Page 72 of The Interview
I squeeze Marley’s hand. I have every confidence my husband isn’t about to reveal the squalor he found me living in, but the memory of the level of mortification I felt when he found me that day has me holding on for dear life anyway.
“She was a mess—really unwell. The place she was in was a bit cold and drafty, so I called Milo, and we packed up her stuff, and I moved her into mine so I could look after her. I called a doctor out. He confirmed all sorts, including laryngitis, as well as ear and chest infections. I think she slept for about two days straight. It took her another week to finally function again.”
“And I just want to clarify, not once, during any of that time, did he do anything other than look after me and cook me shepherd’s pie,” I tell them.
“Marley Layton, rock god. I’d been seeing this bird right here for a couple of weeks, had her sleeping in my bed, staying at my place, looking after her while she was sick, cooking for her, and hadn’t even got a leg over. And despite all of that, I fell fucking hard. She didn’t care who I was, wasn’t interested in the fame or the money I might have. She was just happy to lie on my sofa and watch films with me all day and all night.”
I catch my husband’s eye, we both smile, and with perfect synchronicity say, “Yup, yup, yup,” as we recall watching The Land Before Time together, and years later, watching it with our kids. Now, with both our girls pregnant, we’re patiently waiting to watch it with our future grandkids.
“She wasn’t fussed about dressing up and being seen out with me. She was the opposite of every woman I’d been around for thefour years previous. She was perfect, and I was a pussy,” Marley says, his voice dropping to almost a whisper.
“I was a fuck up, and even though I’d promised her during those couple of weeks that I wouldn’t let her down like everyone else had, I knew eventually I would. So, I thought I might as well get it done sooner rather than later when we’d both getreallyhurt.”
“Such a fucking idiot,” Georgia grumbles.
“I know. I completely fucked up and nearly lost the only girl I’ve ever loved.”
“Aw, I’m loving this,” Kiki calls out from behind us.
“So, I left her sleeping in my bed and got on a plane. I went to Paris first, but it was too close. I was still tempted, and it would’ve been too easy to fly back to her.”
I get a ringing in my ears, probably caused by my blood pressure rising as I recall waking up that morning and finding him gone, having left nothing but a note telling me I could stay until one of his team found me a new place.
One of his team? One of hisfucking team?
I must twitch or fidget because Marls turns to look at me.
“I stayed drunk for about three days so I wouldn’t be allowed on a plane, then sobered up enough to fly to the States. I went out to all the places we usually avoided and made sure the paps snapped me with a different bird on my arm every night.”
“What wereyouthinking during all of this? When you woke up and found him gone?” Daniel asks through the alarm going off in my head.
“Murder, whether I had enough saved to pay someone else or if I’d have to do it myself.”
A ripple of laughter rolls through the room, but I’m not laughing. Not even a little bit.
“I was hurt and humiliated. Right before he left, we’d finally slept together, and I just thought he’d go running back to Macaand tell him he’d finally got into my knickers. Mac would then tell G, and the whole family would sit around the table?—”
“Plotting his end,” Lennon interrupts. “Marley’s, I mean. You wouldn’t have had to pay for a hit or have done it yourself because all of us would’ve been lining up to do it for youifwe’d have known back then that’s what he’d done.”
“Aw, thanks, Len.” I blow my brother-in-law a kiss. “You always were my favourite Layton brother.”
“Yeah, thanks, bruv. Nice one,” Marley adds with more than a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he holds two thumbs up.
“You’re welcome.” Len grins.
“As clarification seems to be playing a big part in all of these confessions, I’d like it known that I didn’t touch any of those women I was photographed with.”
“Then, why’d you do it?” Daniel asks.
“Yeah, Marls, why’d you do it?” I ask my husband.
“I was the family fuck-up. I didn’t think. I thought she was too perfect, and I didn’t feel worthy of her love,” Marley answers quietly.
The room, which had been light and full of banter just a few moments ago, is now quiet as we all look Marley’s way.
“I ran before I could do something to hurt her, which in turn would hurt me.”
“Doingthathurt me. Thankfully, there was no internet back then, but it took less than a week for magazines to publish pictures of you, arm-in-arm, with one supermodel or another. I was devastated at first, then I was angry. I lied to his family and said things just didn’t work out. Jim and Len’s wedding was coming up. I knew he would be there and assumed he’d bring one of the long-legged birds he’d been photographed with, so I told Jim I was bringing my ex, who I’d recently reconnected with.”
