Page 31 of The Temp

‘The quality won’t be good if she’s using cheap supplies,’ Linda suggests, and Zelda shrugs. ‘They’ll soon come knocking on your door again, hon.’

‘Linda’s right.’ I curl a hand around Zelda’s forearm and give it a gentle squeeze. ‘Things will pick up again, I’m sure. I’ve had slumps in the past.’

Zelda gives me a dark look. ‘You’re forgetting one thing – you’ve got a husband to support you.’

‘Okay, I have.’ I sigh, drawing my hand back. ‘But I’ve got problems too, you know.’ A big fat one called Liam. ‘Come on, love, where’s the strong Zelda I know? The woman who refuses to be defined by a man?’

Zelda throws her hands up in the air. ‘You should’ve told me about Frank from day one. Stopped me,’ she says, her anger returning. ‘Why did you meet up with Liam, anyway? You’ve got a good guy. You’ve got it all. Why fuck it up for a bunk up with your ex?’ I go to speak, explain that it wasn’t like that, but she talks over me, face twisted in fury. ‘God, I’m surprised Tom has stuck around. I’d have left you years ago.’ Her words slice through my heart like shards.

‘Oh, so Tom’s a fucking archangel now, is he? A good catch? You’ve certainly changed your tune,’ I snap, reminding her that she was his first choice all those years ago, and she turned him down, said he was too nerdy.

‘You know what I mean. The way you’ve…’

‘Enough, Zelda,’ Linda intervenes. ‘I know you’re upset, but there’s no need to be so harsh. Bella wanted to tell you about Frank the moment you arrived yesterday, but I put her off.’

Zelda looks incredulous, eyes wild. ‘So, it’s your fault.’

‘Zelda,’ I exclaim. ‘This isn’t anyone’s fault. It…’

‘What were you doing?’ Zelda says to Linda, talking over me. ‘Protecting your ex-lover?’

The room goes silent and I’m suddenly aware of the fridge freezer whirring. Frank told her about his one-night stand with Linda.

Chapter 28

Linda’s eyes rocket towards me. ‘Don’t look at me,’ I say.

And then they start to squabble about Frank, their voices growing louder and louder in my ears – Linda denies it profusely but Zelda won’t have it, says Linda ogling him at her dinner party didn’t go unnoticed. Linda leaps to her feet and starts yelling, pointing her finger at Zelda, words flying from her full lips like bullets - she’s not that desperate - has a real man on tap at home - she’s risking her life and her marriage to help her tonight – what an ungrateful cow.

‘Enough.’ I shoot to my feet and spread my arms out like an eagle. ‘Taking lumps out of each other isn’t going to help. What’s done is done. Let’s all just calm down and figure out what we’re going to do about…’ I flick my head towards the garden, ‘Him. The room falls silent again. A fox screams. Someone’s foot taps under the table. ‘Zelda, where did you put the weapon?’

‘I washed it and put it back on the microwave.’

‘What a stupid thing to do,’ cries Linda, still reeling from Zelda’s accusations.

‘I had to get his blood off my hands.’

A loud thump startles me. ‘What was that?’ I ask.

‘It sounded like pounding,’ Linda replies.

Zelda shrugs. ‘Probably the central heating. It’s ancient. Startles me sometimes.’

‘So, anyway…’ I continue. And then there’s another thud, like a box being kicked. ‘There it is again?’

‘Must be a fox,’ Zelda says, irritably, combing her hands through her hair. ‘Knocking something into that gaping hole next door. They’re always doing it. Their builders chuck their empty pizza boxes on the floor. It’s a haven for vermin.’

‘I saw that,’ Linda pipes up, ‘what on earth are they doing?’

‘A basement,’ Zelda whines, running a hand over her face, ‘and kitchen extension. It’s been going on for eighteen months. They’ve made our lives a misery. Lillian, next door, spoke to them several times but they won’t listen. She works from home, too.’

‘Eighteen months? That’s taking the pee,’ Linda protests. ‘We had that down our road during the first lockdown. Theo called the council and they issued them with a noise abatement order. They get fined up to five grand if they break it. That soon made them considerate neighbours. Why isn’t it boarded up anyway? What if a child ran down there, or a dog? It looks dangerous.’

‘There was a panel with a door and lock, but it collapsed in the wind and they didn’t bother replacing it.’

‘Surely, that’s a health and safety issue,’ I intervene.

‘Who fucking cares?’ Zelda cries. ‘I’ve got more pressing things on my mind right now. Like a corpse in my garden.’

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