Page 19 of The English Queen

Breaking

It was time for Rita to inform her boys about their baby sibling. When Rita tracked to the weekend pickup line, she was all smiles. But the excitement of good test results began to fade from her face as she encountered a solemn Vanna. Vanna asked for a quick private chat. It was about the family. She was about to tell her children who would then tell Rita’s. How quickly the entire world changed over the last decade. Now, she learned news from her cousin’s wife–her best friend–that would have previously come from Duncan, Robbie, or her mother. Why hadn’t her mother called?

She climbed in the car with Vanna.

Vanna said, “I don’t know what to say about this so I’m going to say it.”

Rita nodded, confused.

“Maggie has glioblastoma. She’s got a year and a half to live. She has surgery next week. Robert is… he’s in charge. That is why everyone came round this week. I wanted to tell you because I suspect as close as Gerry and Georgie are, he will find out from Georgie first if you don’t sit the boys down—”

“Why didn’t my mother call?” Rita was in a trance.

“Because she’s talking to Maggie right now. I suspect your mother might believe the world is ending. It might take awhile for her to get back to you.”

“I’m so sorry, Vanna.”

“Sorry for me? You are the one losing your aunt and godmother, Rita—”

“You know what I mean,” Rita squeezed Vanna’s hands. “Fuck.”

Rita didn’t cry. Vanna dabbed tears and took a deep breath, snapping back into Crown Princess Mode. The woman learned how to do it with the best of them, but her tears indicated she wished for something else. Poor Vanora Morgan. She arrived on a carefree spring day once 13 years ago. Now she’d be acting Queen with one infant, a young child, and two tweens to manage. This isn’t what Robbie promised her. But life wasn’t always as promised. For Vanna, this must have been Groundhog Day.

“If I hadn’t asked you here that summer,” Rita said. “You wouldn’t have to be dealing with this again.”

Vanna squeezed Rita’s hand tightly. “I also wouldn’t have Robert or the children. I would still be living in my parents’ house and never would have moved on. I will take the husband and kids, thank you.”

They left the car and acted normally as their sons filed out. Winston came first, ignoring his brother and George as if too cool.

Vanna scooped her son up, gave Rita one last hug, and boarded the car. Rita packed her two boys up and fled to London. They chattered on about a tutor they hated and how boring chapel had been that morning. They were most interested in seeing how they could duck going to their father’s for the weekend. This wasn’t Rita’s weekend, and she should not have been picking them up. However, Richard was “busy”. Rita had no heart to fight about it.

The relationship between the boys and Richard was complicated. Rita wanted was for her sons to have a normal relationship with their father, but Richard was too busy chasing women less than half his age all over London. He mocked the boys for having emotions. He called them names when they cried. He yelled at them when they lost a rugby or lacrosse game. He told Winston he’d never properly sit a polo pony–something not even remotely true. The boys feared him. The boys didn’t like him.

“Can we invite Bruno to Dad’s weekend?” Winston changed the subject from the weekend ahead to the upcoming event at school.

“I think your father will want to go and I don’t think he and Bruno will want to—”

“I don’t want Dad there,” Winston declared.

“Winston, he’s your father—”

“He always embarrasses me on purpose. Bruno doesn’t do that. And Bruno is clever. He is good at maths and likes to talk about books. Dad isn’t an intellectual,” Winston said.

Rita snickered, “An intellectual? Winston, you are twelve. You don’t—”

“Look, he’s not. And everyone knows it. And he embarrasses me. Bruno knows about things. He can hold a conversation. Richard can’t do that.”

“Why did you marry him, Mummy?” Gerald whinged.

“Sweethearts, he’s your father. I married him because at one point, I was in love with him. And then we fell out of love—”

“Because he cheated on you–a lot,” Winston said.

“That’s an adult conversation for another day—”

“No, it’s common knowledge if you can google it, Mummy.” Rita knew Winston rolled his eyes.

“Don’t trust the internet—”

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