Perfect Wives

by Emma Hannigan

  ‘What an amazing kitchen,’ Jodi exclaimed. ‘I love the way you’ve mixed the modern with the old. I don’t think I’d be brave enough to do that in a Georgian house. It’s gorgeous.’

  ‘Thanks. I do enjoy this room, I must admit,’ Sebastian said. ‘The rest of the house is a similar style, but I seem to spend ninety per cent of my time in here.’

  He pressed a remote control and the mirror on the main wall turned into a television.

  ‘Wowzers!’ Saul yelled.

  ‘Are you magic?’ Cameron asked, looking at Sebastian as if he might be related to Harry Potter.

  ‘Not quite!’ Sebastian said, laughing again. ‘It’s pretty nifty, isn’t it?’

  Sebastian rose even further in the boys’ estimation when he produced the most divine hot chocolate they’d ever tasted.

  ‘What’s in it?’ Jodi asked.

  ‘I don’t think you want to know!’ Sebastian smiled. ‘Put it this way, no slimming club would endorse it.’

  The boys curled up on the black leather sofa and watched Ben 10 on the large screen.

  ‘Is Diane not home, then?’ Jodi enquired.

  Sebastian’s smile faded and was replaced with a tight, uneasy expression.

  ‘No,’ he faltered. Lowering his voice so the boys wouldn’t hear, he leaned in closer to Jodi. ‘She hasn’t lived here since Blake died.’

  ‘Sebastian, I’m sorry. I’ve put my foot in it. I didn’t realise you were separated.’

  ‘We’re not.’ He looked at the table. ‘She’s in St Jude’s psychiatric hospital.’

  ‘I had no idea,’ Jodi said, shocked.

  ‘I’m amazed you haven’t been filled in on my entire life by the local gossips.’ He looked sadly at her.

  ‘I don’t go in for gossip. I know what it feels like to have an entire town talking about your every move. I had it as a child and since I’ve grown up, it happens on an even larger scale.’ She shrugged. ‘Even if people had told me things about you, I wouldn’t have believed them unless you’d told me yourself.’

  ‘Fair enough,’ he said. He seemed to relax slightly.

  ‘Do you want to talk about it or would you rather skip that? I’m good at not discussing stuff, if that’s what you’d prefer.’

  Much to Jodi’s surprise, he reached across the table, put his hand on hers and squeezed it. ‘Thank you for being so understanding.’

  Jodi was so aware of his touch. She felt like a teenager on a first date. The feel of his skin against hers was electrifying. ‘Hey,’ she said quietly, ‘don’t sweat it. I’ve so many skeletons in my closet I could fill a large graveyard. Believe me, your past would have to be pretty sordid to raise my eyebrow.’

  Realising his hand was still resting on hers, Sebastian withdrew it and folded his arms across his chest. For such a broad man he looked strangely vulnerable as he began to talk.

  ‘Diane was there when Blake died,’ he said softly. He glanced at the boys, but they were totally engrossed in the television.

  ‘They were out walking near the river when the weather turned. Torrents of rain poured from nowhere, making the ground instantly soggy. Blake had been poking at a pile of weeds, hoping to unearth an eel or an otter. When he slid into the river, Diane jumped in after him.’ He closed his eyes and sighed. Jodi remained silent. ‘The lashing rain had caused the river to swell and speed up. Blake was swept downstream.’ He looked into Jodi’s eyes. She held his gaze, letting him know it was okay to continue. ‘Diane had swallowed and inhaled so much water she lost consciousness. I didn’t find her until after dark. By some miracle her coat had hooked on to a branch. Her head and face were clear of the rushing water so she didn’t drown.’

  Instinctively Jodi rose from her seat opposite Sebastian and rounded the table. As she sat beside him with her arms held out, he pulled her in close.

  ‘Police, firefighters and locals turned out in force. We searched all night and eventually recovered Blake’s body at dawn the next morning.’

  Tears soaked Jodi’s blouse as she tried to stifle her sobs. The two boys were still glued to the television.

  ‘Diane was in hospital for several days. She came home for the funeral and collapsed before we made it to the grave for the burial.’ Sebastian hesitated. ‘I honestly thought she’d come out of the shock. That she’d somehow find the strength to fight through the trauma and come back to me.’

  ‘Did she?’ Jodi managed.

  ‘Never.’

  Jodi’s heart broke for him.

  ‘The hospital were unable to keep her any longer, so I took her home. She didn’t eat and wouldn’t even drink water. If I tried to talk to her or encourage her to get out of bed, she’d become violent,’ he said. ‘I did my best to help her, Jodi. I honestly tried.’

  ‘I’m sure you did,’ she soothed.

  ‘After three days, I called the doctor again. I feared she’d starve to death or, worse, that she’d try to take her own life.’ His voice cracked as he tried to go on.

  Jodi stroked his arm.

  ‘The doctor said she needed to be admitted for psychological help. It was meant to be for a short time,’ he said, ‘but she didn’t respond to any of the programmes or drugs on offer. She seemed to have gone to a place where nothing could reach her. She was on suicide watch for a long time. She harmed herself, once seriously, and now she’s heavily sedated all the time. The once-vivacious and beautiful woman I loved is a scraggy shell with haunted eyes, who looks at me with no recognition.’

  ‘Do you visit her?’ Jodi asked.

  ‘I used to go every day,’ he said. ‘I’d sit and talk to her. I’d show her photos of Blake or talk about happier times. But she didn’t answer or even acknowledge my presence.’

  ‘So what happens now?’

  ‘I go once a week and she sits and rocks back and forth until I leave. The nurses tell me she shouts a lot, especially at night, but when I’m there she’s utterly silent.’

  ‘Oh, Sebastian …’ Jodi hugged him, wishing she could squeeze out the hurt.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said, and handed her a tissue.

  She dabbed her eyes and blew her nose. ‘Whatever for? Being utterly useless and sobbing?’

  ‘You’re not useless, Jodi. You’re a warm and understanding person. I did to you what all the locals do to me.’

  ‘How do you mean?’ she asked.

  ‘I judged you when you first arrived here,’ he said. ‘I assumed you were some jumped-up Hollywood star who thought the world should be at her feet. I thought you’d be full of crap and constantly want attention.’

  ‘God knows I get enough of that while I’m at work,’ she said, smiling. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I’m so grateful to my fans, but underneath it all, I’m just a girl who makes money by pretending to be other people.’

  ‘I think there’s a bit more to you than that. I always hate this phrase but you certainly have the X factor.’ He grinned.

  ‘Are you crying, Mum?’ Saul had turned and stood on the sofa as the episode of Ben 10 ended.

  ‘Yes, lovie,’ Jodi answered. ‘Sebastian told me a sad story and I felt like crying so I did.’

  ‘What sad story?’ the boys asked.

  Jodi looked at Sebastian.

  ‘I had a little boy a long time ago and he died in a terrible accident,’ Sebastian explained. ‘I miss him all the time, but it’s been wonderful for me having new friends like you two.’

  ‘That’s very sad for you,’ Saul said, walking towards Sebastian. ‘What was his name?’

  ‘Blake.’

  ‘That’s a nice name, isn’t it, Cameron?’ Saul said.

  ‘Yes,’ Cameron agreed. ‘We can come and play with you any time you like,’ he offered. ‘I have ADD, which means I can be cross at times,’ he said carefully, ‘but I promise to do my best to be a good boy when I come here. Lots of people think I’m naughty but I’ll be the bestest I can be if you let me come and look at your mirror telly.’

  ‘Thank you, guys,’ Sebas
tian said. ‘I don’t feel sad when you’re around. And for the record, Cameron, I know you’re not naughty.’

  Cameron grinned.

  ‘I love my dad but he’s away filming a lot. So it’s nice that we can be pretend-family, isn’t it? Mr Matthews at school is always saying we should try to think of others and help when we can,’ Saul mused. ‘We could try it and if you decide I’m not very good at it I won’t be sad.’

  Sebastian went down on his hunkers and took Saul’s hands in his own.

  ‘That’s a great idea. I’d love for us to mind each other.’

  Saul hugged him, then went back to the sofa. ‘I’ll be here watching the mirror television,’ he said. ‘Tell me if you need me.’

  Sebastian’s grin was infectious.

  ‘I’ve a lump in my throat the size of China,’ Jodi said, as her son sat down.

  ‘He’s a ticket!’ Sebastian said. ‘Yourself and Darius are raising a fantastic little human being there, Jodi.’

  ‘Thank you,’ she said. Suddenly she wanted to take Sebastian aside and tell him the truth about herself and Darius. And she wanted to let him know that her heart beat faster each time she looked at him.

  A text pinging through on her phone stopped her. ‘We’d better get going, boys!’ Jodi interjected. ‘Your mum’s just texted, wondering if she can have you and Howie back home now, Cameron.’

  ‘Aw, no!’ the boys chorused.

  ‘You can come again soon,’ Sebastian said. ‘In fact, you can visit any time you like.’

  ‘Tomorrow before school?’ Saul asked hopefully.

  ‘That might be just a bit too soon.’ Jodi giggled, wrinkling her nose and winking at Sebastian.

  ‘Maybe after school might work best,’ Sebastian suggested.

  ‘Okay. See you then,’ Saul said. He hugged Sebastian’s legs quickly and ran to grab his shoes and coat. Then they went outside, waved and set off back the way they’d come.

  ‘That was fun, wasn’t it, Mum?’ Saul gabbled.

  ‘It was lovely,’ Jodi agreed.

  By the time they’d trudged back to the cottage, collected a delighted Howie, bundled themselves into the car and made their way to Francine’s house in Verbena Drive, the boys were exhausted.

  ‘How was Cameron? Did he behave? Was Howie a nightmare?’ Francine fired questions at them as she flew out of the front door to greet them.

  ‘Everyone was fantastic, isn’t that right, boys?’ Jodi said.

  ‘We went to Sebastian’s house and watched his mirror,’ Cameron announced.

  Francine looked understandably confused.

  ‘He has a television that looks like a mirror when it’s turned off,’ Jodi said.

  ‘Wow! I hope Cameron didn’t misbehave while he was there.’

  ‘Sebastian said I’m a good boy,’ he said proudly.

  ‘Oh, Cameron, I’m thrilled,’ Francine said, eyes shining.

  The boys ran upstairs, with Howie in lolloping pursuit.

  ‘Thank you so much for giving me a break from the two of them,’ Francine said, as she and Jodi went into the kitchen. ‘You must think I’m making it all up when you spend an afternoon with Cameron and he’s an angel. Believe me, he’s like that here sometimes, just not always.’

  ‘I know he can be difficult. I’ve witnessed it. You don’t need to justify anything to me,’ Jodi assured her. ‘It just happened that we were outside – we left Howie having a hard-earned nap in my kitchen – and Sebastian was doing a bit of manual work. The boys loved joining in and Ben 10 was on his cool TV, so it worked really well.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Francine said again. ‘I’m so relieved he managed to behave for once. We’re working really hard on being positive with Cameron and I know he’s come on since Nuala’s been helping him too.’

  ‘You’re doing everything right, Francine, oh, Jeez, I didn’t feed the boys any proper dinner!’ Jodi thumped her forehead with the heel of her hand. ‘I’m a disaster.’

  ‘Not at all. As it happens, we’re having a takeaway tonight. I was really upset earlier and I phoned Carl. He came home and took over. I’m banned from cooking! You and Saul must stay and eat with us,’ Francine said, brightening. A hint of the woman she’d always been – a person who could help out and be admired – had crept back.

  ‘Well, thank you, I should probably be über-polite and say no, but I’m going to take you up on the offer.’ Jodi smiled.

  ‘Goodie!’ Francine said. ‘I’ll set a couple of extra places at the table.’

  Moments later, Carl appeared, laden with brown paper carrier bags of Chinese food. ‘Hi, Jodi, I was hoping I’d catch you. I’ve enough here to feed the army so you’ll stay, won’t you?’ he said.

  ‘I’ve already accepted Francine’s kind invitation,’ she said.

  ‘And the extra places are set,’ Francine said, as she began to open the foil containers.

  Cara couldn’t hide her delight that there was a movie star in their kitchen. Conor and Craig were shy at first but soon opened up when they realised how easy Jodi was to chat to. They’d seen her around the school but hadn’t actually spoken to her.

  ‘Do you like being a star?’ Conor asked.

  ‘Conor!’ Francine flushed.

  ‘Ah, don’t worry!’ Jodi giggled. ‘If a film actress had come to dinner in my house when I was a kid I’d’ve been dying to ask questions! Yes, it’s brilliant being in movies but it’s hard work.’

  ‘Can I take a picture of you with my phone?’ Cara asked, before anyone could stop her.

  ‘Why don’t I sit beside you and your dad can take our photo?’ Jodi offered.

  ‘Seriously?’

  ‘Sure! You might have to tell people who I am, though. I don’t really look the same with no makeup and my hair scragged back like this!’

  ‘You still look amazing,’ Cara said in awe. ‘Is that necklace real Chanel?’

  ‘Cara!’ Francine and Carl spoke together.

  ‘Yes! I bought it years ago, and do you know what? I still get a bit of a thrill every time I put it on. Want to try it on?’ Jodi was unwinding it from her own neck and placing it on Cara. ‘You’ve got to make sure the two Chanel Cs are visible in the photo. It’s no good if all your friends don’t know it’s genuine Chanel!’ Jodi teased. ‘Now, Daddy, take our picture, please. Turn your head slightly to the side like this, Cara. Tilt your chin up a tiny bit. Oh, yeah! Faaabulous!’ They all wanted a photo then, so Jodi obliged.

  Once dinner was over the children dispersed.

  ‘I’m ringing my friends! They’re not going to believe I’m in a photo with you, Jodi,’ Cara said. ‘They’ve all seen you, like, a tiny bit in school but we’ve been told not to stare and, like, not to annoy you. So I’m going to be totally cross-examined now that I know you. Oh, can I say I know you?’ she asked, biting her lip.

  ‘You can say we’re friends and I come to your house for dinner. I’ll tell you what,’ Jodi said, ‘why don’t you guys come to my house – I can’t cook, but you could all come for pizza and ice-cream next week. Good plan?’

  ‘Ohmigod! Ohmigod! Seriously?’

  ‘Yes!’ Jodi laughed.

  ‘This is epic!’ Cara squealed. ‘Can I say you gave me posing advice too?’ she checked.

  ‘Sure can!’ Jodi nodded.

  Cara thundered up the stairs, already yelling down the phone to another girl.

  ‘You don’t have to do that,’ Francine said, looking alarmed.

  ‘Absolutely not,’ Carl added. ‘Cara shouldn’t have been so forward with you. We’ve told them before that when adults are friendly that’s still no reason to become too familiar.’

  ‘Please,’ Jodi said quietly. ‘I love the way your children chat to me openly. I’m more than delighted to have my picture taken with them and, furthermore, if you can stomach shop-bought pizza I’d be so excited to have you all come over. Without going into too much detail, I never had that sort of opportunity as a child. I value your friendship and how you’ve welcomed
Saul and me into your home.’

  ‘Oh, well, thank you,’ Francine said, looking from her husband back to Jodi.

  ‘Yes – thank you, Jodi,’ Carl echoed.

  They chatted for a further few minutes until a loud slamming noise in the playroom silenced them.

  Cameron’s yells had Francine darting out of the kitchen. ‘Calm down,’ she said loudly.

  ‘We were here first,’ Cameron shouted. ‘He’s a horrible shit-bag!’

  Carl blanched and followed his wife, Jodi close behind.

  Cameron was on top of Craig, pulling his hair and punching him. Carl scooped Cameron into his arms and started up the stairs.

  Craig ran to Francine and buried his face in his mother’s embrace. ‘I only wanted to join in with the driving game on PlayStation,’ he sobbed.

  ‘I know, love. Cameron shouldn’t have been so rough. We’ll calm him down now and have a talk with him.’

  ‘It’s not fair! He always ruins everything,’ Craig cried.

  ‘Saul,’ Jodi whispered to her shell-shocked son, who was perched uneasily on a beanbag. ‘It’s home time, sweetie. It’s late and we need to get you into bed.’

  ‘Please don’t feel you’ve to run away,’ Francine said, sounding panicked.

  ‘It really is home time, and I promise we’ll see you all next week for pizza,’ Jodi said, laying a hand on Francine’s arm.

  Cameron’s tantrum raged on upstairs as Jodi and Saul said goodbye swiftly.

  ‘Mummy, why does Cameron turn into someone else like that?’ Saul asked, as they drove the short distance home.

  ‘He can’t help it, love, remember? I think he had so much fun with us today that he didn’t want to share you with his brother.’

  ‘I get scared when he’s cross like that,’ Saul said, as they emerged from the car and went into the house.

  ‘I understand why you do. But I also know that all small children want to have friends,’ Jodi said, and gave him a quick kiss. ‘Now, hop into your pyjamas, there’s a good boy.’

  ‘Max and some of the others at school won’t play with Cameron now because they don’t like the cross part of him. He’s scary.’

  ‘I know, honey, and that’s so sad for Cameron. He can’t help it. So we’re going to try extra hard to be his friends. If he knows we’ll be kind and patient with him, that might help,’ Jodi said, as she tucked her boy into bed. ‘I didn’t have a lot of friends when I was your age.’