by Tracy Bloom
‘No!’ shouted Katy, moving to block his path. ‘You can’t leave us alone together. It’s . . . it’s not right.’
Daniel looked down on her and smiled.
‘I was so hoping you’d say that.’ He sat back down in his chair with a grin and motioned Matthew to carry on. ‘I really didn’t want to miss this.’
‘It’s Ben,’ Matthew began.
‘Ben!’ exclaimed Katy. ‘What about Ben?’
‘Well, he’s been spending a lot of time with Alison, and I need you to put a stop to it.’
Katy didn’t say anything for a good few seconds, then she burst out laughing.
‘Is this your idea of a joke, Daniel?’ she said eventually, once she had calmed down.
‘No,’ said Daniel. ‘I admit that a teeny-weeny bit of me wishes it was, but no. This is nothing to do with me, I can assure you.’
Katy turned back to Matthew. ‘You’re not serious, are you? There’s no way Ben would be spending time with Alison. He doesn’t even like her. He thinks she’s, well, a bit stuck-up.’
‘Stuck-up!’ cried Matthew. ‘That’s rich, that is.’ He began to pace the room. ‘Well, he’s not calling her that any more. She’s on bloody cloud nine because he called her eye candy.’
‘Eye- candy!’ Katy exploded. ‘Ben called Alison eye candy? Don’t be so ridiculous!’
‘Yes, he did. I believe it’s what’s known as flirting.’ Matthew threw a questioning glance over at Daniel, who nodded his agreement.
‘I would concur that yes, calling someone eye candy constitutes flirting.’
‘No,’ said Katy, shaking her head violently. ‘I don’t believe you. You’ve got him mixed up with someone else, hasn’t he, Daniel? Ben’s been acting strange, but that’s because there’s something going on with Abby, not Alison.’
‘Abby?’ asked Matthew. ‘Who’s Abby?’
‘A friend of Charlene’s that Ben kissed on Saturday night,’ Daniel replied helpfully.
‘What?’ cried Matthew. ‘He’s stringing two women along as well as you, Katy?’ He turned to face her in bewilderment.
‘No, it’s not like that,’ Katy said defensively. ‘You’ve got it all wrong about Alison. He hasn’t been seeing her. He wouldn’t go within a million miles of her, or you, after what happened.’ She looked away, embarrassed, unable to hold his gaze. ‘Alison must be making it up. Why on earth would Ben want to spend time with your wife?’
‘Because of you,’ spat Matthew. ‘Because you left Ben right in it. She’s been helping him learn how to look after your baby whilst you’re at work. Got himself in a right mess, apparently. Alison stepped in and offered to help, and ever since then they’ve been getting together so Ben can learn all about babies.’
Katy stared back at him with her mouth open.
‘No,’ she muttered eventually. ‘He wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t turn to Alison. Anyone but her. Why didn’t he ask me?’
‘You said yourself, you were pretty clueless,’ offered Daniel.
‘You are allowed to be present but not heard,’ shouted Katy.
‘Okay,’ said Daniel, sinking down in his seat.
Matthew took a step forward and placed both his hands on the back of a chair.
‘He’s been to our house, Katy. He . . . he . . .’
‘He what?’ demanded Katy, starting to panic.
‘He filmed my wife,’ Matthew paused, struggling to get the words out, ‘p-peeling . . .’
‘Oh my God,’ gasped Daniel, unable to contain his excitement. ‘Sorry,’ he said when Katy gave him a glare. He clapped his hand over his mouth to prevent himself saying anything else.
‘Carrots,’ said Matthew, glancing at Daniel. ‘Peeling carrots.’
‘Carrots!’ exclaimed Daniel. ‘I thought . . .’ he stopped. ‘It doesn’t matter what I thought, does it?’ he said meekly.
‘And he called her eye candy,’ declared Matthew again. ‘He had the gall to call her eye candy.’
‘I have to ask if this was whilst she was peeling the carrot?’ enquired Daniel quietly.
‘I don’t know,’ boomed Matthew.
Katy had sat down. She replayed the last few weeks’ events in her mind and realised it made perfect sense that Ben had been getting some outside help with Millie. It explained why he’d been so resistant to filling her in on anything he’d been up to during the long daytime hours spent with Millie. What made no sense at all was that this assistance had come from Alison, a woman whose complete lack of sense of humour Ben had barely tolerated during their antenatal classes and whom Ben had hoped never to meet again once the truth about Katy and Matthew’s liaison had been revealed.
She looked up at Matthew and shook her head again.
‘It doesn’t make any sense,’ she said quietly. ‘Why Alison, of all people?’
‘He’s with her now,’ said Matthew. ‘Alison told me this morning he’s coming round. She said something about a steriliser.’
‘Steriliser!’ gasped Katy and Daniel.
‘That’s right. And sleeping routines.’
‘Oh,’ said Katy.
The term ‘sleeping routine’ had not been in their vocabulary, since Millie appeared to be one of those babies who didn’t have one. That was until this past week, when sleeping routines had been mentioned several times by Ben, out of nowhere. The phrase smacked of the uber-organised Alison, who had shared her military-style preparations for the arrival of her twins with everyone at the antenatal classes they’d attended together. Katy, on the other hand, had remained in denial that there was a human being on the way right up until the eleventh hour.
‘Alison is A!’ she exclaimed suddenly.
‘What?’ asked Matthew.
‘Ben’s been getting texts from someone called A. It must be Alison.’
‘Well, she was certainly texting him on Friday night whilst we were trying to have a civilised dinner at Grants.’
‘Ben and I were out on Friday night,’ said Katy, her head snapping up. ‘They were texting each other then?’
‘They were indeed. She actually – and I cannot believe I’m saying this – but Alison actually texted him at the dinner table.’
Katy stood up abruptly.
‘They’re together at your house now, you say?’ she demanded.
‘Yes,’ Matthew confirmed. ‘You realise that we have to put a stop to this, don’t you, Katy? We cannot let this continue.’
‘Well, what are we waiting for, then? Let’s go.’
‘Now?’
‘Yes, now.’ Katy turned to Daniel. ‘Tell Crispy Bix I had a family crisis. You can handle them, can’t you?’
‘Can’t I come?’ whined Daniel.
‘No,’ Matthew and Katy replied simultaneously.
‘I think you’re making a serious mistake if you don’t let me come with you.’
‘We don’t need an audience,’ said Matthew. ‘Come on, Katy. Let’s sort this out right now.’
‘Are you sure that’s wise?’ questioned Daniel. ‘I mean, think about it. Do you seriously think it’s a good idea to arrive at your house alone together, given your history? It won’t be them looking like the guilty party, but you.’
Matthew and Katy looked at each other. Matthew shrugged.
‘I suppose he has a point,’ he said.
‘Yes,’ said Daniel, giving a small fist pump. ‘Sean can handle the meeting. I’ll get my coat.’
‘I’m sorry for your loss,’ the receptionist shouted over to Katy and Matthew as they emerged from the lift.
‘What?’ asked Katy.
‘She’s in shock,’ said Matthew, hurrying Katy past the receptionist. ‘I’m just taking her out for some fresh air.’
‘Hold all calls,’ waved Daniel, skipping after them. ‘We are in the midst of crisis.’
Chapter Twenty-Nine
There was a loud noise coming from inside Alison’s house. This was unusual. Normally it was an oasis of calm and serenity, but as Ben stood on the do
orstep carrying Millie in her car seat, he could hear something thumping really hard inside. In fact the noise was so loud that he had to ring the doorbell several times before anyone came to get him.
‘Come in,’ Alison shouted at him when she eventually opened the door. ‘We’re playing the Arctic Monkeys VERY LOUD,’ she continued with a grin, ‘to get ourselves in the mood for doing the next video.’
‘Okay,’ Ben shouting back, wishing she would turn it down.
‘Come on through,’ she yelled. ‘We’ve been waiting for you.’
Ben bent to get Millie out of the car seat then traipsed after Alison into the kitchen, where she thankfully turned the music down so they could at least hear themselves think.
‘I phoned Charlene yesterday,’ she announced, as Ben laid Millie carefully on a rug next to Rebecca and George.
‘Did you?’
‘Yes, I told her she could use my video, and she was really pleased. Then she had a brilliant idea.’
‘Really?’ said Ben, standing up. ‘Charlene?’
‘I’m going to do a proper website,’ Alison said, beaming. ‘For people just like you. With clear, simple instructions about looking after a newborn. Nothing complicated, just the basics, like you said. So you can get on with enjoying having a baby.’
‘Sounds brilliant,’ said Ben, amazed at how excited she seemed and delighted that his cunning plan to keep getting advice from Alison might actually work.
‘And Charlene suggested a name,’ she continued. ‘But I’m not quite sure about it.’
‘Okay,’ said Ben. ‘Hit me with it.
‘The Dummies and Daddies’ Guide to Babies,’ she announced.
There was silence as she scrutinised Ben for a reaction.
‘It’s brilliant,’ he declared.
‘But does anyone really want to be branded a dummy?’ she asked uncertainly.
‘Of course they do. Being branded a dummy allows you to declare you know absolutely bugger all. Everyone assumes you simply know how to look after a baby, don’t they? We’re all dummies when we start, and no-one should be afraid of admitting that.’
‘Right.’ Alison nodded thoughtfully. ‘Well, that’s that then. The website has a name.’
‘Wow,’ said Ben. ‘Get you.’
‘I know,’ said Alison. ‘Who’d have thought you coming back into my life would have led to this?’
‘Life is very weird,’ agreed Ben. ‘Now, shall I teach you how to make your first film for your very own website?’
‘Oh yes,’ she grinned. ‘Please do.’
After Alison had taken a full twenty minutes to determine how to lay Ben’s steriliser out in the most helpful fashion and when Ben had finally worked out how to attach Alison’s phone to a small tripod he’d acquired for the purpose, they were ready to roll.
‘So how do I look?’ she asked, just as they were about to start.
He glanced over at her. She did look different, somehow, but he couldn’t work out why. She seemed younger, more relaxed.
‘Charlene said I needed to look less like Mary Poppins,’ said Alison. ‘I needed to appear more approachable, less threatening.’
‘Just like a Blue Peter presenter,’ declared Ben. That was what was different. Her shirt was fitted but open at the collar and was a vivid aqua blue. She was wearing jeans that he’d never seen her in before and her blonde hair was in a ponytail rather than her usual super-sleek, shoulder-length bob.
‘It suits you,’ he told her. ‘Really it does.’
‘Still a bit of eye candy?’ she asked with a small smile.
‘Oh, most definitely eye candy,’ he confirmed. When she relaxed like this, Alison really wasn’t half bad. He’d actually quite miss her. If it hadn’t been for the fact that it was all too complicated, then it was entirely possible they might have become friends.
‘Right,’ he said, standing up straight. ‘Are we ready? Shall we shoot a rehearsal and see how it comes out? Then you can have a go at setting it up yourself. Ready?’
Alison cleared her throat and nodded, smiling into the camera.
‘So in three, two, one, ACTION.’
‘I don’t fucking believe it!’ came a gruff voice from the doorway into the hall.
‘Matthew!’ exclaimed Alison. She looked up, her pink, glossy lips forming a perfectly shocked circle shape. ‘What are you doing home?’
Ben froze, his back to Matthew. Fuck. It was happening. His worst nightmare.
‘Katy! Why are you here?’ was the next thing he heard Alison yelp. Ben spun round to see Katy’s head poking out from behind Matthew’s shoulder in the kitchen doorway.
He gasped at the sight of them together. He’d never expected to be confronted by that vision again.
‘Filming my wife, in my own home. What kind of weirdo are you?’ said Matthew, advancing towards Ben.
‘What are you doing here together?’ Ben asked, searching Katy’s face for an explanation as Matthew loomed over him. He looked over to Alison. What did she see? He saw a disaster waiting to happen. Did she see it? This could not, would not, end well, and the most likely casualty was going to be her, given that she was the only person in the room who had no idea of the secrets and lies compiled between the other three.
The image of Matthew in the labour room came flooding back to him, fighting him tooth and nail to convince Katy that she should ditch Ben for him. Was that his plan? He was back again to battle for Katy, but right in front of Alison this time?
‘Don’t do it,’ he said instinctively.
‘Don’t do what?’ challenged Matthew. ‘Tell you to stop harassing my wife, to stop taking advantage of her?’
‘Oh, that’s brilliant coming from you,’ he couldn’t help but throw back. ‘I have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about, unlike . . . unlike . . .’ He petered out, realising he was entering dangerous territory. ‘And you haven’t answered my question. What are you both doing here together?’
‘We have Daniel with us,’ said Katy, standing on tiptoe to be seen over Matthew’s shoulder. ‘He’s here in the hall,’ she said directly to Ben.
‘Hello, one and all,’ came a high-pitched shout from somewhere out in the hall.
‘We weren’t . . . nothing . . . is going on,’ Katy continued, glancing nervously at Alison. ‘But quite clearly there is something going on here.’
‘Hang on a minute,’ said Alison, stepping out from behind the island to stand beside Ben. ‘I’ll tell you exactly what’s going on here, Katy. We are two stay-at-home parents pulling together in Ben’s hour of need when his fiancée couldn’t be bothered to be there for him.’
‘Excuse me,’ said Katy, pushing past Matthew to square up to Alison. ‘Is that what Ben’s been telling you?’
‘He didn’t have to,’ said Alison. ‘You ran back to work as fast as you could and left him stranded.’
‘You don’t have to defend me,’ said Ben, laying a hand on Alison’s arm.
Katy stood in shock at the contact between them.
‘I didn’t just leave him,’ she said. ‘He wanted to do it.’
‘Well, it’s just a good job I was there to do what you should have been doing,’ said Alison, putting her hands defiantly on her hips. ‘I’m sure Ben will agree with me.’
Katy felt her jaw drop slightly. Sickening thoughts were pouring into her head. Do what exactly? Be a mum, a partner? Or a lover? Surely not? She looked at Ben. He was studying the floor, failing to defend her.
‘Ben?’ she said. He looked up but didn’t say anything. ‘What’s going on?’ she asked.
‘Yes, Ben,’ said Matthew. ‘What has been going on?’
‘Nothing,’ Ben shouted back, almost speechless. ‘How can you two even think . . . how can you even dare to . . .’
‘You called her eye candy!’ accused Matthew.
Ben gasped.
‘No, I didn’t. Not really,’ he protested.
‘You did,’ cried Alison, turning to Ben.
‘I di
dn’t mean it like that,’ he said to her, then turned back to Matthew. ‘I was just trying to make her crack a smile, relax a bit, that’s all. Make her feel good. Alison isn’t . . . I wouldn’t . . . isn’t really what I’d call eye candy.’
There was a sudden flash of movement as though someone had turned the lights off and on really quickly, and the next minute both Alison and Katy were screaming as Ben fell to the floor, luckily onto the floral patterned rug, avoiding babies lying under baby gyms.
‘You hit me,’ exclaimed Ben, his hand flying to his lip and finding a smattering of blood.
‘Yes, I bloody well did,’ said Matthew, his jaw set and fists clenched at his sides. ‘Nobody insults Alison like that,’ he said firmly. ‘I think you’ll find that my wife is actually eye candy.’
‘Oh Matthew,’ gasped Alison, turning her attention away from Ben lying on the floor to gape at her husband. ‘I . . . I . . .’
‘But you are not his eye candy, nor anyone else’s for that matter. You are my eye candy,’ said Matthew, stepping forward and grasping Alison by the shoulders and staring deeply into her eyes.
Alison’s hands flew up to her mouth, her eyes wide in surprise.
‘You’re my eye candy and my wife too,’ he continued, ‘but I need you to just be my wife sometimes. Not a mother, not a teacher, not a helper, just my wife, Alison. Because I need her. I want her. I love her.’
Alison blinked back at him.
‘Will you be my wife, Alison?’ he urged, shaking her slightly by the shoulders.
‘I will,’ she whispered. ‘Oh Matthew,’ she said, stepping forward and falling into his arms.
Matthew closed his eyes and embraced her as silence fell on the room. When he opened his eyes again he fixed Ben with a glare over Alison’s shoulder then pushed her gently away from him and looked her in the eye.
‘So I think you should go now,’ he said to her.
‘What, me?’ she asked, startled.
‘Go on. You’re going out. I’m looking after Rebecca and George today.’
‘What, now?’
‘Yes. I presume your spreadsheet is on the desktop of the laptop?’
‘Yes, but—’