The Affair

by Amanda Brooke

  ‘Yes, my best friend got off with my brother!’

  Refusing to give in, Nina said, ‘Which ought to have made you angry and stroppy with Liam, but you’ve been quiet, Scarlett. It’s not the reaction I would have expected, which makes me think …’

  Scarlett had her arms folded across her chest as she pretended to watch the movie that neither of them had been paying any attention to.

  ‘Did something happen at the party?’ Nina asked again. ‘I’m thinking back to the conversation we had about you going on the pill and I’m wondering if maybe things have moved on.’

  The Scarlett of old would have jumped up to accuse her neurotic mother of being obsessed with sex at this point, but she stayed put.

  Taking a chance, Nina pushed a little harder. ‘Maybe someone’s been pressuring you into doing something you’re not ready for. It’s still my job to protect you, Scarlett, and I want to help.’

  Scarlett held her breath and then released the tension from her body with a sigh. ‘You don’t have to worry, Mum. I’ve come to the conclusion that boys really aren’t worth the effort.’

  Nina only realized she had been tensing too when her chest became so tight she could hardly breathe. Unlike Scarlett, she wasn’t ready to let it go so easily.

  ‘You will be sensible, won’t you? Don’t rush into anything.’

  ‘Honestly, Mum, if you want to worry about anyone sleeping around, worry about Liam.’

  ‘I suppose I am guilty of double standards. I’ve not been too bothered about what Liam might be getting up to. Are they sleeping together?’

  Rather than give a direct answer, Scarlett pulled a face.

  ‘OK, stupid question,’ replied Nina. ‘Do you think they’re having safe sex? Maybe I should buy Liam a job lot of condoms.’

  ‘Oh, God, yes please. Can I be there when you give them to him?’

  They were both smiling now and Nina rubbed a hand across her chest. Panic over, for the time being at least.

  ‘I wonder if we should invite Eva over for Christmas,’ Nina mused.

  ‘Hmm,’ Scarlett said. The idea of spending Christmas with her best friend would have been appealing once upon a time, but instead she pulled a face. ‘I don’t think her mum and dad would be too happy.’

  ‘Maybe you’re right,’ Nina said. ‘I just thought that, with it being our first proper Christmas together as the Thomas/Carrington family, we might do something special.’

  ‘Why don’t you invite Caryn?’

  Nina was surprised Scarlett even remembered her stepsister’s name. The subject of Bryn’s daughter was a sensitive one that they had all been avoiding.

  ‘I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. Bryn was really hurt when she didn’t come to the wedding. What does it say when your own daughter can’t be bothered to even send a card?’

  ‘That doesn’t mean we should stop trying. What if I fell out with you? Would you hate me for ever?’

  ‘That’s different.’

  ‘No it’s not. If we had a horrible argument and one of us moved away, would you cut me out of your life?’

  ‘I would forgive you anything, Scarlett, you’re my daughter.’

  ‘And Caryn is Bryn’s daughter. He wants to invite her.’

  ‘He’s told you that?’

  Scarlett looked uncomfortable and grabbed another handful of popcorn. She let the kernels drop slowly through her fingers, before she said, ‘Sort of.’

  ‘But you have talked about her?’ When Scarlett shrugged, Nina added, ‘So why hasn’t he mentioned it to me?’

  ‘He thinks you’re angry at Caryn. And judging by that mini-strop, you so obviously are. He kind of only mentioned it to me because he wanted to know if I’d have a problem with her staying over. He didn’t want to go through all the arguments with you only for me and Liam to make Caryn feel so awkward she would run back home.’

  ‘She wouldn’t come anyway,’ Nina said, and then gave her daughter a curious look. ‘What else did he tell you about her?’

  ‘Not much.’

  ‘You know she has anorexia?’ Nina asked, and when Scarlett nodded, she added, ‘It’s an awful illness, I know, but it’s so unfair that Bryn should be the one to shoulder the blame for what happened.’

  Bryn had told Nina how his daughter had been dieting on and off since the age of twelve. After he and his ex-wife had split up, Bryn didn’t appreciate how self-conscious Caryn was becoming, or that her mum was already concerned.

  ‘He didn’t realize that her being so thin was a symptom of something serious and, being a man, he thought he was being ironic when he called her fatty,’ she added.

  ‘He called her chubs,’ corrected Scarlett.

  ‘He really did talk to you about her, didn’t he?’ Nina asked. She wasn’t sure if she should be pleased that Bryn and her daughter had reached a stage where they could talk openly, or if she should feel jealous.

  Scarlett shovelled a handful of popcorn into her mouth and said, ‘I’d made some comment about going on a diet and he had a right go at me. What he actually said was that there’s no point trying to improve on perfection.’ She had bits of corn stuck in her teeth when she smiled at her mum.

  Nina smiled too. ‘He’s terrified of making the same mistake twice,’ she said. After releasing a sigh, she added, ‘Oh, I don’t know, Scarlett. From what I’ve heard, Caryn’s still going through a tough time. If she did come to see us, what if it only deepens the rift between them? I’m worried they’d hurt each other and wreck Christmas in the process. I need to speak to him, don’t I?’

  Scarlett said nothing; the answer was obvious.

  Thursday, 12 November 2015

  Nina and Bryn were in the kitchen eating the evening meal her husband had lovingly prepared, while Liam and Scarlett had grabbed their plates and disappeared upstairs. They had started married life with such good intentions of bringing everyone together at meal times, and Bryn had gone as far as redecorating the dining room, which had previously been part home office, part dumping ground. Unfortunately, Nina hadn’t factored in the amount of nagging required to get them all around the table, and for once her children’s cave-dweller mentality suited her.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me you wanted to invite Caryn over for Christmas?’

  Bryn didn’t look fazed by the question. It was as if he had been expecting it. ‘It was only an idea I’d been mulling over.’

  ‘But you do want to invite her?’

  ‘Would you mind?’

  ‘I don’t want to see you hurt, that’s all.’

  Bryn put down his fork and reached for his wife’s hand to give it a squeeze. ‘And chances are I will get hurt, but I’m not going to let her snub me again if that’s what you’re worried about. I’d like to go and visit her first so I can extend the invitation personally. I know I’ll probably say the wrong thing, like I always do, and we’ll be back to square one, but …’

  ‘But you shouldn’t stop trying,’ Nina said, surprised that she should be repeating her daughter’s sage advice. When had Scarlett become so mature?

  ‘Does that mean you’d be OK with me asking her?’

  ‘Asking her is the easy part, Bryn,’ Nina said. ‘If you mean will I be OK if it goes wrong, then no, I can’t say I will, but you’re not exactly going to find it easy either.’

  Bryn had been chasing a piece of fish around his plate and it had almost disintegrated. ‘It could be worse,’ he said. ‘Someone could suggest we invite Eva, in which case we’d be spending Christmas playing referee between Scarlett and Liam.’

  ‘I can see I’m going to have to watch you and Scarlett,’ she said.

  ‘Speak of the devil.’

  Scarlett glided into the room in a flutter of pink and black satin. The dressing gown was wide enough to wrap around her twice and Nina supposed she ought to be glad that it was covering up her youthful body, even though the contours were enough to fill Nina with envy. ‘I bet that doesn’t look as good on me.’

&nb
sp; ‘What?’ Scarlett asked when she realized the comment had been directed at her. She had brought her dishes down and was leaning over to put them in the dishwasher.

  ‘My dressing gown,’ Nina said, ‘with the emphasis on my.’

  ‘Sorry, it’s just that mine’s really short and you moan about me parading around the house half-naked. I thought you’d be pleased.’

  Scowling, Nina turned to Bryn, who was doing his best to ignore them both. ‘I bought that to take away on our honeymoon, if we ever manage to have one.’

  ‘And we will,’ Bryn promised. ‘You paid for the wedding, so it’s only right that I cough up for the honeymoon. In fact, I’m planning on working extra hard in the run-up to Christmas so I can afford to whisk you away.’

  ‘I don’t think you’ll be as productive as you were last year,’ Nina said with a sheepish smile as she recalled their fateful meeting.

  ‘Ah, yes, last year was quite exceptional.’

  ‘Please,’ muttered Scarlett under her breath.

  ‘At the very least,’ Bryn said loudly for his stepdaughter’s benefit, ‘I’ll be able to stretch to a mini-break – one without the children, perhaps?’

  ‘I’m not a child.’

  Ignoring her daughter, Nina added, ‘I could always ask Sarah if we could use her country lodge in the Lake District.’

  There was a sharp intake of breath from Scarlett. ‘You can’t use something that’s been bought with blood money.’

  Nina looked from an equally puzzled Bryn to her daughter. ‘Blood money?’

  With her hand on her hip, Scarlett said, ‘Do you have any idea what they’re up to?’

  ‘I’m afraid you’ll have to give me a bit more information to work with.’

  ‘Sarah and Miles are tearing up the countryside and killing old people as they go.’

  All worries about her daughter growing up too soon were forgotten as Nina realized her little girl was still young enough to throw a tantrum. ‘Nope, still as clear as mud.’

  Scarlett huffed, then said, ‘That new development they’ve been going on about. They’re going to build houses on a field right next to this old lady who’s dying of cancer. She’ll end up spending her last days on earth watching them put up ugly houses.’

  ‘Sarah’s not mentioned anything to me about killing off old ladies.’

  ‘Well she’d hardly go around shouting about it.’

  ‘And how did you hear about it? Please don’t say there’s some campaign against them on Facebook.’

  ‘No, but that might be an idea,’ Scarlett said, and was temporarily confused when her mum waited for her to say more. ‘Oh, right, yeah, it was mentioned at school.’

  ‘I knew there had been planning objections, but nothing else. Sarah would be upset if she knew about this,’ Nina said, and when Bryn raised an eyebrow, she added, ‘She does have a heart, even if it is hidden beneath a thick skin.’

  ‘Will you speak to her?’ Scarlett asked. ‘You have to stop them, Mum. Please.’

  ‘I’ll tell her, Scarlett, but I’m not sure what good it’ll do. Sarah’s invested a lot of money in that project and she wouldn’t be able to pull out easily even if she wanted to. She might be able to make life easier for this woman, though. Do you know her name?’

  ‘Erm, Mrs Swift, probably.’

  ‘As in your Mr Swift?’

  ‘Yes, except, thinking about it,’ Scarlett said, pausing to bite her lip, ‘her name wouldn’t be Swift because it’s his mother-in-law.’

  ‘I could always ask your Mr Swift.’

  ‘No, don’t do that! I shouldn’t have said anything really.’

  Having abandoned his meal, Bryn was resting his chin on his hands as he followed the exchange. ‘That would be your daughter interfering again,’ he said, and gave Scarlett a wink.

  ‘Yes, she’s getting good at that,’ replied Nina. ‘All right, leave it with me, Scarlett, and I’ll see what I can do.’

  ‘Thanks, Mum.’

  ‘If you really want to thank me, you can take off my dressing gown,’ Nina said as Scarlett swept past her.

  Scarlett stopped and pulled at the black satin belt that had been tied in a bow. Before the dressing gown could fall away, Nina said, ‘Don’t you dare, Scarlett Carrington. And when I say cover up, next time wear your onesie.’

  Sunday, 13 December 2015

  The moment the cobwebs from Halloween had been swept away, the florist shop had been immersed in glittering layers of artificial snow, but at home, Nina put off decking the halls with boughs of holly until mid-December. As she set to work, she thought how different it was going to be this year, especially if Bryn wasn’t to be the only new addition.

  He had set off for Wales the day before, and after an overnight stay with his brother, he was meeting his daughter for lunch. Hopefully, she would accept his invitation, but whatever the outcome, Nina was determined to transform the house and make his return home warm and welcoming.

  ‘Are you sure you don’t have somewhere else to be?’ she asked Scarlett, who had more tinsel on her than the tree she was supposedly decorating. ‘Like sleeping off a hangover?’

  ‘I told you, I didn’t drink last night. Me and Clara were practising for our French oral.’

  Nina scrutinized Scarlett’s face; if her daughter was lying, she was getting very good at it. Nina had only vaguely heard of this Clara person, who was presumably a replacement for Eva now that her best friend was otherwise engaged. And with Bryn away, Nina had gone against her better judgement and allowed Scarlett to stay over at her mystery friend’s house. In theory, it had been so she wouldn’t have to worry about Scarlett getting home, but she had worried anyway. It would seem that Scarlett was quickly making up for lost time as far as her social life was concerned, and it left Nina in two minds as to which version of her daughter she preferred, the studious hermit or the party girl. She wished there was a middle ground and her only comfort was that Mr Swift had phoned to say he was pleased with her current performance and didn’t think further revision lessons were necessary. And if Mr Swift was happy then who was she to complain?

  ‘I might as well help, because I’ve got nothing else to do,’ Scarlett complained. She tried to pull a sad face but the effect was lost with the flickering fairy lights draped around her neck.

  ‘Great,’ Nina muttered.

  ‘Can I have some of that?’

  Nina had made herself a mulled wine to help along the Christmas spirit. ‘Were you outside this morning, hanging up lights?’

  ‘I would have helped if I’d been here.’

  ‘Oh really? What’s been your excuse every other year?’ Nina asked, only to roll her eyes. ‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, take it. I’ll make another.’

  Scarlett took a sip of the proffered drink and pulled a face. ‘Yuk, it tastes like medicine. Can I have something else?’

  ‘Such as?’

  ‘A gin and lemonade?’

  ‘Erm, let me think about that,’ Nina said. ‘No.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because you’re fifteen years old.’

  The child demanding to be treated like an adult flounced out of the living room and came back two minutes later with a strawberry milkshake. If she had added a dash of alcohol, Nina decided she was better off not knowing. She didn’t want Bryn returning from what might be a fraught meeting with his daughter to be confronted by an equally tense atmosphere at home.

  While Scarlett attacked the unfortunate spruce with tinsel and baubles, Nina set to work making a centrepiece. It was a complicated arrangement of pale green and silver foliage with bleached pine cones and bright red berry lights. Unfortunately, she had made the fatal error of not testing the lights until the arrangement was complete.

  ‘Damn, are there any spare batteries left?’ she asked her daughter, who had been tasked with firing up all the annoying singing snowmen and prancing reindeer.

  Armed with new batteries, Nina pricked her fingers as she battled with lethal holly leav
es, only to realize the problem was a loose wire rather than the power pack. She cursed herself for not checking before she had started. She would need to dismantle the arrangement in order to replace the entire light unit.

  ‘When’s lunch?’

  Her son might not have been on a sleepover like his sister, but he had arrived home only a few hours before Scarlett, and this was his first appearance of the day.

  ‘Lunch was an hour ago. I did shout and assumed your mumbled response meant you didn’t want anything.’

  ‘OK, I’ll have some now.’

  ‘All the soup’s gone,’ Scarlett said, turning her back on Liam before his scowl had fully formed.

  ‘I could make you some cheese on toast while you take a look at this for me?’

  ‘It’s a holly bush,’ Liam said, refusing to take the offending article from his mother.

  ‘There’s a loose wire. You’re good with gadgets.’

  When Nina offered it a second time, Liam had no choice but to take the display or risk being stabbed in the chest by dozens of prickly leaves.

  ‘But I’m no good with wires and stuff.’

  Nina ignored him and when she returned from the kitchen ten minutes later, the centrepiece was upside down on the coffee table with a miniature screwdriver sticking out of it.

  ‘I can’t do it,’ he said. ‘I’ve got blurred vision and my head’s banging.’

  ‘Serves you right for rolling in drunk at such a ridiculous hour. You should have followed Scarlett’s example. She can be out all night and still come home fresh as a daisy.’

  Liam took a bite of toast, and with strings of cheese hanging from his mouth turned to Scarlett and asked, ‘You were out? Who with?’

  ‘One of my friends who you’re not sleeping with,’ Scarlett muttered.

  ‘Clara,’ Nina offered helpfully.

  ‘Hmm, that’s strange,’ Liam said, assuming a well-practised tone that feigned innocence while knowing he would be getting his sister into trouble. ‘Clara spent most of the night at Eva’s until she threw up and her mum had to come and get her. I hope she was feeling better when she met up with you.’