Page 12 of My Husband's Wife
‘Good.’ Caiden lets go of my hand. Aaron pulls a face at him through the café window and they both giggle. The last thing I want to do is embarrass Caiden in front of his friend, so I put a bit more distance between us.
I push the door open to the cosy café and I spot Nicole holding a huge cup of something hot, probably an aromatic tea. She waves me over. I follow Caiden through the maze of tables, trying not to bump into the friends who have come out for a chat and the families who eagerly tuck into their brunches. A part of me wonders if I should mention what Zach said about catching her rummaging through his desk drawers but I decide not to. I believe she was looking for scissors.
Nicole stands and points to her bag which is on the other side of the couch she’s sitting on. ‘Saved you a seat.’ She pops it on the floor to make room for me.
‘Where are the others?’
She raises her brows. ‘Sonia’s grandmother’s carer was running late but she’s there now, so Sonia’s on her way. Christie is about five minutes away. Her dog was sick just as she was about to leave. The joy of pets and kids. Do you want a drink? My shout.’
I feel that given the week I’ve had, I need a good shot of caffeine but I also need something sweet. ‘I’d love a mocha, please, and a hot chocolate with marshmallows for Caiden.’ I never need to ask Caiden what he wants because he always wants hot chocolate when we come out. Besides, he’s already pulling toy cars out of Aaron’s bag and they’re snickering and talking. He’s forgotten about the cookie for now.
The server asks us what we want to drink as she passes, heading back to the counter to relay the orders to the flustered barista.
‘I have an apology to make.’ Nicole takes a deep breath.
I scrunch my brows, wondering what she could be about to say.
She waves a dismissive hand, sips her drink and lets out a small laugh. The oversized cardigan she’s wearing falls forward as she hunches over slightly. I wish I could pull off this woolly, almost hippish style she has. It’s almost like she was born of the sea despite not growing up around here. ‘I saw the look on your husband’s face when he caught sight of me in your house, and know you wondered what the hell was going on. I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea and I think I should have called?—’
I need to put her out of her misery to end her nervous waffling. ‘It’s okay. After you left, Zach told me about your misunderstanding.’
‘Good, good. Only I’d be mortified if he thought I was trying to steal anything. I saw a desk, needed some scissors and thought he must have some in one of the drawers. I could have waited until he got back, but I was running out of time and had to pick Aaron up from school. I didn’t want to miss the bell because I’ve been late a few times and the staff get annoyed.’ She twists her hair up into a clip, leaving a few strands loose.
I smile to put her at ease. ‘It’s okay. That’s exactly what Zach said. It’s fine.’ I really like her and I don’t want her to feel awkward with me and I think Zach is wrong. I wish she’d told me she’d worked on our garden though. It seems strange that she didn’t when we were speaking at the school gates, but then again, we always seemed to be rushing to get to work or home.
‘Let’s forget all that. It was nothing; you don’t have to apologise and everything is great.’
That’s not true. I’ve only known Nicole a short while so I can’t talk to her about Hugo – Theo – whatever the man’s name is. Zach and his silly little issue with Nicole pale into insignificance with all that. I miss Mum, but I can’t talk to her about it. She’d arrive at our door by the end of the day, thinking I can’t cope. I can cope. I am calmness personified. I rearrange the back of my hair to cover up a sore bit. Why do I try to lie to myself? Seeing Hugo has hit me hard. It is him; I know it is, but I don’t know what to do with this newfound information. If it is him, how could he pretend he didn’t know me? We were soulmates. He held me when I pushed our boy into the world. He was there throughout my breakdown and gave me nothing but support and love. It didn’t feel like that at the time, but hindsight gave me a better perspective. My heart broke when I was told of his death. Even now, I still have nightmares thinking there was something I could have done to prevent his suicide. I am so bloody confused; I don’t know what to think. Did I push him to it with the way I was? No, I can’t go there. It’s too dangerous.
‘Eva, are you crying?’
I wipe the tear away. ‘No, I was cleaning earlier and I don’t think I washed the bleach off my hands properly. I just rubbed my eye.’ Gosh, I’m amazed at how easy the lies come when I don’t want to discuss something.
She passes me a wet wipe from her bag. ‘They’ve only got water in them.’
I take the wipe and go through the motions, then I realise I’ve probably rubbed mascara under my eyes. Nicole points under my left eye, so I continue to clean the area but I’m obviously missing the spot because she takes the wipe off me and begins to tenderly clean around my eye.
‘There.’ She smiles at me then waves as Sonia enters.
Although I’ve met Sonia, we haven’t really spoken much. I wave as she approaches. She hails the server for a mint tea and removes her coat before sitting opposite me.
‘No Amelia today?’ Nicole asks.
‘She’s on a playdate. I’d say I’m having a break but I have to get back for Nan in an hour when the carer leaves.’
Christie hurries through the door, looking flustered. She sits next to Sonia and waves at the server. ‘The usual, please.’ Her daughter, Iris, hurries over to the boys and joins in with their car play. ‘Sorry I’m late. Damn dog ate a bag of Skittles that we’d left out last night. It was not a pretty sight. How’s everyone?’
I take a photo of us to put on my Instagram, so Mum can see how well everything is going. No one seems to mind me doing that.
Half an hour passes quickly, and Sonia begins to check her watch. ‘I’m going to have to get back for Nan.’
I feel in my pocket and my hand happens on the business card that Madison gave me. After Sonia hugs us all in turn, I sit back down and watch her hurry across the road.
‘She works so hard looking after her nan. I just want to scoop her up and take her for a big night out,’ Christie says. ‘She needs to get it on with someone. Maybe I could fix her up.’ She laughs. ‘I’m sure she’d feel much better after a good night of?—’
Nicole laughs loudly to cover up what Christie might be about to say. ‘Okay, don’t need the details.’ Nicole finishes her tea. ‘So, how’s everything going with you-know-who?’
I guess Nicole is referring to the man Christie is having an affair with.
