At twenty to one, her phone beeped with a text message. It was from Liv. Meet you out at the elevators in five. Be discreet.
Madeleine wondered what all the subterfuge was about. When she got around to the elevator bay, Liv was holding one open, beckoning her to hurry up. They stepped inside and the doors closed behind them.
‘What’s going on?’ Madeleine asked.
‘Nothing, I just didn’t want any hangers-on today.’
She knew what Liv meant: if you left the office at the same time as anyone else, you invariably ended up lunching with them. ‘So I’m assuming it’s Poppy’s today?’
‘You assumed right.’
Liv and Madeleine had discovered Poppy’s a couple of blocks from the office, around a corner and tucked into the back of a pub. The food was fine, but the real attraction was that nobody else from work had found it. There were a couple of lunch spots handy to the office that their coworkers frequented; these were all very nice if you wanted company at lunch, but not when you needed some privacy. So they had kept Poppy’s to themselves, using it whenever they needed to discuss sensitive work issues. And also gossip. Madeleine was really not up to talking about work today; she didn’t think she could wrap her head around it. They ordered at the counter and took the buzzer that would alert them when their meals were ready. Madeleine wasn’t very hungry, so she’d only ordered a small salad, and wasn’t even sure she would get through that.
They sat in a corner booth and she turned to Liv. ‘I have to tell you I’m not much in the mood for shop talk.’
‘That’s not why I brought you here,’ said Liv.
‘Sounds ominous.’
‘Rick was hanging around again this weekend,’ Liv began. ‘He gatecrashed the boys’ cricket game.’
‘Oh no,’ said Madeleine. ‘Your alone time.’
‘And that’s not the worst of it,’ said Liv. ‘He came back to the house afterwards, and stayed for dinner, uninvited. Then, after the boys went to bed, he announced that he and Carly are splitting up, and so he might have to stay with us for a bit.’
‘I beg your pardon?!’
‘Which is exactly what I said.’ Liv shook her head. ‘The man has the hide of an elephant.’
‘So what happened?’
‘I put him in his place for now,’ Liv said. ‘But he’s not going to give up that easily.’
‘Surely he doesn’t think he can just freeload at your house?’
‘Apparently he does. And that’s not all,’ said Liv. ‘He thinks it’s high time we got back together.’
Madeleine’s eyes grew wide. ‘No!’
‘And wait till you hear his rationalisation,’ Liv went on. ‘He’s tried on a whole lot of women for size, and none of them have fitted, whereas I haven’t tried on anyone else, so, like Cinderella’s slipper, he’s the only true fit for me.’
Madeleine screwed up her face. ‘Did he actually use that line?’
‘No, that was mine,’ Liv said airily. ‘But it was his sentiment. He thinks that because I’m not whoring around like him, I must still be in love with him.’
‘Wow, he’s really got tickets, hasn’t he?’ said Madeleine. ‘So what did you say to him? Did you use the Jennifer Aniston line?’
‘Well, I can’t now that she’s gone and got herself engaged,’ said Liv. ‘But anyway, I preferred to let him believe that I’m seeing someone.’
Madeleine hadn’t expected that. ‘So you lied?’ she asked.
‘I didn’t have to.’
‘What does that mean?’
The buzzer went off on the table between them. ‘Food’s ready,’ said Liv. ‘I’ll go.’
‘And then you’ll tell me what’s going on.’
Madeleine watched Liv make her way to the counter. She had such an air of confidence about her, but Madeleine was well aware how much of a beating that had taken over the years. She wondered how Liv had felt leading up to her own wedding day – though considering where her marriage had ended up, perhaps it was best Madeleine didn’t know.
Liv returned to the table and passed Madeleine her salad, then sat down to her grilled salmon.
‘So, continue,’ Madeleine prompted her. ‘You told Rick you’re seeing someone, but you weren’t lying . . . ?’
‘I said that I “let him believe”.’
‘Oh, okay, so you’re just doing semantic gymnastics, not lying.’
‘Don’t be smart,’ said Liv. ‘And before you judge, there’s something else I have to tell you, but you’re not to get excited, okay? Keep it in perspective.’
‘Okay,’ Madeleine said warily.
‘Yesterday I called the guy from the plane.’
‘What?’
‘The guy I talked to on the plane.’ Liv watched Madeleine’s face, waiting for the penny to drop. ‘Last week, remember I told you?’
‘But you also said that you threw out his number.’
‘I fished it out again.’
‘Fished it out of where?’
‘That’s not important,’ said Liv. ‘I called him, we’re having coffee next weekend.’
Madeleine frowned. ‘Are you doing this just to keep Rick off your back?’
‘No, I’m doing it to keep everyone off my back,’ Liv said. ‘I’m putting myself out there. Are you happy now?’
‘Well, I don’t know,’ Madeleine said, pushing her salad around with her fork. ‘Doesn’t seem very fair to the poor guy . . .’
‘He’ll be fine,’ Liv assured her. ‘You’re the one always telling me it’s only coffee, not a marriage proposal.’
‘But at least you should be honest with him.’
‘It’s only coffee,’ Liv repeated, mildly exasperated.
Madeleine just shrugged her shoulders in response.
‘Boy,’ Liv was shaking her head, ‘I thought you’d be excited. In fact, I thought I was going to have to hold you back from turning yours into a double wedding.’
‘Hardly,’ Madeleine sniggered.
Liv looked at her. ‘Is something up?’
‘No, nothing’s up. Nothing’s ever up. Everything’s the same. Day in, day out.’
‘How very nihilistic of you,’ said Liv. ‘Am I sensing a little trouble in paradise?’
‘Nope, because that would mean something had happened, and nothing ever happens.’
‘All right.’ Liv stopped cutting into her salmon. ‘Spit it out, Mad. What’s going on?’
‘Nothing, that’s what I’m trying to say.’ Madeleine sighed. ‘Since Aiden came to stay –’
‘Uh-oh.’
Madeleine blinked. ‘What do you mean by that?’
‘What?’
‘That “uh-oh”?’
‘I was just wondering what Aiden has to do with it,’ said Liv.
‘What are you implying?’
‘Why do think I’m implying something?’
‘Because nothing’s happened with Aiden.’
‘I wasn’t implying that.’ Liv was clearly shocked. ‘Why would you even go there?’
‘I didn’t,’ Madeleine said, flustered. ‘I thought you . . . Oh, jeez, this is confusing.’
‘Then stop speaking in riddles, precious,’ said Liv. ‘You sound like Gollum in The Hobbit.’
Madeleine took a breath. ‘All right. I mentioned Aiden because we’ve had so much fun with him staying with us. He and Henry have all these in-jokes, they clown around. Henry’s not like that with me. Maybe I don’t bring out the best in him.’
Liv snorted. ‘What are you talking about? He adores you.’
‘That’s not what I said. I’m just not sure we bring out the best in each other.’
‘Are you kidding me?’ said Liv. ‘You’re a different person since you’ve been with Henry.’
‘Yes, a quieter, more sedate, more boring person.’
‘You’re not boring.’
‘Maybe I mean bored.’
Liv put down her knife and fork. ‘Is this as serious as you’re making it sound?’
‘No . . . I don’t know,’ said Madeleine. ‘I love that Henry’s so solid –’
‘He’s your rock, that’s what you always say.’
‘I know, but that also makes him impervious, inflexible, resistant to change.’
‘But you just said yourself that he livened up around Aiden. He’s obviously not completely inflexible. You’re yoyoing all over the place, Mad, like you’re looking for problems.’ Liv clicked her fingers. ‘That’s it!’
‘That’s what?’
‘That’s exactly what you’re doing.’
Madeleine wasn’t following.
‘You’re looking for problems,’ said Liv. ‘A few weeks out from the wedding, this is classic cold feet behaviour.’
‘I don’t know . . . You think?’
‘I do. You’re blowing even the slightest thing out of proportion, looking at everything through a long-range lens, asking yourself, “Is this what it’s going to be like forever? Can I do this for the rest of my life?” You should be more worried about the things you can’t see coming.’
Madeleine looked askance at her.
‘Sorry, that’s not helpful,’ Liv dismissed. ‘Look, I don’t know what to tell you, except there is no doubt in my mind that you and Henry are going to live happily ever after. I’d bet my house on it.’
‘Is that the way you felt right before your wedding?’
‘God no,’ said Liv. ‘I’ve told you before, I didn’t even want to get married.’
Madeleine sighed, resting her chin on her hand.
‘Look, there’s no comparison, Mad, it’s apples and oranges, and you know it. Like you always say, Henry’s solid, he’s one of the good ones, he’s not going to let you down. Rick . . . he’s not even in the same ballpark.’
‘Speaking of whom, what are you going to do about him?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Liv. ‘I guess I’m just going to have to keep him at bay until he finds the next girl silly enough to take up with him.’
‘You should look for some girls whose names start with D,’ Madeleine suggested. ‘Introduce them.’
Liv smiled. ‘I’ve got my own problems right now. My mother’s coming to dinner tonight, and I have no idea what I’m going to cook.’
‘I wouldn’t stress,’ said Madeleine. ‘From what you’ve said, nothing will be good enough anyway, so it doesn’t matter what you serve her.’
5.30 pm
Liv only wished it worked like that. She was wandering along, scanning the shelves of meat at the supermarket, waiting for something to jump out and grab her. Actually, after she got over the initial shock, she’d be quite happy if one of these plastic-wrapped packs leapt into her trolley of its own accord – better than having to make the decision herself. She would never again complain about cooking if her fridge was neatly stocked with the ingredients for each night’s dinner. Better still, have all the ingredients chopped, measured and ready in those little glass dishes the TV chefs use . . . Even better still, have the ‘Here’s one I prepared earlier’ option appear magically . . .
‘Excuse me!’
Liv looked up into a very unhappy face, glaring at her. Liv was blocking the free-range chicken section, and obviously ruining this woman’s life in the process.
‘Sorry!’ she chirped, moving on.
Deciding what to have for dinner with her parents coming was a nightmare. She could feed the boys almost anything, as long as it was served by the shovel, but her parents weren’t so easy to please; in fact, her mother was almost impossible to please. She insisted they weren’t fussy eaters, but this very insistence on unfussy food made them fussier than anyone else Liv knew. The safest option tonight would be a baked dinner, one might think, but only if Liv cooked it exactly the same way as her mother would. Sprigs of fresh rosemary were ‘fancy’ and regarded with suspicion, a slight on dried packet rosemary. A leg of lamb, while traditional, was extravagant these days. And one doesn’t roast vegetables such as carrots and brussels sprouts! For goodness sakes, they were meant to be boiled to death on the stovetop.
But if Liv were to serve her parents the kind of food she and the boys normally ate – a stir-fry, for example – that would freak them out, especially her father. Even spag bol was a little too exotic, though at least it was mostly mince; if she didn’t go too heavy on the tomato sauce, and left out the garlic, it might be acceptable, albeit too bland for everyone else. Then Liv spotted a tray of lamb shanks. Bingo! She could serve them with mashed potatoes and green beans to make a good old-fashioned meal. Her mother would never guess how expensive they were these days, or how ‘fancy’.
‘Well, it’s a long time since I’ve had a lamb shank, love,’ said her father, sitting back and giving his stomach a pat. ‘That was beaut.’
‘Yeah, Ma, it was totes amazeballs,’ said Lachie.
‘Can we have that again?’ Dylan asked.
‘I’ll second that,’ said her father. ‘What do you think, Joy? Olive, you’ll give your mother the recipe, won’t you?’
Liv cringed inside, while her mother remained tight-lipped. She had been unusually quiet throughout dinner, because, Liv suspected, the lamb shanks had been such a success. She hadn’t been able to find anything to criticise . . . oh, except the portion size.
‘This is way too much for me,’ she’d declared when Liv set the plate down in front of her.
‘Don’t worry, Mum, I’m sure Lachie will be happy to finish off anything you can’t manage.’
‘You might have to fight me for it, Lachie,’ his pop chuckled.
‘Well, let’s see how I go first,’ said Joy. ‘Olive seems to be able to manage a very large portion, so I might be all right.’
Liv sometimes looked wistfully at mothers and daughters out and about together, shopping, at the movies, apparently enjoying each other’s company. They didn’t have to be best friends – Madeleine and her mother didn’t do an awful lot together, and poor old Margs was a bit dithery, but she was the sweetest woman on earth, and she clearly loved her daughters. Liv envied that; she didn’t know why she and her mother had never had that kind of relationship. Maybe it was her fault? But she’d certainly never known anyone so ill-suited to their given name.
Before Liv could start to clear up, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.
Joy looked concerned. ‘Who could that be, so late?’
It was seven o’clock. ‘I’ll go find out,’ said Liv, getting to her feet.
‘You answer the door at this time of night?’ said her mother. ‘That’s not a very safe practice, Olive.’
‘But I know you’ve all got my back.’
At least that got a laugh out of Lachie and Dylan.
As she walked up the hall, Liv was a little intrigued as to who would be visiting right on dinnertime. But when she opened the door, intrigue quickly gave way to irritation.
‘Hi, Livvie,’ Rick said expansively as he went in for the swoop-and-kiss manoeuvre again.
Liv managed to sidestep it this time. ‘What are you doing here?’ she demanded.
‘Just visiting.’
‘I asked you to call first, Rick.’
‘But I was already out this way, and I needed to talk to you about something.’
Liv crossed her arms. ‘It’s not a good time.’
‘Why, is your boyfriend here?’ he sniggered. Dick.
‘No, my parents are.’
His face lit up and he called down the hall, ‘Joy, Ken!’
‘Is that you, Rick?’
‘Yes, Joy,’ he cried, pushing past Liv. She gritted her teeth as she closed the door and walked down the hall to join the family reunion. Her parents had both sprung to their feet, delighted to greet the prodigal son-in-law. It got her goat how they made such a song and dance around him. Never mind that he was the arsehole who had cheated on their daughter, and effectively their grandsons; he was a man, and a man had to be shown respect, even fawned over.
‘Have you eaten, Rick?’ Joy was aski
ng.
‘Your wife cooked some ripper lamb shanks for us tonight,’ Ken added.
‘There’s none left,’ Liv said flatly. ‘You guys ate the lot.’
‘So awesome, Dad,’ said Lachie.
‘I’m sure we could put together a plate of something,’ Joy said, beginning to scuttle her way around the table to the kitchen.
Liv stopped her. ‘Rick can’t stay, Mum.’
‘Well –’
‘No, no, it’s fine, Rick, you mustn’t feel obliged,’ Liv said over the top of him. ‘You see, Carly is expecting him. It’d be terribly rude to keep her waiting. You remember Carly, Mum and Dad? Now that I think of it, you’ve never met her, have you? She and Rick live together.’
Ah, that was the uncomfortable silence she was going for.
‘Say goodnight to your father, boys, you’ll see him on the weekend. And I’ll walk you out, Rick.’
They said their farewells and Rick followed her back down the hall to the front door, probably pouting, but she had her back to him, so she couldn’t care less. She opened the door. ‘We’ll talk outside,’ she said, waiting for him to pass. Then she stepped out and pulled the door to behind her. She wasn’t going to have her mother trying to listen in.
‘That was a bit mean,’ said Rick, shoving his hands in his pockets.
‘You ambush me like that, and I’ll do what I have to do.’
‘Ambush you . . .’ he scoffed, as though she’d just made a joke.
‘Rick, you really have to stop this,’ Liv said firmly. ‘You’re showing a complete disregard for my wishes, and absolutely no respect for me. If you think this is going to get you anywhere, you’re seriously deluded. I don’t respond to bullying.’
He stared at her. ‘I would never bully you.’
‘Um, correction, you frequently have, and you’re doing it right now.’
He looked a little shocked. That was the thing about Rick, he believed his own press that he was a great guy, universally adored by all.
The Best Man Page 15