“No, Mummy!” he cried.
“Ssshhhh. You’ll be fine, hun. You can play with Hayley, and I’ll be back before you know it.” She stood and Corbin grabbed her legs again. Prying him off, she scooped him in her arms and said, “Why don’t you sit on the couch next to Hayley and watch TV?”
He shook his head and began to wail.
Davy placed his beer on the floor and got up from the armchair. He held his arms out, nodding to Kate, and she handed him Corbin, now kicking and struggling. Hayley squeezed her eyes shut and stuck her fingers in her ears, burying her head in Tracy’s lap. Tracy looked up at Davy, her expression saying, I told you so.
Kate hesitated. “Maybe this is a bad idea.”
“Just go. I’m sure he’ll calm down once you leave,” said Davy, forcing a smile.
“Ahh, okay. He always does at daycare,” said Kate, as much for her own benefit as Davy’s. She shrugged off the backpack she was wearing. “Here’s his bag. There’s nappies and clothes. Some toys too, if you need them.”
Tracy rose and took the bag from Kate. Smirking at Davy, she said, “Well, Daddy Daycare, looks like you’ve got a busy evening ahead of you. Cooking dinner, doing the dishes and looking after two children. I guess that means you’ll be too tired for sex later on.”
“I’m never too tired for sex,” said Davy.
“Oh, trust me, tonight you will be.”
“Why, what are you gonna do?”
“Me? I’m gonna have a nice, long soak in a very hot bath. I need to tend to my aching muscles.”
Davy rolled his eyes and sighed. “I’m supposed to be making bolognaise for dinner,” he told Kate. “Will Corbin like that?”
“Who cares what Corbin wants?” Tracy said. “I want bolognaise.”
“That’ll be great,” said Kate. “He’s a pretty good eater.”
She turned to leave, with Tracy and Davy following her to the door, Corbin still thrashing and screaming. She gave him a sad smile and stroked his face. “It’s okay, hun. I’ll be back soon, I promise.” To Tracy she said, “I’ve got my phone. Call me if you need to.”
“Don’t worry,” Davy said. “He’ll be fine. See you.”
“Yeah, bye. Say hi to Evan from me,” said Tracy, giving her a wink.
“See you later. Thanks so much for this.”
“Don’t thank me — it’s Davy who’ll be doing all the work.”
THIRTY-TWO
She spent the drive through the Kawarau Gorge into Queenstown feeling guilty, stabbed by the image of Corbin screaming in Davy’s arms. If it hadn’t been for the fact that the narrow, twisting road was devoid of places in which to turn around, she might well have done so. In the end inertia carried her through and she ploughed on, pushing her doubts aside, which made her feel more guilty.
She’d suggested they meet at the Millennium Hotel, mostly because she knew how to find it. He wasn’t in the lobby when she arrived so she headed for the bar, needing a drink to calm her nerves. She ordered a glass of pinot and perched herself on a bar-stool. A gleaming, wood-panelled semi-circle, the bar was separated from the hotel restaurant by a low wall, the larger, concentric semicircle of the dining floor extending out to face the main road into central Queenstown. Surveying the room, she was surprised to see Jamie at the far end of the bar, leaning over a bottle of beer and talking to a man with hot ginger hair. At that moment Jamie met her gaze, his mouth curving into a smile of recognition. He patted his companion on the shoulder and pointed towards her, mouthing something she couldn’t make out. The man nodded, following Jamie as he glided along the arc of the bar towards her.
“Hi, Kate, isn’t it?” said Jamie, “Fancy seeing you here.”
“Hello,” said Kate, smiling politely.
Jamie nodded towards his companion. “This is my mate, Darryl. He’s just flown in from Oz.”
Darryl’s beer slid closer to her along the polished bar-top, towing him behind it. “Yeah, first time I been here. Sure is beautiful,” he said, extending his free hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
“You too,” said Kate, shaking his hand. His grip was firmer than necessary and she found her eyes drawn inexorably towards his nose, which was large and red and pockmarked with acne scars.
“What are you doing here?” asked Jamie.
Kate sipped her wine. “Waiting for Evan, actually.”
“Evan?”
“Yes, he should be here—”
“Whoa, speak of the devil!” exclaimed Darryl.
She swivelled on her seat to see Evan walk in, wearing bootcut jeans and a black zip-up jacket, his hair hanging in wet curls over his forehead. As he approached, his expression clouded. Darryl let out a thunderous belch and Evan stopped dead, his jaw dropping open.
“Holy shit! Darryl?”
Darryl gave a satisfied smirk and took a step towards Evan, arm outstretched. “Yo, Evan!”
“What are you doing here?” said Evan, his voice rising, the look of confusion morphing into a frown as Darryl grabbed his hand and pumped it vigorously.
Darryl laughed, a sound moist and scratchy, like being licked by a cat. “Small world, huh? Although to be honest, I wondered if I’d bump into you while I was here.”
Jamie clapped Evan on the back. “Darryl is here for my birthday.”
“Your birthday?”
“Yeah, my birthday. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten. I’m having a big party at my place on Friday. You better be there.”
Evan shifted uncomfortably. “Oh, yeah, I remember now.”
“Ahh, well, what with all the excitement, who can blame you?” There was something not quite right about the way Jamie was smiling. It reminded Kate of a hungry wolf who’d just spied an especially plump lamb. “However, Darryl, lucky man that he is, has managed to combine his trip with work, so he gets to stay here, in the lap of luxury, rather than on the couch at my shitty place.”
“I’d hardly call it the lap of luxury. My room’s got a lovely view of the carpark and if I stretch my arms out I can touch all four walls at once, but hey, it’s worked out all right.”
Shaking his head, Evan said, “Work? I thought you were proudly unemployed.
It was Darryl’s turn to frown. “Not anymore.”
“And you’re staying here?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Wow. What’s the job?”
“Promotions. I’m helping put together a music festival over the summer. Starting here first, then some dates in Oz — Byron Bay, Noosa, Airlie Beach — backpacker hot-spots.”
“Far out.”
Darryl took a slug from his beer. Looking thoughtful, he said, “Well, when you got a missus and a kid, life changes.”
“You’ve got a missus? Who?”
“Serena.”
Evan coughed, covering his mouth with a balled fist. Blinking, he cleared his throat, then said, “You’re with Serena? And you’ve got a kid?”
“Yep. Things have changed a bit since you left town.”
“I’ll say. Mind you, she always was keen on you. How old is she now?”
“Nineteen.”
Evan gave a low whistle. “I guess her womanly charms finally worked their magic.”
Eyes narrowing, Darryl said, “Yeah, well like I said — things change.”
There was a strange edge to his voice and the temperature in the room seemed to drop suddenly. In spite of her coat, Kate shivered. “So,” she said, attempting to lighten the mood. “How do you two know each other?”
“Darryl and I lived together for a while in Brisbane,” said Evan, not looking at her. “Back then he was a penniless rock star. Speaking of which, isn’t Promotions where musicians go to die? You know, like how failed writers become English teachers?”
“And failed snowboarders become instructors?” said Darryl, the smirk returning.
Evan didn’t reply and Kate looked on, sipping her wine as the two men stared at each other, silently engaged in some kind of mental battle. Jamie watched them too,
the wolf-grin lingering. When Darryl turned to face her, she wasn’t sure if that meant he’d lost.
“Anyway,” he said, “what about you two? You on a date?”
“No,” said Evan sharply. “We’re just friends.”
“I didn’t ask you.”
Kate gave a pained smile. “No, that’s right. We were dating, but now we’re just friends.” She shot a glance at Evan but his eyes were still on Darryl, his expression stony.
“Pity. You look good together. Although you might have got lucky there — Evan’s a bit of a flake.”
She opened her mouth to reply when Evan grabbed her hand. “Well guys, it’s been great to see you and all, but Kate and I have got a dinner reservation. We’d better get to our table.”
“We have?”
“Yes,” hissed Evan, flicking his head in the direction of the dining floor.
“But I need to—”
“We’ll be late. I don’t want them to give our table to someone else.” Evan pulled on her hand.
Kate frowned. There were only a handful of people seated in the restaurant. “Oh, okay,” she said, sliding off her stool. “Well, nice to see you again, Jamie. And nice to meet you, Darryl. Where are your wife and—”
“Girlfriend. We’re not married. They’re back in Oz. We talked about them coming too, but Serena was worried about travelling with Floyd. He’s only nine months old.”
“Floyd?”
“Uh-huh.”
“After the band?”
“Kind of.”
“Wait a minute,” said Evan, and Kate felt the tug on her hand release. “Didn’t our old neighbours have a…” He stopped.
“Have a what?” snarled Darryl, nostrils flaring.
Evan shook his head. “Doesn’t matter,” he said quietly.
“Go on. Say it.”
“Say what?” asked Kate.
His lip curling in disgust, Darryl said to Kate, “Back in Brisbane, our neighbours had a dog called Floyd.”
“You named your baby after your neighbours’ dog?”
“What’s wrong with that?” he snapped. “He was a bloody good dog. Till Evan ran over him.”
Sighing heavily, Evan said, “Christ, Darryl, it was an accident. Get over it.” He yanked Kate’s arm, so hard it hurt. “Come on, Kate. Let’s eat.”
Her face twisted into a scowl. “Wait. My handbag.” She tugged out of Evan’s grip, downed the contents of her wine glass then gathered her handbag, offering an apologetic shrug as she followed Evan away.
“Yeah, later,” called Jamie after them. “Don’t forget my party, mate. Friday — see you there. You can come too if you like, Kate.”
Kate was about to answer when Evan clutched at her hand again, pulling her onwards. At the entrance to the dining floor, he asked the maitre d’ for a table for two. They were directed to one against the curving outer wall of the hotel, beside a large window. Kate looked out into the gathering dusk, watching the stream of traffic drive slowly past.
“What on earth was all that about? You nearly pulled my arm out of its socket.”
“I’m sorry,” said Evan, “but I had to get away. Darryl’s such a dick. As soon as he mentioned Floyd…” He rolled his eyes. “I mean, it wasn’t even his dog.”
“So, bad blood then?” asked Kate. She glanced at the bar. Jamie and Darryl were leaning against it again, their backs turned.
“I just never thought I’d see him again. I didn’t even know Jamie kept in touch.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Why not?”
“I just don’t!”
“Okay, okay. No need to get snippy.”
Sighing again, Evan said, “I’m sorry. It’s just… sometimes the past is better off remaining in the past — you know what I mean?”
Kate studied him, realising how tired he looked, his brow knotted, eyes bloodshot. “Sure,” she said, nodding gently. She reached her hand across the table, placing it over his. “You okay? You look exhausted.”
Evan gave a thin smile. “Yeah, I am.”
“Why’s that?”
He shrugged. “Haven’t been sleeping well, I guess.” He pressed a finger to the corner of his mouth, rubbing it. “Anyway, you wanna look at this photo?”
Right, she thought, the photo. A sense of dread washed over her, her stomach knotting. Still, it was why she’d come. Swallowing, she said, “I suppose I’d better.”
Evan slid his hands away and reached inside his jacket, placing an unsealed white envelope on the table. She took it, flicking the flap open with a fingernail. Withdrawing the photograph, she looked at the glossy image for a moment, then slipped it back into the envelope.
“Is it her?”
Intertwining her fingers, she rested them on the table. “Yes,” she said simply, then turned away, staring out the window again.
The confirmation was anti-climactic, but at least now she knew, and there was a small relief in that. The only question left was Why? Why string her along like that, pretending he wanted her back? Was it just to claim one last fuck? Or was it revenge, a way to twist the knife where it hurt most, to pay her back for the humiliation she’d caused by forcing him out of his own house and then chasing a younger man? Either way, it revealed a level of sociopathy that made her skin crawl.
Lawrence’s original betrayal had felt like the act of a changed man, someone different from the person she thought she knew, but perhaps it wasn’t. Maybe it was just the most recent and obvious symptom of a disease that had always been there, bubbling beneath the surface of their relationship.
Had he had previous affairs? She tried to think back to the early years of their marriage. He’d always been one to prioritise work — staying late, travelling away for meetings and conferences. The opportunity had always been there. Perhaps he had and Rachel wasn’t the first, the only difference with her being that he’d become sloppy and callous, no longer caring if Kate found out.
“Upsetting the girls again, Evan? Typical.”
Kate turned to see Darryl strolling towards them, carrying a glass of wine and two bottles of beer. She glanced at Evan. His expression was one of a man who has just sniffed a shoe that has stepped in something squishy and unpleasant.
Darryl laid the drinks on their table, sliding the wine glass towards her. “Here, drink up, Kate — you’ll feel better. You too,” he said, pushing a Heineken towards Evan.
He wore the smirk again — his default expression, Kate decided — and she was struck by the sudden urge to smack it off him.
THIRTY-THREE
“Thanks,” said Kate, “but I probably shouldn’t. I have to drive home.”
“You’re eating aren’t you? You’ll need another drink over dinner. Besides, it’s not every day I get the chance to buy a drink for an old friend.” He rested his hand on Evan’s back, flashing a twisted smile. “Why, it could be the last drink I ever buy you — better make the most of it.”
“It could be the first drink you’ve ever bought me. I seem to remember it being me who did all the buying back in Brisbane.”
“All the more reason to drink up, then. Special occasion, see?”
Kate looked at Evan, eyes questioning. He shrugged and took the proffered beer, leaning back in his chair. She followed suit. “Thank you,” she said, raising her glass for a tentative sniff. “Oh, it’s the Wintersfield… how did you know?”
“I asked the barman,” said Darryl, winking. “Here’s to old times.” Tipping his head back, he slugged the contents of his bottle.
Evan watched him warily, sipping his Heineken. “Where’s Jamie?”
“Havin’ a slash,” said Darryl, dabbing at his mouth. “Anyway, I’d best leave you two lovebirds to it. Jamie and I are heading out for a few drinks. Nice to meet you, Kate, and good to see you again, mate, really. I’m sorry about before. I know we’ve had our differences in the past, but… well… it’s nice to see a familiar face in a foreign place.
Have a great night. And I’ll see you Friday, huh?”
“Sure,” said Evan.
Darryl clapped him on the shoulder and sauntered off, weaving his way through the tables.
“You’re not going to the party, are you?” asked Kate.
Evan shrugged. “I dunno. Half the town’ll be there.” Including Yumiko. “I’m just not feeling very sociable at the moment.”
“So I noticed. Why do you dislike him so much?”
Because he told my girlfriend that I was cheating on her. With you. “Jamie’s like alcohol. All fun and games in small doses, but too much of him makes you sick.
“I meant Darryl.”
“Oh.” He looked into her eyes. Green and cool and full of genuine concern, they drew him in. He didn’t deserve it, and was suddenly tempted to voice the thoughts that were in his head — to tell her about Yumiko, the proposal — to finally admit he was a lying, cheating bastard. But it would hurt her, and right now, sitting here, beer in hand and bathed in the warm glow of the overhead lights, a fire burning in the stone hearth nearby, he realised he didn’t want to do that. Besides, when it all came down to it, he was a coward. “History,” he said finally, the guilt a tight knot in the pit of his stomach. “Darryl’s a selfish prick who only ever looks out for number one.”
“And now he’s got a baby.”
“Yeah, poor kid. Really lucked out in the parent department.”
“I don’t know. Children change people. Maybe he’ll be a great dad.”
“Maybe. I wouldn’t count on it. Did it change Lawrence?”
Kate sipped her wine, her brow creasing. “I guess not. He loves Corbin, but it’s like… like he sees him as some kind of trophy.” She paused, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. “I suppose I was the same for him — the trophy wife — only I got a little tarnished so he cast me aside for a shiny new one.”
THIRTY-FOUR
She didn’t really mean to order dessert. But when they’d finished their main and the waitress brought out the dessert menu, she realised she didn’t want the evening to end, not yet, so she ordered a coffee cheesecake and a glass of ice wine to go with it. Scraping the side of her dish for the last mouthful, she shut her eyes, savouring the fragrant mix of coffee, cream, and chocolate. When she opened them again, Evan was staring at her, a wistful expression on his face, his spoon tracing aimless circles in his crème brûlèe.
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