Page 22 of My Husband's Wife
‘You think he was there.’
I clench my fists. ‘This is not stress-induced psychosis and I am not having another breakdown. It’s real.’
Mum’s eyes are watering. She’s helped me back from rock bottom more than once. She talked me down from that wall, the same one Hugo drove through. She collected me from uni when I thought all my roomies were plotting to poison me because I’d fallen out with one of them. I only ate food out of packets for nearly a month, all because of exam stress. That’s why I flunked year two. She knows me better than anyone but she doesn’t know me now, because what I’m seeing is real. I pull my phone from my pocket and find Madison AveNew’s page. I try to find that photo with Hugo in the background to show her, but it’s gone. I scroll and scroll before throwing my phone hard onto the coffee table. ‘There was a photo. I could have shown you but it’s been deleted.’
‘Are you sure it was ever there?’
I bow my head in thought. One of the mums at the café had shown it to me. I remember now, it was Christie. ‘Yes. He’s made Madison delete it.’
Zach calls out. ‘Food’s done.’
Mum grips my hand. She doesn’t know what to say so she remains silent. We both compose ourselves before leaving the snug and heading to the dining table. The view of the sea is a little brighter than earlier.
‘I’d never tire of this view,’ Mum says as she sits. I sit next to her and feel Freddie’s damp nose on my leg as he waits for me to drop him a treat from my plate.
‘I hope you like cheese sandwiches and chicken soup.’ Zach places a plate full of sandwiches down and brings the bowls and a bottle of water over.
‘This is lovely, Zach. Thank you,’ Mum replies as she takes a little triangle sandwich and begins eating.
How can she eat? If I attempt to eat now, I’ll throw up, so I sit back and taste the tiniest bit of the soup.
‘I have some news,’ Zach says as he pours us all a glass of water.
He never mentioned any news to me.
‘I was going to take Eva to lunch today to tell her that a job I tendered for has come up. Well, I didn’t originally get the job, someone else did but they’ve let the contractor down, so now they’re offering me the work instead. I’ve accepted.’
I put the conversation that Mum and I were just having to one side and smile. Zach has been working hard to get bigger contracts so that he can earn more and I’m happy for him. ‘When do you start?’
‘Tomorrow, at seven in the morning. There’s this new development and they need a plasterer to work with someone else on twenty houses. We have two weeks to get the job done, and there will be more work from this developer after. They have houses everywhere. They’re huge, Eva. It’s going to be amazing for us.’
‘That’s great. Where is it?’
‘They mostly have properties around this way, so the next jobs will be closer but for the next two weeks, I’ll be based in Worcester.’
That’s close to where we lived in Malvern. ‘How are you going to travel there every day? It’s too far.’
He smiles. ‘They’re putting me and some of the other subbies up in a rental house. I might be able to come back next weekend to see you and Caiden if I can wangle a couple of days off, but the following week, I’ll definitely work right through, then I’ll be back home for good.’
I don’t want him to leave. We have so much to talk about. How can I mention what Nicole said just as he’s about to leave me for two weeks? ‘So are you going in the morning?’ I know my forehead’s creased and my mouth is downturned. He pauses and I can tell he’s leaving tonight. ‘You’re going later, aren’t you?’
‘I can’t turn this down, Eva. It’s so much money and we need it at the moment. It’s only two weeks.’
I rely on him for so much. ‘You look after Caiden when I’m working and pick him up from school when I can’t. We’re a team. How am I meant to cope?’
‘I’m here, sweetheart. I can help.’ Mum looks almost happy that he’s going.
‘That’s a great idea and as I said, it’s only two weeks then we’ll work it out if I do more for them. Why don’t you stay here, Susan? I’m sure it’ll be more comfortable than staying in a chalet.’
‘I’d love that, if you’re okay with me staying, Eva.’
‘I’ll change Caiden’s bed for you and he can sleep in the spare room on the sofa bed.’ Mum gets a bad back so this seems like the only solution because I’m not sharing a bed with her.
For the first time, Mum seems to be warming to Zach as they exchange smiles. I think mentioning earning money has helped her see him in a better light. As for me, Zach and I still need to talk about Nicole. My shoulders drop. Everything about Mum’s sudden arrival feels a bit convenient. Maybe she was due a little later and Zach was going to tell me over lunch, but I almost think they planned this.
Sixteen
Zach left a while ago and everything I wanted to speak to him about will have to wait. Caiden goes into the main living space and watches Despicable Me for the hundredth time. Mum has gone upstairs to shower, so I sit in the snug with the log burner going and click onto Instagram to check out my posts. I have a smattering of likes, some from my old colleagues and there’s a comment telling me I’m missed.
