Alice lifts her glass and chinks it against Emily’s and Lynne’s. ‘Thanks for coming out, both of you. I would have gone mental if I’d spent another minute at home.’
‘Oh cheers!’ Her daughter laughs. ‘Glad I was such great company. I’d have stayed the night at Adam’s if I’d known.’
‘You know what I mean.’ Alice takes a sip of her wine. ‘Thanks for putting up with me, both of you.’
‘I’m just glad you’re okay,’ Lynne says. ‘I knew something was up when you rang in sick this morning but I didn’t want to pry.’
‘I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Simon’s a shit.’ Emily sits back hard in her chair. ‘I know you didn’t want to play games but—’
‘Ems.’ Alice holds up a hand. ‘It’s not about that. Didn’t you listen to a word I just said?’
‘I did. But personally I think he’s totally gutless and you’re better off without him.’ Her daughter looks from her to Lynne, who shrugs.
‘He could have been more supportive,’ Lynne says. ‘Sorry, Alice, I know that’s not what you want to hear but I think maybe you’re reading too much into that text.’
‘Exactly.’ Emily sits forward again. ‘Let’s say it was Flora who texted him. If she threatened you, why didn’t he call the police? Or even better, talk to you about it!’
‘Emily. Not so loud.’ Alice turns her head. There’s a man sitting alone at the next table. He’s staring down at his phone but he’s close enough to hear every word. She lowers her voice. ‘Maybe he just panicked. Or … I don’t know. Maybe he dumped me to protect me.’
Emily snorts into her hand. ‘Really?’
Indignation bubbles in Alice’s chest. ‘Lynne, help me out here. You don’t think I’m being ridiculous, do you?’
‘No.’ Her best friend shakes her head. ‘I don’t, but honestly, Alice, I think you’re better off out of it. Someone didn’t want you around him and maybe it’s safer that you’re not.’
‘But what if he’s not safe?’
‘Then he should go to the police.’
‘He’s not your problem, Mum,’ Emily pipes up. ‘Not any more.’
Alice reaches for her wine. They both have a point. She probably is safer without him. Whoever scratched her car hasn’t been in touch since. But it feels wrong, forgetting about Simon and carrying on like they’d never met.
‘Excuse me a minute.’ She pushes her chair away from the table. ‘I’m just going to go to the loo.’
The toilets are towards the rear of the pub, near the back door. Outside there are steps that lead down to a heated patio, with a box of blankets for anyone still feeling the effect of the cold night’s air. Alice pauses as she comes out from the loo, distracted by the laughter drifting up from below, the low rumble of a man’s amusement and the high-pitched squeal of a woman having fun. It reminds her of the time she had lunch with Simon in the cafe when the conversation naturally bounced between them as though they’d known each other for years. It wasn’t like that in the restaurant when she quizzed him about his ex-girlfriend and he hurried outside to take a call.
As more laughter creeps under the back door, curiosity prompts her to turn the handle and step outside onto the narrow platform at the top of the metal stairs. It takes her eyes a moment to adjust to the dark but then she spots them, the couple on a bench beneath the only heater that’s not casting a hazy orange glow. They’re wrapped in each other, totally lost to the world, the blanket around their shoulders falling away as they kiss. She thinks of the way Simon smiled at her in the restaurant and the warmth of his coat against her fingers as she took his arm. She continues to stare, lost in the memory, as the couple break apart and the man reaches across the bench for a pack of cigarettes. He holds one out to the woman, then pops one into his mouth and sparks his lighter. Alice inhales sharply as his face is illuminated. She takes a step back, catching her heel on the wooden door frame. As she overbalances she feels a hand in the centre of her back, stopping her fall.
‘I was wondering where you’d got to.’ There’s amusement in her daughter’s voice. ‘I told Lynne I thought you’d probably gone for a poo. Why are you outside? I thought you gave up smoking years ago?’ Alice feels her daughter attempt to squeeze past her to get a better look and she twists round sharply, blocking her view.
‘Let’s go back in. It’s freezing out there.’
‘Mum, what are you doing? You look weird. What are you hiding?’ As Emily pushes past, Alice watches warily as her daughter reaches the railings and looks down. She can’t see her expression but from the way her spine stiffens she knows she’s spotted the couple below.
‘What the fuck?’ Emily’s howl reverberates around the small courtyard and then she’s off, heels clacking on the metal steps.
‘Emily, stop!’ Alice hurries after. ‘Emily! He’s not worth it. Come back in!’
But her daughter’s already reached the bench where Adam has cast off the blanket and is clambering to his feet. As she gets closer he holds out a hand to ward her off. ‘It’s not what you—’
Emily’s outstretched hand connects with the side of his head. She hits him again, the blow glancing off his shoulder as she tries to claw the nails of her other hand into his cheek.
‘Stop!’ Alice shouts as Adam’s shock wears off and he grips Emily’s wrists. He holds her at arm’s length as she twists and writhes and kicks. Laila, standing to one side, watches with her hands cupped over her mouth.
‘Emily, stop it!’ Alice shouts but her daughter has given up fighting and now she’s screaming obscenities into her boyfriend’s face.
‘I can explain!’ Adam shouts back. ‘If you’d just fucking calm down.’
Alice steps towards him. ‘Don’t you swear at my daughter. Get your hands off her. Now!’
There’s something in her tone that must remind him of his own mum because he immediately lets go of Emily’s wrists and steps away.
‘Take her home. She’s embarrassing herself.’
Alice snaps round at the sound of Laila’s voice but before she can respond, Emily launches herself across the courtyard. Alice throws herself at her daughter, wrapping her arms around her waist and pulling her away before her outstretched hands can tear clumps out of Laila’s long, black hair extensions.
‘You’re a fucking bitch!’ Emily screams as Alice hauls her away. ‘You’ll pay for this. I swear it. You’ll both pay for this. You’re a pair of cheating, lying—’
‘Stop it!’ Alice hisses in her ear. ‘Don’t stoop to their level. Walk away. You’re better than this.’
Her daughter continues to shout and scream as Alice marches her up the stairs, twisting and gesturing and fighting every step they take. She’s still shouting when Alice pushes her towards the door of the pub, but the moment it closes behind them she howls and bursts into tears.
They half-guide, half-carry Emily down the street, Lynne on one side and Alice on the other. It breaks Alice’s heart, hearing her daughter sob so desperately. It makes her angry too, the callous way Adam spoke to her, even though he was in the wrong. There’s a part of Alice that’s proud of Emily for reacting the way she did. Not of the screeching and swearing, but because she let her anger erupt rather than holding it in. It couldn’t have been more different to her own reaction to Peter’s infidelity. When he broke the news that he was moving out because he’d met someone else she simply stared at him from the sofa, too shocked to move and too numb to speak. She made her feelings known later, ringing him up at all times of the day and night, telling him how much she hated him, demanding that he tell her the name of the woman he’d left her for, or else crying and begging him to come back. Peter being Peter, he simply ignored her calls, relaying a request to stop through their daughter instead. Emily took Alice’s side of course. She told Peter that she didn’t want to meet his girlfriend and never would (she finally relented after six months).
Alice meanwhile turned to wine to ease her through the pain and spent night after night searching the internet for clues as to her rival’s identity, torturing herself with comparisons that she had no way of knowing were true. Peter’s new love would be tall, blonde, slim and unlined. She’d be funny and witty and the best sex he’d ever had. When she did eventually work out who she was through surreptitious searches on LinkedIn and Facebook, she stared in shock at the photo of the middle-aged woman staring out from the screen. She was slimmer than Alice, that much was true, but there was nothing smooth about her face, and her hair rather than being the long, wavy blonde tresses of Alice’s imagination was a short, wiry elfin cut. She’d stared at that face for a very long time, then she’d closed the laptop and knocked back the last of her wine. She didn’t bother to look again.
As Emily sobs on her shoulder, she wishes she could take her daughter’s pain away. She wants to tell her that it won’t hurt as much as it does right now and that, one day, she’ll think about Adam and not feel a thing. But not now, not today. Today all she can do is listen as her daughter asks why, over and over again, and hold her close and let her cry.
As they continue to walk down the street, drawing closer and closer to their flat, she glances across at Lynne. While the drama was playing out on the pub patio she remained at their table, guarding their things, wondering where the hell they’d both gone. She took one look at Emily’s tear-stained face as they crossed the pub, scooped up the bags and coats and headed straight for the door. And she’s been full of sympathetic noises and reassuring platitudes ever since. As Alice smiles at her friend there’s a clattering sound behind them, like a can being kicked down the street. She turns sharply as someone, or something, darts behind a car.
‘Did you hear that?’
Lynne nods, unconcerned. ‘Probably a cat.’
‘Someone’s following us.’
They all stop walking. Even Emily stops crying and turns to look. Alice stares at the car, heart pounding, willing a cat to slink out from behind.
‘Do you—’ Lynne begins but Alice silences her with a ‘Sssh.’
‘Mum?’ Emily whispers. ‘What is it? What did you see?’
Alice takes a step off the pavement and into the road. She’s not going to walk directly up to the car. She’s going to try and catch a glimpse of whoever’s hiding behind it from the other side of the street.
‘Alice!’ Lynne hisses. ‘What are you doing?’
Alice holds up a hand, telling her to stay where she is.
There’s no one there, she tells herself as she nears the centre of the road, her gaze still fixed on the car. No one’s going to hurt you. There’s no one—
The vibration of her phone in her handbag makes her heart leap into her throat but before she can steady herself she spots a car travelling down the road towards her, its headlights on full beam.
‘Mum!’ Emily shouts. ‘Get out of the road.’
But Alice is already sprinting towards her. She makes it to the pavement a good three or four seconds before—
‘Stupid bitch!’ Laila shouts from the passenger window as the car zooms past.
It isn’t until Emily is safely tucked up in bed and Lynne’s in a taxi home that Alice thinks to look at her phone. She puts down the glass of wine she’s been drinking and pulls her handbag onto her lap. A new Facebook message from Ann Friend appears as she taps at the screen.
Flora can’t help you, Alice. Leave Simon alone.