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TESS DROVE TO HER PARENTS’ house as fast as the traffic allowed, her hands gripping the steering wheel hard. The pain in her father’s voice still echoed in her head as she weaved through the evening traffic, anxious to be there for him as he had always been there for her whenever she had been upset as a girl. From the time, at age eight, she was bullied by a gang of girls at school to the time at the age of fifteen, her first proper boyfriend, had callously announced he’d found someone else at her birthday party. Her father had reassured her of how much he loved her and that the actions of such people said more about them than her. Now she had a chance to redress the balance.
‘Oh, Dad!’ She flung her arms around him as he opened the door and they stood in a silent embrace for a few moments before he pulled back and led the way to the sitting room. He looked to have aged ten years since she saw him only a couple of weeks ago and his eyes were dull, devoid of their usual twinkle.
‘I’ll put the kettle on, shall I? Tea or coffee?’
‘Tea, love. Thanks.’ He slumped into his usual chair while Tess went into the kitchen to make the tea. Judging by the mess, her father had eaten and left the plates and pots in the sink. While waiting for the kettle, she stacked the dishwasher and cleaned the worktops. The tea made, she took the mugs back into the sitting room.
‘Right, now tell me exactly what’s happened, Dad,’ she said, handing him his mug and sitting opposite him.
‘I went off as normal this morning about ten to play golf and left your mother getting ready to go out for coffee, so she said, with her friends. Nothing out the ordinary.’ He rubbed his face with his free hand and drew a deep breath before continuing. ‘I came back at two, expecting to see her car in the drive, but it wasn’t there. I just assumed she’d decided to stay out for lunch, as she does sometimes, but when I went into the kitchen there was this...this note on the side.’ A flash of pain swept his face and Tess reached over and squeezed his arm. ‘She said she’d met someone else and...and wanted some space while she made up her mind what to do. Staying with a friend, she said, but didn’t say where or who.’
Tess sipped her tea, anger at her mother’s cowardly behaviour making her hands shake. She hadn’t even had the guts to talk to her father face to face.
‘Anything else in the note, Dad?’
He shook his head.
‘Have you tried ringing her?’
‘Oh, yes. Goes straight to voicemail. Tried a few times so I assume she’s avoiding talking to me.’
As they drank their tea Tess decided to tell her father about her meeting with her mother a few weeks before.
‘I didn’t tell you at the time as I hoped it would blow over and Mum assured me nothing had happened between them. I’m so sorry, Dad.’
‘Not your fault, love. I did say I thought something was up with her, but was too scared to say anything. Talk about having my head in the sand, eh?’ He gave her a half-hearted smile and her heart lurched. He didn’t deserve to be cast aside like a worn-out coat, but then her mother had always been selfish.
‘Have you told Clive?’
‘No, thought I’d wait and see if we could sort it. No need to involve the lad, as what can he do thousands of miles away?’ His face took on a faraway look, as if he was trying to see her brother. They’d been close, doing manly things together, like fishing and making odd-looking objects in the shed, but Ken had given his blessing when Clive said he wanted to move to Canada, even though it must have been hard for him. Her father had never been one for showing a lot of emotion, unlike her mother, who was prone to let everyone know when she was upset or angry.
‘You’re right. Let’s keep it between ourselves for the moment and you can tell anyone who asks that Mum’s gone to visit a sick friend. Do you think you can pretend nothing’s wrong, Dad? For the moment, anyway.’
‘I suppose so. It’d be better than being the object of pity,’ he said, with a deep sigh.
‘Good. In the meantime I’ll try and get hold of Mum and encourage her to talk to you. She owes you that, at least.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘Are you going to be okay if I leave you? I’m on an early shift tomorrow and need to get to bed soon.’
He nodded.
‘Yes, you get off, love, and thanks for coming round. Don’t worry about me, you’ve got enough on your plate at the moment.’ He stood as Tess went to hug him and clung to her for longer than normal. She felt bad about leaving him but they were so short-staffed at work, she had no choice.
Tess didn’t get a chance to phone her mother until late the next morning when she was on a break. To her surprise, Elaine answered.
‘I’ve been expecting you to call, Tess. Did your father put you up to it?’
‘No, he didn’t, I offered to contact you as you’ve ignored his calls. Does you moving out mean you and this...this other man have got more serious?’ Tess could barely get the words out, cringing at the thought of her mother having sex with someone other than her father.
‘Maybe. But moving out has more to do with wanting time and space to decide whether or not I want to stay with your father.’ Elaine’s voice was brittle and Tess fought to hold back her anger.
‘I see. As it’s all come as a shock to Dad, do you think you could meet him to talk about how you feel? He’s terribly upset and would like a chance to discuss it with you. Not too much to ask, is it?’
A heavy silence echoed down the line.
‘I’ll think about it. Tell him not to keep phoning and I’ll ring him when I’m ready.’ After a pause, Elaine asked, ‘How are your plans for your move going?’
‘Fine, the builders start work next week and I’m staying with friends until I can move in.’
‘Hmm. Well, I must go now. Bye.’ The line went dead.
Tess was left feeling as cast aside as her father and if she hadn’t been in the staff canteen would have vented her anger by throwing something. As it was all she could do was grit her teeth and return to the chaos of A & E.
Viewings of the flat were steady and a couple of weeks later two people had made offers, both a little low. The agent discussed this with Tess and they agreed both parties would be told of the other offer and within hours one had upped theirs to the asking price. First time buyers, Tess was delighted to agree completion mid-July and even happier when the young couple wanted to buy some of the furniture. Being a one-bedroom flat there was little furniture anyway and Tess advertised the remainder on Gumtree. The days were taking her nearer to her leaving and as yet her mother had still not phoned her father, leaving him looking more drawn every time she saw him. Tess invited him round for meals when she could, determined to make sure he ate proper meals sometimes. She sent Elaine texts, urging her to phone Ken, but these were ignored. Worried her father was slipping into a deep depression, she could only hope her mother would get in touch, even if it was to say their marriage was over. At least he would know where he stood.
Tess was in constant contact with Andy and Jack as they kept her updated with progress on St Michel. Old, crumbling plaster was hacked off the walls and floorboards lifted so joists could be inspected. Tess gasped at the photos of the inside now looking somewhat worse than when she inherited it. She had agreed to the removal of the chimney breast in the dining room and the bedroom above to make the rooms bigger and this had made the rooms look like war zones. Steel joists provided appropriate support. She took a deep breath, reminding herself this was temporary and focused on planning her new kitchen, bathrooms and a new downstairs cloakroom. This was the fun part and, whenever she had a spare moment on her own, would pore over the drawings Andy had sent, envisaging herself in what promised to be an elegant and beautiful home with shed-loads of original charm.
May morphed into June and Tess was up to her eyes in packing, planning and working long shifts in the A & E. She arrived home one evening and had just put the kettle on when her father phoned.
‘Hi, Dad, how are things?’
‘Okay. I’ve had a call from your mother and she wants us to meet for a talk. Wouldn’t say if she was coming back.’ Tess heard the catch in his voice and her stomach twisted. ‘We’re meeting tomorrow afternoon so I guess I’ll find out then what she wants.’
‘Let’s hope it’s good news, Dad. I’ll be rooting for you.’ Ken then asked how things were progressing with the house before finishing the call. For a moment Tess was tempted to phone her mother, but thought better of it. She would know soon enough what her mother had decided.
A serious multi-car crash on the M5 the next day meant Tess and all the hospital medical staff were run off their feet, with no-one stopping for a break. By the time she arrived home all Tess wanted to do was grab some food and fall into bed. She checked her phone to find four missed calls from her father and remembered he was meeting her mother. Deciding she had to eat before calling him, she made some toast, slathered it with butter and jam and made a cup of coffee. Feeling more human, she dialled his number.
‘Hi, Dad, sorry I haven’t got back before, nightmare at work today. How’d it go with Mum?’ She crossed her fingers.
‘Bad, love. She...she says she wants a divorce.’ Heavy sobs echoed down the line.