by Cat Hogan
The large windows on the ground floor lit up the terrace. She could see Scott and Sal standing at the front door. They looked lost beside the huge supporting pillars, there in their finery ready for the events of the evening. The smell of roses on the warm evening air wafted in through the car window. Of course there was a valet service for the car and staff on standby to take luggage out of their sweaty hands and up to the guest rooms. Jen was uncomfortable at the whole notion of this place – it was a real cliché and she wouldn’t be one bit surprised to see a lord in a top hat beating a servant, or a horse and carriage roll up to the front door.
‘Andy, Jen, welcome! Welcome!’ Scott said, approaching with outstretched arms. ‘You’re late!’
‘That was my fault, Scott,’ said Andy. ‘I got stuck late with work.’
‘I was beginning to wonder if your woman had talked you out of coming.’
‘Why would she do that?’
Scott ignored him.
‘Jen, darling. It’s an honour to have you here in my home. If you would like to go upstairs and freshen up, your room is ready. I assume you will insist on sharing with your new lover?’
‘I’m not letting her of my sight this weekend, Scott, so make sure you have us in the same room,’ Andy laughed.
Sal came down the steps and gave her a hug. She was wearing a beautiful black Chanel dress, and patent shoes. Jen had never seen her so dressed up.
‘Sal, you look great. Where did you get the dress?’
‘Scott bought it for me, Jen.’ She was beaming and couldn’t take her eyes off him. ‘Isn’t it gorgeous?’
‘You look wonderful.’ Jen wasn’t going to tell her what she really was thinking. Sal was dressed in an outfit she would never have chosen for herself, and was conducting herself like Scott’s prize bull at a fair. The price of success, she thought dryly. She had seen very little of Sal in the last few weeks, and only the other day she had cancelled on her as she had to go to Dublin with Scott to plan the launch. When she did see her, he was always around. She couldn’t tell for sure if they were sleeping together or not. She was reluctant to ask.
‘Has Tess arrived yet?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ Scott said. ‘You’re the last to arrive, so perhaps you can hurry upstairs and get ready, in the hope we can get on with dinner. Mother is waiting and she is not known for her patience.’
Jen and Andy were escorted up to their room, where their bags lay waiting for them. Jen knew before the door was opened what the room would look like: four-poster bed and heavy on the mahoganies. Beautiful, but predictable. The view from the window, however, was stunning. The fading evening light kissed the array of wonderful flowers, in all shades.
‘Jen, will you get a wriggle on there? Scott is waiting.’ Andy was scrambling into his suit, and looked frazzled.
‘All right, Andy. Chill out. Prince Charming will only have to wait for a few more minutes. I’m bloody getting ready now.’ She was getting fed up of everyone hero-worshipping Scott, including Andy. She had to listen to him the whole way up in the car, saying how amazing he was, and how he threw the best parties. Little did he know! She snatched up her overnight bag and slammed the door of the ensuite behind her. She wished she was at home in her PJs with Danny curled up beside her, but she was trapped here for two days. On the upside, at least she would get some time with Andy, just the two of them. She struggled into her dress, and quickly re-applied her make-up. She had chosen a dark-green dress – the colour suited her skin tone and made her look fresh and healthy.
‘Jen, you look beautiful.’ Andy stood and admired her as she came out of the bathroom.
He was looking stunning in a suit, and she couldn’t help but think of the wedding photos.
‘Look, Jen. I know you’re not Scott’s biggest fan – he winds you up, I can see that much. But for my sake I’m asking you to make a bit of an effort. You two are really important to me, and I would love for you to be friends.’
She was furious with him, but hid it. ‘OK, Andy. I’ll be nice. Now come on, let’s not keep him waiting any longer.’
‘Wait, Jen. Come here.’ He took her by the arms and kissed her.
She kissed him back, and fought the urge to drag him over to the bed and just stay there for the evening. She couldn’t get enough of him, and anytime they were alone recently they ended up in bed. She was getting more comfortable with him, and even though he hadn’t yet seen her fully naked she knew it wouldn’t be long.
‘Right, come on now or we won’t get down there at all,’ she said.
Just then, a knock came to the door.
‘Come on, people, are you ready?’ they heard.
It was Scott.
Jen looked at Andy and rolled her eyes. Scott was a pain in the arse.
‘Nearly ready, Scott!’ she called out. ‘Just having a moment with Andy. We’ll be down in a minute.’ Her tone was incredibly dismissive, and she could see by Andy’s reaction that he wasn’t impressed.
Opening the door, he called after Scott. ‘Coming, Scott, hang on there!’
Then he was gone down the corridor after him, without waiting for her, or giving her a second glance.
Jen was the last person to enter the drawing room, and all eyes were on her as she did.
‘Jen, darling, you look simply ravishing,’ Scott said, as he walked over to her.
She knew all eyes were on her, and she had to be careful. She had begun to figure out what he was trying to do.
‘Scott, my apologies for holding everyone up. Your home is simply beautiful – I got distracted on the way down here. I’m excited to be here, and I must say you look wonderfully handsome in your suit. Dark colours suit you.’
She knew by the smirk on his face he had clocked her game straight away. It felt as though they were two lions on the plains, dancing around each other, sizing each other up, not knowing who was going to strike first. No one else seemed to notice the exchange. Andy was standing with his back to her, laughing at something a striking woman had just said to him.
‘Where are your manners, Scott? I assume that is your mother Andy is speaking to. Can you introduce us?’
‘Of course.’ His response was clipped.
Interesting, she thought. His body language had changed straight away. He had lost a bit of that swagger, and Jen could see where he was coming from.
Livia oozed an air of authority and charisma. She had the demeanour of a person who always got what she wanted, and never took no for an answer. Scott was a dead ringer for her, but the darkness he exuded wasn’t there in her. She was a snob, absolutely, but not as sinister as Jen found Scott to be.
‘Mother, allow me to introduce Andy’s girlfriend.’ He practically shoved Jen in front of this woman.
‘I assume this beautiful young lady has a name other than “Andy’s girlfriend”, Scottie. Perhaps you would be obliging enough to share it with me?’
She had cut him to the quick, and in front of everyone.
‘Yes, Mother, she has a name. Jennifer.’
Jen noticed how he looked at her with the same contempt he had shown her in her kitchen and it disturbed her.
‘Jennifer, it’s lovely to meet you, and I’m delighted to hear Andy has met someone.’
‘Thanks, Mrs Carluccio Randall, but you can call me Jen.’
‘And I’m Livia, dear. Scott, can you see to drinks for our guests, please? Jen, you are very welcome here to my home. Andy has been telling me what a wonderful hostess you are. I hope my little party tonight won’t disappoint.’
She was smiling, and Jen knew she wasn’t being sarcastic.
‘Ha! Certainly not, Livia. Your drawing room is bigger than my whole house, so you have won that battle already, I think. It’s a beautiful room, so tasteful.’
‘I do all the interior designing myself – little else to do at my age when I have a whole house full of staff. Now, go say hello to your friends and we will chat again soon.’ She glided across the floor and disappeared tow
ards the sounds coming from the adjoining room.
Tess and Doc were on the far side of the room. Everyone looked so great, all done up. It felt like a wedding reception rather than a meal. Tess was dressed in the most beautiful floral Lila Calypso dress, with a perfect swing skirt to hide her little bump.
‘Tess, honey. You look amazing.’ Jen kissed her friend on the cheek.
‘I’m leaving you girls to it,’ Doc said. ‘Jen, you scrub up well!’ He gently touched his wife’s stomach before making his way over to Andy.
‘So, you’ve told him then?’
‘I did, Jen. We’ve worked an awful lot of stuff out, and things are looking up. I couldn’t have coped if we had split up, but now things are really good. I’ve so much to tell you, Jen.’
‘Ah, we’ll have plenty of time this evening! Have you told anyone else?’
‘No, not yet – we don’t want Hugh to know too soon.’
Jen studied her for a moment. She hadn’t seen Tess look this relaxed in a long time, but she couldn’t get that phone call she had overheard out of her mind. She would have a word with Doc about it when she could get him on his own.
‘Thanks for being there for me, Jen. Everything is back to normal now – crazy Tess is gone. How I thought he was having an affair is beyond me. I just got so paranoid. It’s all good now and I have a bit of news about the pub – but you have to keep your mouth shut about it. Scott is investing, meaning I’m out of the shit financially.’
‘Tess, I’m happy for you, but are you sure it’s a good idea? I mean, it’s your pub, and you barely know the guy.’ I’m caught in the middle of a bad conspiracy, she thought, not for the first time. She was caught in the middle of it, and the only way out was to let go of Andy.
‘Jen, my duck, I’ve known you a long time, and I know you well. What is going on in your head when it comes to Scott? We all know you don’t trust people easily, but what has he done to you to make you dislike him so much? For goodness’ sake, you are bordering on downright rude around him! That’s not like you.’
‘I think he has a real problem with me and Andy, Tess. He has passed a few comments about it, and he was up in the house the other day and was on about it again.’
She stopped herself before she told Tess the whole story. She couldn’t. It would ruin everything, and he would fuck up her friendship with both Sal and Tess.
‘So, what did he say to you that was so bad?’
‘Ah Tess, it doesn’t matter. I just don’t particularly like him, that’s all.’
‘You like Andy, Jen. It makes him uncomfortable when you and Scott are not getting along. Make the effort for his sake.’
Andy approached them just then and they swiftly changed the subject.
Doc was standing at the sideboard, helping himself to a drink under the disapproving eye of a waiter, when Jen casually made her way over to him.
‘So how’re you doing, Doc?’
‘Flying form! And you look great. Being in love suits you!’
Jen felt awkward, and steered the conversation to school and the boys.
They moved away from the sideboard and the attendant waiter. Everyone else was engaged in conversation – it was now or never.
‘So, Doc, things seem to be good with you and Tess again?’ she said quietly. ‘I haven’t seen her so at ease in a while.’
‘Aye, things are great, pet – we are really back on track now. Turned a bit of a corner so to speak.’
‘I’m glad. She’s a wonderful person, Doc, and she loves you more than anything. You know that, right?’
‘What are you saying, Jen? Spit it out,’ he muttered. ‘I know you well enough to know when you’re angling at something. I know you know all about our rows, and I also have a feeling you knew about our news before we told everyone – she denied telling you, but you knew about it, didn’t you?’
‘Yes, I knew.’
‘You know I love her, Jen. I love Hugh and I love this baby. I’m not going to do anything to mess that up. I’ve been an eejit in the past, but things are different now.’
‘Are you denying the affair, Doc?’
He stared at her, shocked. ‘What? What affair?’
‘I overheard you on the phone that night in my place. You weren’t talking to your mother!’
‘Jen, leave it now. I’m happy and I have sorted things out with my wife. That’s all you need to know – none of it is any of your business after that. Don’t meddle in other people’s business.’
The conversation was very stilted and subdued – neither of them could afford to draw attention to themselves.
Doc was panicking. Two people now knew, Jen and Scott. It was getting dangerous. He had tried to walk away from the affair, several times, but he couldn’t. Then he told her the other day it was the end, and hadn’t heard a thing from her after, so maybe it was over for real this time. He couldn’t risk it any more. Clara, she had been a fling, albeit a fling that had lasted quite some time, but he was walking away. Tess would never know and Jen would have to keep her little mouth shut.
‘I won’t meddle, Doc, for Tess’s sake, but if I think you’re up to no good, ever again, I will blow the whistle on you. She deserves better than what you give her, so shape up or ship out.’
‘What are you two talking about?’
Scott was suddenly at their side.
‘You seem to be solving the problems of the world?’
‘We’re talking about the upcoming school sports day, Scott,’ Doc answered, ‘and the hilarious carry-on of some of the crazy parents. They are so competitive it’s funny. There’s one couple in particular that never fail to disappoint with their side-line antics.’
He’s good, she thought. Quick recovery, off the cuff, just like that. She had to buy into it.
‘Yes, we never fail to get a laugh out of them every year,’ she said. ‘The poor child is probably in training for months before the egg-and-spoon race, and goodness knows what kind of drills he has to go through for the sack race.’
They all laughed at that one, at the idea of the poor child doing laps of the garden in a potato sack for months, while his parents screamed and swung a giant stopwatch at him. There was always one in every school and their school was no exception.
She excused herself from the conversation and went over to Andy.
Livia returned and clapped her hands, drawing the guests’ attention to her. She had a couple of announcements. Breakfast would be served in the dining room at nine sharp. And dinner was now about to be served.
They all made their way to the dining room next door.
The large oak table dominated the room. Livia took her place at the top of the table. Then Scott seated the others: Sal, Andy and Tess on one side – and Jen and Doc on the other, opposite their companions. He himself took the remaining seat to Livia’s right, opposite Sal.
They were all intrigued to see that the place at the end of the table was also set, and they wondered who that might be for.
Livia only seemed to notice the empty place at that point and she enquired of Scott what time his friend would be arriving.
‘Apologies, Mother, I expected her to be here by now. She should be here soon, but we will start without her.’
Jen glanced at Sal and she looked as though she was about to be sick. Tess clocked the glances between the girls – she too had an inkling Sal was interested in more than just a business relationship with Scott.
Of course there was a pre-dinner speech from the man of the moment. Jen tried to hide her contempt behind her glass of wine as he waxed lyrical about new friends and old, business deals and Weybridge estate playing host to the cream of society the next evening. More wine was poured and the candles cast shadows on the walls.
Scott, Livia and Sal were chatting about art, and kept up the same conversation throughout the starter course. It was obvious to Jen that Livia liked Sal, and it was glaringly obvious that Sal was trying hard to get on with her possible future mother-in-law.
She laughed just a bit too long each time Livia said something, and she didn’t swear once. A feat in itself for good old Sal. Meanwhile Scott was behaving as if he were enamoured of Sal, but the mystery date hadn’t yet arrived.
Tess and Andy were talking about music and fishing, and the characters they both grew up with around the harbour. Andy was engrossed in conversation about one particular character and his funny ways when he suddenly turned and looked at Jen. He simply smiled at her, asked her if she was OK, and in that moment she knew she loved him. It frightened her, but the wine allowed her to sit with the notion for a bit.
The main course arrived, and the meal did not disappoint. Beef Wellington, cooked to absolute perfection, with all the sides. The wine was also glorious, not Jen’s usual tenner-a-bottle choice from the local supermarket.
Doc and Jen were sitting next to each other and, after their exchange in the drawing room, conversation was strained between them. They played it safe and talked about the boys and school, weather and the opulence of the house they were in.
Crème brulées and coffee were served and Jen was beginning to enjoy herself. Livia was a lovely host, very attentive, and good at engaging everyone in conversation. She had regaled them with stories of being part of a travelling opera troupe, and the high life that came with it. She had also shown them the side of touring that wasn’t so romantic or glamorous.