Page 6 of Embracing Us

Chapter three

Linda

Rhian passes me a mug filled to the brim with milky tea. I take it gratefully; it’s comforting between my palms. We’re sitting in her conservatory as the summer sunshine pours in the windows. Her blush-pink sofas are old and worn, but they mould to my body beautifully, like being hugged. She sits next to me, holding her own mug. Her eyes focus on me, willing me to speak.

“I’m glad you came here, Linda,” she says. “Do you want to tell me what happened?” Her hair hangs loose and messy around her face, not in its usual sleek bobbed style. She’s wearing a blue velvet tracksuit and magenta fluffy slippers. I’d appeared on her doorstep with tear-stained cheeks and my hair in rat tails fifteen minutes ago; she’d held it open wide.

“Thank you for suggesting I come over. I’m sorry for calling you on a Sunday morning. I didn’t know who else to phone.” That’s the sad reality of my situation. I had to call my boss because I have so few female friends. My daughter is part of the problem, and my partner kissed another woman while we were apart. I’d walked out of my house this morning feeling completely alone with nowhere to go.

“I told you back in January that I was here for you. That still holds true,” she replies, kindly. “Tell me what happened, and we will try to come up with a solution.” I take a breath, attempting to steady my nerves.

“Max went out last night with a friend to celebrate Jackson’s birth.” Her eyebrows draw together as she listens to me. “He met my daughter and some of her friends at a bar.”

“Deliberately?” she asks. “Was it arranged?” I shake my head.

“No, it was only by chance. They were both out on the same night and went to the same place.” She nods, placing her tea on the small table next to her then puts her hand on my knee in support. “Marina’s friend knew him.” She sits silently, her gaze running over my face. “She’d been with him.”

“They’d had sex,” she says, bluntly, and I baulk. “When?”

“No, it never went that far. But…” I pause and take another breath. “He went back to hers then left before it went the whole way.”

“When did this happen, Linda?” she asks again. “Since Jackson was born?”

“No, last autumn. When we weren’t together.” I flush, embarrassed by my lack of confidence and the conversation.

“So, what’s the problem?” she says. “If you weren’t together, then he was a single guy. He didn’t sleep with her.”

“She’s only twenty-four. She’s my daughter’s age. He went from my bed back to a younger woman. I can’t help but feel I’ve trapped him.” She hisses through her teeth. “Rhian, let’s face it, he wouldn’t be with me if he didn’t feel he had to be. That’s obvious.”

“To whom? You’ve come to that conclusion based on him kissing a girl when he was single and then not sleeping with her.” She smirks, shaking her head. “Are you listening to yourself? Would it have been all right if he’d slept with someone the same age as you or older? Would that prove he’s into older women?”

“No, of course not.”

“Linda, he’s into you, not your age. Get bloody used to it.”

My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull the handset out and read the message on the screen.

Please let me know where you are. I love you. I’m sorry, Beautiful.

“Is that him?” Rhian asks, and I nod. “Are you going to reply?”

“Yes, he’s worried. I’ll tell him where I am, but I don’t want to go home yet.”

“Stay as long as you need to. Jackson is with his dad and safe. You need to work through these thoughts and emotions before you go home. But you need to have a conversation with him. Tell him how you feel about all this. Do you think he should have told you when you got back together?”

“Yes and no,” I reply, and she rolls her eyes at me. “He asked if I’d slept with anyone whilst we were apart. I hadn’t.”

“Did you ask him the same question?” I shake my head in response. “Why not?”

“I didn’t want to know the answer,” I say, honestly.

“I’m going to speak directly if that’s all right.”

“Sure,” I reply, but I doubt she would take any notice if I said no. Rhian tells it like it is, even if you don’t want to hear it. It’s probably why I came here, to hear the truth.

“Max is with you. You tell me he’s stepped up to being a father amazingly well. He adores you. Last year he got drunk at weekends trying to live the life of a single man. Twice he met a good-looking girl and they kissed. He went back to hers to shag her.” I wince at the direct statement. She widens her eyes and says, “But he didn’t. Even when he had no clue you were going to pop back into his life, never mind the fact you were up the duff. Is that a fair summary?”

“I suppose,” I mumble.

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