‘So, until that time comes, are you happy to keep going the way we are?’ she asked.
‘I am,’ Darius said.
They’d told Noelle and Mike to hold off on orchestrating the split.
‘Fantastic,’ Noelle had said immediately. ‘The world loves you both, so if you’re happy to keep it going, great.’
Over the years, Darius had had his little flings with men, each time hoping he’d found the one, but Jodi was happy to leave all that to one side. Mac had left scars that she wasn’t sure would ever heal.
She’d trusted him at a time when her life was changing fast. She’d leaned on him and thought he was her rock.
Now, as she let herself back into her cottage, the sound of crunching on the gravel at the back of the house made her jump.
‘Sorry to startle you,’ Sebastian said. ‘I was just about to put a note in your letterbox. There’s a tree with Dutch elm disease on the avenue and it’ll have to come down. The tree surgeon will be here over the next few days. Keep young Saul safe, won’t you?’
‘Thanks for letting me know,’ Jodi said. ‘I don’t suppose you’d like to join me for a cup of tea?’
He hesitated.
‘Only if you have time, no pressure.’ Jodi smiled.
‘Go on, then,’ he said gruffly.
‘Don’t do me any favours,’ Jodi joked.
Sebastian slipped out of his wellingtons and stood into her kitchen.
Jodi took a packet of mini Swiss rolls from the cupboard and threw it onto the table. ‘I’m probably supposed to have a pretty tin with home-baked cake to offer you, seeing as I’ve a state-of-the-art Aga, but I can’t boil an egg.’ She poured water over a teabag for Sebastian. As she placed the cup in front of him he was miles away. ‘Sugar?’ she asked.
‘No. Thank you,’ he said, sounding odd.
‘Are you all right?’
‘Blake loved those chocolate rolls. The packaging is slightly different but they’re the same purple colour. I haven’t seen them for a while,’ he said. ‘Isn’t it stupid how a few little cakes can open the floodgate to the memories?’
‘I find it scary sometimes how a sound or smell can unlock all sorts of forgotten stuff.’
‘When he died, at first I didn’t think I’d survive. I never knew pain could cut so deep. You adore Saul, anyone can see that. Can you imagine being without him?’
‘No.’ Jodi shuddered.
They sat in silence for a while. The rustling of the cake wrapper brought Jodi back to reality.
‘They taste the same,’ Sebastian said, trying to smile.
‘You told me that you and your wife don’t ever talk about Blake,’ she began. ‘May I ask why?’
‘Diane isn’t able to,’ he said, staring ahead.
‘That must be really hard for you,’ Jodi said.
‘You just get on with life as best you can,’ Sebastian said. ‘After the first anniversary of Blake’s death I came to the conclusion that I didn’t have the energy to spend every waking moment in regret. I knew I either had to end it all or make up my mind to move on.’
‘So did you just block the emotions?’
‘Pretty much. But I’ve also learned what’s important in my life. The people who don’t really care or only want a bit of gossip aren’t worth wasting time over. I do what’s important and try to avoid any toxic influences.’
‘Did you and Diane ever consider having another child?’ Jodi asked.
‘That wasn’t an option.’
‘I’m sorry, I’m being very nosy. It’s none of my business.’
‘At least you ask me the questions to my face. There’s a lot to be said for that,’ said Sebastian. ‘In your line of work I’m sure you get pretty fed up with people jumping to conclusions and fabricating stories about you to spice up their own lives.’
‘I try not to read much of what’s written,’ she said. ‘I decided long ago to accept that the media think they know me. The wonderful thing is that the Jodi Ludlum they’ve created is nothing like the real me, so I’m actually quite happy to hide behind the façade.’
‘That’s a good way of looking at it.’
‘I’ve been lucky too. Without the media I wouldn’t have made it in my industry, so I feel I owe it to them to allow them their fairytale,’ she admitted. ‘The real me involves Saul, drinking horrible herbal infusions and being a total washout when it comes to baking or hosting coffee mornings.’
Sebastian grinned. For a split second his face lit up, and Jodi glimpsed a totally different man. ‘Well, your tea is drinkable, just about, and I happen to think you’ve the best taste in confectionery,’ he said.
‘I’ll be sure to let the ladies of the committee know that you approve of my culinary skills. I’m pretty sure it’s the way I open the box, not to mention the presentation.’
Sebastian moved his chair away from the table. ‘Thank you for the tea, and especially for the moment of clear memories.’ He paused. ‘That’s what I fear most. Forgetting Blake. I worry that I’ll wake up one day and not remember the sound of his voice, so when I get a rush of vivid and vibrant memories, like you sparked just now, it means the world to me.’
Before Jodi could answer he’d gone out, shoved his feet back into his boots and closed the door quietly. Jodi sat in a trance at the kitchen table and allowed her mind to wander. How would she feel if Saul died? How would she ever pick up the pieces of her life and continue? She wondered what kind of woman Diane was. None of the villagers spoke about her but, then, Jodi didn’t really talk to them. Francine had mentioned she suffered from depression. But that wasn’t surprising. Jodi figured she’d be depressed if anything happened to Saul.
She watched Sebastian climb into his jeep and throw it into reverse. He was a bit odd but she really liked him – and Saul loved going on little adventures with him.
A text arrived from Noelle: could Jodi call her at once.
‘Hey, Noelle, what’s up?’ Jodi asked moments later.
‘There’s trouble stirring. That little weasel Mac is making threats. I’ve had him on saying he’ll speak to World Wide News again.’
‘Oh, for Christ’s sake. What does he want now?’ Jodi asked, feeling sick.
‘Oddly, he doesn’t want money or to be bailed out of trouble this time. He just wants to meet you,’ Noelle said. ‘It’s up to you, Jodi, but I reckon it might be time to call his bluff. He’s had his claws embedded in your heart for too long now, honey.’
‘As a matter of fact, Darius and I were thinking the time has come,’ Jodi said.
‘Mac’s furious you gave him the slip in London last week.’
Jodi shivered. She’d only been thinking about him as she’d walked home that morning and now here he was again. ‘You’ll always know when I’m thinking of you, babe,’ he’d promised, many years previously. ‘I’ll send you the vibes!’ She’d giggled at the time and swatted him. But now it didn’t seem quite so amusing.
Jodi took a deep breath. ‘Tell him I’ll see him. Please could you book him a return flight from London for this Friday?’ She put the phone down and burst into tears. A point Sebastian had made earlier hit home. She should get rid of the toxic influences in her life. Mac was a parasite. She might love him, but the only person he truly cared about was himself. She was finally ready to let go of the past.
Chapter 26
‘Who wants to go bowling this afternoon after meeting Nuala?’ Carl asked, over breakfast.
Cara brightened. ‘Can we bring a friend each?’
‘Not today, honey. We’re having a family day, remember?’ Carl said. ‘I rarely get to take a day off, so humour me.’ He and Francine had explained to the older children that Nuala had asked to meet them all.
Later that morning, as they all filed in to her office, Nuala explained that Tracey was going to play with Cameron while everyone else chatted in her office.
Then she talked to Cara, Craig and Conor, trying gently to gauge how their little brother’s behav
iour affected them.
‘He can be really embarrassing when we have friends over,’ Cara said, looking guilty.
‘How so?’ Nuala encouraged her.
‘He has a terrible temper, and if I’m with my friends and he wants to barge in, he goes insane if I say no.’
‘Don’t all brothers and sisters do that?’ Nuala asked.
‘Not like Cameron does. The other two can be annoying as well, but they don’t totally lose it if I say I don’t want them in the den while we’re watching MTV, for example.’
‘Yeah, and we don’t want to sit with your friends anyhow,’ Conor told her.
‘Do you prefer to keep away from the girls, then?’ Nuala asked, smiling.
‘Uh, yeah. They’re so annoying, they sit and talk about boys and hair and who has a crush on who.’
‘At least we don’t spend our time rolling around in mud with a ball, like you and your lame friends,’ Cara riposted.
‘Hey, guys! Manners!’ Carl interjected.
‘That’s okay,’ Nuala said. ‘When Cameron kicks off, how is his behaviour different from the normal annoying stuff?’
‘He goes loony,’ Conor said.
‘Yeah, it’s like he’s totally possessed,’ Cara agreed.
‘He really hurts when he bites and kicks,’ Craig added.
Francine was dizzied by her children’s candour.
After a further hour, Nuala said the children could join Cameron and Tracey.
‘There’s Xbox and art stuff, so you can play for a few minutes while I chat to your mum and dad. We won’t be long,’ Nuala promised. ‘Well done, guys, you were great.’
Francine huddled into Carl as the children left the room. When the door was closed behind them, Nuala said, ‘There are more tests I need to carry out. I’ll need to see Cameron regularly for a while too, but I have an immediate suggestion to make that I think could benefit the whole family,’ Nuala said.
‘Shoot!’ Carl said enthusiastically.
‘How would you feel about getting a puppy?’
‘What?’ Francine looked stricken.
‘It’s been proven that dogs are incredibly beneficial to children with conditions from autism to visual impairment.’
‘I always liked the idea of a dog, but you weren’t so keen, love, were you?’ Carl said.
‘Pets are a lot of work,’ Francine said. ‘Dogs in particular aren’t that easy to mind.’
‘You’re right to be dubious, Francine,’ Nuala agreed. ‘Dogs do require care, but the idea would be that Cameron and the other children would take on some of the responsibility.’ She handed them a couple of leaflets, which they began to study.
‘It says here that pets offer a host of benefits,’ Carl said. ‘They relieve stress and the children learn how to take care of them. I think that could be really good for Cameron. It’d get him outside playing with purpose rather than just tearing around mindlessly as he tends to do.’
At the end of the meeting Francine promised to consider the idea.
‘I reckon we should put it to a vote,’ Carl whispered, as they waited for their children to join them.
‘I suppose …’ Francine was thinking of all the hair that might stick to the furniture and the smell of wet dog. The thought of muddy paw prints everywhere didn’t fill her with joy either.
The idea was met with near hysteria by all four children. Francine and Carl had never seen them so united about anything.
‘We’d have to figure out what type of dog would suit,’ Francine said, now being swept along in the wave of universal enthusiasm.
‘Can we have a Dalmatian?’ Cara asked. ‘They’re so cool. We could get it a red collar and call it Cruella!’
‘No, a German Shepherd,’ Conor said. ‘They’re guard dogs so we’d never get broken into.’
‘This dog is to be a pet, Conor,’ Carl interjected. ‘We don’t need a guard dog that’d be likely to chew our legs off if we needed a glass of water in the middle of the night.’ They all giggled.
‘I’d like a noodle,’ said Cameron. ‘A white curly noodle.’
‘Don’t you mean a poodle?’ Francine said, smiling.
‘I don’t care what we get, so long as it’s a dog,’ Craig said easily. ‘Imagine being able to bring it for a walk and brush it!’
‘Can we get one that likes fetching a ball?’ Cara asked.
Francine looked at Carl and knew the decision had been made. Of course, they’d research carefully and decide on the correct breed to suit their needs, but it looked like Team Hennessy was about to welcome a four-legged friend on board.
The trip to the bowling alley that afternoon went surprisingly well. Francine found herself more relaxed than she’d felt for a long time. Carl was fantastic with the children, as usual, and enjoyed the banter with them. Cameron didn’t fly off the handle, and the older children were making a marked effort to be nice to him.
‘Good job, Cam,’ Cara said, offering him her hand for a high five.
‘I’m good at bowling, amn’t I, Mum?’ he said proudly.
‘You sure are,’ Francine said, pulling him onto her lap.
‘I’ll be good at being friends with the dog, too, won’t I?’ he said seriously.
‘Of course you will,’ she assured him.
‘We’re all going to be brilliant at minding the dog. I can’t wait,’ Cara said, so excited that Carl laughed.
When they returned home the boys went out to play football while Cara found her paints and sat at the kitchen table to create a masterpiece.
Francine went to her office and started to research dog breeds.
She’d been there just half an hour when Carl burst in. ‘I’ve news!’ he announced. ‘I’ve found a breeder who has pups. She’s won umpteen awards and provides dogs especially for children with special needs. I just spoke to her and guess what?’
‘What?’ Francine asked.
‘She has one left and it’s got our name on it! Don’t kill me but I’ve told her we’ll take him.’
‘Wow!’ Francine felt a bit rushed. ‘What breed is he?’
‘He’s a Golden Retriever and he sounds perfect for us, honey.’
‘Carl, this is all very quick,’ she said. ‘I’m not as impulsive as you are. I think I need a little time to get used to the idea. Could we not think about it for a couple more weeks at least?’
‘Well, the lady’s going away and she said she could organise for him to be minded, but I thought it might be nice for him to have the weekend to settle in.’
Francine knew the children would be ecstatic. Besides, if it helped Cameron and his behaviour, she’d have welcomed an elephant into the house.
Carl promised he’d sort it out tomorrow. ‘I’ll buy the bed, food and all the paraphernalia that goes with the new addition. The breeder is emailing me a list so I’ll get that done during my lunch hour, then swing by and collect the little fella. He’ll be settled and part of the team before you know it!’ Carl said, planting a kiss on the top of her head.
‘Great!’ Francine said, feeling utterly compromised. Still, it was about time she started getting used to all the changes that seemed to be thrusting themselves upon her.
‘Oh, by the way,’ Carl stuck his head back into her office, ‘what do you think of keeping the dog as a surprise for the guys? Let’s say nothing and I’ll arrive home with him tomorrow night! Sound like a plan?’
‘All right, love.’ Francine forced a smile. She needed to relax about this to take a chill-pill, as her daughter would say. Besides, her way of doing things hadn’t worked with Cameron so she’d nothing to lose by trying to change her perspective.
All the same, Francine found herself putting the finishing touches to a lemon drizzle cake in the middle the night. At least from now on, she mused, the dog might keep her company in the wee hours.
The next morning Francine bumped into Jodi outside the school and filled her in quietly on the new addition to the Hennessy family.
‘Gr
eat! I’m sure a dog’ll help Cameron no end. Saul and I’ll pop over to see him in a couple of days, if we may.’
‘I’d love that,’ Francine said, feeling more positive about the puppy by the second.
‘Talk to you later,’ Jodi said, pulling the zip of her coat up to her neck. She seemed distracted.
‘Jodi?’
‘Yes.’
‘Are you okay? You don’t seem yourself today.’
‘I didn’t sleep too well – I’ll be fine. But thanks for asking,’ Jodi said. For a split second she looked as if she was going to say something else. Instead she said goodbye and rushed away.
On her way out of the school, Francine passed Jane and Andrea, who stopped talking as she approached.
‘Hi, Francine. Bit of a cold one, isn’t it?’ Jane said.
‘Yes, but it is November so it’s to be expected,’ Francine said. She’d sounded rather snippy, she thought.
‘We’re going to the village for a quick coffee and we’d love you to join us,’ Andrea said.
‘I don’t think so …’
‘Please, Francine, we feel terrible about what happened. We’d love to catch up with you,’ Jane said. Wanting support, Francine searched the car park for Jodi – maybe she’d come too – and spotted her dashing out of the gate, obviously in a hurry. Put on the spot, she found herself agreeing to join the others.
Moments later, she walked into the coffee shop feeling nervous. She’d always thought of herself as one of the stronger women in the village, but it was clear to her and the others that her position had shifted. Mercifully, there was no queue so she didn’t have to wait long to be served. She ordered a mug of black coffee and joined the table of eight mothers. ‘How was everyone’s midterm break?’ she asked.
‘Great.’
‘Fine.’
‘We were so busy,’ Jane said.
‘Things have been a little manic in my world too,’ Francine began. ‘In fact there’s something I’d like to tell you.’ Silence descended. All eyes were on her and, for the first time in her life, she found it stifling. ‘The thing is … well …’
‘Go on,’ Jane said gently, leaning forward.
Perfect Wives Page 28
