‘Bastard!’
‘I’m so sorry.’
‘The lying, cheating shit!’
‘Do you think you could come out now? It feels weird being sworn at by my own coat.’
Lucy pulled the coat away from her face and found her phone. She launched WhatsApp.
‘What are you doing?’ Em asked.
‘Letting Adam have one last chance to give me an innocent explanation for all this.’ Lucy showed Em the message she’d just typed.
Hi darling. Hope your emergency is over. Come over to mine and I’ll cook you lunch.
She added a kiss emoji and pressed the send button.
Adam and his family were still in sight. The little boy picked up something from the grass verge and showed it to Eve. Adam took the opportunity to check his phone. He started typing.
Em was flabbergasted. ‘Surely he’s not going to reply to you while he’s standing next to his wife.’
Ping. Lucy got a new message. She showed it to Em:
Sorry stuck at the office - still got an issue. Nearly sorted. See you this evening as usual. Love you Xxx
‘What an arsehole! What are you going to do?’ Em asked.
‘I’m not sure. But I’ve got a few hours to think about it.’
7
Eating at Em’s dad’s was a lottery now that Cynthia had taken up permanent residence. Em’s mother had been a difficult woman to deal with, but at least she could cook. Cynthia’s talents lay elsewhere, but she always gamely had a go at producing a meal with varying degrees of success. Today’s offering was better than the rock-solid lasagne she’d served the last time Em and Jack visited, but it still presented a challenge.
Em looked at the grease slick floating on top of the gravy boat. How was she going to pour the gravy without transferring the fat onto the over-cooked roast chicken? Perhaps she didn’t need to. The bread sauce looked palatable. She could use it to moisten the dry chicken enough to make it edible.
The roast potatoes were a different matter. Em attempted to cut one in half, but her knife slid off without making a mark. Bread sauce wasn’t going to soften these beauties. There were NASA rockets with weaker outer casings. She was going to have to deal with the grease after all. Em poured a pool of gravy onto the side of the plate so she could separate the fat there.
‘You’re not eating much, Em. Surely you’re not on a diet?’ Cynthia asked.
Em smiled. ‘I’m still full from all the food we ate at the wedding yesterday.’
‘How was it?’ her dad asked.
‘Beautiful. Ella and Sam pushed the boat out. No expense spared.’
‘So when are you walking Em down the aisle, Jack?’ Cynthia asked.
Em gulped.
Jack glanced at her. ‘We’ve decided we’re not getting married. We’re fine as we are,’ he said, not sounding convinced.
‘That’s a shame,’ Cynthia continued. ‘I was hoping for another excuse to get a new frock. Though I will be getting one soon.’ She looked at Em’s dad expectantly. He was deep in thought, having similar concerns about tackling the greasy gravy, Em guessed. She noticed Cynthia kick him under the table.
‘Oh, yes.’ Her dad rejoined the conversation. ‘We’ve got some news. I asked Cynthia to marry me, and she said yes.’ He beamed at Cynthia and held her hand.
‘That’s fantastic news, Dad. Congratulations to both of you.’ Em was surprised but pleased. Cynthia made her dad happy. Em felt less guilty about living 200 miles away, knowing he wasn’t alone.
‘That is fabulous news,’ Jack said. ‘It’s exciting when someone’s willing to commit to spending the rest of their life with you.’ He started pushing the potatoes around his plate, avoiding Em’s gaze.