by Kaylie Kay
‘Come on then, you two, let’s get you to school.’
The two children looked up from their devices, empty breakfast bowls in front of them, taking a second to understand what she had said before moving to get up.
‘Mum, can Lily come round after school?’ Sophia asked as she put on her coat and shoes.
‘I don’t see why not, we don’t have any plans,’ Susan said, pleased at the smile that her answer put on her daughter’s face. She pulled on her own leather boots, and checked her appearance in the mirror; no gym today as she had a hair appointment, and it wouldn’t do to turn up looking less than lovely, appearances always needed to be kept up.
‘Can you ask her, Mum?’ Sophia asked sweetly.
‘I don’t have her number, darling.’
‘You can ask her in the playground.’ It was like her daughter had pre-empted her answer, knowing her reluctance to talk to the other mums unless she really had to.
‘Okay,’ Susan agreed, ‘but can’t you just message her?’
‘Muuuum,’ Sophia said, clearly frustrated with her social inability.
‘Okay, okay.’ It wasn’t that she wasn’t able to speak to people, it was just that she always felt like they were judging her, especially when they saw her in her uniform, thinking that they were better, looking down on her.
‘She’s over there,’ Sophia pointed to the group of mums across the playground, ‘the one in pink jodhpurs.’
Susan groaned, it was the horsey group. The ones who smelt of hay and horses, and wore jodhpurs every day like a badge of honour. She wondered if they actually all owned horses, or if some just pretended in order to fit in with those who did. Some of them just really shouldn’t wear such trousers over their generous bottoms, she thought critically, feeling sorry for their poor ponies.
She took a deep breath as she approached them, not making it obvious that they were her target group until she was right next to them, not wanting their attention any longer than was necessary. She held on tightly to Sophia’s hand, needing her daughter’s back-up.
‘Hi,’ Susan smiled as her target turned around and looked up at her. The woman couldn’t have been more than five feet tall, and reminded her of the curvy cartoon character with the horse from her childhood. She didn’t wear a scrap of makeup, and her wiry hair was in desperate need of some TLC, and yet it was she who was looking at Susan critically. She wasn’t imagining it, she actually looked her up and down, and the smile that she had been wearing for the rest of the group left her face. In true flight attendant style, Susan however was still smiling, confident that her own derision was not showing. ‘Sophia was wondering if Lily could come around after school.’
‘Oh, well I’ll have to see if she has any commitments,’ she replied slowly and seriously, reminding Susan of an old teacher she once had.
The bell rang and Susan felt Sophia pull her hand out of hers, running off to her classroom. Without her she felt exposed, and it seemed like the whole group were now looking at her, from head to toe and back up again. Susan disliked them all even more now that she had met them up close, the nasty, judgmental bitches.
‘Okay, well I’ll be collecting Sophia later so I’m happy to collect Lily too, just let me know.’ She took out a pen from her bag and scribbled her number on a piece of paper, holding it out to Lily’s mum. She turned the moment it left her hand, not even saying goodbye, knowing that they were all watching her walking away now, talking about her. Oh well, let them look, she told herself as she always did, they could judge but then so could she, and she knew whose life she would rather have.
The smugness that she normally held inwardly was short-lived, and her pace slowed as it dawned on her that she wasn’t much more exciting than any of them right now. Yes, her husband was rich, but so were theirs. She couldn’t even presume he was any better looking either, not now he was getting comfortable again. Even Susan Harrison was losing her edge. The thought that she no longer had many reasons to be secretly smug was an unwelcome realisation, and unsettled her; maybe she needed to swap her next flight for a Miami, maybe a night with Mario was just what she needed to put things back in the right balance again.
Chapter 42
‘Mum, can I sleep over at Lily’s next weekend?’
Susan looked up from the vegetables that she had been chopping on the kitchen island, preparing the dinner. Lily’s mum had messaged her at lunchtime, obviously unable to think of any excuse to keep her daughter away, and now here they both were, already planning their next event.
‘I’m going to ride her pony.’ Sophia was wide-eyed with excitement.
‘What does your mum say, Lily?’ Susan asked the girl who looked so small next to her daughter, obviously already taking after her mum in the height department.
‘She says it’s fine,’ she said casually, looking past Susan. ‘Who’s that?’
Susan turned around to see Lucy at the sink scrubbing away at something; she had forgotten that she was even in the kitchen with her.
‘That’s Lucy,’ she said matter-of-factly, and that is all the information you are getting, nosey, she thought. She wasn’t about to belittle Lucy by giving the girl her job title, not that she really knew what that was, and besides it was none of her business. Lucy didn’t even turn around.
‘Thanks, Mum.’
‘Actually …’ Sophia was just about to run off when Susan realised a potential problem. ‘I forgot I’ve just swapped onto a flight this weekend, I’m not sure if Dad will be able to drop you off on Friday, it depends when he finishes work.’
‘I can drop her off.’ Lucy’s voice startled Susan somewhat, she had thought that she hadn’t been listening to the conversation, and she turned to see her, hands still in the sink, turning around from the waist up and smiling at her. ‘I’ll be picking them up, I presume, if you’re flying anyway?’
‘It’s okay, my mum can bring Sophia straight back with us after school,’ Lily stated the obvious solution.
‘Yes, that makes sense, but if you could pick Lewis up for me, Lucy, that would be great. Sorry, I had meant to mention it to you but I only changed the flight this afternoon.’ She realised how much she actually took Lucy for granted and felt bad for a moment. ‘Would you be okay to stay on until Jeff gets home?’
‘Of course.’ Lucy looked quite happy to be asked, and Susan’s moment of guilt passed, she always made sure she was squared up for these extra hours after all.
‘That’s sorted then, girls, just let Dad know what time to pick you up, Sophia, and he’ll need Lily’s address.’
The girls ran off happily back upstairs, the sound of their footsteps like thunder from the hallway.
‘Thank you, Lucy, for always being so flexible.’
‘Oh, it’s no problem at all,’ she replied, turning away again, back to scrubbing whatever it was that was so dirty.
Susan ran lightly up the stairs, the children safely occupied eating their tea. Not only had she only just told Lucy, but she hadn’t yet told the most important person about her new plans yet.
She reached into the handbag at the back of the closet and pulled out the phone that lived there, turning it on.
I’ll be out on Friday, are you free? she texted.
She held her breath for a moment, unsure how she would take a negative response. She needed Mario to be free this weekend, Susan Harrison needed to replace the last memory that she had with a good one, and Susan Kennedy needed a break so that she could come back refreshed and able to be great again, with her confidence back.
Sure am!
Oh, the relief of the quick response, and its content!
See you then
She quickly turned the phone off and put it back into the bottom of the bag, feeling the smile on her face stretching wider than it had done for a while. As she stood back up she took a moment to compose her excitement before leaving the closet, looking mindlessly around. A hanger poked out slightly from the neat rows of dresses and she reached out to straight
en it.
That’s odd, she thought, as she recognised the dress that she couldn’t find just the other day. She was positive she had looked through that rail at least three times and it definitely wasn’t there. She shrugged her shoulders. Oh well, it was there now, she must have missed it after all, she tried to persuade herself, but she wasn’t quite convinced.
Chapter 43
She hadn’t seen Luke for a while, his hours shorter now that winter was looming and the garden didn’t need as much work, and she took a moment to admire him from a distance as she stood on her doorstep, case in her hand. She could feel Susan Harrison bursting to get out, and she walked quickly towards her car before she did something stupid. The kids were safely deposited at school, Jeff was at work, and she was ready and raring to go.
‘Have a safe flight,’ called Lucy cheerily, closing the front door and waving.
‘Thanks again for everything, Lucy,’ she called back. Not only had she offered to pick up Lewis from school but she had also agreed to stay on late so that Jeff could meet some clients after work. In fact, it had been her suggestion yesterday, one that Jeff had jumped at, always happy to avoid coming straight home to the kids and being on his own when she was away. Only Lewis was left, and she knew he would be more than happy to be left to his own devices in his room, Lucy wouldn’t even know that she had him.
She beamed as she drove through the gates; everybody was going to have a lovely weekend, including her.
Damn it! Susan’s mood was sinking as she sat in traffic that hadn’t moved for the past twenty minutes. She was sure that someone further up was having a much worse day than her, especially if, as she suspected, an accident had caused the tailbacks. Even so, in her world things were starting to look bleak too. She had to be at check in in forty-five minutes, and although she only had a few miles to go, at this speed it could take hours. She swung between anxiety about making the flight, and sympathy for the people who were possibly injured up ahead, as more blue lights flashed past her along the hard shoulder.
The car that was upside down in the outside lane about a mile further up was testimony to how bad a day could really get, and Susan couldn’t help slowing down to look as she passed. Then it was gone, and as all of the lanes of the motorway opened up ahead of her, she put her foot down hard on the accelerator. With only ten minutes to go there was no way she would make it, but she hoped they would let her go straight to the aircraft and not roll her onto the next flight, as the lady in scheduling had suggested they may.
‘Just make your way and let us know when you’re at the terminal, then we’ll see what we’ll do,’ she had said, sympathetic but not at all helpful. If she wasn’t going to Miami then quite frankly she’d rather just go home, where she could be miserable and disappointed on her own, not on a plane full of people going to somewhere she didn’t want to go! Besides, the bikini and sun dresses she had packed would be of no use to her if she ended up somewhere cold!
She practically screeched into the parking space, jumping out and grabbing her small case from the back seat just as the bus pulled up at the bus stop. Normally she wouldn’t have shamed herself by running, but these were desperate times, and she didn’t care as she ran awkwardly in her heels, not even taking the time to put her case on the ground and still carrying it. The relief when she caught the driver’s eye, knowing that he had seen her, and that only a complete git would drive away now, was enough to let her slow up, hoping to regain her dignity before getting onto the crowded vehicle. It was short-lived dignity though, as she tripped on the step and found herself falling backwards, landing star-fished on her back at the foot of the bus door.
She knew that the driver wanted to laugh as he looked down at her from his seat through the doors that she had been about to enter through. She probably would have been the same, but she was grateful beyond words that he didn’t.
‘Are you okay, love?’ he asked, as she quickly stood up and brushed herself down.
‘Fine, thanks,’ she replied, taking a deep breath before stepping onto the bus. Why, oh why, did it have to be so packed? she cried on the inside, walking past the people who too were trying not to laugh, to the only empty seat at the back. Only once she was seated did she notice the pain in her ankle and the graze on her wrist, and she could only hope that the day got better from here. At least she had made the bus, she thought, pleased to finally find the silver lining.
By the time she arrived at the aircraft door the passengers were boarding, and she squeezed past, emulating the fixed smiles of the crew who were standing there. She recognised one of them, a girl called Dani who she’d flown with a few times before, remembering her for being very relaxed in her attitude to work. She made her way to the front of the plane to introduce herself to the manager and find out where she was working. Her ankle was really throbbing now, and she was trying desperately not to limp, in case someone noticed and sent her home again if they deemed her unfit to fly. A few painkillers would help when she got a chance to take them.
The manager was standing in the front galley reading through the paperwork that the ground staff had just given her, and didn’t even look up when Susan walked in.
‘Hi, sorry I’m late, I’m Susan.’
‘Oh, glad you made it.’ The young girl who could only have been in her late twenties looked up and smiled at her. She was possibly the youngest flight manager that Susan had ever seen, and was extremely beautiful, with a dark exotic look. ‘Go and get yourself a drink, hon, and have a minute, everything’s done.’
Susan could have hugged her for her kindness, the stresses of the last two hours starting to ebb away.
‘Thank you so much, I’ve had a hell of a time getting here, where am I working?’ She glanced at her name badge. Sheena, what a pretty name, she thought.
‘Down the back, but there’s only fifty passengers so you’ll have an easy night.’ She smiled as she delivered the good news.
‘Amazing!’ It must have been a pre-Christmas lull in travelling. Whatever it was, Susan would have skipped down the empty aisles had her ankle allowed her to. The passengers were hard to spot in the empty seats and her day had suddenly got better.
Chapter 44
Lucy couldn’t believe her luck with how things had worked out. The moment that Mr Kennedy had accepted her offer for him to stay out late she had messaged Kate and Natasha to come round for wine and canapés.
Bring a few friends, she had added, hoping that it wouldn’t be too many, before mentioning that she would have to wrap things up by eleven as they had an early start in the morning. She couldn’t risk them getting too comfortable and staying past then, as she would need to make sure all traces were gone by the time her boss got home, and from previous experience that would be by the last train just after midnight. She couldn’t help feeling nervous that he would come back early, but she would have to live with the butterflies as tonight was necessary. At least there was no chance of Mrs Kennedy coming back, she had waved her off to the airport this morning so she was long gone.
The afternoon had been filled with preparations. A small fortune spent in M&S, on the credit card that was starting to get out of control. Removal of family pictures from the walls, and other signs that might give her away should they nose around the house. It occurred to her that she hadn’t thought about that the last time Kate and Natasha came over, and she realised how lucky she had been that they hadn’t noticed. Lewis had been bribed already with unlimited sweets and screen time to stay in his room, and she wouldn’t let anyone go upstairs unless she went with them; even Natasha wouldn’t be able to bully her into letting her snoop around.
The final part of her plan was the non-alcoholic champagne she had bought for herself. She couldn’t afford to lose any control tonight, she just had to get through it, and she wouldn’t be able to if she was in the same state she had been in by the time she had left Kate’s!
‘You look lovely, Lucy, I love that dress,’ gushed Kate as she greeted her at the fr
ont door.
‘Thank you.’ Lucy took the compliment, pleased with the green dress that she had chosen from Mrs Kennedy’s wardrobe tonight.
Natasha walked in next, kissing Lucy on the cheek, followed by two of the ladies that she had met at Kate’s. She had no idea of their names, noting merely that one was blonde and one brunette; since they were never going to be friends it was pointless to learn them now.
‘Come on in, lovely to see you all again.’ Lucy surprised herself at how naturally she took to the role of the rich hostess. She would never have been this confident and assured in her own clothes, at her own home. But there was nothing here that they could judge her on, nothing negative anyway.
‘Please, go through to the living room.’ Lucy gestured towards the lounge, where she had set up her over-priced nibbles. ‘I’ll be through in a second with some bubbly.’
‘Do you need a hand?’ offered Kate.
‘No thanks, I have it all under control, I’ll just fetch a cold bottle.’
Lucy moved swiftly into the kitchen, taking a bottle of champagne from the chiller and quickly filling her own glass with the non-alcoholic version that would stay hidden in the fridge. She would have to keep an eye on Natasha in case she took to filling up her glass like last time.
‘Right, who’s for a glass of champagne?’ Lucy announced, filling the glasses that she had set up on the coffee table.
‘Ooh yes please.’ The petite brunette girl whose name she couldn’t remember jumped up without hesitation. ‘Lucy, this is such a beautiful house.’
‘Thank you.’ It felt completely okay to accept the compliments that just kept coming.
‘Do you mind if we have a look around?’
Lucy paused momentarily from pouring the champagne. She had expected the question, and rehearsed how she would deal with it, but it still made her stomach flip nonetheless.