The One You Really Want

Around them, the party was carrying on in full swing. Literally, in the case of the local curling team in their kilts, recklessly dancing along as Jon Bon Jovi blared from the jukebox.

Paralysed with horror, Paula tried to take a step back. She glanced helplessly across at Jonathan, but he was too busy laughing at the antics of the curling team to notice.

‘Outside. Now.’ Passing the tray of baked potatoes over to Carmen, Rose nodded at the door. ‘Without drawing attention to yourself.’

At that moment one of the kilted dancers lost his balance and stumbled backwards, landing on his backside on the dance floor and creating a handy diversion. As his audience screamed with delight upon discovering he was a true Scot, Rose prodded Paula, like a small ferocious bouncer, out of the pub.

They followed Paula and Rose out through the front door of the pub. It was four o’clock, already dark outside, and snow had begun to fall. Illuminated by the misty orange glow of the street lights, with snowflakes already gathering in her hair, Rose McAndrew was giving the trembling younger woman a piece of her mind.

‘. . . you’re going to listen to me and pay attention. My daughter’s a good girl. She deserves so much better than this. Her husband may be a despicable idiot, but for some reason, God only knows why, Nancy worships him. She loves that man and I won’t have her hurt. If you think it’s clever to steal a married man away from his wife, well, then you’re as stupid as he is. Men like that aren’t worth stealing, trust me. And I’m certainly not going to stand by and see you hurt my daughter.’

‘No buts,’ Rose interjected icily. ‘It’s over. You aren’t going to see Jonathan again and Nancy is never going to find out what her pathetic apology for a husband has been up to behind her back.’

‘Actually, it’s OK. I already know.’ Stepping out of the shadows, Nancy saw everyone turn and stare at her. When she had emerged from the kitchen two minutes ago to find her friends and her mother missing from the pub, nobody appeared to know where they might have gone. When she pushed open the front door and heard Rose outside the pub berating someone, astonishment had rooted her to the spot. Lurking where no one would see her, she had listened in disbelief. But rather than Jonathan’s affair, it was her mother’s reaction that was truly confounding her.

She’d never heard her mother like this before, hadn’t known she was capable of such a rant. It was like Gaby Roslin peeling off her face to reveal Anne Robinson underneath. Even more astounding was the discovery that Rose didn’t adore Jonathan and worship the ground he walked on. At this moment she seemed more likely to spit on it.

Everyone was still gazing at her, Nancy realised, waiting for her to say something else. It was like stepping out onto a stage without learning your lines.

‘I know,’ she said again, trembling half with the cold and half with emotion. ‘But Mum, how on earth did you find out?’

‘I was in the right place at the right time.’ As shocked as Nancy, Rose said, ‘But I can’t believe you know. Oh darling, why didn’t you tell me?’

At that moment the door swung open and Jonathan appeared in the doorway. Taking in the situation at a glance he said, ‘What’s going on? Why is everyone out here?’

‘You may be stupid, Jonathan,’ Rose retorted, ‘but you aren’t brain-dead. Even you must be able to work it out.’

Overwhelmed by the transformation in her mother, Nancy glanced across at Paula McKechnie, shivering in her sequin-strewn dress and looking utterly miserable. As she reached up to brush snowflakes from her face, a diamond glinted on her right hand. Watching her watch Paula, Rennie said by way of explanation, ‘That’s the Christmas present.’^I

How had he found this out? Nancy couldn’t begin to imagine. While she’d been busy helping Nora in the kitchen, slicing onions and grating a mountain of cheese, all this had been going on without her.

‘Cheating on your wife.’ Rose eyed Jonathan with disdain. ‘That is so low. How could you? She’s not even as pretty as Nancy! You should be ashamed of yourself. My daughter adores you—’

‘Mum, it’s OK. I’m going to leave him.’ A lump sprang into Nancy’s throat, because she couldn’t believe she was telling Rose this, wrecking her Christmas and breaking her heart. Except her tiny, frail mother wasn’t actually looking that heartbroken. In the glow from the street lamp, she swung back round to face Nancy, a look of hope on her pale face.

‘Really? Truly? Oh darling, thank God!’ Clasping her thin fingers together, Rose said anxiously, ‘Are you sure?’

‘Absolutely sure.’ Nancy’s smile had gone wobbly with relief. ‘I thought you were mad about Jonathan. I thought you’d be devastated.’

‘Sweetheart, are you mad? I’ve known for years that he wasn’t good enough for you! I wouldn’t trust that little worm further than I could toss a caber.’

‘Look, this is ridiculous,’ Jonathan blustered. ‘You can’t talk about me as if I’m not even here! So what are you trying to make out, that something’s been going on between me and Paula?’

‘Jesus, after all we’ve done for you,’ Jonathan shot back. ‘D’you seriously think I wanted you here with us over Christmas? I only put up with it to keep Nancy happy.’

Outraged by this attack on her mother, Nancy opened her mouth to protest but felt Rennie’s hand on her arm. ‘Let her get on with it,’ he murmured, nodding at Rose. ‘She’s doing fine.’

‘And didn’t you do a great job of that,’ Rose riposted with spirit. ‘Never mind, you’ve certainly cheered me up. This is turning out to be my happiest Christmas in years.’ Turning back to face the rest of them she said brightly, ‘Brrr, I’m getting a bit chilly. Shall we go now?’

‘Wait,’ Jonathan called out as they were about to leave. Paula had already scuttled back inside, but he had never been able to handle not knowing the answer to something that was bothering him. ‘How did you find out?’

It was snowing heavily now. Surveying him, Nancy thought how pretty the lit-up pub looked, how festive and inviting, and how having his hair plastered wetly to his forehead really didn’t suit Jonathan at all.

Comforted by the feel of Rennie’s warm hand against the back of her neck, she said, ‘If I told you that, it would spoil the fun. When it’s time to start cheating on Paula, you’d make sure it didn’t happen again.’ She paused and added more cheerfully than she’d imagined possible, ‘This way, it just might.’