by W W Walker
“There she is,” he said turning his head away from the sausages and bacon. “How did you sleep?”
“Fine thank you!” She went straight to the window and saw the view for the first time in daylight. It was splendid. “Wow. That’s a great view to wake up to.”
“I never get tired of looking at it.”
“I’m not surprised. Mum would love it here.”
“I invited her down for my wife’s funeral, but your dad wouldn’t allow her to come.”
Rhianna was shocked. “I find that hard to believe,” she said, pulling out a chair and sitting down.
He whisked up some eggs in a yellow Tupperware bowl. The kitchen was warm and cosy while the rest of the house was cold. She guessed he kept the heating off in the other rooms until he needed them. Her mother was the same. ‘No point heating rooms we’re not using,’ she’d say.
“Why did you fall out with my dad?” she asked, pouring herself a cup of tea from the pot. The old wooden table had been covered in adhesive shelf liner, now peeling at the edges. The tea service was the old willow pattern she remembered her gran having in her house. She wondered if it was the same set. Maybe he’d inherited it when she died. The matching sugar bowl had a chip in the lid.
“Didn’t your mother tell you why there was a rift?”
Rhianna shook her head before taking her first cup of tea of the day. “She always said what happened in the past should stay in the past.”
“We fell out over a dog.”
“A dog?” The aroma of melting butter wafted around the room as he fried tomatoes in the same pan he’d cooked the bacon, now keeping warm under the grill.
“It was before you were born. We were getting together for a family reunion.” He cracked two eggs in a separate pan. “Your parents were coming down to stay with us and they wanted to bring the dog.” He threw a quick glance her way. “My wife Barbra didn’t like pets…so she wrote and asked them not to bring it. They took umbrage and that was that. They didn’t come for the reunion. Your mum and Barbra never spoke again, and your dad blamed me.”
“That all sounds silly to me,” Rhianna said. Why hold grudges? Shouldn’t ‘time heal’?” she crooked her fingers in the air.
He shook his head as he slipped the fried eggs onto two warm plates. “That’s family for you.”
He put the plate in front of her. There were mushroom and fried bread too. He shook pepper over his eggs. Her mother did the same. Rihanna never saw the appeal in white pepper.
She was ravenous. The breakfast looked and tasted delicious; the bacon so crispy that she could pick it up with her fingers. Triangles of toast were propped upright in a silver rack, the butter was a soft block in a butter dish with a chipped lid, and marmalade half-filled a matching bowl with a silver spoon protruding from it. The bowl of the spoon was in the shape of a leaf.
He poured another cup of tea from the pot. “Glad to see you’ve got a good appetite.”
“The breakfast is so good. Thank you.” She stopped eating. “Will we be having a fry up every morning?”
He chuckled. “Only on a Saturday. It’s just a habit of mine. My wife cooked a fry up every Saturday for thirty years.” He shrugged. “I’ve kept up the tradition. I’ve got some cereals in for you.
“Lovely.”
“Your Mum said you’re partial to Ready Brek.”
“Hmm. I love it.” She buttered some more toast. “I hope you don’t think I eat like a horse every day.”
He chuckled. “Nothing wrong with that.”
She raised her brows.
“My wife tried a diet once. Unhealthy I call it.”
“There are exercise clubs opening up all over London. It’s the new thing,” she said.
“Costs money too, I bet. You’ll get enough exercise around here. There are some amazing walks.”
“I can’t wait to go down to the beach.” She put down her knife and fork and rubbed her belly. “I’m stuffed.”
“Don’t go down to the beach until after eleven.”
“Why not?”
“The tide’s in. The beach will be covered.” He sipped from his cup. “You’ll find some steps at the side of the house, between this one and No.5. They’re very old, so you have to watch yourself.”
“Okay.”
“You have to be off the beach by six because the tide will come back in. There’s a cave down there you can explore, but whatever you do don’t go in late afternoon. You’ll be trapped with no way out.”
She nodded. Happy with the idea of taking a run along the sand later. “So, what’s your plan? What time are you leaving for the golfing trip?”
He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Honestly. I’m not sure I should go.”
“Not because of me. I would feel really bad about that.” She looked him straight in the eyes. “You wouldn’t want me to feel bad, would you?”
He chuckled. “Well, all right, I’ll go for the day, but I’ll come back tonight. I won’t leave you alone all night.”
“There you are then. A compromise. Go enjoy yourself.”
“I do enjoy a round of golf.”
Her chair scraped along the floor. “You get yourself sorted out and I’ll do these.” She picked up the dirty plates and took them to the sink. Then, as she looked out across the bay, observing the morning light and the waves breaking on the rocks, she thought she saw a man swimming in the sea.
Chapter Fifteen
Constance leaned on the table with her hands over her head, wanting more than anything to block out the recent memories running through her mind. “Oh god, oh god. What have I done?”
Gladys sat across from her, drinking a cup of tea. She was staring at nothing. “He’s gone now,” she said as if she’d just finished a book. “It’s over.”
Constance looked up and shook her head. She couldn’t believe her mother-in-law. “I had no idea,” she said. “I thought you were both close.”
She closed her eyes as if she wanted to block out the memory of her own son. “No. He was a troublesome child and he became a bully, just like his father before him.”
Constance was incredulous. After all those years believing that Gladys approved of Eddie’s behaviour. “But you never said anything. I thought you hated me.”
“I just hated coming here. I have friends where I live. He took me away from that every weekend. I couldn’t say anything. He would have declared me insane. I would have lost all my rights.”
“How?”
“He had power of attorney over my finances and my care. He could have had me locked up before you could say, gone in the head.”
“So, you just tolerated it…coming here, I mean.”
“Every damn weekend.”
Constance rubbed her tired eyes “I wish I’d known. I could have helped you.”
“You couldn’t even help yourself. How could you have helped me?”
Constance knew that was true. “Yes, I was useless…I am useless.”
“No, you’re not. You’re one of the strongest women I know.
Constance was astounded by her statement. How could she imagine she was strong? “Are you serious? I’m weak. I put up with him all those years.”
“You were strong for staying. I saw you trying to make him happy. I knew you were wasting your time, but I admired you for trying.”
“No, I did that out of fear. A survival mechanism.”
“And you did survive, didn’t you? You’re here and he’s…” she looked towards the windows “…there.”
She gasped as if she’d just realised that he wasn’t there anymore. “He’s dead!”
She nodded.
“My life is over.”
Gladys shook her head. “Take it from someone who knows. You’ll get your mojo back in time.”
“In prison!”
“You’re not going to prison. If it comes to it, I’ll say I did it. That’ll get you off the hook.”
Constance couldn’t believe what she was hearing. G
ladys, the woman who had hardly breathed a word to her for all those years, now offering to save her. “Why would you do that?”
“Because someone saved me once. Now it’s my turn. To save you.”
A knock on the door.
The wo allies jumped. “Oh god.”
“Don’t panic,” Gladys said. “No one knows. Remember that.”
Constance took a deep breath and went slowly from the kitchen to the hallway. She reminded herself she was an actress and a good one. She needed to pull it out of the bag right before she opened that front door.
Through the glass, she saw a figure waiting.
It was Roger Lang. He stood outside on the doorstep waiting for her to speak. He looked at her, curious about her appearance, perhaps seeing the tiredness in her eyes…the exhaustion. “Is Eddie here?”
The colour dropped from her face. She’d felt it. She couldn’t speak. She was an actress and the curtain was up, but now she’d lost every functioning part of her body. She was going to collapse on the world stage and then they’d take her away and lock her up. Then, behind her, a hand gently moved her aside.
“He hasn’t come back from his swim yet,” Gladys said.
Roger nodded glumly. “Well, that’s awkward. The bus is leaving in five minutes.”
“Oh,” Constance finally found her voice. “He said he wasn’t going to go after all. “
Roger frowned. “Really?” He nodded several times while he stared at his feet.
Oh, God. He hadn’t believed her.
“But he didn’t say anything, and I’ve got his room booked. If he wasn’t planning on coming, he should have let me know.”
He was angry. At Eddie. “I’m sorry.”
Roger shook his head, grinding his heal on the path. “Honestly. Nothing surprises me about your husband.” When he turned, to walk away he looked back. “I don’t know why I even invited him.”
Constance watched him storm off along the eight. She saw the minibus waiting outside his house at No.5. Soon they would be gone and then she would have to deal with her problem accordingly.
Chapter Sixteen
Roger came back inside. “That prick Eddie isn’t coming now,” he said.
Eva was packing his newly polished shoes into his small suitcase. “Why not?”
He shrugged. “Changed his mind, apparently.”
“That’s a bit off. He could have told you before now.”
“He wasn’t there. I talked to Constance. He’s still out swimming in the bay, according to his mother.”
“Really? That’s dangerous this time of the day. The tide will be in.”
“I don’t care. I hope the bastard drowns.”
“You don’t mean that. Come on,” she said, as she put the latches down on his suitcase and picked it up. “Wow. That’s heavy. They should make cases with wheels. Now, that would be a good invention.”
He took it from her. “I’ll take it out to the bus. Give Jack a shout for me. We’re leaving in three minutes.”
Eva almost faltered. She didn’t want to give Jack a shout. She’d have to say his name out loud and she didn’t want to do that. She certainly couldn’t go into his room. She would be too close to him? No, she needed to stay as far away from Jack as she could get.
Earlier, before he came downstairs for breakfast, she was already in a state, the thought of seeing him after what had happened the night before…only a few hours ago. It was strange how she kept going back and forth with her emotions. She was acting as if she was indecisive, but she’d been that.
She had begun life as a nurse. Her father was a doctor at Bristol Royal Infirmary, and her mother, a matron, so it was natural for their only daughter to follow in their footsteps.
Before she’d met Roger, she met the biggest and greatest love of her life when he was admitted to the infirmary with a broken leg. His name was Cary, just like the movie star, Cary Grant, and he had a movie star’s looks too. He’d been in a motorcycle accident. “You should see the other guy,” he’d said when she watched him having his leg cast.
Complications had resulted in him spending six weeks in traction and Eva hardly left his side. They had fallen in love, but one day a woman showed up claiming to be his wife. That’s when everything fell apart. He left the hospital with his wife and she never saw him again. She married Roger on the rebound, and she’d never gotten over Cary. Even now she still thought about him when she had a quiet moment to herself.
The situation with Jack had given her food for thought, comparing it with her love affair with Cary. She had always promised herself that she would always be faithful, but now she couldn’t ever claim that again.
She heard Jack come down the stairs.
Next to the front door, they stood side by side. She reached out to open the latch, but he stopped her with his touch. They looked at each other as if they were the only two people in the world. “Can I phone you later from the hotel?” he whispered.
She could feel her neck turning red. “I don’t…”
“Just to speak to you for a minute.”
“All right.” She shouldn’t have agreed. She instantly regretted it and now she couldn’t say anything without having dialogue about it.
Time stood still until they were forced out of their own thoughts by the sound of a key turning in the lock.
It was Roger.
He didn’t notice their discomfort at being discovered so close together. He spoke directly to Jack, “There’s someone to see you out here.”
Jack looked confused when Roger stepped aside.
There, near the door was his wife, Jade.
Eva’s neck was ablaze when Jack stepped out of the house to kiss his wife on the cheek. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Thought I’d come and wave you off.” Jade slipped her arm through his. He turned and glanced at Eva, but she looked away. She wished they’d all hurry up and leave. She couldn’t take much more.
“Well we’d best be going. Everyone’s waiting.”
Eva almost spat when he turned to Jade and said, “Why don’t you stay here with Eva? All the girls are getting together this evening for cocktails.”
Eva silently cursed him. She could have murdered her husband right then. She secretly willed Jade to turn down the offer. Roger should never have made such an arrangement without discussing it with her first. As if her feelings for Jack wasn’t complicated enough, she’d now have his wife to deal with. She wouldn’t be surprised if Roger had panned the whole thing.
“I wouldn’t want to impose,” said Jade. “Eva may have plans that wouldn’t include me.”
“You don’t mind, do you, darling?” said Roger.
“No, I don’t mind at all,” Eva said smiling.
With Jade at her side, Eva watched as Roger arranged the men’s cases and clubs in the minibus. Jack was already inside, sitting on the back seat, facing forward, looking as if he was deep in thought. Eva tried her best to avoid looking at him. She didn’t want their eyes to meet. Not with Jade there.
She looked over towards No.6, where Rolf was saying goodbye to his niece, Rhianna. He’d popped over earlier this morning to ask Eva to keep an eye on her while he was away for the day. She was young but she looked nice, pleasant, Eva thought. She would ask her to the cocktail party later.
She looked further down the eight, near the gate, hoping that Mr and Mrs Butler wouldn’t come out and see the bus leaving. Eva was embarrassed that Roger hadn’t invited Mr B when he’d invited everyone else. She prayed they wouldn’t be offended.
She looked towards the empty house at No.3. Pity the new family hadn’t moved in yet. It would have been a good opportunity to get to know them. She was suddenly startled when she thought she saw someone moving about inside. She looked again but she decided her eyes must have been playing tricks on her.
Roger was about to kiss her goodbye. She whispered to him. “I wish you hadn’t asked Jade to stay. I feel really awkward.”
“She
won’t be any bother. She’ll probably go home after the party.”
“You could have asked me first, Roger.”
“Wasn’t time.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Right then, we’re off. I’ll try and phone you later.”
“No need,” she said. “Don’t worry about things here. You go and enjoy yourself.”
“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon, then.”
“Yes, all right.”
Just as he was about to board the bus, without thinking she tugged his arm. He turned around. “I’ll miss you, Roger,” she said.
He chuckled. “Don’t worry. It’s just for one night.”
She nodded and let him go.
The doors closed.
Eva took one more glance at Jack in the back of the bus. He was looking right at her. She blushed and averted her gaze.
The driver pulled away as the women watched and waved. When they got down to the bottom of the eight, the gates opened, and the bus drove through.
Just before the gates closed, Eva had a terrible sense of foreboding.
Chapter Seventeen
The men were gone. He couldn’t believe his bad luck. His reason for being there, doing what he was doing, was all about Roger Lang, but now, the devious pig had left on some sort of stupid golfing trip. Watching them, it was clear that Lang had arranged the whole thing, which made Drake even more resentful since he hadn’t been asked along. He used to be a trusted employee, and that week he’d been let go. Surely, it would have been a good opportunity for Roger Lang to make it up to him. They could have had a ‘do’ for him, given him a gold watch, allowed him to make a speech. He could have used that platform to release his rage, to talk about the injustice of it all. Instead, he was left there at Seaview to deal with everything on his own. Just like the time his mother left.
He was just a teenager when his father left. They still lived in that small house in town with the lean-to just off the kitchen. Father still bonked mother every day and night, but by then, after years of living with their unhindered sex play, Drake hardly noticed it anymore. He’d been smart with the drill holes he’d made in the walls. He used the smallest of father’s drill bits and disguised it next to a picture, or something else less noticeable. The best one was the peephole in the bedroom wall just above the dresser between a vase of artificial silk roses. Sometimes mother rearranged the flowers when she dusted, so occasionally, Drake had to pop in there and part them so that he could get a good view. Each night, from the wall opposite their bed, he could see his father’s hairy backside going up and down, up and down, grunting and grunting all night long with mother’s legs spread wide apart and moaning her moaning, all night long. Drake sometimes resented that particular hole above the dresser, since it made him feel disgusted, making him slap himself around the face when they were finished. Once, he put a sticky plaster over that peephole, just so he could get away from it, but it always called him back and made him unpeel it. He hated that plaster, and in the end, he pinched a whole box from the chemist down the road, so that he could replenish it each day.