Page 17 of This is Where I Leave You

Gerty got to her feet and walked away. Richard saw that she was walking to another vision, this time of his parents’ house.

“Richard, if you were being punished, I think that they would have sent you somewhere a bit hotter, do you understand?”

He shuddered and nodded. “Ok so what then? Just tell me what I have to do.”

Gerty pointed to the vision, which had now changed to his father and mother arguing.

“You already know what you have to do. Everything else will fall into place.”

Richard got to his feet and strode towards the vision. His parents were arguing again, and as Richard listened, he got the shock of his life. Dad was cheating again, but this time Priscilla was leaving. His parents were splitting up! He knew now that he had to help, Jesus, he sure had thrown his life away having affairs and now it seemed his father was finally going to pay for his own activities. They needed each other, he just had to show them that and hope it wasn’t too late.

Priscilla picked up Dick’s golf trophy and hurled it at him. Dick ducked and groaned as it hit his favourite painting. Grabbing another item, this time a flower vase, complete with flowers, she glared at Richard, eyes wild and rage pulsing through her.

“You utter bastard! You promised me never again!!! I am such a fool! And now our boy is dead, and we have a grandchild on his way, and you still can’t stop sticking it to the staff! Arrghhh!”

Grunting she drew back the vase and threw it with all her might. Their faces both dropped as they saw it was heading for one of Richard’s art pieces just put up in their home. Just as the vase was about to make contact however, it stopped. Stopped and

hovered, and then placed itself on the side table nearby. Dick and Priscilla ran to each other, frightened to death. Did that vase just move by itself?

Clinging together, their argument forgotten, they both started as the CD player sprang into life, playing Moon River. Their wedding song? Priscilla stepped away from Dick and shaking, whispered “Richard?”

She gasped as a photo frame fell to the floor. Without going to it, she knew what it was, a picture of them in Margate many years ago, their happy smiling faces turned to the camera laughing as Richard sat in between them, ice-cream all over his pudgy baby cheeks.

Dick enveloped Priscilla in a hug, and they both crumpled to the floor, cradling the photo. It was Richard, they knew it. As Moon River played on repeat, they started to talk and several tear stained hours later, as they danced to the music, swaying together, they felt him leave the room.

***

Cady woke up in hospital, and looking around her, she realised that she was not alone. Luke was propped up in the chair next to her, his hand still placed on hers. The pains had stopped now. She sat up quietly, not wanting to wait Luke, and reaching to the bedside cabinet with her right hand, picked up the black and white photo that held an image of her future.

The little blob on the picture looked like nothing really, but to her it was everything, and she couldn’t put into words the rush of love she had felt when she first saw the jiggling shape on the screen. Luke had stayed too, and did not even bat an eye when the sonographer called him daddy, he just smiled and flushed. Obviously to spare my embarrassment, she thought. What was he going to say, ‘actually I am just her builder, her husband’s a cheating corpse?’ Cady put the photo back and looked at him. He was really cute, and even in sleep he had the same worried expression he had had all night, since he had returned from picking up some clothes for them both from their homes. She was still staring at him when his phone rang in his pocket, breaking the peace of the moment. Luke jumped and surprisingly ignored his phone.

“Hi, you ok? My phone didn’t wake you, did it?”

How cute was that, he was all concern. Cady smiled. “Nope, I was awake, listen if you have to be somewhere, it’s fine you know, the doctor said it was just normal stretching pains, the baby’s fine.”

Luke was already shaking his head. “No. They said you can go home today, I will take you home, and if you are up to it, we can look at the plans there, I need to make some adjustments for the baby anyway, so we might as well get on with it, unless you have changed your mind?”

Cady sat up. “No, I want to get cracking, make that house ours. Er, mine and the baby, I mean.”

Luke grinned. “Good, I will just see about some breakfast then, eh? Some juice or something? I could smuggle in some rubber pancakes from McDonalds if you like.”

Her stomach gurgled. “That sounds amazing, please.”

“Cool, I will be right back ok? Are you sure I can’t call anyone?”

She thought for a moment. George was still in Paris and she hated babies anyway, so that was out. Her in-laws would go into meltdown. Things were awkward with Marcus still, and he didn’t even know about the baby. Her own parents were a definite no-go.

“Nope, no-one just yet. I will probably call them when I get home.”

Luke nodded. “Pancakes it is then.”

***

Victoria slammed down the phone, a hissy fit brimming and zinging on her nerve endings. Bloody Luke! Not answering the phone to her now, that was pathetic! He would have known it was her too, with her own extension number. And now it was after nine and he was still not in. What gives? She knew it would be difficult, a challenge even, to get him back but she never expected him to be so cold and indifferent. He used to eat from the palm of her hand, but now he would not even spare her the crumbs on his plate!

As usual, Victoria was oblivious to her own failings. Wiping from her memory completely the fact that he walked in on her shagging his university roommate, she thought of herself as the perfect girlfriend. She had made a beeline for Luke, right from fresher’s week. She had scoped him out and got the measure of him in seconds. Some people were good at collecting antiques, or were arty, or literary minded, but not Victoria. Although she was a very clever, sharp, highly talented architect, she used her powers for evil, not good. Her ability was men. Rooting them out, using

them, profiting from them, and then getting out without a cross word or a blot on her reputation. She was a ball buster, heartbreaker and bank balance decimator, all wrapped up in one cute little package.

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