Page 45 of Happy Days Ahead in the Cornish Village

She should have remembered about the prenup, she should have figured out what his next move was going to be. But that had been years ago. They’d been married fourteen years now, together even longer. Would it even stand up in court now?

When she finished the crisps, she crumpled up the packet and shoved it in the pocket of the car door. She picked up her mobile. Still nothing from the solicitor. She’d rung and left a message earlier, but he hadn’t got back to her yet. Hopefully, that meant he was looking into it. She tapped the steering wheel. She wasn’t going to hold her breath. The articles she’d read online about prenups didn’t give her much hope.

It was 6.05p.m. She had the whole evening ahead of her, the whole night stretching out. Leaning down, she pulled up the small lever beneath her seat, sliding it backwards, away from the steering wheel. What was she supposed to do with all this time? Just sit here? Research, she guessed. Yes, she’d take this opportunity to research some accountancy refresher courses. There might even be a free one she could begin right now.

Megan blinked, the tiny screen of her mobile bright in the dim evening light. The lay-by was empty again now; the van having moved on. She could hear the odd car zooming past on the road beyond the thin line of trees screening the lay-by from the road. Apart from that, she was alone. The world around her silent.

Turning the ignition on for a moment, she held the button down and watched the window close. It was still warm, and she knew the temperature in the car would only rise without the tiny breeze coming in from the open window, but she felt uneasy going to sleep with it open.

Huh, she felt uneasy full stop. She tried to calm her breathing. It would be okay. There was no one about and it wasn’t as though she was parked up in the middle of a town centre or somewhere. There likely wouldn’t be another car joining her in the lay-by until the morning. She’d be fine. It would be all be fine.

Moving across to the passenger seat, she leaned her chair back as far as it would go, and drew her coat up to her chin once more. Staring into the darkness outside, she curled her fingers against the collar of her coat, willing sleep to come.

17

Megan pulled her mobile towards her and checked the time. It was 2a.m., and she still hadn’t fallen asleep. What had she been expecting? To be able to get to sleep as easily as she had at the bed and breakfast? Even there, it had taken her a few nights to get used to the unfamiliar sounds and creaks of the building. Out here there was just a thin piece of glass or some metal or fibreglass or whatever cars were made of between her and the outside world.

It would take time. That was all. Just time to get used to her new reality. She swallowed as the sting of tears caught in the back of her throat. She wasn’t going to cry, she wouldn’t give Lyle the satisfaction – whether he found out or not, she’d still know. No, she was going to prove to him and to herself that she could fend for herself, that she could do this. She was going to build a new life for herself. Life after divorce – it had a special ring to it, didn’t it?

Yes, a new life, or at least a new chapter in her life. She had this. And if it took a few weeks of living in her car before she could start, then that’s what it took.

She turned over and wriggled her toes, hoping the pins and needles that were creeping up her calves from trying to sleep with her legs bent would disperse.

Nope. Sighing, she sat up and stamped her feet on the floor, catching a glimpse of her reflection in the window as she did so. She stifled a scream. Why was she so jumpy? The lay-by was on a quiet road, hidden from the view of the very few drivers travelling past. She wasn’t usually a nervous person. She didn’t usually have anything to be nervous about. Not when sleeping in her big detached house, knowing the only thing the CCTV cameras Lyle had installed would catch would be a neighbour’s cat meandering across their vast lawn.

Here, though, all she had was darkness and the field beyond. If someone did pull into the lay-by and want to carjack her or anything, then what would she do? Who would hear her screams?

She pulled the lever to the side of the seat, letting it angle upwards again. There wasn’t any point lying here trying to sleep, she wasn’t going to. She’d look for jobs instead, while the hours away by searching for a way to get out of this mess she’d found herself in. That’s what she’d do.

Waking up, Megan looked out of the window, the images from her nightmare mixing into reality. As she blinked, she let her eyes focus. It was morning. The sun was rising and the chill of the night air quickly warming.

She must have fallen asleep after all. Rubbing the back of her neck, she winced as a sharp pain shot through her muscles and she rolled her shoulders back. How long had she slept for? It certainly didn’t feel like long enough, that was for sure. She searched the footwell for her mobile and looked at the screen. It was quarter to eight; the last time she’d noted had been half four. She must have had about three hours. That wasn’t so bad. Not for her first night, anyway.

She unlocked the car, opened the door and stepped outside, reaching her arms above her and drawing in a deep breath of the fresh country air. Now what she needed was to get to Wagging Tails whilst it was only Flora and Ginny there and to slip into the toilet without either of them noticing. If she could do that, she could freshen up and change her clothes before anyone noticed.

Yes, that’s what she’d do. And she needed to hurry. As she walked quickly around to the driver’s side, something cold splashed up against the leg of her jeans. Her heart sank. It must have rained in those few hours she’d been asleep and now she’d gone and stepped in a puddle, leaving a large muddy brown stain up her leg.

She sighed. She’d just have to sneak her jeans into the washing machine when the dogs’ bedding was washed. That was all. It was doable. She nodded. There’d be a solution for everything. Although the one thing she really needed at the moment was the toilet and she didn’t fancy jumping the ditch to go in the field. She just hoped she could get to Wagging Tails quickly and there wasn’t going to be any traffic.

Just as she’d turned the ignition on and the car purred to life, her phone rang, cutting through the soothing sounds of the early morning radio. Answering it on her hands-free, she pulled out of the lay-by and onto the road.

‘Hello?’

‘Megan.’ Lyle’s voice filled the car, his tone cold, unnerving.

She fought the urge to yawn and instead tried to fill her voice with optimism. ‘Lyle. How can I help you today?’

‘Ha, it’s more what I can do for you. I see your payment at the Honeysuckle Bed and Breakfast in Trestow was declined yesterday.’

She hesitated. He’d been looking through the bank statements, seeing what she’d been spending money on. That’s how he’d known to find her at Wagging Tails then. He’d traced the payments to where she was staying in Trestow and put two and two together. She shuddered. It hadn’t even occurred to her that he’d have been spying on her spending, working out what she was doing.

‘Three times, in fact. Once on the debit card, and once on each of your credit cards.’ His voice was full of smarm, the self-assured smarm of a person who knows they’ve got the other one right where they want them to be.

‘That’s right.’ She tapped on the steering wheel as the car in front of her slowed, approaching a roundabout.

‘I can hear you’re in the car, is that right? What a shame it will be when you run out of fuel and your insurance payments bounce.’

‘You can’t do that! I need my car!’

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