Ron had been sleeping for two days. The doctors and nurses assured Maria that he was all right; sleep would do him good and calm his stress. The children each came to visit their father and wished him well, not knowing what had triggered his strange behaviour.
Ron was a man they all relied on. He stood up for them and would solve any problem they had. He was their hero. Drinking was not part of his life; he only drank on special occasions, and even then he would not go more than two glasses of lager. They all were worried that their father might be facing some financial difficulties that he didn’t want them to know about.
Ron was discharged on the third day. One cut had missed his lung by a centimetre, and he was lucky to survive. The wound was dressed, and he was ready for discharge. The family waited at home to receive him in a dramatic way. Maria showed no sign that there was a problem. She kept composed, distracting the children’s attention from whatever might have caused their father’s behaviour.
‘He is supposed to be here by now. The ward sister said he would be home by four o’clock!’ moaned Lilian. She had travelled all the way from Berlin when she heard of her father’s accident. She looked at her wristwatch and sighed. ‘It’s now eight, and he is not here. What’s going on?’ she asked, irritated.
‘Calm down, he will be home soon,’ Maria assured her daughter. ‘These days the hospital struggles to get transportation organized. Fingers crossed; he will be home.’ At half past nine the ambulance arrived, and Ron walked into the house. The children and some few friends welcomed him home.
Shirley had heard of the accident and was worried about him, but she could not do anything about it. She thought going to the hospital would not be a good idea and might stir things up. She stayed home, feeling sorry for herself, regretting her threat to blackmail him. She had not expected things to turn out this way. Shirley sat by her window all three days, whenever she got the chance, hoping not to miss a glimpse of him when he came home—or would he even be allowed home? She would take her chance if Maria threw him out. She was looking for any opportunity to strike.
When she saw the ambulance drive through, she knew Ron was coming home. She stopped at the window to see him, but it was dark. She was both disappointed to have missed him and happy that he was all right. She sank into the chair next to her and sobbed, ‘Oh God, what have I done?’ She tried to recall what had happened, and remembered that.
Just after Maria had barged into her house accusing her trying it on with her husband, Shirley saw Ron leave the house and assumed that he had been thrown out. She had followed him to see where he was going and saw him enter the pub. I will go and comfort him, and who knows, he may follow me home, she had reasoned to herself. What had happened between them was not a mistake; she was sure he loved her. She waited outside, figuring when to go in; maybe when he is a bit tipsy.
She had been hanging around for about two hours when she heard the manager call for help and issue instructions. Clearly something had happened, so she went in and saw that it was Ron who was lying on the floor with the pub manager frantically giving first aid, putting pressure on where he was bleeding. Shirley got closer to help, but the ambulance had got there in the nick of time. There was little that she could do, but she knew that her lover was seriously hurt. She went back into the pub, got a bloke to buy her a drink, and ended up in his flat.
As Ron walked into the house, he burst into tears. ‘I am so sorry, Maria. I don’t expect you to take me back, but I want you to find it in your heart to forgive me,’ he said, with sobbing and more sobbing.
Maria looked away, ignoring what he was saying and ignoring him. She was talking to the people around, thanking them for being there.
‘What’s going on, Mum?’ Emma pleaded desperately. ‘Surely something is not right. Why is Dad asking for forgiveness? Please tell us what is going on.’
‘I … I have done your mum wrong, I had an affair,’ Ron confessed calmly, looking down on the floor.
The room became quiet. The friends who were there left one by one; this was a situation they didn’t want to get involved in.
‘That was silly of you, Dad. You have destroyed our home,’ Emma said angrily. ‘Who is that homewrecker? Who, Dad? Is it someone we know?’
‘Shirley, next door,’ he responded, drowning in shame.
‘What?’ Emma asked in astonishment.
‘I am so sorry for letting you down,’ Ron murmured apologetically.
‘So you should be, Dad,’ she said, scolding her father without mercy.
‘That’s why I am asking your mum and the rest of you to forgive me.’ He slumped into a chair and cried. It was disheartening to see him like that. Maria felt sorry for him; his foolishness had nearly cost his life.
She decided he had punished himself enough. She was quiet for some time and then said, ‘Don’t let it happen again.’ She went to the kitchen and brought her husband a hot cappuccino, his favourite.
He looked at her and said, ‘Thank you.’
Their children stood mute, in shock to discover that their father, their role model, could stoop so low. They had always thought that their parents were perfect, with no blemishes on them. They had never heard even heard them swear to each other. They felt greatly disappointed about what had happened.
The four left their parents, feeling happy that their mother had forgiven Ron. They could not stand the thought of losing their beautiful family home, a home that provided them security and love anytime they walked in. Maria continued to look after her husband towards recovery; she was performing her marital duties, and she did it from the bottom of her heart. Ron recovered quickly, and life continued as normal.
Shirley soon realized that the house next door was calm, with no unrest. She saw that Ron and Maria were now very solid in their marriage, so the truth finally sank in. Ron was right: he would never leave his wife. It was settled that they loved each other. The thought of it made her feel cheated. How could he? He would have to pay dearly for seducing her and lying to her. She would drain him dry and make him beg for his life.
Shirley had a cat she called Mimi. It was a big cat with beautiful leopard-effect fur. Everyone who saw Mimi loved her, and Shirley was proud of her. When things were well between her and the Makintoshes, Mimi would go round, and Maria would pick her up and give her loving and cuddly strokes on her lap. The cat loved it and sat on Maria’s lap endlessly. The Makintoshes, though, had now closed their door from any associates of Shirley entering their premises. The cat would jump over the fence into the garden and try to access the lounge, but no more. She would stare hopelessly as if saying, ‘Please let me in; take me out of your feud.’ She would then return and try other neighbours.
This went on for over five months. Then Mimi did not turn up as usual one evening. Shirley was worried and started searching, knocking on neighbours’ doors. Mimi was a family member, and Shirley could not afford to lose her. She may be in danger and scared somewhere. I must find her before something really bad happens to her, she has never gone off like this. I must find her.
She asked all the neighbours and looked in the nearby bushes but found no sign of her lovely cat. Days went by with no trace of Mimi, but Shirley could not go next door because she did not want to have anything to do with them. She couldn’t even stand the sight of the couple, but it was the only house she hadn’t visited to look for Mimi, and she was suspicious that the Makintoshes must know something about her disappearance. They must because Mimi jumps over the fence every day into their garden. Shirley even thought they might have done something bad to her out of spite.
She asked her son to find out from Ron if he or anyone else living in the house had seen Mimi. Ron looked in the garden to make sure Mimi was not hiding in the bushes. When he was sure the cat was not there, he told the boy that.
Shirley became hysterical. ‘How can that be? I saw Mimi jump over that fence while Ron was away, and she never returned! Those vindictive and vile old wretches have done something to her. I will deal will them!’
Shirley rang the police and made a report about her missing cat. She also accused the Makintosh family of having a hand in it. She had described the last time she was with Mimi.
The police lost no time calling the two for questioning, but both denied the allegation and said it was a calculated accusation. Shirley would not let this go; she was very sure that Mimi was buried in the Mackintosh family garden. A permit was issued to rip the beautiful garden apart to look for the missing cat. That was a horrific moment for Maria and Ron; they could not believe their eyes seeing the beautiful garden dug up and despoiled, but they could only stand and watch.
The neighbours began to be suspicious of the Mackintosh family and question their character. ‘How can anyone do something like that to a helpless cat?’ one asked as the garden was ripped open.
‘They are a strange bunch. They keep to themselves these days; who knows what’s going on in that house?’ another said, pulling a face.
‘I have known this family for a long time, and they are not troublemakers. In fact they are good neighbours. This is just a misunderstanding; let’s not jump to conclusions,’ another reasoned.
‘They have such a massive garden and seem to have spent a fortune on it. It will be devastating for them to see it go. Who knows? The cat may be somewhere else,’ another said.
Maria loved her garden. They sat in it every morning and evening during the summer, smelling the sweet scents from the flowers, in the pleasant summer sun. She now helplessly watched the beauty destroyed, all because of Ron’s fling with the single lady at number eighteen. She was angry, but the only way to spite Shirley was to stay strong with Ron. Seeing that Maria and Ron were strongly in love made Shirley jealous, and she hated them beyond the power of words to describe.
The diggers finished their job but with no sight of a dead cat. Ron and Maria were relieved but angry that Shirley could accuse them of such a crime. Three days after the garden was destroyed, a stray cat was found in the next village. None of the residents claimed ownership, so it was sent to the RSPCA. The cat’s picture was then published in the local newspaper. It was Mimi! Ron recognized Mimi immediately and called the police to inform them about the find. Mimi had lost her way after chasing a rat and was found looking confused and scared along the road.
Maria was shaken about the turn of events. What else has Shirley got in store for us? She has embarked on revenge, and none of this was my fault. We must stick together to win this fight, she reasoned silently. Their children had asked them to relocate, but that wasn’t in their plan. They had wronged no one, so they were staying.
Shirley was not sorry for accusing her estranged neighbour; in fact, she enjoyed every minute of it. I haven’t finished with them yet, she thought; their worst nightmare is on the way.
At work in the hospital, Shirley announced that Mimi had been found, Nurse Olivia looked at her in disgust. ‘Where was Mimi found then?’ she asked.
‘She strayed to the next village,’ Shirley replied.
‘It was not the neighbours next door after all,’ Olivia said, curious for Shirley’s response.
‘No,’ she replied.
‘Shirley, you owe the neighbours a big apology,’ Olivia said seriously
‘Why is that?’ asked Angela.
‘Shirley accused them of murdering the cat and burying it in their beautiful garden,’ Olivia told her.
‘Please tell me she is joking?’ Angela asked in disbelief, looking at Shirley
‘For God’s sake, don’t look at me like that,’ Shirley said uncomfortably.
‘So what happened next? Angela urged.
‘The police dug up the beautifully tended garden without mercy but found no dead cat!’ exclaimed Olivia. Turning towards Shirley, she said, ‘You were lucky not to be charged for wasting police time and resources.’
‘It was a misunderstanding. I did not ask them to tear up the garden; they were doing their own investigation,’ Shirley insisted.
‘You owe them an apology; it’s the only decent thing to do,’ Olivia advised.
‘I think you should,’ Angela said with a nod. ‘The poor neighbours must be relieved after being accused of such a heinous crime.’
‘I am sure they are,’ replied Olivia.
Out of Shirley’s sight, Olivia whispered to Angela, ‘She was carrying on with the husband, and he dumped her. It was a payback! Everybody in the neighbourhood knew.’
‘Aha! There is no smoke without fire.’ Angela shook her head and left to attend to a patient.
Shirley felt very uncomfortable throughout the day. She thought no one knew about the missing cat. She became paranoid thinking that people were watching and gossiping about her. She reported sick and went home. Apology was the last thing on her mind.
The Makintoshes were still traumatized by events. Ron blamed himself for dragging Maria into his mess, but Maria had assured him that they both had to work together and stay stronger. Nothing could come between them if they were strong. Ron agreed, thinking, What have I done to deserve such a beautiful and gracious woman? He patted her shoulders gently and continued to read an article in the day’s newspaper.