Page 38 of My Husband's Wife
He starts speaking in a hushed voice but she knows that Christie can probably hear them. ‘It matters to me. You know I don’t really like social media. We’ve discussed this.’ No, he discussed it. She knows he has issues, but him being an arsehole right now has nothing to do with his agoraphobia, and she’s also aware that he has an Instagram account.
‘And I have a business to run and this is stupid.’
‘Take it down.’
He’s shaking. For my own sanity, I’m going to make him face this part of his irrational self. ‘No, so please don’t ask me again because you’re wasting your time and mine.’ This isn’t how a loving couple should speak to each other, Madison knows, but she also knows she has to speak her mind, otherwise she’ll bottle things up and explode later. She places her hands over her huge belly and feels baby Emily kicking hard. ‘Look, I don’t need any stress right now, okay? I don’t know whether you’ve forgotten. But I’m carrying your baby. We can talk about this at home later.’
‘Take it down.’
‘Get some help. You need it.’ She hated saying that but it was true.
He looks like he wants to say more but instead he takes a few breaths before turning away from her and storming out. She stares at her reflection in the mirror. Gone is the bubbly, glowing pregnant woman. In her place is someone with glassy eyes and a slight tremor. She hates confrontation but it’s become too regular with Theo. She loves him, though, so she’ll keep pushing him out of his comfort zone until he gets better. As she opens the lunchbox, her stomach churns at the smell of tuna and pasta and she knows it will have to go in the bin. There’s nothing like a bit of bickering to ruin an appetite.
She walks back to the other side where Christie remains in her seat. ‘I’m sorry you had to hear that. I’ll give you a discount because that can’t have been nice.’ She pauses, not knowing if Christie is happy with her offering. She doesn’t want to lose her as a customer or end up with a bad online review. ‘Men.’ Madison shakes her head and smiles.
‘Bloody men,’ Christie says. ‘No need for the discount. Good on you for saying what you thought.’
The rest of the day is a blur. Madison still can’t believe that Theo came in and spoke to her like that with a client in the salon, all because of a stupid photo.
* * *
She parks up outside the cottage and has a little flashback to the first few times she came to this cottage with her broken laptop. He’d admitted not fixing it properly so she’d come back, which in itself was a bit devious. He could have just asked her out on a date and explained that he had agoraphobia. She was smitten with him on first sight. He was gorgeous and she’d been single for over a year. But the house looked unloved, dark and brooding, just like he was. He was her man of mystery, a man who didn’t like to discuss his past or what trauma led to him being such a recluse. Then he told her about the terrible accident, the one where his twin sister, Emily, had died, along with his parents, all because his mother had fallen asleep in their house with a lit cigarette in her mouth – and it melted her heart. Madison knew from then that he needed care and love if he was to ever come out of his shell.
Now, as she gets out of the car, she pats her belly, knowing that their Emily is going to be the most loved little girl in the whole world.
He waves from the window with Buster, their Lhasa Apso, under one arm, yapping away. She’d rescued Buster four years ago and when she moved in with Theo, he’d lovingly accepted her gorgeous little furball into his home.
She pushes the creaky gate open and stares at the ivy that is taking over the front of the house. It won’t be today, but she’ll mention it to Theo. She wants the place made perfect before Emily’s arrival. Swallowing, she thinks of their little argument at the salon and she hopes he’s lightened up because although she said they should talk later, she doesn’t want to talk. As she goes to unlock the door, Theo is already there, a smile on his face. He wraps his arms around her tightly as Buster yaps for attention at her feet.
‘I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have come in like that, moaning and demanding you take the photo down.’
She inhales a deep mushroom aroma as she hugs him tightly. Their tiff hadn’t sat well with her. ‘I’m sorry too. I should have been a bit less angry.’
He pulls back. ‘No apologies from you. It was all me. If the internet was asking who is the arsehole, or should I say the asshole, in this situation, it would be me. I wanted to make it up to you so I’ve made mushroom risotto.’
She’d craved that dish all through her pregnancy and the thought of eating it made her salivate. ‘Forgiven, asshole,’ she says as she hurries to the kitchen ready to tuck in.
Earlier she’d pondered whether their relationship was over. She wondered if she’d made the biggest mistake of her life agreeing to marry him, but now she knows it was nothing more than a blip and a part of his condition. They could work through it because that’s what couples did. They have to work hard at a relationship; she is learning that lesson fast and hard.
Thirty-One
It’s New Year’s Eve, and though she hates leaving her staff alone with such a busy schedule, this baby is coming early, whether she wants it to or not. An agonising contraction ripples through her, causing her to clench her teeth. Phone in hand, she calls the salon and Orla answers.
‘Maddie, everything’s fine. Don’t worry about anything. You have a baby to bring into the world and Tammy and I can’t wait to meet her.’
Orla’s sweet voice is reassuring, considering Madison’s waters had broken midway through cutting the hair of a new client. Relinquishing control to Orla and Tammy was proving to be challenging; however, she didn’t call for an update: she needed to know where the hell her husband was. Theo wasn’t answering his mobile despite knowing she might need him at any given moment. Their baby wasn’t due for another two weeks but that’s no excuse, babies can come at any time when the due date is close. ‘Have you seen Theo?’ Another contraction sends Madison screaming. ‘The baby’s coming, I need him here,’ she yells.
‘I’ll keep calling him.’
‘Thanks.’ Madison ends the call and places the phone down while taking another gulp of gas and air.
‘I’m sure he’s on his way,’ the midwife says.
She doubts that. Since she became pregnant, he’d changed, become a bit more reclusive and angrier at having to leave the house. The tiff they’d had at the salon, about the photo, had been the tip of the iceberg which had forced her to insist that he booked a couple of emergency sessions with his therapist.
Maybe it was the baby. At first he’d been dead against bringing a baby into the world, but Madison wanted their little peanut more than anything, including him. After two miscarriages during a previous marriage, she’d longed for this baby. In the end, he proposed. She’d always wondered if he proposed because she was pregnant or because they’d been together over two years, and it seemed like the natural thing to do.
Her sister, Camille, barges in and throws her coat onto a plastic chair in the corner of the room. ‘I came as soon as I could. Neil has left work early to look after the kids.’ She runs over and hugs Madison before grabbing a cloth and wiping the sweat from her brow. That should be Theo’s job. ‘How often are the contractions?’
