Perfect Wives

by Emma Hannigan

  Francine felt her tummy do a flip as Andrea pitched up. Not wanting to be near her, she busied herself with putting the finishing touches to the booth where Jodi was going to sit and do her fortune-telling. She hadn’t advertised the fact that Jodi had agreed to take on the role as she was worried the star might pull out if she did.

  Francine noticed she hadn’t arrived yet. She wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t show up. The girl walked the most prominent red carpets in the world, so their local village party probably seemed like a joke to her.

  Carl arrived with the boys, who split up into their separate gangs. Francine noticed Cameron had nobody to play with. ‘Where are your classmates?’ she asked him, as she waved at another family arriving.

  ‘Over there.’ Cameron pointed.

  ‘Well, go and join in. It’ll be trick-or-treat time very soon, so go and see who wants to go with you and Daddy in the first group.’

  ‘I went over and Max told me they don’t want to play with me,’ Cameron said sadly.

  ‘Here’s Jane with Katie,’ Francine said, brightening. ‘Cooee! Jane! Over here,’ she called. ‘Would you be a love and take Cameron and Katie to the rest of the kindergarten group? Carl will take some of them off to the village fairly soon. They can’t understand waiting at that age! So sweet!’

  Katie was cowering behind her mum.

  ‘Go on off and play with Cameron,’ Jane said.

  ‘No!’ Katie hissed.

  ‘Okay, let’s go trick or treating!’ Carl announced, and rounded up some of the children. ‘Katie, you come with me,’ he said, taking the little girl’s hand.

  ‘Parents are welcome to come too or stay here and have a glass of Barbara’s delicious punch,’ Francine put in.

  Most of the older children’s parents opted to stay and chat as Francine and the other committee members passed out canapés.

  ‘Come on, Cameron, let’s rock and roll,’ Carl encouraged him.

  ‘Why didn’t any of the boys from my class want to come?’ he asked. Carl had managed to gather just a small group of girls.

  Francine bit her lip. ‘You go with Daddy and Katie, and I’ll be waiting here to see all your treats. And here’s Saul! He’ll go with you.’

  Jodi looked taken aback as Carl scooped up her son and took him across to his group.

  ‘You look fantastic!’ Francine gushed. ‘I have your fortune-telling booth all organised. People are going to be blown away that you’ve supported the local community. Thank you so much, Jodi.’ She lowered her voice. ‘I wasn’t sure you’d come.’

  ‘Really?’ Jodi looked puzzled.

  ‘Listen, I owe you an apology,’ Francine said.

  ‘Do you?’

  ‘I’ve avoided you for the last while. I’m sorry. After Cameron frightened poor little Saul again, I was so ashamed. I didn’t know what to say. I’m so sorry.’

  Jodi’s expression softened. ‘Hey, thanks for saying that. I honestly thought it was something I’d done.’

  ‘Oh, no. You’ve only been kind and lovely. Please, could we start over after the break? Maybe we could have a chat and a cup of leaves or whatever rocks your boat.’

  ‘I’d love that. Could we have some of your amazing coffee?’

  ‘It’s a date,’ Francine said.

  ‘Cool.’ Jodi smiled. ‘I know you’re probably going to think I’m being silly, but I’m just a tiny bit concerned about Saul. He’s never really done the whole trick-or-treating thing.’

  ‘He’ll be just fine, Jodi. Carl!’ Francine called. ‘Keep a special eye on Saul, won’t you? It’s his first time so be mindful of the dark and all that.’ Carl gave Jodi and Francine a wave to say he understood.

  ‘Sorry, you must think I’m being silly,’ Jodi said. ‘He’s not used to going off without me or Darius. It’s not that I don’t trust Carl …’

  Francine whisked her around the room, introducing her to people.

  ‘I would especially like you to meet a couple of mums who are massive fans,’ Francine said. Jodi played the part perfectly and made each person feel they were the only person she’d come to see. Eventually she said, ‘I’ll go over and settle myself in my gorgeous booth now.’

  ‘By all means!’ Francine felt better than she had in ages. ‘Give me the nod when you’re ready for your first punter,’ she said, as Jodi set off across the room.

  ‘She’s so normal, isn’t she?’ she overheard a woman say.

  ‘Totally! You’d never know she’s a huge star,’ another agreed.

  ‘Shush, ladies!’ Francine hissed. ‘She’s not deaf. We can’t act like we’ve never seen anyone like her here before. It’ll make her uncomfortable.’

  ‘But we haven’t,’ the second woman said. ‘And you’d know from fifty paces she’s a star. Look at her skin and the way she can work the crowd with total ease. I’d say she’s never looked in the mirror and sighed in dismay at what gazes back.’

  ‘That’s for sure,’ the other woman agreed.

  Francine marched off to make sure all the elderly folk had a drink and some cake. ‘There are loads of tasty treats over to here,’ she told them. ‘Tea and coffee or soft drinks are on offer for those who don’t want our alcoholic option,’ she added.

  ‘You never cease to amaze me.’ Jane had wandered over to her. ‘Francine, the food looks fabulous.’

  ‘Thank you, darling. It’s fantastic to have Jodi as our fortune-teller, isn’t it? Look at the queue.’

  ‘It was a superb idea – and it’s a total bargain. One euro to meet Jodi Ludlum!’

  ‘Jodi made me promise not to say this in public, but she’s offered to match whatever we raise at this year’s party. A lot of the money is going to a fund to buy Christmas gifts for local children in need, the rest to the school.’

  Francine surveyed the room and her gaze rested on Andrea, who had her hand over her mouth as she muttered to a woman beside her. Andrea winked at her friend and tapped her nose, as if to say, ‘Keep that to yourself.’

  Francine’s mouth dried.

  ‘Will you have a mug of punch?’ Barbara asked, as she passed with a tray.

  ‘I’d love one,’ Francine said, still eyeballing the two women. ‘I’ll take one for Carl too. He’ll be back shortly and I’m sure he’ll be gasping.’

  ‘No bother, but it’s seriously strong,’ Barbara said. ‘I’ve only had one glass and I’m feeling kind of merry!’

  ‘That sounds marvellous,’ Francine said, as she drank one entire mugful and started on the second.

  Chapter 21

  Jodi was having a ball. The villagers were so kind and chatty. Every single person who pitched up at her booth was lovely to her.

  ‘It’s so great to meet you,’ one teenage girl said. ‘I’ve seen all your movies. I started going to my drama classes after I watched you in Catch a Falling Star.’

  ‘Really?’ Jodi said, delighted. ‘Well, I’m so glad you enjoyed the film. Are you still doing your acting classes?’

  ‘Yes, and I dance too,’ the girl said.

  ‘I’m sure you’re brilliant at both. In fact,’ Jodi looked at the crystal ball and squinted into it, ‘I can see a very bright future ahead of you, my child,’ she said, in a mysterious voice.

  ‘Thanks, Jodi! Could I have your autograph?’

  ‘Sure!’ Jodi said, and signed the little book. It still gave her such a glow inside when people asked her to sign things for them.

  Jodi was glad that most of the funds raised by the party would go to the local Santa toy appeal. Her chest tightened as she thought back to Christmas when she was Saul’s age. The closest thing to magic that she had seen had been the reindeer head with the flashing nose behind the bar in their local pub.

  Her mother had had no interest preparing Christmas for her children. Some of the less pickled alcoholics Bernadette hung out with would try to talk to Jodi. ‘What’s Santa bringing you this year, Jodi?’ Jack, one of the pub’s regulars, asked as he stubbed out a cigarette.

&nbs
p; ‘A clip around the ear,’ Bernadette had answered, rolling her eyes. ‘Every day is bloody Christmas for kids. They’ve no idea what it takes to make ends meet.’

  Jodi had learned at a very early age to stay out of her mother’s sight when she started one of her rants. She’d go and sit on one of the low stools at a small table in the lounge area of the bar. Bernadette didn’t buy colouring books for her so inevitably she’d take out a schoolbook and work on her sums or comprehension.

  ‘Looks like you’ve a little mathematician on your hands there, Bernadette,’ old Jack commented once, as he drank his pint.

  ‘Don’t know where she gets it.’ Bernadette guffawed. ‘A magician would be more useful to me. If she can start turning water into wine I might love her.’

  The following day was Christmas Eve. Bernadette had loved it because the pub was always thronged with people on a high and enjoying a good few drinks.

  ‘I never understand what all the fuss is about when it comes to Christmas Day,’ she’d said. ‘The pubs are shut and people feel obliged to trot from pillar to post delivering expensive gifts that aren’t appreciated.’

  ‘Ah, sure it’s a time for families to get together, I suppose,’ old Jack had mused. ‘I’ll head over to my son’s house. His wife does a grand dinner and I’ll have a few beers and fall asleep. What about yourself, Bernadette? Will the little one have you up at dawn with excitement?’

  ‘She will in her barney,’ Bernadette had scoffed. ‘If she wakes me early tomorrow I’ll string her up. It’s my well-earned lie-in,’ she’d declared, as if she worked a twelve-hour shift every day.

  ‘But don’t you like to watch her little face when she sees all the Santa stuff?’ Jack had asked, looking a bit astonished. ‘She’s only little, isn’t she?’

  ‘She’s seven and we don’t go on with all that crap in our house. Fills their heads with empty hopes and pointless dreams,’ Bernadette had answered bitterly. ‘There’s only one direction she’ll go coming from Dayfield Estate and that’s directly to the dole office.’

  Now Jodi remembered looking up at her mother’s downturned mouth as she’d mindlessly written off her daughter’s future. She’d felt an odd sensation rip through her. She was only seven and she didn’t know what she wanted to become or where her life would lead, but she was certain of one thing: she wasn’t going to spend her days sitting in this bar with the overflowing ashtrays and sticky floors.

  It was dark, wet and unbearably cold when Bernadette had finally fallen out of the bar that Christmas Eve. It took them almost half an hour to walk home as Bernadette swayed in and out of fences and walls. ‘Wait, for Christ’s sake. You’re like something possessed,’ she’d snarled at Jodi.

  ‘I’m freezing and it’s lashing rain.’ Her teeth were chattering.

  ‘It’s not my fault you refuse to wear a coat. Stupid, that’s what you are,’ Bernadette had yelled. Jodi had known there was no point in telling her mum she didn’t have a coat. Instead she’d tried to take her mother’s arm in an attempt to steady her and hurry her along.

  ‘Get your hands off me!’ Bernadette swiped but missed her head by inches.

  The moment they’d got through the front door Bernadette had conked out on the sofa in the living room. Jodi had run up the stairs and pulled the bedspread from her mother’s bed. The room smelt of stale booze. Dirty clothes littered the floor. The once-white Formica bedside locker was dotted with brown burn marks where her mother had stubbed out cigarettes, not bothering with an ashtray.

  As she’d dragged the grubby bedspread down the stairs and thrown it over her snoring mother, there was a tap at the front door.

  ‘Who’s there?’ Jodi called, through the glass.

  ‘It’s Helen from Santa’s workshop,’ said a voice.

  Bernadette had told her many times not to open the door, but Jodi couldn’t resist. As she undid the latch and peeped out she could see a lady in a brown coat holding a box wrapped in Christmas paper.

  ‘I met Santa just now and he asked me to give you this. Don’t open it until the morning. Merry Christmas, love.’

  ‘Thank you! Merry Christmas,’ she’d called back, as she cradled the present.

  She had kicked the door shut and rushed to her bedroom. Placing the wrapped gift on the floor, she had stared at it for the longest time.

  Her mother had convinced her Santa wasn’t real. The other kids in school said he was. She was only seven but Jodi had worked out a long time ago that Bernadette was a liar.

  As long as she lived, Jodi would never forget the excitement of that night. She’d barely slept. Every time she’d closed her eyes she’d snapped them open again, terrified that she’d imagined the present. Each time she saw it she had to stifle a scream.

  The following morning as dawn broke she’d allowed herself to think about opening the present. Picking it up, she’d padded down the stairs to show it to Bernadette.

  As she hovered in the living room her mother’s snores filled the air with the stench of stale drink. She was never in a good mood when she woke up and Jodi was worried she’d snatch the present and not give it back. She’d returned to her room and sat for as long as she could bear it.

  Then she’d pulled apart the paper. Inside she found a small teddy, a pair of red and white pyjamas, matching hairclips and bobbins, and a chocolate selection box. Squealing with glee, she’d put the pyjamas on and tied her hair into two stringy pigtails. She’d climbed on to the sink in the bathroom and gazed at herself in the cracked mirror. She’d felt like a movie star.

  By the time Bernadette surfaced, Jodi had cut out the puzzle on the back of the selection box and coloured in the picture.

  ‘Look what Santa brought me last night,’ Jodi said shyly, as she twirled to show her mum her new pyjamas. ‘I coloured this myself too,’ she added proudly.

  ‘Where did you get this stuff?’ Bernadette had snatched the picture roughly.

  ‘Last night—’

  ‘Whatever,’ Bernadette had snarled, tossing the picture to the floor.

  Jodi had gone to Nana’s house in her pyjamas. ‘Look at me, Nana!’

  ‘Where did those come from?’

  ‘Santa!’

  ‘Well, he must’ve thought you were a specially good girl because he left you a parcel under my tree too.’

  ‘You shouldn’t fill her head with nonsense,’ Bernadette spat.

  Nana had never answered when Bernadette tried to start a row. She simply walked away.

  Each year after that, a kindly stranger had called to the door on Christmas Eve and handed Jodi a parcel wrapped in Christmas paper and a ribbon. She’d treasured whatever she found inside it and convinced herself it had come from a man at the North Pole who cared about her.

  So, when Francine had approached her a couple of weeks previously and said they were going to use this year’s Hallowe’en party to raise funds for local children, Jodi had forced herself to appear composed. She was the patron of her own charity called Dare to Dream, which worked with underprivileged children, but this would be different. Jodi could help the less well-off children in her own community, the kids on her own doorstep who were living in misery.

  ‘If it’s too much trouble, please just say so.’ Francine had hesitated.

  ‘I’m thrilled you asked me,’ Jodi had assured her. ‘Saul and I have never been part of a community like Bakers Valley and I’m honoured you’ve asked me to help.’

  Now that the party was in full swing Jodi was enjoying every second of being a local. The atmosphere in the hall was one of relaxed cheer, elderly ladies and gentlemen chatting to parents as teenagers hung out in huddles.

  All conversations came to an abrupt end when Cameron burst through the door. ‘NO, I WON’T, AND I HOPE YOU DIE!’ he yelled, as he ran towards Francine.

  A red-faced Carl arrived after him, panting. ‘Okay, girls, in you go,’ he said to his little group of trick-or-treaters, trying to sound his usual cheerful self.

  ‘Mummy!’ And
rea’s daughter, Claire, ran to her and began to sob.

  ‘What happened, sweetheart?’

  ‘Cameron tried to take my trick-or-treat bag and when his daddy told him not to he started hitting and kicking me and Katie.’

  Katie was attached to Jane’s leg, howling.

  ‘Carl?’ Francine was aghast.

  ‘All the excitement just went to Cameron’s head. Too much sugar and tearing about. Sorry about the disruption, folks!’

  Saul brought up the rear. He wasn’t crying but he looked white and shaken. ‘Mum!’ He ran to her.

  ‘Okay, dude?’

  ‘It was fun until Cameron started to be nasty again,’ Saul whispered. ‘Can I stay here with you now, please?’

  ‘Of course. You can be my helper and sit on my lap,’ Jodi said, as she soothed him.

  Carl came up to Jodi. ‘Is Saul okay?’ he asked. ‘I’m sorry he was upset. Cameron’s got a terrible temper for such a little fellow. You think once the toddler stage is past they’ll calm down, but I guess some kids are just very feisty.’

  ‘I’m sure he didn’t mean to hurt the girls,’ Jodi said.

  ‘It’s the story of his young life so far,’ Carl confided. ‘Trouble seems to be his constant companion.’

  Before Jodi could answer, a frazzled Francine had dragged a struggling Cameron over to them. ‘Why didn’t you try to stop him?’ Francine hissed. ‘Now he’s just made a complete show of me again. He won’t say sorry. Sort him out, Carl.’

  ‘What do you want me to do? Tie his arms and legs together and gag him?’ Carl hissed back. ‘He was utterly feral out there. He would’ve injured those little girls if I hadn’t stopped him. He was using the light sabre like a lump hammer.’

  The light went out in Francine’s eyes. ‘Cameron,’ she said firmly, ‘you will stop this appalling behaviour this instant. I’m not having it any more. Come and apologise to Claire and Katie. You are not going to ruin the party.’

  Cameron dashed past her at full throttle towards the girls. Francine followed, wearing her most winning smile. By the time she’d caught up with him, she truly wished she hadn’t made him apologise.