A Life Worth Living

by Louise Guy

  ‘You too, Lee. I had to visit after what he’s done.’ She gently pulled herself back from the hug and picked up the wine bottles. ‘Now, this wine has a specific purpose. To get you drunk. So, let’s get started.’

  She laughed and led Jackie through the living room into the kitchen. She took two glasses from the cupboard and allowed her friend to pour them a glass each.

  Jackie raised her glass to her. ‘To my very best friend. May you see how beautiful and special you are and move forward without looking back. He’s not worth it, but you are.’

  They clinked glasses.

  ‘You’re right, he’s not. Now, let’s not even talk about him. Tell me everything. How’s Richard and how are Poppy and Dustin?'

  Jackie launched into updates about her husband and kids.

  They sat up until well past midnight chatting and laughing about mutual friends and things from their past. The conversation of course kept turning back to Grant and what a bastard he was.

  ‘I assume you told Richard you were staying tonight?’ Leah asked when the second bottle of red wine was nearly empty.

  Jackie nodded. ‘I told him I’ll be home sometime tomorrow morning. He’ll get the kids to school, so if you don’t have any early meetings we can grab some breakfast and then I’ll head off.’

  ‘Thanks, Jacks. Tonight means heaps to me. With Grant and work, things have been feeling miserable. Thank Richard for me, too. I know leaving the kids overnight probably isn’t ideal.’

  Her friend tut-tutted. ‘You’ve done me a favour too. He needs to get used to me having some time away. It’s long overdue.’ Her eyes twinkled. ‘In fact, if you aren’t feeling better in a week or two, and I think you won’t be, perhaps we should organise a spa weekend away. Just the two of us. Imagine that?’

  Leah laughed. ‘I’m happy to do that anytime, Jacks. Let me know when you can escape your madhouse.’

  ‘Okay, let’s do it. I’ll tell Richard what a mess you are when I get home and that it is an emergency.’

  She laughed again. ‘Do you think he’ll buy it?’

  Her bestie grinned. ‘He’ll have to. We’ll use it to aid your recovery.’

  Leah dragged herself up from the couch. ‘Sounds good. But for now, bed time.’ She wobbled on her feet. ‘Nearly two bottles between us! We’re going to need a weekend to recover from the wine, let alone anything else.’

  6

  The next two days dragged for Eve. Her early morning run on Tuesday had reinvigorated her and given her the energy and confidence to face the day and Ben. That’d quickly evaporated when she’d called him to discover he was about to board a plane to Sydney, and wouldn’t be back until late Wednesday night.

  She’d wanted to see him, no matter how late, but he’d insisted they leave it until Thursday morning.

  He needed her to meet him and the team employed for the new development in South Melbourne and promised they could talk after that. He’d sounded slightly irritated when she’d told him she had to see him.

  ‘It’s not like you to be so needy, Eve. We’ll chat on Thursday.’

  Eve had somehow managed to get through the day. Her thoughts were consumed with Ben, and she found that exceptionally annoying. The thought of losing him made her feel physically ill. If he was seeing other people, she’d have to end it. Wouldn’t she?

  She left work early and picked up the girls from school. Expecting them to be delighted to see her, she was annoyed with their line of questioning.

  ‘Why are you asking so many questions? I thought I’d pick you up and take you for a treat.’

  The girls had exchanged looks.

  ‘Like ice-cream?’ Harriet asked.

  Eve smiled. ‘No, like sushi. Or fruit salad. Something yummy but healthy.’

  The girls’ smiles faded.

  ‘Oh.’

  Her annoyance rose as the girls stood before her. ‘Come on then, get your bags and let’s get out of here.’

  ‘You’ll have to sign us out of after school care,’ Ava said.

  ‘They might not let us leave,’ Harriet added. ‘They’re making biscuits this afternoon and they were expecting our help to ice them.’

  She ignored her daughter’s hopeful look. For God’s sake, the kid would rather stay at school to make biscuits than go home early and have a treat?

  She marched over to the after school desk and signed the twins out.

  ‘Let’s go.’

  The girls had already packed their bags and were waiting for her.

  She’d taken a deep breath and tried to inject some enthusiasm into her voice as she asked about their days.

  Over sushi, the discussion revolved around Kate’s return and when Aunty Leah would next visit.

  By the time they’d arrived home, Eve was in a foul mood. She’d ended up sending the girls upstairs while she made dinner.

  Ava had managed to spill her water all over the table during the meal, which gave her the perfect excuse to cancel her bedtime stories and send her to bed early.

  Harriet had piped up to defend her sister so Eve cancelled her stories too. Guilt stabbed at her while the girls showered, brushed their teeth and put themselves to bed. The afternoon had hardly turned out as she had hoped. Turning over a new parenting leaf wasn’t going to be easy. However, with the twins out of her hair, Eve was left alone with her thoughts of Ben.

  Now she found her heart beating a little faster than it should as she stopped in front of the South Melbourne development.

  Ben arrived a few seconds after she did. She jumped straight out of her car hoping to speak to him, but three other members of the team arrived before they’d barely had a chance to say hello.

  The development team consisted of Ben, a foreman and nine contractors.

  Eve listened to their plans and provided some input in areas where she could see opportunities to add value. It was the excuse Ben had used to include her in the project, and she was glad to be contributing, even though she was completely distracted.

  By the time they finally said goodbye to the rest of the team, she was itching for her opportunity to talk to him.

  The last car pulled out from the kerb, and Ben turned to her, eyes shining. ‘Got time for a quick look over number thirteen?’

  Eve flushed as desire flooded through her. ‘Yes, but I need to ask you something first.’

  He raised an eyebrow.

  ‘Not here,’ she said. ‘Let’s go inside.’ She led him across the footpath, pushed open the old gate, and walked down the paved path. Her heart raced.

  ‘So?’ He drew her to him once the front door closed behind them.

  She found it hard to make eye contact. ‘I’ve heard a few things and I need you to confirm whether they’re true.’ She glanced up at Ben’s face.

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘I have it on pretty good authority that you choose to work with female contractors and suppliers, preferably married ones, so you can get them into bed.’

  Surprised flickered over his face then he let out a loud laugh. ‘Where did you hear that?’

  Eve shook her head. ‘It doesn’t really matter, but someone close to me warned me about you. Are you sleeping with anyone else other than me?’

  He locked eyes with her. ‘Yes.’

  The air drained from her lungs. Breathing became nearly impossible. How stupid had she been?

  A million thoughts raced through her mind. What about diseases? She was an idiot. She was on the pill but that was the only protection they’d used.

  She pulled back from his embrace.

  Ben took her arm and guided her down the hallway. ‘Come with me. You’ve turned white and you need to listen.’ He pushed open the door of the renovated bedroom. ‘Come and sit down.’

  Eve allowed herself to be guided to the bed. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes.

  ‘There’s more to my answer.’ He took her hands. ‘Look at me, Eve.’

  She shook her head, tears threatening.

  He gen
tly lifted her chin, so she was forced to look at him.

  ‘I’m sure if I asked you the same question, the answer would be yes.’

  Eve shook her head.

  ‘Really? So you and Sean never sleep together?’

  ‘Oh,’ she replied. ‘I wasn’t counting Sean. Mind you, we haven’t had sex in ages.’

  Concern flickered in Ben’s eyes. ‘Really? Is everything okay between the two of you?’

  She shrugged.

  ‘The answer to your question is yes, but only with my wife. I made that very clear when we started our relationship. Lauren and I are happily married. I love her and don’t intend to leave her. What you and I have is special, and I’d be devastated if it ended, but it has to take second place to my marriage.’

  Eve nodded. Even though she hated hearing about his happy marriage, these were the terms she’d agreed to before starting the affair.

  ‘I’m not sleeping with anyone else, Eve. Yes, I used to get around, but it was because no one satisfied me emotionally or intellectually. It was only sex. We both know what we have is different.’

  A lightness spread through her. He was so sincere; he was telling the truth. They had an amazing connection. There was barely room for their spouses, let alone anyone else.

  Ben cupped her face in his hands and brought it slowly to his. He kissed her, lightly at first before spreading her lips with his tongue and delving deeper into her mouth.

  Eve returned the kiss, passion building within her.

  ‘How long have you got?’ he murmured.

  ‘’Til twelve,’ she whispered.

  ‘Then let’s make the most of the next ninety minutes.’ Ben pushed her back on to the bed and covered her body with his.

  When she arrived back at the office at lunchtime, Eve was surprised to receive a message from her mother inviting her and the girls to dinner.

  Leah must have told her about Grant as her mother’s message was clear that the dinner was to be supportive of her sister.

  Kate didn’t start back until tomorrow, which meant Eve would need to collect the girls this afternoon from after school care then cook a meal for them and put them to bed.

  Her mother’s invitation was a welcome relief. The girls loved going to their grandparents’ house, and by the time they left to go home were usually bathed and ready for bed.

  She sent a quick text to accept the invitation.

  The afternoon disappeared in a cloud of euphoria. Her body was still tingling from the morning’s encounter with Ben.

  They were so compatible in bed. The sex was hot. A completely different level from Sean, which, on the rare occasions they had it, had become routine and predictable.

  At four-thirty, Eve called it a day. She told Penny to forward any calls before leaving the office.

  The girls had their school bags ready and were waiting to go when she arrived at the after school care classroom.

  She smiled. ‘We’ve got a treat tonight.’

  Harriet rolled her eyes. ‘More sushi?’

  Eve managed to smile, deciding to ignore this dig. ‘No, dinner at Gram and Gramps.’

  Her daughter’s face lit up. She grabbed her bag and marched towards the door. ‘Come on,’ she called back over her shoulder. ‘We should hurry, they’ll be waiting.’

  Eve looked at Ava and shrugged.

  Her other daughter grinned, picked up her bag and hurried after her sister.

  Twenty minutes later, the black Audi drove into the driveway of her parents’ Queen Ann-era home. The white picket fence had recently been given a new coat of paint.

  This was not the house Eve and Leah had grown up in. It was the house her mother had always dreamed of owning. As young children, she remembered her mother pointing out the houses with steeply pitched terra cotta tiled roofs. She particularly loved the decorative embellishments, the dragons, gargoyles and finials.

  When Eve had first started working in real estate, she’d saved up the details of any houses she visited from the Queen Ann period to tell her mother about. When she’d seen this house, which had been recently renovated and featured the most beautiful lead light coloured glass windows, she’d invited her mother to come and have a look.

  She hadn’t for one minute expected her parents would buy it. She’d thought her mother would enjoy the chance to see both the outside and inside of such a gorgeous home.

  Her father had come too, and after two hours of her mother wanting to take one more look at one of the ornate fireplaces or study the detail of the wallpaper in one of the spacious bedrooms, he’d approached Eve and asked her how they could set about buying the house.

  Eve and Leah had both been stunned at this decision, but sixty days later, they’d helped move their parents in.

  The car doors burst open when she came to a stop and the girls dashed to the front door, shrieking and laughing.

  Eve watched the door open and her father reach down and scoop the twins to him in a warm bear hug.

  Sean always did this with the girls, too. They loved it. A fleeting thought crossed her mind. Her hugs with the girls were few and far between. She wasn’t touchy-feely.

  As her father and the girls disappeared inside, she made a mental note to ensure she hugged each girl at least once a day.

  Eve stepped out of the car as Leah drove up and parked behind her.

  ‘Jesus,’ she said as her twin approached. The large dark glasses did nothing to hide her pale, drawn face. ‘Are you okay?’

  Leah shook her head. ‘Not really.’

  ‘Grant?’

  She nodded. ‘And Jackie came over to cheer me up last night, which was lovely, but we drank my sorrows away and my head’s wishing we’d stopped after the first bottle.’

  ‘You’ve told Mum?’

  ‘She knows the whole story.’

  ‘Whole story? So you found out why he wanted to end things?’

  Leah nodded again. ‘Let’s go inside, I need a drink. Work was rubbish today too.’ She seemed to force a smile. ‘I’m wallowing in self-pity so you can help me drown my sorrows.’

  Screams of delight from the back garden could be heard as they let themselves in through the front door, expecting to find their mother in the kitchen.

  Eve’s stomach rumbled, savouring the wafts of a roast filtering through the house. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast. Her post-sex glow and a black coffee had carried her through the afternoon.

  Their mother looked up from chopping vegetables when they entered the kitchen. She dropped her knife, rubbed her hands on her apron, and opened her arms to Leah.

  Eve watched her sister sink into her mother’s embrace.

  ‘I’m so sorry, love,’ her mother said. ‘It’s a despicable thing he’s done. Something you can never think was your fault.’

  She raised an eyebrow. Despicable?

  Her mother looked across to her. ‘There’s a bottle of white in the fridge, honey. Why don’t you get us some glasses and pour it? I’m sure Leah needs one, and after hearing about Grant, I could use a drink myself.’

  Eve moved to the fridge. He must have cheated. That was the only explanation that would evoke that kind of reaction in her mother.

  ‘He did,’ Leah said.

  She stared. Ever since they were little, they’d had a connection that, at times, made it feel like they were reading each other’s minds. It was more a case that they knew each other so well, each could guess what the other was thinking.

  Her twin forced a small laugh. ‘It’s not too hard to imagine what conclusion you’d draw.’ She accepted the drink Eve held out and went on to tell the full story of his cheating and the pregnancy.

  Eve refilled their drinks. ‘What an arsehole.’

  ‘That’s an understatement,’ her mother said. ‘He’d better hope your father never runs into him. He’ll skin him alive. He’s furious, and so am I. To think he could sit around our dining table only two weeks ago, and play happy families is a disgrace.’

  Leah got
up and reached for a vegetable peeler. ‘Let me give you a hand, Mum, the last thing I really want to do is talk about him.’

  She was shooed away. ‘No, I’m nearly done and if you want to be distracted, go and find the girls and your father. They’d all love to see you.’

  She nodded and left the room.

  ‘What about you?’ her mother asked Eve. ‘Are you going to join them?’

  She shook her head. ‘No, I need a break from them.’

  Her mum raised an eyebrow. ‘The half-an-hour between school and here was too much for you?’

  Eve ignored her mother’s dig. She didn’t understand how hard it was to juggle full-time work and kids. She hadn’t worked when Eve and Leah were little, so how could she?

  ‘Kate’s back tomorrow, thank God.’

  Her mother put down the tea towel she was holding and sat down across from her.

  ‘This situation with Leah and Grant, it’s very upsetting.’

  ‘Very,’ Eve agreed.

  ‘Doesn’t it make you think about what you’re doing? How devastating the consequences could be?’

  She shifted in her chair. A few months back she’d rung her mother and asked her to pick the girls up after school.

  When she’d arrived home just after seven, her mother had taken one look at her and practically launched an attack.

  ‘You’d better tell me that meeting you’ve come from was with Sean,’ she said. ‘I only have to look at your glowing cheeks and messed up hair to know exactly what you’ve been up to.’

  The garage door had opened part way through the diatribe and she’d immediately coloured and started apologising. ‘I’m so sorry, love. I’m just so relieved you were with Sean. You worried me there for a minute.’

  Eve hadn’t responded. She’d mentally kicked herself that she hadn’t taken the time to run a brush through her hair or fix her make up.

  She’d been momentarily relieved when her mother had assumed Sean arriving home so close to her was because they’d been together.

  However, when she’d started asking Sean about his day it’d been very clear he hadn’t seen or spoken to Eve, or the girls, since that morning.