Perfect Wives

by Emma Hannigan

  Tommy was like Jodi’s shadow for the entire time she was at home. She took him to the toy shop and bought him the just-released Sony PlayStation, with a brand new television.

  ‘This is deadly, Jodi. None of the lads has one yet. I’m going to be the coolest in my class now.’ He hugged her, his face flushed with pleasure. She bought Nana a pure cashmere coat.

  ‘Jodi, it’s the softest thing I’ve ever touched. I’ll sleep in it, I love it so much.’ Nana mopped her damp eyes.

  Argos was the next stop, where they picked out a leather suite for the sitting room, and a table with four matching chairs for the kitchen. ‘Next month, I’ll buy new carpets and curtains. By the end of this production, we’ll have Ma’s place looking like a show house,’ Jodi promised them both.

  Knowing she had to be back on set by cock-crow on Monday morning, Jodi had a flight booked for the Sunday night. When the doorbell rang she assumed it was the taxi she’d ordered. Instead it was two police officers and a squad car.

  ‘Is this Bernadette Ludlum’s home?’ the taller man asked.

  ‘Yes.’ Jodi wondered what her mother had done now. ‘I’m her daughter.’ Bernadette hadn’t returned since she’d snatched the bundle of notes the day before.

  ‘I regret to inform you we recovered your mother’s body from a laneway on the estate early this morning.’

  Numb, Jodi agreed to go to the hospital to identify her mother’s body. The policemen went outside to wait for her in their squad car, and she called the film’s producers to explain that her mother had passed away suddenly. They were full of sympathy and told her to take the week off, adding, ‘You must have had a dreadful shock. Please look after yourself.’

  ‘Do you want me to go?’ Nana asked, as she wrung a tea-towel in her hands.

  ‘No, Nana. You stay here with Tommy.’

  ‘Right, love.’ Nana looked relieved.

  ‘Are you all right?’ Jodi asked, stroking her beloved grandmother’s arm.

  ‘I’ve been waiting for this moment for as long as I can remember. Your ma was a troubled soul. I lost her long ago. It’s just so sad that she threw her life away like that. But now at least I won’t be worrying about what’s become of her because she’s disappeared for days on end.’ She sighed. ‘I don’t know where I went wrong, Jodi love.’

  ‘You didn’t do anything wrong. Ma was a sorry mess. None if it was anyone’s fault. It was just the way she ended up.’

  ‘You’re far too young for such wise words, do you know that?’ Nana said.

  ‘I’ve seen more of life than most girls my age. But now I’m going to use that to go out and get what I want.’ Jodi ground her teeth as she fought back tears. The grimy, depressing hole that she’d called home was going to change. Tommy was only little. He had a chance of turning out right, some hope of avoiding a life on street corners sniffing glue and shooting up. If it killed her, Jodi was going to protect her little brother and her nana.

  ‘I’d better go out to the policemen now. Thanks for minding Tommy,’ she said, and stroked Nana’s cheek.

  ‘You don’t have to thank me. I love him,’ Nana said shakily.

  ‘I promise you, as God is my witness, I’ll come good for you both. I have an opportunity to change our lives now and, believe me, I’m going to succeed if it’s the last thing I do.’

  ‘You’re destined for stardom, Jodi. You always were. I think you might have had to take a wrong turn when God put you on this earth, but you’ll find your right road soon enough, pet.’

  Jodi made her way to the waiting car. There was very little talk as they drove to the hospital morgue, and she felt little emotion as they peeled the sheet back to reveal her mother’s sunken white face.

  ‘That’s her,’ she managed.

  ‘We’re ever so sorry, love,’ one policeman said.

  ‘We interviewed the people she was with shortly before her death and it appears your mother had taken a large quantity of heroin on top of a substantial amount of alcohol,’ his partner added.

  ‘That’d be about right,’ Jodi said evenly. ‘It’s probably very weird of me to say this,’ she confided, ‘but she looks prettier dead, and she can’t shout at me.’

  Jodi’s overwhelming emotion was relief. Her mother couldn’t hurt her or Tommy any more.

  Two days later, Nana, Tommy and Jodi were joined by a handful of mourners at the funeral. An enormous wreath arrived from the film’s producers, with a note saying how sorry they were for Jodi’s loss. It made her cry far more than the knowledge that she’d never see her mother again. She was so relieved they weren’t annoyed with her and astonished that they seemed to care so much.

  ‘I’ll move into the house and mind little Tommy,’ Nana promised. ‘You go and follow your calling, pet.’

  ‘I’ll send money every week and I’ll be home as often as I can,’ Jodi had vowed. She’d kept her promise about the funds, which had arrived religiously, but Jodi herself never came. With each week that passed she found it more and more difficult to return home.

  ‘Nana, I’m not going to make it back for the foreseeable future,’ she said down the phone. ‘It’s crazy here and I’ve gotta roll with the punches.’

  ‘I understand, love,’ Nana said kindly.

  ‘I’ve booked flights for you and Tommy to come over instead.’ Jodi was avoiding returning to Ireland, but felt she might ease her own mind if she treated Nana and Tommy to the odd trip instead. She liked to think she’d shielded her brother Tommy from a lot of the misery she’d endured, and was well aware that money couldn’t buy happiness, but total lack of it, such as she’d experienced, brought utter desolation too.

  Now twenty-one, Tommy lived in Australia with his girlfriend, Maisy, and Jodi kept in touch with him on Skype every week. When Nana had passed away five years previously, Jodi had flown back for the funeral and begged him then to come to London and live with her.

  ‘I want to teach surfing and that’s certainly not going to happen in London,’ he had pointed out.

  ‘Then take our place in LA,’ she suggested. ‘You can surf there to your heart’s content. Maybe you’d even continue with your education?’ she ventured. ‘I know you didn’t like school much, but what if you could do a course on a subject that interests you?’

  ‘Sis, I appreciate your thinking of me. Honestly I do, but I just want to get the hell out of here. Surely you can appreciate why.’

  ‘I can, but I wish you’d at least consider my offer.’

  ‘I need to do my own thing. I want to make my own mark on the world.’

  ‘You’re so young, Tommy. I can’t help feeling I’m not looking after you properly if I let you go,’ Jodi mused.

  ‘With all due respect, you can’t stop me. I’ve enough cash to buy a ticket. I’ll sort the rest when I get there. I grew up on Dayfield Estate, for crying out loud! So, adding up the less than happy life experiences multiplied by the need to be streetwise by the time I was out of nappies, I reckon I’ll survive.’

  ‘Tommy, you might think you know it all, but Australia? It’s so far away. I hate the thought of you being so isolated.’

  He’d eyeballed her with his hands on his hips. ‘Are you telling me you would’ve listened if Nana had begged you not to go to London years ago?’

  ‘That’s different. I had a job. People to look after me.’

  ‘I’ll be okay, Jodi. Trust me.’

  ‘Right, we’ll have to make a pact. I’ll set up an account for you. I’ll put money into it each month. If you need anything extra ever – you ask. You hear?’

  ‘Thanks, sis.’ He hugged her and promised to stay in touch.

  Now, as she made her way into the school grounds and towards Saul’s classroom, Jodi noticed a group of waiting parents. Swallowing hard, she urged herself to keep walking. This situation was Jodi’s worst nightmare. She could cope with a massive film crew and even a red-carpet event, but none of that required the ‘real’ Jodi Ludlum. This did.

  A slim, per
fectly coiffed woman in a tailored suit with smooth chestnut hair, manicured nails and impeccable makeup seemed to be at the centre of the huddle. Jodi yanked at her cap and stuffed her hands into the kangaroo-style pockets of her white hoodie. She stopped a few yards from the others and prayed nobody would approach her. Her heart sank when she saw that the glamorous woman was handing out flyers.

  ‘But it would be super if you could make the time to join us,’ the woman was saying loudly. ‘We’re all under pressure time-wise, but I’d urge you to come along and meet the other parents, even if it’s only once. When you’re new to the school, this coffee morning is a wonderful way to network.’

  The recipients were nodding and making pleased noises. Some were striking up conversations, smiling and looking quite at ease.

  Please don’t come over to me, Jodi begged silently.

  As the other woman approached, she held her breath.

  ‘Hello, I’m Francine Hennessy,’ she said. ‘You might have missed the beginning of my introductions! I’m head of the parents’ committee and we’re hosting a meet-and-greet coffee morning on Friday week.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Jodi said.

  ‘You’re new to the school, aren’t you?’ Francine asked. Jodi could feel the other woman’s eyes boring into her. She tugged the peak of her baseball cap a tiny bit lower and hoped her shades were obscuring her face sufficiently.

  ‘Yes. Thanks for this,’ she said, waving the flyer. ‘I’ll do my best to be there.’

  ‘Come over and meet some of the other mums,’ Francine said. Before Jodi could protest, she found herself being led towards them by the elbow, as if she were an unsteady elderly patient. Acting as if she were addressing the United States live from the Oval Office, Francine was off again: ‘Our little darlings will emerge shortly, ready to share the excitement of their first morning at school. I’ll leave the invitation with you and sincerely hope you can make it on Friday.’

  ‘Great,’ said one mother.

  ‘Count me in,’ said another.

  ‘Me too,’ put in a third.

  Jodi was silent, rooted to the spot, her heart thumping. Her mouth felt dry and she wished she could drop the piece of paper and run out of the gate, but she knew she had to say something. ‘I’ll do my best to make it,’ she said.

  As soon as she spoke, two of the women’s heads shot around. Two more elbowed one another.

  The door to the kindergarten class was flung open and the little people poured out noisily.

  ‘Mum!’ Saul shouted, flinging himself into her arms.

  ‘Hey, baby!’ she said, glad to see his happy face. ‘How was it?’ Lifting him into her arms, she kissed him and rubbed her nose against his.

  ‘We did painting and drawing and we have goldfish in our class and Mr Matthews said we can help name them tomorrow. So I’ve to think of names tonight!’

  ‘Wow,’ Jodi said. ‘We can put our thinking caps on.’ She turned towards the other parents. ‘Goodbye, everyone! See you tomorrow.’ She didn’t look back as she headed out of the school gates.

  Saul was thrilled with his new school and couldn’t get all the news out quickly enough. ‘And I have four best friends,’ he continued, as she walked towards the gate with him still in her arms.

  ‘Four? Already? That sounds pretty amazing.’

  ‘It is!’ he said proudly, as he wriggled to the ground and ran on ahead. She hung his bag over her arm and walked after him.

  ‘Did you like school, Mum?’ He stopped, waited for her to catch up and stared intently at her with his hands on his hips.

  ‘Well, school was different back then,’ Jodi answered diplomatically. ‘I didn’t live in a small village like Bakers Valley. I grew up in a large town and my school was huge, with lots and lots of people. It was a little scary at first.’

  ‘Do you wish your mummy could’ve taken you to live in a cottage like ours so you could go to my school?’ Saul asked. He loved to ask Jodi questions about when she was his age. Luckily he was still too small to notice that she didn’t enjoy those chats as much as he did.

  ‘You bet, dude. Your school is going to be more fun than you can shake a stick at,’ Jodi assured him.

  Satisfied for now, Saul ran on ahead again, and she watched him bound along like a puppy. Darius was right: Saul’s life was idyllic. Perhaps she had made the right decision in bringing him to Bakers Valley. It wasn’t all about facing her past. This was an idyllic setting and he was going to love it here.

  The second they got into the cottage Saul flew into action. ‘I want to talk to Dad!’ he said, grabbing the landline phone and flopping onto the sofa on his tummy. He had only recently learned Jodi’s and Darius’s numbers and was into dialling them at every opportunity.

  ‘Daddy! I’m back!’ he shouted.

  Jodi made him a jam sandwich and a mug of hot chocolate. If Darius were here, he’d tell her that wasn’t nutritious and she was feeding him junk. He was probably right, she thought, but it was better than nothing. She was determined to learn how to cook, but for the moment she would give Saul food that he’d eat without a fight.

  ‘Mum, Dad wants you,’ Saul said, holding the phone out to her as she placed his snack on the table.

  ‘Hi,’ she said. ‘Seems it was a success.’

  ‘What did I tell you?’ Darius said. ‘I’m in Makeup so I’d better go. Love you, sweetie-pie, sugar plum and love of my life,’ he said, in his most exaggerated saccharine tones.

  Smiling, Jodi guessed he was with other people. They always overdid the pet names when a particularly nosy person was listening. ‘Ciao, snot-bag.’ She giggled as she hung up.

  ‘That was rude!’ Saul reproved her. ‘Poor Dad.’

  ‘He knew I was joking.’ Jodi ruffled his hair.

  Once he’d finished eating, Saul said he wanted to play in his room. As an only child he was used to entertaining himself and enjoyed quiet time doing Lego. Jodi figured the clothes weren’t going to put themselves away so she’d go and do some concentrated sorting.

  At the school a kerfuffle of a different sort had been going on.

  ‘Am I going totally insane,’ Francine asked Jane and Sarah, ‘or did that girl look alarmingly like Jodi Ludlum?’

  ‘I thought so too!’ Jane said. ‘But she was so quiet and shy, there’s no way it was her.’

  ‘Let’s ask the teacher,’ Sarah said.

  ‘God, no! You can’t do that, Jane.’ Francine was aghast. ‘He’ll think we’re such a bunch of gossips.’

  ‘Speaking of the teacher, I nearly skulled myself on one of those tiny chairs when I walked into the classroom this morning,’ Jane said. ‘Isn’t he the most divine creature you’ve ever seen?’

  ‘I’m glad you noticed too.’ Sarah giggled. ‘I thought I was turning into a right lush! I was actually blushing while I was talking to him! He’s gorgeous!’

  ‘Girls!’ Francine scolded. ‘Keep it together, please! Besides, we need to find out about that new woman.’

  ‘Here, I’ll ask Mr Marvellous about—’ Jane broke off as Francine elbowed her.

  ‘Good afternoon, ladies,’ Mr Matthews said, as he approached the group.

  ‘Hi.’ Jane recovered quickly. ‘I’m Jane, Lily’s mum.’

  ‘Everything all right?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, fine. Could I speak to you for a second?’

  ‘Sure.’

  ‘I was just wondering if you could tell me – I just— Well, we were wondering if that was Jodi Ludlum who left with that little boy?’

  ‘Mrs Drew?’ said the teacher, looking mildly confused.

  ‘Oh, don’t worry. My mistake,’ Jane said, flushing. ‘See you tomorrow, then.’

  ‘Cheers!’ Mr Matthews said easily.

  ‘Damn,’ Jane said. ‘Not only did I make a show of myself in front of Mr Marvellous, behaving like a lovestruck teen, but we’re wrong. She’s Mrs Drew, apparently.’

  ‘Of course she is!’ Sarah hissed. ‘She’s married to Darius Drew, isn’
t she? She’s known as Jodi Ludlum in the movies but they are a family in real life. She probably goes by her married name when she’s not acting.’

  ‘Oh, Jesus,’ Jane said, nearly falling over. ‘It is her.’

  Francine did her best to assume a nonchalant pose. But she honestly thought she, too, was going to explode with excitement.

  ‘Do you think she’ll come to the coffee morning?’ Jane was saying.

  ‘She just said she would,’ Francine said. ‘Well, she said she’d do her best.’

  ‘Wow!’ Jane squealed. ‘This is just mega! I can’t believe we have a real-life Hollywood star living here!’

  Jodi was in her bedroom, knee deep in clothes, when Saul ran in holding the phone.

  ‘It’s Daddy again,’ he said.

  ‘Hey,’ she said. ‘Did Saul call you? I’ll have to explain to him that he can’t ring constantly while you’re working.’

  ‘No, no, I called you.’ He sounded really down.

  ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Jodi, I think I’ve messed up big time.’

  ‘How so?’ She cradled the phone between shoulder and ear.

  ‘It looks like I’ve a blackmail case on my hands,’ he said gravely. ‘It’s the usual scenario.’

  ‘Okay.’ She sighed. ‘I’m trying to stay calm here, Darius. What’s going on? Have you told Mike and Noelle?’

  ‘Yeah, and they want us to do a shoot for Celebrity Gossip magazine, featuring your new Irish pad.’

  ‘Ugh, really?’ She groaned. ‘This person who wants to blackmail you, are they talking to the press or is it a case of looking for easy cash?’

  ‘It’s a blatant gold-digging cash deal. I’ll sort it, but just in case, we should do a loving-couple shot. For extra insurance.’

  ‘I hear ya,’ Jodi said, feeling somewhat relieved and rubbing her temples. ‘I stupidly thought that by moving to a lovely quaint cottage in Ireland I’d escape the venom of Hollywood.’ She gave a bitter laugh.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he said quietly.

  ‘I’ll get on to Noelle now. When do you think you can do this?’