‘Oh, Sal, it feels so wrong. I’ve never ever distrusted Dan in my life.’ Alex announced to her best friend, whilst dragging hard on a recently lit cigarette.
‘Mummy, want Ballamory. Want Ballamory!’
‘Shit, I forgot about Evie upstairs. Hang on, darling, I’ll come up and put it on for you.’
Back in the kitchen, Alex planted a kiss on her mate’s cheek. ‘Thanks for coming over, by the way, Sal.’
‘Always here for you, you know that. I’ve called in to work and said I had car problems.’ She brushed Alex’s cheek lightly with her fingers. ‘However, I really don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about. You know Dan, he’s so honest. He’ll call you in a minute, I bet you.’
‘No, Sal, I know him too well. There’s something wrong.’
Beep, beep – the reassuring sound of an awaited text message ran out across the kitchen.
‘See,’ Sal said smugly. Alex grabbed her mobile from the table. Just seeing Dan’s name on the screen made her smile, but this was short-lived.
‘Mrs Robinson, thanks for last night x’
Alex repeated the message out loud and went white. Sal put the kettle on, lit another cigarette and handed it to her friend.
‘I knew it, just knew it, I had the most dreadful feeling in my stomach when I spoke to Carrie this morning. Shit, Sal, he’s fucking cheated on me with. And he wasn’t even clever enough to send the text to the right bloody person.
‘Maybe it was meant for you, Al. After all, he is your toy boy.’
Alex put her hand to her head. ‘Sal, of course it wasn’t meant for me, I’m not stupid.’
Sal placed a reassuring arm around her friend’s shoulder, as Alex continued her betrayal-induced rant. ‘Well, that’s it, Sal, no more bloody lies. It’s about time I told Daniel Harris the truth about his precious little girl.’
‘No, Alex! No way! Think clearly here. If you tell him, it will be Evie who suffers the most, not Dan. You know how much she loves him. Sometimes, there are things that just have to remain a secret, and I think this should be one of them.’
‘OK, OK, but I just want to hurt him like he’s hurt me.’ Alex was visibly shaking. She picked up the phone.
‘Don’t tell him, Al,’ Sal pleaded. ‘You don’t even know he’s done anything wrong yet. He might have just been thanking her for a drink, a lift even. Find out first before you go mad at him.’
Alex didn’t need to think. She felt a white-hot anger.
‘Good morning and how are my beautiful girls today?’ Dan tried to sound as calm as possible but inside he felt like he was dying. ‘Sorry I haven’t called you yet,’ he went on, his voice trembling. He wasn’t used to lying. ‘My mobile is out of juice and I’m really busy this morning.’
‘Busy? Lucky you. So how was last night?’ Alex seethed.
‘Good, good. Ended up staying with Matt as had late drinks with a client in Warfield. Anyway, gotta go, loads to do, call you later, be home around six. Kisses for Evie.’
Alex’s voice suddenly turned into a deep, slow growl. ‘Who the flying fuck is Mrs Robinson?’