Page 62 of For One Moment With You
I stared at him. Then the cogs of my brain started turning as something fell into place. ‘It isn’t, is it?’ Again, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it, but it was only Gareth who was driving this. In the context of life-or-death terms, there really was no hurry for any of it.
Later that evening, however, when I did call him to tell him what I thought, Gareth had his own, very strong and uncompromising reasons on why we needed to sell the house, not just soon but immediately. ‘It means we’ll both know where we stand, financially. We can draw a line.’ He paused. ‘I think you need closure, Tilly.’
I felt myself bristle. Since when had he cared so much about what I needed? And after shacking up with Olivia, Gareth had well and truly relinquished the right to have an opinion about my life. ‘I do notneed closureas you put it,’ I said furiously. ‘For your information, I’m having a great time, Gareth. Our marriage is over, I realise that. And I’ve never been happier. But I see no reason to accept the first offer that comes along, especially when the house hasn’t even been marketed properly.’
He was silent for a moment. ‘It isn’t that simple,’ he muttered.
My ears pricked up. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Never mind.’ He sounded like a sulky little boy.
‘Look, I suggest you ask the agent to put the house on the market. Let’s see what happens. If no one’s interested, then we can consider this offer again.’ But the thing was, I knew Gareth. I’d known him for far too long. My suspicions were growing that there was something he wasn’t saying – to the point I would have bet money on it. Frowning, I felt the cogs in my mind whirring again. ‘Did you say it was a friend of the agent who wants to buy our house?’
‘Not exactly.’ He sounded uncomfortable.
I started to get irritated. ‘Why can’t you just be straight with me?’
‘Maybe because I know you won’t like it,’ he said.
Done with walking on eggshells, I cut to the chase. ‘What’s going on, Gareth?’
He was silent for a moment. ‘OK. So it’s me who wants to buy the house. Well, me and…’
Before he could say Olivia, I exploded. ‘You actually thought you could cheat me out of the full value of the house, to buy it at a bargain price so that you can move in there withher?’ Angry didn’t begin to describe how I was feeling. I was incandescent. ‘Even putting the money part of this aside, what about the boys? Have you even begun to think how weird it would be for them to have their father living in the family home, the house they grew up in –with someone else?’
‘It was Olivia’s idea,’ he said. ‘And there’s no need to throw your toys out of the pram. It’s a practical solution that works for all of us.’
‘Except me,’ I flashed.Toys out of the pramindeed. He really was unbelievable. I thought of all the names under the sun I wanted to call him, just about managing to hold them inside. ‘About the boys… Why don’t you ask them their opinion on the fact that by buying the house at a bargain price, you’re doing their mother out of… what are we talking about… several tens of thousands?’
‘I’d make it up to you,’ he said miserably.
‘When would you plan to do that?’ I asked. ‘After the baby arrives, with all the extra expenses that come with that? Or after Olivia’s had a new kitchen put in – which believe me, she will want to, even though ours is new, just as she’ll want to rip the bathrooms out.’
‘Olivia’s an interior designer,’ he said. ‘We’ll get the work done at a fraction of the usual cost. In fact, we should make a—’ He stopped suddenly.
But he’d given himself away. Several steps ahead of me, he’d already thought it all through. I felt my blood chill. ‘Do go on,’ I said icily.
‘That was it. There isn’t anything else to say.’
But he was lying. I could tell. ‘I think I know what you were about to say, Gareth. You were going to tell me that you and Olivia should make a killing – on selling our family home once you’ve done it up. Of course, you didn’t want me to know you’re planning to screw me over – for the second time.’ I paused, gathering myself. ‘There’s one thing I would like to say. And that is, I never want to speak to you,ever again. Do I make myself clear?’
Without waiting for a reply, I ended the call and switched my phone off, still fuming. Then I opened the door onto my own little balcony and stepped outside.
The air was cool and as I gulped deep breaths of it, I felt my heart rate start to slow. Then I chastised myself. It wasn’t so long ago I was feeling sorry for Gareth. When he clearly cared so little for me, how ridiculous was that? And what about Olivia? If I were in her shoes, I wouldn’t want to move into my lover’s family home. Maybe I should call Gareth back. Tell him it’s a good idea, after all. Let her find out the hard way; surround herself with memories of our family that will be like ghosts. To listen to Rick banging on when he calls in for tea and sympathy. To explain to the boys why this issucha good idea, even though it may not seem like that.
But I already knew that women like Olivia didn’t care about any of those things. As for Gareth… The further away I got, the more I realised my husband wasn’t the man I wanted to believe he was. Or maybe he never was. In my desire for us to be a happy family, I’d gone through most of our marriage with my eyes closed.
Soothed by the quiet, I was calmer as I heard the back door of the guesthouse open and close. Then Andreas’s voice came through the darkness.
‘Tilly? Are you all right?’ he called up. ‘I thought I heard voices.’
‘I’m fine, Andreas. I was talking to my ex-husband. But it’s over now. We’re done.’
‘I am sorry,’ he said in a sad voice.
‘Don’t be.’ I paused. ‘He isn’t a nice man. And I’m fine. In fact, I’m better than fine. Goodnight, Andreas. I’m sorry if I disturbed you.’
‘Goodnight, Tilly.’
