‘Apparently Charlie is seeing someone,’ Tasha said. She had called Rosie on her lunchbreak for an emergency debrief, exhausted after yet another restless night.
‘No!’ Rosie gasped.
‘I know!’ Tasha shook her head. She still couldn’t believe it.
‘How do you know?’ Rosie asked.
‘Flo told me last night. I just don’t know what to do with myself! I can’t bear the thought of it. He’ll never come back to me if he’s dating someone else…’ Tasha could feel the emotions she had tried so hard to repress all morning spill out of her.
‘OK, OK, slow down,’ Rosie instructed. ‘First of all, where did Flo get this information from?’
‘Mark. He works in the same company, remember?’
‘Right. And what exactly did she say?’
‘He’s heard that Charlie is dating a colleague called Sophia Beauchamp.’
‘Is it definitely true?’
‘Not definitely. She said it could be a rumour.’
‘OK,’ Rosie said. ‘That’s good. Have you looked online to see if she even exists?’
‘Of course! I jumped straight on my laptop after she left and spent ages looking her up.’
‘Did you find her?’
‘There’s only one Sophia in the whole company. And, to make matters worse, she is ridiculously stunning.’
‘OK, well, let’s try not to jump to any conclusions. It could be bollocks.’
‘As Flo said. But equally it could also be true.’
‘Maybe. Or maybe wires have been crossed, they might have been at a work engagement together or having a business lunch and someone’s seen them and the rumour mill has kicked into action…’
‘That would be the best-case scenario but somehow I doubt it.’
‘Are you going to ask him?’
‘I don’t know. What if he admits that it’s true?’
‘What about Becca? Do you think she might know something from Andrew?’
‘Andrew’s in Iraq… so no. I doubt it.’
‘Maybe she could try and find out for you?’ They spent the rest of her rushed lunchbreak talking about what Tasha should do, until she realised she was meant to be back in the office taking minutes for a meeting and had to dash.
The rest of the day was so incredibly busy that Tasha didn’t have more than a couple of spare moments to think about Charlie. On the way home, she stopped at Waitrose to buy some supplies for dinner. Chloe was staying the night. She was up in London for a rare training day and was taking the opportunity to check in on Tasha.
Chloe arrived after the children had gone to bed. Tasha could tell she had spent the day cramped up in a stuffy conference room: she demanded a large, stiff drink as soon as she got through the door.
Tasha poured them both gin and tonics. ‘So,’ Chloe said, chinking her glass against hers, ‘are you still enjoying being a city slicker?’
‘I am actually loving it. It’s not the most thrilling work in the world but there’s so much to do that the days absolutely fly by.’
‘That’s great!’ Chloe smiled. ‘What are your colleagues like?’
‘Nice enough. It’s just so fun being in central London. And I’m enjoying having something else going on other than housework and childcare.’
‘I bet. I think it’s a good idea, especially now the kids are all at school.’
‘It feels like the right time,’ Tasha agreed.
‘Are you missing being a GP?’
‘In some ways. It feels like a lifetime ago… I think it’s good to be doing something so completely different. It’s very hard to compare. And it’s only temporary. Who knows what the future holds?’
‘Exactly. Ella seems to be getting on well,’ Chloe said. ‘Have you heard from her lately?’
‘We’ve FaceTimed a bit. Thank God she’ll be back next month and we can all stop worrying about her at last.’
‘I can’t believe it’s already November. Are you all still coming to Mum and Dad’s for Christmas?’
‘That’s the plan.’
‘Will Charlie come?’
‘I don’t think so.’ Tasha took a deep breath. ‘I just don’t know what to do… Max is already worrying about it.’
Chloe looked concerned. ‘Perhaps you’ll have worked things out by then?’ she suggested, ever the optimist.
‘It sounds like I may have been naïve to think that was ever on the cards. I’ve heard Charlie might be seeing someone.’
‘What?’ Chloe was clearly angry on her sister’s behalf. ‘It’s a bit soon, isn’t it? What is he thinking?’
‘It might just be a rumour, but I wouldn’t be totally surprised if it were true.’
‘Tasha, what exactly happened? Are you sure you still won’t talk about it?’
‘I’m sure.’ Tasha was determined to stick to her ground.
Chloe looked at her searchingly and nodded. ‘Well, are you going to ask Charlie if it’s true?’
‘I don’t know. Do you think I should?’
‘Maybe. It’s good to have all the facts in a situation like this, don’t you think? If he is, then it might help you move on.’
‘That’s the problem. I really don’t want to move on. I just want to fix things.’
It was hard for Chloe to give her advice when she had no idea what had happened. Tasha could tell she thought Charlie had cheated on her, probably with the girl he was rumoured to be dating. It upset her that Charlie had undoubtedly plummeted in her family’s opinion, but she couldn’t do much about it without telling them the whole story. It was more important to protect the children, at any cost. Realising that pursuing her relationship woes wasn’t going to get her very far, she changed the subject, talking about Chloe’s love life and school instead.
They had a lovely dinner together; it was great having some company in the house again. As she went to bed Tasha felt the extra sense of security that came from having another adult around, from not being the only responsible person present. Unlike the previous night she actually managed to get a few hours’ sleep. She woke feeling a fraction more human and with a fraction more energy to face the day, though she was extremely grateful that it was Saturday and she didn’t have to go to work. Charlie was having the children for the night. She wondered if she would be able to tell if he was dating someone from their interaction at handover time. She was going to watch him like a hawk in case he gave anything away, even just in his body language.
*
‘Hi,’ Tasha said as she opened the door. She had made a special effort, choosing one of his favourite tops and putting make-up on despite the fact she had no plans to leave the house. Chloe had left earlier that morning to meet a friend in Brighton and today was moving day for Rosie and Josh. All her other friends would be spending time with their families, and the thought of joining them and being the subject of their pity was hardly appealing so she would be flying solo once again.
‘Hi,’ Charlie said as he smiled at her. Her heart soared. He really did have the most incredible smile, so full of warmth. ‘How are we all this morning?’ he asked. As she talked him through the handover she scrutinised his face to see if she could pick up on any clues, any traces of Sophia.
Charlie stifled a yawn as he listened to her. ‘Late night?’ she asked.
‘It was quite.’ Charlie smiled, clearly not wishing to elaborate as to why.
‘What were you up to?’ Tasha asked, determined to try and suss out any awkwardness.
‘Oh, just a work thing,’ Charlie said. Tasha’s heart lurched with a rush of adrenaline. That could definitely be code for Sophia. She wanted to find out more, but she couldn’t figure out how to ask without revealing her suspicions.
‘Oh. Right, of course,’ she said somewhat awkwardly. ‘Well they’re all packed up and ready to go.’ She lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘They are hiding in Max’s bedroom. They want to scare you!’
Charlie played the game perfectly, mock searching for the missing children. They jumped on him with their loudest ‘Boo!’, collapsing in hysterics as Charlie faked his shock. Tasha laughed along with them, all the while trying to quell her panic that one day this family scene could play out with another woman in her place.
Before she knew it, she was alone once again in an empty house. The laughter of a few moments before seemed to reverberate around the rooms, like a distant echo. She found the weekends without the children much harder now that she was back at work. It gave her the vaguest taste of how hard it must be for Charlie not seeing them every day. At least she always saw them all first thing and was always able to do bath time and bedtime. He must miss them so terribly. Maybe the loneliness was to blame for his new relationship. Determined not to mope, Tasha set about the mammoth list of chores that she hadn’t had time to get around to in the past two months. There was enough to keep her busy all weekend, a blessing in a way, seeing as the alternative was to drink the entire booze cupboard dry whilst staring at photographs of Sophia Beauchamp.