Page 45 of A Touch of Magic at the Comfort Food Café
‘And some cake?’ Laura suggests. I smile as I see them offer this complete stranger their usual consideration. They don’t know her at all– I haven’t even introduced her properly yet– but they can see that she is connected to me, and possibly they can see that she is shaken. They are reacting the way they always do– with kindness.
Sally nods again, and Laura gives me a look as she heads off to the kitchen. ‘I’ll be talking to you later, Sarah,’ she says sternly. Oh dear. This is going to get messy. I suddenly understand how Laura’s twins must feel when they’ve been caught doing something naughty.
Aidan touches my hand, and I turn to look at him, my back to Sally. He pulls what Libby and Lucy would call a ‘WTF face’, and I have to hold in a laugh. What a pickle we’ve got ourselves into. I mouth the words ‘Thank you’ and he responds with a whispered ‘You’re welcome’.
‘Babe, I’ve got to make a move,’ he says to me, loud enough for my sister to hear. ‘I need to get back to the dogs. Sally, it’s nice to see you again.’
She watches him as he goes, then sighs as she looks back to me.
‘Dogs? He has dogs as well? How perfect can one boyfriend be?’
Chapter Seventeen
After a few glasses of wine and lashings of cake, I take Sally back home. She stares down at the coast from the café garden, a dusky evening of cloud-smudged stars, and sighs. ‘It really is nice here, isn’t it? I’ve never thought I could leave London, but I can definitely see the appeal…’
I gulp back a moment of dread that I’m not especially proud of. I’m sure she has no intention of actually moving here. It’s just a thing she’s saying, surely.
Once we’re back at the house, I grab extra blankets from the cupboard and make us both some cocoa. She looks a little wired, and I don’t think more wine is going to help with that.
‘So,’ I say, once she’s inspected the place and settled on the sofa, ‘what’s going on, Sal?’
‘What do you mean? And is it a problem? Am I not welcome?’
I recognise the tone. It means she’s looking for a fight, and I’m determined not to give her one. She tends to lash out when she feels threatened.
‘Always. You’re my sister and I love you. You can stay here for as long as you like. But I can tell there’s something wrong. Is it Ollie?’
She glares at me and snaps: ‘What do you mean, is it Ollie?’
‘I mean exactly what I asked. Don’t be like this, Sally. I’m on your side.’
She snorts, but then rubs her eyes with her balled-up fists. ‘I know. I’m sorry. I’m being a dick.’
‘That’s okay. I’m used to it.’
This at least makes her laugh and breaks down some of her resistance.
‘Yes, it’s Ollie,’ she says. ‘Of course it’s Ollie. Things haven’t been good between us for a while. He’s always working, or playing golf, or listening to bloody podcasts. Seriously, I can’t remember what his head looks like without his earphones on. We spend more time apart than we do together, and when we are together, all we seem to do is bicker. It’s bearable with the girls around– they’re like a buffer zone I suppose– but they’re away on their school trip at the moment.’
Plus, I can’t help thinking, before too long they will be leaving for university. Libby’s applied to Oxford, and Lucy has her heart set on Edinburgh. There has been talk of a gap year, but for Sally, that might be even worse. What if they disappear to Cambodia or whatever? I can’t see Libby doing that, but Lucy– definitely. Them leaving is going to be a tough thing for Sally to adjust to. With twins, you get double the work and then double the sorrow when they finally fly the nest. Add in marital problems, and that’s not a good spot to be in.
‘Do you think there’s someone else?’ I ask. ‘With Ollie?’
‘Not everybody cheats just because Will did, Sarah! And it’s not like you two were ever really close, was it?’
Ouch. That was below the belt, and I bite my tongue before I can come up with a retort. I was never an especially confidentperson, but after Will’s repeated infidelities, I was even lower on self-belief. It’s not fair of Sally to trivialise it, but I will give her a pass because she’s so upset.
‘Okay. I’m sorry. What do you think the problem is, then?’
She sips her cocoa, and I see tears shining in her eyes. ‘I’m sorry again, Sarah. I shouldn’t have said that. And yes, I’ve wondered if there’s someone else, of course I have. I think I would even understand that– God knows I’ve been tempted myself. The longest conversations we have these days are about the girls, and I can’t actually remember the last time we had sex… It’s like he’s just switched off. He finds strangers on the internet talking about hip replacements more interesting than me!’
This is indeed a damning indictment, even for an orthopaedic surgeon.
‘I just needed to get away for a bit,’ she continues, swiping at her eyes like she’s angry with herself. Knowing Sally, she probably is, for being what she will perceive as weak. ‘The house feels so empty because the girls are away, and he is barely there, and when he is it’s like I don’t exist… Oh God, Sarah, what if we end up like Mum and Dad? Staying together even though we hate each other?’
The weight of that hits me, and I can see how scared she is by the idea. I don’t blame her. It doesn’t take a psychiatrist to understand that is one of the reasons I’ve avoided relationships. As ever, Sally and I responded differently to our childhood issues– she threw herself into marriage and motherhood almost defiantly, determined to make a happy home. So far, she’s made it work, whereas I withdrew after my first attempt. Possibly even before then.
‘You won’t,’ I say firmly, reaching out to hold her hand. ‘Never. The very fact that you’re asking that question shows you won’t. Mum and Dad are… well, they’re a special case. I promiseyou, if I ever think you’re heading in that direction, I’ll hire you a divorce lawyer myself!’
