, but . . .’

  Alli let out a deep sigh. ‘I know, I know. I should have listened.’

  ‘She hasn’t been herself all day. I did try to tell her to stay home but she insisted on coming. Didn’t want to let you down, Libby.’ Greg smiled at Kit. ‘Thanks for taking care of my girl, but I’ve got her now. We’ll head off so you two can get back to your party.’

  Okay, so maybe Alli was unwell, but that made Kit’s behaviour even more reprehensible. Libby knew what she’d seen. Alli was obviously being polite and covering up whatever had happened. ‘I’ll walk out with you,’ Libby said.

  Alli shook her head quickly. ‘No, please don’t. I really don’t want to draw any attention to the fact that I’m leaving. I don’t want to have to go through the whole thing with George and Felicity. I’m going to slip out unnoticed, if it’s all the same to you. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.’

  Libby nodded her understanding and leaned in to kiss Alli’s cheek. ‘Of course.’ She turned to Greg. ‘You take care of our girl now.’

  Chapter 25

  Libby and Kit stood in silence as they watched Greg and Alli make their way back into the house. Once they were out of sight Libby turned to face Kit.

  ‘What the hell was all that about?’

  ‘What do you mean? Alli wasn’t feeling a hundred per cent and I came out here to make sure she was okay.’

  ‘That’s not what it looked like from where I was.’

  A knot formed in Kit’s stomach. She’d tried to steer Alli to an area where they wouldn’t be seen from the house, but clearly she’d misjudged their visibility. Had Greg seen them too? Is that why he’d made his way outside? ‘You were watching us?’