Page 46 of One Moment in Time
‘So why are you off the phone already?’
‘Because I wanted to come back and sit with Mum.’
Millie wasn’t letting it go. ‘And…? What are you not telling us? Don’t make me torture you with a bendy straw.’
Zara caved. ‘You really need to get out of my business and get a life. But since you insist, Kev was a bit busy with some online coding group he’s a member of. Asked if I could give him a call back tomorrow.’
Millie handed the glass of Prosecco to Zara. ‘Right, that’s it. I keep my mouth shut all the time…’
‘Millie, you never keep your mouth shut,’ her sister countered, and Brenda wasn’t getting in on this argument. She’d always made a point of letting them sort out their own squabbles, especially when, like today, it gave her a bit of breathing space to think. Right now, she had plenty of stuff to mull over.
‘Well, this shouldn’t be a surprise then. But honestly, Zar, this guy… I love him but he’s not good enough for you. He makes zero effort.’
‘Yeah, well, at least he sticks around long enough for breakfast,’ Zara retorted, and Brenda knew it was a dig at Millie’s enthusiastic fondness for a one-night stand. Brenda didn’t get involved in that either. As long as Millie was being safe, she figured it was none of her business. ‘Anyway, can we drop this? I don’t want to talk about anything to do with me today, especially after this morning. All that matters is that Dad’s fine, Mum’s fine, and we can fight about trivial shit tomorrow,’ Zara demanded, with uncharacteristic vehemence.
Even Millie got the message that it was time to change the subject.
Zara snapped out of the confrontation and joined Brenda at the chairs by the window. ‘I still can’t believe Dad punched that guy. I’ve never been so proud of you both, Mum. Or astonished, to be honest.’
Brenda knew her face had slipped into a sad smile. The truth was, she’d been pretty shocked herself. Not once, in the lifetime that she’d known him, had Colin Jones ever resorted to violence and it was both astounding and, in a strange way, encouraging to see him actually exhibit some emotion. She wasn’t sure where that left them, but at least it showed he was capable of feelings, of being present, of having a shred of passion in that heart of his. Thing was, she wasn’t sure if his outrage had been for her or for Eileen. And she wasn’t even sure if that mattered.
Beside her, Zara let out a sigh and reached for her hand. ‘I know I keep saying it, Mum, but I really am so sorry. I had no idea.’
‘We!’ Millie interjected indignantly.
‘Wehad no idea,’ Zara corrected herself.
They sat in peaceful silence for a few moments before Millie cracked first.
‘Okay, if you won’t ask her, I will. Mum, we need to know. What in the hell happened back then? How do you go from breaking up with your boyfriend and falling out with your trashy best friend…’ Millie held her hand up, warning off her sister. ‘Don’t you dare correct me. The woman slept with her best pal’s boyfriend. It’s the very definition of trashy.’
Zara immediately jumped in with, ‘Fine. But, Mum, I know it’s none of our business, and please say if you’re still not ready to talk or if you don’t want to tell us. We completely understand.’
‘No we don’t,’ Millie countered. ‘Our dad just punched a man twice his size. I want to know exactly what happened to turn him into the accountant version of Rocky. Like the other Rocky, but this one is great with tax returns.’
Brenda sighed, knowing in her heart that they deserved the truth. ‘Where do you want me to start?’
Zara sat forward in her chair. ‘At where Aiden’s mum left off. You found them together, you and Dad walked out, and then what…’
Brenda closed her eyes, right back there, living that moment again.
‘We went to another hotel, got a room, and I cried for twenty-four hours straight. The whole time, I was throwing up, and I thought I was just overwrought, before I realised… my period was late. In all the excitement of the trip, I’d completely missed the dates.’
‘Oh no, Mum…’ Zara’s voice was barely a whisper.
‘Your dad went out and bought three tests, we did them all, and every one was positive.’
There was not one second of that morning that Brenda didn’t remember. The fear. The horror. The unmitigated grief of knowing that she was having a baby by a man who’d just betrayed her in the worst way. And the hardest part of all was knowing that the one person she’d instinctively turn to in this situation, was the best friend who’d chosen Gary over her.
‘Your dad was so lovely. He held my hand, made me drinks, talked to me until we were hoarse, trying to figure out what I should do.’
Brenda saw Zara’s eyes were swimming with tears now. She had to clear her throat to shift the emotion that had lodged there before she went on, knowing that if she didn’t get all this out right now, she’d never be able to tell them.
‘We went out for a walk a couple of nights later, more to clear my head and get out of the room and that’s when we walked past the marriage chapel. It was late. Dark. I’d been crying for days. I was a mess.’
‘Marry me,’ Colin had blurted.
Brenda had gazed at him like he’d lost his mind. Which he most certainly had.
