Yasmina was already in the kitchen fully dressed. She was sitting at the breakfast table, with an empty glass of orange juice and a half-finished bowl of cereal in front of her. As Mark entered Yasmina looked up: ‘Would you like a cup of coffee?’ she asked. Mark nodded.
‘This is a surprise,’ he said, dropping a kiss on Yasmina’s head. ‘Breakfast is my job.’
Yasmina’s voice was detached and distant: ‘I can’t help thinking about Julia Ames.’
Remembering their lovemaking, Mark could not hide his disappointment.
‘Last night I thought that even if you couldn’t accept the way I treated Julia, at least you understood my predicament.’
‘You seem to be forgetting that the “predicament” was entirely hers.’ She stressed the word predicament with a quick, scathing glance at Mark. ‘She had to have an abortion against her conviction, for goodness sake! You might regard the premature termination of pregnancy as an alternative to contraception, but it isn’t!’ Mark, still standing in the door of the kitchen, tried to interrupt her.
‘Don’t you think that’s a bit unfair?’ But Yasmina was unstoppable.
‘It may be my “mixed up” Catholic and Muslim upbringing,’ she said with venom, ‘but I find your behaviour repulsive.’ Her voice rose. ‘You deserted her at a time when she needed you most. And you didn’t even care. You destroyed her youth and her career. She was condemned to a miserable life from which her suicide might have been an escape, while in the meantime you continued your studies, as if nothing had happened, enjoying all the privileges a rich upper middle-class family could afford. It’s unbelievable!’
Mark was not prepared for such an outburst and attempted to pacify Yasmina.
‘You’ve changed your mind since last night. I hoped, obviously in vain, that Julia wouldn’t stand between us. I take full responsibility for what happened.’
‘Don’t you think it’s a little bit late?’ She was shouting now. ‘Without being confronted with your past in the police station, you wouldn’t have given a single thought to Julia’s fate.
‘Mark,’ she continued, ‘there’s something else we should talk about. I know you’re very keen for us to have children, preferably as soon as possible. I’m beginning to wonder whether your wish has something to do with your feelings of guilt.’
Mark looked at Yasmina incredulously. ‘Yasmina, you’re wrong. The one and only reason I want children is because I want to become a father. Surely you realise that one of the reasons my marriage to Anne broke down was that she refused to have children.’
‘So why do you take it for granted that I’m prepared to become pregnant in a hurry? I’m still young, and first and foremost I’m determined to get on with my work. I want an academic career and to achieve some recognition in my field.’ By now Mark was sitting opposite Yasmina, and he extended his hand towards her arm resting on the table, but to avoid his touch she suddenly stood up. What she said next shocked Mark profoundly.
‘I’ve decided that for the time being it is better for us to separate. Maybe not forever but for some time. I need some breathing space. I’ve lost faith in you and I’m not sure if I’m living with the same man as before. I know that I should stand by you, but I don’t think that at present I would be able to give you the support you need.’
Intuitively Mark sensed that it was pointless to argue with Yasmina. The precipice that had suddenly and unexpectedly opened up between them was widening with every sentence. He was devastated. His whole life had fallen apart so quickly. Everything had been going so smoothly until Dufresne’s unexpected visit.
‘What do you intend to do?’
‘I think the practical arrangements should be quite simple. Everything in the house is yours, or to be precise your grandparents. In due course I’ll take my personal belongings. For the time being I’ll move back to my parents’ house before I find a flat of my own. I will keep in touch, of course.’
‘Of course,’ echoed Mark.
Yasmina stood up. ‘Goodbye, Mark.’
He remained silent. When he looked up, Yasmina was no longer there. A few seconds later he heard the door of the house closing behind her.