Not Quite Perfect

by Annie Lyons

  ‘Of course it is. She kissed Tom.’

  ‘How do you know that?’

  ‘I heard her and Daddy talking. I’m not stupid.’

  ‘You’re certainly not that, Lils. Now listen, you have to understand that grown-ups aren’t perfect, so don’t be too hard on your mum. She loves you and she and your dad will always look after you and do their best, OK?’

  Lily sighs. ‘OK, but when I’m a grown-up, I’m not going to lie to my children. I will always tell the truth and I won’t let things get complicated.’

  Emma smiles. ‘Well, good for you, Lils. I hope you manage it.’

  Rachel comes rushing back in a high state of excitement. ‘Guess what?’

  ‘You forgot to buy coffees?’ says Emma, staring with disappointment at her empty hands.

  ‘No, well yes, but this is much more important. I just had a call from Daniel!’ Emma looks blank. ‘Daniel? My old boss? You know how you told me to e-mail my old contacts to see if anything was going. Well, he’s got a project for me! He wants me to start next month and the best bit is, I can do it all at home. I just have to go into the office for briefing meetings. How fantastic is that?’

  Emma folds her sister in a hug. ‘Rach, that is brilliant news. Good for you!’

  ‘Does that mean you’ll stop shouting at us?’ says Lily unimpressed.

  ‘Hopefully Lils!’ cries Rachel hugging her daughter.

  ‘Excuse me?’ says a slightly irritated voice behind them. ‘There’s a check-in desk free.’

  ‘Sorry!’ trills Rachel smiling manically.

  Emma watches Lily and Rachel disappear towards the Arrivals Hall and wonders if she’ll ever have children of her own. She glances at her phone, half-expecting a text or a call from Martin but knows she’s probably being foolish. They have been exchanging e-mails over the past few months, ever since Miranda offered the sabbatical to the New York offices. She had been hesitant at first but Miranda had been encouraging. ‘I think you could do with some time away, dear heart. It is a great opportunity as well and much as I will miss you, I think you will adore it over there. But if you come back speaking like an American, I will have to sack you!’ When she told Martin of her plans in an e-mail, he had given her no reason to turn it down. ‘OK, let me know what you want to do about the house,’ he had replied without any hint of emotion. They had agreed to let it for the time being and Martin had cleared out the rest of his things one evening when Emma was out with Rachel. When she returned home, she found a photograph on the table. It was taken the day she, Martin, Steve, Rachel and her father had taken Will to a football match. Her father has his arm around his girls with Steve and Martin on the outside and a grinning Will standing in front of them all. Martin had left a note with it: ‘I found this and thought you might like to take it to New York with you.’ Emma had wept at the sight of them all and felt wretched with longing for the happy days she had taken for granted. She showed Rachel a few nights later and after a couple of glasses of wine, Rachel had made her e-mail Martin. Emma wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do but after she had written down how she was feeling and pressed send she’d felt better somehow. That was a week ago and she hadn’t heard from him since.

  Suddenly, her niece emerges like a bullet from a gun, dragging someone by the hand.

  ‘Look who we’ve found. It’s Daddy! It’s my Daddy!’

  ‘Like a scene from The Railway Children,’ says Rachel, emerging alongside them smiling.

  ‘Hey, stranger,’ says Emma pecking Steve on the cheek. ‘And bye, stranger.’

  He smiles. ‘Bye, Em. Good luck.’

  Emma kneels down to kiss Lily. ‘Now remember, Lils, I’m relying on you to look after everyone while I’m away. You’re the only one for the job.’

  Lily nods gravely. ‘I love you, Auntie Em,’ she says, wrapping her aunt in a tight little hug.

  ‘I love you too, Lils,’ says Emma, blinking back tears.

  ‘Hey tart-face,’ says Rachel. ‘No weeping.’ She clings on to her sister for a long moment and whispers in her ear. ‘I’ll miss you, Em.’

  ‘Me too,’ says Emma. After a moment she pulls away and cries, ‘Later, slag-bag, and don’t forget, you’re coming for a debauched weekend of Cosmopolitans, Sex and the City-style!’

  Rachel smiles and nods, brushing away a stray tear. Emma gives them a final wave before turning and disappearing into the jostling crowd.

  ‘So,’ says Rachel. ‘Who wants to go home then?’

  ‘Only if Daddy is coming.’

  ‘Of course Daddy is coming. It’s still his home too,’ says Rachel, looking up at Steve for backup. The last few months have been the hardest of Rachel’s life with Steve staying at his Mum’s, although he came round to see the children and help put them to bed as many nights as possible. Some evenings he stayed for a beer or a cup of tea and a chat but he always left at around nine o’clock. She hated it when he left and loathed going up to a cold empty bed. Some nights Alfie climbed in next to her and she let him stay, grateful for a human form in the bed beside her. She told herself that she had to give Steve time and space and let him sort things out for himself. It went against her usual analysing and problem-solving nature but she had this feeling that if she pressured him, she would lose him for ever. When he started his new job, his working patterns changed and he wasn’t always free in the evenings, plus he had to go on a few overseas trips. Rachel had always offered to pick him up from the airport but he had declined the first few times. Last week he had phoned from Singapore to speak to the children but they were all immersed in the television so Rachel had got the lion’s share of the conversation.

  ‘How’s Singapore?’ she had asked.

  ‘Sweaty. And busy,’ he said.

  ‘Sounds heavenly. Have you been to Raffles?’

  ‘Of course. Our client took us there on the first night. You would have loved it, especially the Singapore Slings.’

  Rachel laughed. ‘So when are you back?’ she asked trying to sound casual.

  ‘Next Thursday. Actually –’

  ‘Yes?’ she blurted hopefully.

  ‘I wondered if you wanted to come and meet me maybe with Lils and Alf if you’re free?’

  Yes I’m free, I’m free, I’ll be there! Rachel wanted to cry. ‘We’ll be there,’ she said, trying to keep her voice calm.

  ‘I want to come home, Rach.’

  Rachel couldn’t hold back the tears. ‘Oh Steve,’ was all she could say, her voice cracked with emotion.

  ‘I’ll see you on Thursday then,’ he said. She could hear the relief in his voice.

  Steve picks up Lily and kisses her. ‘Yes, I’m coming home, Lils.’

  ‘For ever?’ says Lily with a furrowed brow.

  ‘Well, apart from when I have to go to work.’

  ‘Yay!’ she cries, squeezing him tightly round the neck.

  He grins at his wife. ‘Let’s go home, shall we?’ he says.

  ‘Yes please,’ says Rachel, wrapping an arm round his middle and leading them towards the exit.

  Emma finds her seat and is thankful to be by the window. She stows her hand luggage in the overhead locker and stashes everything she needs for the journey in the pocket in front of her. She retrieves her phone and checks for messages – still nothing from Martin. She feels a little hurt, although she knows she has no right. She flicks to her e-mails and notices that Miranda has sent out a note about her move to New York. She has received a raft of well-wishing responses. She scans them and is amused to find one from Digby addressed to Ella.

  She clicks on a message from Joel:

  All the best to you, Emma. Thought you might like to see the synopsis for the MBS title I am currently working on. Could be of interest to your new American colleagues. Regards, Joel.

  Emma clicks on the attachment and is taken aback to find a grinning picture of Joel under the title Get A Grip On Your Life, Loser! She immediately forwards it to the editorial team at Allen Chandler under the heading
‘Takes one to know one’.

  She notices an e-mail from her mother, who is taking lessons on the internet from Rachel. She snorts with laughter as she reads:

  Be careful and try to avoid as many Americans as possible unless they look like James Stewart. Come home soon, Mum x.

  Emma smiles at her mother’s attempt at affection and then switches off her phone and closes her eyes. She is just drifting off when she hears a voice next to her.

  ‘Excuse me, is this seat taken?’

  She opens her eyes and is surprised and delighted to be looking up into Martin’s handsome face. ‘Martin! What are you doing here?’

  He sits down next to her and gives a little cough. ‘Oh, you know, I was just passing,’ he says with a wry grin.

  ‘Martin, we are sitting on an aeroplane bound for New York.’

  He nods sagely. ‘Well, I haven’t had a holiday in ages.’

  She grins at him. ‘What does this mean?’ she asks.

  ‘You tell me.’

  ‘Did you get my e-mail?’

  ‘I did. Did you mean it?’ He turns to look at her, studying her face. She suddenly feels as if she’s looking at him for the first time in her life and she likes what she sees.

  She leans forwards and kisses him and the feeling that surges through her body is warm and wonderful. She breaks away to look at him again and realises for the first time in her life that she is exactly where she wants to be.

  ‘I meant every word,’ she says.

  CARINA™

  ISBN: 978 1 472 01712 3

  Not Quite Perfect

  Copyright © Annie Peters 2013

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