Page 71 of Lie For Me

‘I didn’t do anything,’ he said.

The crying continued behind the hedge.

Heather sighed. ‘Thanks, mum, I think our shoot is over.’ She marched up to her son, Mark hot on her heels. ‘What did you do to your brother?’

‘Nothing,’ Peter said, trailing after her. ‘He fell over…’

Unable to wait any longer, Valerie pulled James over to Jess. Lucy watched as her mother, who was clearly a Hollywood starlet in another lifetime, perched on her father’s knee. Valerie coaxed James into posing for a photo of them lovingly gazing into one another’s eyes. Then another with him standing behind her, hands on her shoulder, both gazing off into the side distance, like some old portrait.

‘Your mother is an artist,’ Jack murmured.

Lucy snickered. ‘My mother is an Army Major,’ she corrected, ‘and my father is her prisoner of war.’

‘Looks like a very willing prisoner to me,’ Jack said.

James watched his wife indulgently as she insisted Jess show her all the photos she had taken so she could check them. Valerie waved Lucy over.

‘Lucy and Jack,’ the harried assistant said, eyes wide, ‘please come with me.’

‘Now darling,’ her mother said, fiddling with her hair. ‘What is all this about?’ She tutted and tried to push strands of Lucy’s hair back. Lucy tried to twist her head out of her mother’s reach.

‘Now you come here,’ Valerie took Jack’s hand and sat him on a bench beneath a copper beech, sunlight dappling through. ‘And you,’ she took Lucy’s hand, ‘you sit on his knee.’

This was a step too far for Lucy, who snorted with laughter. ‘Mum, no, that’s not us. I’m too old to be sitting on someone’s knee.’

Valerie’s lips pressed into a thin line. ‘I just sat on your father’s knee.’ Then, ‘Fine.’ She threw her hands up. ‘I just wanted some pictures of my children, happy, with their partners and this seemed like a great opportunity, but if you can’t be bothered to cooperate, forget it.’

‘Mum…’

‘No!’ Valerie was picking up her bag. ‘All I have done for weeks––months!––is think about how this day can be special. Special for Ollie and Sophie and special for the whole family. And when Ollie said you were bringing someone, I thought, at last - wonderful! The bride and groom will have their photos, and we’ll take the chance to capture the other happy couples in this family, too. But it seems, as always, I ask too much.’

She adjusted her hat on her head. ‘I’m sorry, Jack.’

‘Mum!’ Lucy said, loud enough to get her attention.

Valerie stopped and looked at her daughter, eyes hard.

‘We’ll do it, we just...’ She looked at Jack. ‘We just want it to feel natural. Maybe without an audience, would be better?’ Lucy said. ‘Just us and the photographer. Jack’s shy,’ she added.

Jack looked up at her in surprise from his position on the bench, but dutifully tried to look awkward and ill at ease.

‘Fine.’ Valerie sniffed, and looped her arm through her husband’s. ‘I look forward to seeing these natural photographs. Let’s go, James.’

And she picked her way carefully across the lawn towards the marquee, leaning on James every time she had to ease a high heel out of the grass.

‘So,’ Jack said, rubbing his palms together. ‘Let’s do this our way. I suggest the first image is of you bent over my knee and me spanking you.’

Lucy cackled. ‘Oh yes, that’ll go on the coffee table along with the graduation and wedding pictures’.

‘Then,’ Jack continued, ‘we’ll get a shot of you trying to rip my shirt off so you can ravage me….’

Jess was fiddling with the camera and looked like she’d rather be anywhere but there.

‘It’s okay,’ Lucy called, ‘we’re joking.’

‘I’m not,’ Jack protested.

‘C’mon,’ Lucy said. ‘We just need to get a few pics, then we can finally eat.’