Perfect Wives

by Emma Hannigan

  Copyright © 2013 Emma Hannigan

  The right of Emma Hannigan to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  First published in 2013 by HACHETTE BOOKS IRELAND

  This Ebook edition published in 2014 by HEADLINE REVIEW

  An imprint of HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP

  Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

  All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library

  Cover photographs © Plainpicture

  Cover: www.headdesign.co.uk

  eISBN: 978 1 4722 0997 9

  HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP

  An Hachette UK Company

  338 Euston Road

  London NW1 3BH

  www.headline.co.uk

  www.hachette.co.uk

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  About the Author

  Also by Emma Hannigan

  About the Book

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Epilogue

  Exclusive extract of The Summer Guest

  About the Author

  Emma Hannigan is the author of six bestselling novels, including Keeping Mum and Driving Home for Christmas, and a bestelling memoir Talk to the Headscarf, which charts her journey through cancer. Emma lives in Bray, Ireland, with her husband and two children.

  For more about Emma, visit her website www.emmahannigan.com, find her on Facebook at AuthorEmmaHannigan, or follow her on Twitter @MsEmmaHannigan.

  Also by Emma Hannigan

  Keeping Mum

  The Pink Ladies Club

  Miss Conceived

  Designer Genes

  Driving Home for Christmas

  Perfect Wives

  Talk to the Headscarf

  About the Book

  When actress Jodi Ludlum returns to the Dublin village of Bakers Valley to raise her young son, she’s determined to shield him from the media glare that follows her in LA. But coming home means leaving her husband behind – and waking old ghosts … Francine Hennessy was born and raised in Bakers Valley. To all appearances, she is the model wife, mother, home-maker and career woman. But, behind closed doors, Francine’s life is crumbling around her. As Jodi struggles to conceal her secrets and Francine faces some shocking news, the two become unlikely confidants. Suddenly having the perfect life seems less important than finding friendship, and the perfect place to belong …

  For my perfect husband, Cian.

  With love from

  your perfect wife!

  Acknowledgements

  As always I have so many wonderful people to thank. This book wouldn’t exist without the wonderful team at Hachette Books Ireland. Sweeping bowing gestures to my fabulous editor, Ciara Doorley. Your encouragement is awesome! It’s such a pleasure to work with you. Special thanks also to Hazel Orme for her careful and fastidious copy-editing skills. To Breda, Jim, Ruth, Joanna, Bernard, Siobhan and all the Hachette team, I am waving, blowing kisses and saluting you. Thank you all.

  Huge thanks to my agent, Sheila Crowley of Curtis Brown UK. As always you are my cheerleader. I am so grateful.

  No words would be written without my parents. Quite apart from the fact that I literally wouldn’t exist without them, they keep me bolstered and buoyed, and are always on my side. My love and respect for you both is indescribable.

  Thanks to my perfect husband, Cian, my perfect son, Sacha, and my perfect daughter, Kim. Together we make up the most wonderful content and flawless family. We never raise our voices, slam doors, argue in the car first thing in the morning. No one in our house ever lies about who ate the goodies or attempts to blame it on the cat.

  I’m delighted with our version of perfect! The three of you are my sun, moon and stars. Also I’d like to take this opportunity to let you all know that it’s not illegal to empty the dishwasher or pick up dirty clothes off your own floor.

  Thanks to my extended family and amazing friends. I am blessed to have so much love and support in my world.

  Outside writing I enjoy my little dabbles on TV and radio. It gets me away from my desk and uses up some of my talking quota for the day! Special appreciation to Elaine Crowley, Declan Meehan, Ryan Tubridy, Mark Cagney and Sinead Desmond for having me on your shows and letting me babble, giggle and generally enjoy myself.

  I’m thankfully clear of cancer as I write this message. The people responsible for making me well are angels on earth. I know I am lucky to be alive. I cannot express how kind and wonderful the staff of Blackrock Clinic in Dublin are to me. I owe my life to Dr David Fennelly and his team, Dr Illeus, Sinead, Aoibheann and all the staff in the oncology day unit. Thanks to Liz for always chatting and making me laugh. Thanks to the ladies at the front desk for helping with my constantly lost car park tickets!

  Finally, I would like to give all my darling readers a massive cyber hug. I will never tire of the warm and fuzzy feeling that washes over me when I get a lovely letter, email, tweet or Facebook message from one of you. Each one lifts my spirits.

  I hope you all enjoy Perfect Wives. I have chosen this title as it makes me smile. We all know perfection doesn’t exist, right? Perfect Wives tells the tale of two unlikely friends who discover that being true to oneself is what really counts. But as many of us come to realise at one point or another, all that matters in life is happiness. I hope you love the characters as much as I do. I actually miss them now the book is finished! I wonder how they’re getting on … I hope they’re having a good day … Okay, I’ll stop now. The men in white coats will take me away.

  If you’d like to get in touch, I always love hearing from readers. You’ll find me at:

  www.emmahannigan.com

  @MsEmmaHannigan on twitter

  Author Emma Hannigan on Facebook.

  Have a great day!

  Love

  Emma x

  Chapter 1

  As she walked through the gate of Bakers Valley village school, trying to keep up with Saul, Jodi was overcome with fear. She’d been dreading his first day at the kindergarten. She kept her eyes down and her stride strong, praying that nobody would stop her and try to strike up a conversation. The small primary-coloured rucksack she’d slung over one shoulder seemed to weigh a ton. She’d tucked her wavy dark hair into a baseball cap and purposely dressed down, but a trickle of s
weat was dampening her back.

  ‘Hello! I’m Mr Matthews, and I’m teaching the kindergarten this year!’ He was a young man who wouldn’t have looked out of place on a One Direction poster. ‘So who do we have here, then?’

  Jodi was knocked off guard. She’d assumed the teacher would be a tiny shrew-like woman with a country accent and ruddy cheeks. The fresh-faced fellow with the lopsided grin who was welcoming her son was about as far away from the schoolmarm stereotype as it was possible to get.

  Before she had a chance to answer, Saul stepped forward and held his tiny right hand aloft. ‘I’m Saul Drew,’ he said, placing his left behind his back.

  The teacher bent down and shook his hand solemnly, then raised the other into the air for a high five. ‘Nice to meet you, buddy,’ he said, winking.

  ‘Are you from London, like me?’ Saul said. ‘You don’t talk like the ladies in the village.’

  ‘You’re dead right, Saul. I am from London. I only got this job a couple of weeks back. Miss Myrtle, the previous teacher, decided to retire.’

  ‘Mum and I only just moved here too. Maybe we can settle in together.’

  ‘That sounds like a plan!’ Mr Matthews agreed, and smiled up at Jodi.

  ‘Hi,’ Jodi said.

  ‘Hi, Mrs Drew,’ he said. ‘Looks like Saul and I are going to be helping each other out.’

  ‘Well, you’ll be in good hands, Mr Matthews. Saul and I have been really excited about today, haven’t we?’ she said, wrinkling her nose and smiling down at her son.

  ‘Why don’t you put your coat and bag over on the rack, Saul?’ Mr Matthews said, pointing to the wall. ‘Your name is on one of the hooks.

  ‘He’s certainly enthusiastic.’ Mr Matthews grinned, as Saul rushed to find his hook. ‘If all the little ones are as happy and bouncy as he is, I’ll be made up!’

  As he spoke, they both heard the sound of terrified sobs filtering into the room.

  ‘Excuse me,’ Mr Matthews said. ‘Looks like first-day fears are making themselves known.’

  ‘Aw, bless,’ Jodi said. ‘Nice to meet you anyway.’

  Saul was already busy chatting to another little boy at the coat rack, so Jodi stood over to the side of the room and peeped out from under her cap. It was obvious that many of the mothers and fathers knew each other and she figured they’d probably grown up together or had older children in the school. As she cast an eye over the room she noted that most of the children had both parents there to see them off. She hoped that wouldn’t upset Saul.

  ‘Mum, can you come and take a photo of my coat hook to text to Dad?’ Saul called.

  Jodi went over to him, fishing her phone out of a pocket, and dropped to her knees. ‘You know Daddy would be here with you too if he wasn’t stuck on set, don’t you?’ she whispered.

  ‘Yes, Mum,’ he said. ‘I’ll call him later and tell him all about it. We need to send the photo now, though. We promised.’

  ‘Sure did. Let’s be having you, then.’

  ‘Make sure you get my rucksack and my coat in the shot,’ he said, as he put on his best smile.

  Jodi took the picture and texted it directly to her husband, Darius. ‘Okay, shall we find you somewhere to sit?’ She took her son’s hand.

  ‘Look! All the chairs have names on the back of them just like the coat hooks!’ he said, pointing. ‘Here’s mine!’

  ‘Good spotting,’ Jodi said, as she pulled out the chair for him to sit down. Each large square table had four chairs. Saul was opposite a little blonde girl with wispy pigtails and pale blue eyes the size of saucers.

  ‘Hello, I’m Saul. What’s your name?’ he asked.

  ‘Lily,’ she said, in a small voice.

  ‘I’m excited! Are you?’ Saul asked, scrunching his shoulders and grinning.

  ‘My big sister already went here but she had Miss-a-Myrtle. She was the bestest teacher in the world,’ Lily said seriously. ‘But she got tired.’

  ‘Well, we have Mr Matthews instead, and that’s good, isn’t it?’ Saul said.

  ‘I suppose so. My mum was here but she had to go and put my sister in her class. She said she can’t split herself in two.’

  ‘That’d be too messy,’ Saul said solemnly. ‘There’d be blood on the carpet.’

  Lily giggled. Jodi sent up a silent prayer of thanks that her son was so at home in his surroundings.

  As Jodi listened to Saul and Lily, Mr Matthews flew around the room introducing himself and welcoming the rest of the children. Jodi wanted to avoid the other parents. She knew she’d have to get to know them at some point, but the longer she could leave it, the better.

  ‘Okay, parents,’ Mr Matthews announced cheerfully. ‘It’s time to say goodbye to your children. Boys and girls, it’s only for a little while, remember. Give Mum and Dad a big hug and tell them you’ll have lots of news for them when they come to collect you.’

  ‘Are you okay if I go now, Saul?’ Jodi asked.

  ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Lily knows where the playground is and she’s going to show me at break time.’

  ‘Thanks, Lily.’ Jodi smiled at her. ‘So, Saul, will you tell me the names of the others at your table when I come to pick you up?’ she asked.

  ‘You bet!’

  ‘I love you,’ she said, as she nuzzled his mop of dark curls. He’d inherited her emerald green eyes, but the rest of his features were his father’s. The paparazzi were already after him for photos, but Jodi and Darius had held firm. Their son was out of bounds when it came to publicity. She’d agreed to a single shoot just after he was born, and after that she’d shielded him from the public eye, like a tigress guarding her cub.

  ‘His parents are high-profile actors but that doesn’t mean he is too,’ she’d told her agent, Noelle. ‘When he’s old enough he can decide if he wants to be splashed across the press, but for now he’s ours and he’s not for sharing.’

  That had been a major factor in their decision for Jodi to return to Ireland when Saul started school. She’d come across Bakers Valley, just thirty miles from Dublin, and fallen in love with the place. They wanted him to make his own way without the pressure of being the son of Jodi Ludlum and Darius Drew.

  ‘Have fun, darling, and I’ll be back to collect you before you know it,’ she said, tearing herself reluctantly from his side.

  ‘Bye, Mum, I love you too,’ he said, waving.

  There were still quite a few people huddled at the coat rack so Jodi seized the moment and walked purposefully out of the classroom before she was sucked into a conversation.

  The distance from the main door of the school to the gate couldn’t have been more than a hundred metres so she knew she could make a quick exit. She pulled out her phone and dialled Darius’s number.

  ‘Hey, darling,’ he said, sounding sleepy. ‘I just got that photo you texted me. He looks so cute! Have you left him yet?’

  ‘I’m on my way across the car park as we speak,’ Jodi said. ‘He was brilliant, Darius. You’d have been so proud.’

  ‘Great,’ he said. ‘How were people towards you?’

  ‘Fine. The teacher is seriously cool. He looks just a few years older than the kids,’ Jodi joked. ‘But he knew exactly how to get them organised into their seats. On first impressions I’d say Saul will love him. I didn’t speak to any of the parents, just kept my head down and scarpered straight out of there.’

  ‘That was probably for the best,’ Darius said. ‘We want Saul to have a chance to mingle without too much staring and pointing. And what about the other kids? Were they friendly to him?’

  ‘Yeah. He had a tiny scrap of a thing called Lily sitting opposite him and the other two hadn’t arrived when I left. Hopefully he’ll be fine …’ Jodi trailed off.

  ‘Listen, honey, he was so geared up for today. You injected so much positivity into the whole school thing that he was champing at the bit to get in there. Try not to worry, okay? Promise?’ he begged.

  ‘I’ll try,’ she said, smiling through the t
ears that had sprung to her eyes. ‘I just don’t want his school experience to be like mine.’

  ‘I know. And I doubt it will be. First, Saul’s not the child you were, and second, all he’s ever known is love and adoration. He’ll rock that class, you wait and see!’

  ‘I hope you’re right.’

  ‘When am I ever wrong?’ Darius asked, laughing.

  ‘No comment.’ She sniffled.

  Darius’s tone softened. ‘It’s not good to shut people out. Say hello to a few of the parents later on. Saul won’t be able to fit in if you’re not friendly. It’s a small village and people won’t take kindly to the brick-wall approach.’

  ‘I hear ya,’ she said. ‘Besides, there’s a good chance most of them have never even heard of me.’

  ‘Jodi, it’s a country village but it’s not on Mars,’ Darius teased. ‘I presume they have a cinema within commuting distance and a DVD shop. They probably even have newspapers and magazines.’ He laughed. ‘Uh, they know exactly who you are, sweetie!’

  ‘What time are you starting filming?’ she asked, changing the subject.

  ‘Not for about five hours.’ He yawned. ‘Most of the scenes have to be shot in the dark for the next week so I’m a bit topsy-turvy. I’ll sleep for another couple of hours, then head in for makeup and all that jazz.’

  ‘All right, darling,’ she said. ‘Will I have Saul call you when he’s finished or will I let you call us later when you’re awake?’

  ‘Oh, no! I want a call the second you pick him up!’ Darius said. ‘I need a full and fresh-off-the-press download of day one!’

  ‘Okay!’ Jodi was grinning as she hung up. Darius always made her feel better.

  Turning left out of the main school gate Jodi set off towards their cottage, which was less than a fifteen-minute walk. The main hub of local activity was back in the other direction, centred around Bakers Valley.

  When she’d decided to move home to Ireland for Saul’s education she’d purposely sought a property slightly outside the main village yet within easy reach of the community. She inhaled the clear country air as she meandered along the road, framed on either side by hedges intertwined with brambles and wild honeysuckle. It was a far cry from inner-city Dublin where she had grown up, with its smouldering mattresses, burned-out cars, and gougers loitering on corners and a million miles from the hotels and movie sets Saul was used to. She hoped he’d settle in here and make lifelong friends.