Page 36 of The Lie
He didn’t, but he knew she was going to tell him.
‘He is still in love with your mother.’ She spoke slowly, emphasizing each word loudly and carefully, as she cast a wounded glance at Leo. ‘All that time? He was just using me for sex.’
Leo was shocked. Was any of what she said true? His father ‘using’ someone for sex? His father in love with his mother throughout? Now he recalled Anezka implying, when they were in the hospital one day, that Michael would prefer to see someone other than her at his bedside. But although he’d noted the words as significant at the time, he hadn’t had the head space to follow it through. ‘Are you sure about him still being in love with Mum? He seems really keen to talk to you.’
His father had never taken him into his confidence when his mother had left. Not even mentioned it. But did parents ever confide in their kids about their relationship? Or kids confide in their parents? He certainly hadn’t told either of them about Lucy, his girlfriend of six months, wanting to wait till they were both sure.
Rex had posited the theory, at the time of the split, that maybe there’d been an overlap with Anezka and their mum – she’d been on the scene earlier than was said – and that was what had driven their mum away. But Leo hadn’t bought that about his dad. And his mother would surely have been angrier and let something slip, if that were the case.
Anezka didn’t answer, just looked at him as if he was being disingenuous, a tight smile on her lips.
‘OK … but right now his brain seems stuck in some sort of groove. Maybe he wants to apologize to you, or something,’ Leo said. ‘I’d appreciate it if you’d see him, anyway … sort out whatever it is.’ The reluctance on her face was patent, but Leo stood firm. ‘Please, Anezka.’
She sighed. ‘I will come, if that’s what you want. But I don’t want to fight with him like we did that night.’
‘Maybe ring him, then. Just make clear that it’s really over, that you’re not interested … and don’t keep saying you love him, even if you do.’
His phone rang as he waited at the lights to cross Sloane Square on his way to visit his father. He smiled to himself as he saw who it was.
‘Hi, bro,’ Rex said. ‘Thought I’d see how it’s going over there.’ He sounded annoyingly upbeat.
‘If you’re on the beach, I don’t want to know how blue the sky is or how cool the water, OK?’ Leo joked, although he was really happy to hear his brother’s voice.
‘Man, it’s the middle of the night! So tell me about Dad.’
Leo sighed. ‘Everyone keeps telling me he’ll be fine in the end, and maybe he will, but it’s really hard seeing him struggle to do even the smallest thing.’
Rex was silent for a moment. ‘I feel so bad I’m not there to help.’
Leo was sure his brother did feel guilty.But not guilty enough to come back, he thought. Not that he blamed him.
‘How is he in himself?’ Rex was asking, as Leo weaved his way expertly round the crowded square, not waiting for the pedestrian lights to change to green before striding across the King’s Road junction.
‘Well, that’s the odd thing. He’s sort of mellowed. He’s not nearly as scary as he used to be.’
‘Like how?’
‘It’s weird,’ Leo said, as he entered Symons Street. ‘We actually had a real laugh together on Saturday. Can you believe that selfie I sent?Dadallowing me to take one? And he seems to be listening to me – even taking what I say seriously sometimes.’
‘So his brain’s definitely on the blink.’
‘Very funny. It sort of is and isn’t. He was able to quote some Supreme Court ruling without any trouble the other morning, but often he can’t remember the name of a simple object, like his iPad.’
‘So what does he do all day? Can he read and stuff?’
‘Ah, well, wait for it … Dad’s watching telly for the first time in his life! Mum’s got a flat screen fitted on the wall in their bedroom where that gloomy bridge painting used to be and Dad’s become a Netflix junkie.’
He heard Rex’s disbelieving snort. Michael had spent most of their childhood ranting about television programmes being ‘damaging, populist rubbish’. He’d tried to limit the amount the boys watched, but since he wasn’t there most of the time and their mother didn’t stress about it, they’d ended up with pretty much the same quota as their peers.
‘You … are … kidding.’ Rex was silent for a moment. ‘And Mum?’
‘That’s another odd thing.’ Leo paused as he stepped off the kerb, narrowly missing a massive white four-by-four with blacked-out windows. ‘It’s nearly a month now, and she’s still there all the time – except one weekend – and they seem to be getting on better. I mean, sometimes really laughing together.’ He hesitated. ‘I’ve told her that with Daniel there she could probably go home and she says she will, but not yet … so maybe she’s sort of enjoying being with Dad.’
‘Hmm … interesting. You think this might bring them back together?’ Rex yawned loudly. ‘That’d be one good thing to come out of all this.’
‘Well, let me tell you what Anezka said when I saw her just now.’ Leo went on to fill Rex in.
‘Do you think Mum knows? Because if that really is how Dad feels, it looks like the ball’s in Mum’s court now.’
