Between The Sheets (28 page)

'No, no, no.' She banged her sore arm on the edge of her chair in frustration, and then yelped with pain.

'Hey, be careful! You'll hurt yourself. Don't get so upset! It was all a long time ago.'

'I don't understand you at all,' she whispered. 'You had it so much worse than me. What's happened? Have you become a born-again Christian or a Scientologist or something?'

'No. For some reason, religion never did it for me.'

She smiled and swirled the wine around in her glass. 'Do you remember those terrible Sunday lunches?'

He groaned. 'How could I ever forget them?'

'What was all that about? I mean, why did he drag us along to those places every week?'

'He liked to see himself as the grand patriarch. The successful rich poet with the good-looking family. He lorded it over us and everyone else.' Ed smiled at her. 'And he loved to show off his little princess.'

She shivered. 'I don't know why you didn't hate me. I'd have hated you if our situations were reversed.'

'I couldn't ever have hated you. You were such a sweet little thing. And you were always trying to protect me.'

She shifted in her chair in an effort to ease the dull throbbing in her arm.

'Shall I get your pills?' he asked.

She shook her head. 'No. I'm sorry, but I need to go to bed now.'

'Of course. It's late.' He stood up and stretched out a hand to her.

She ignored it. 'I can manage. Just bring up my drink for me, and my laptop.'

'Hey, say "please". As Mother used to say, it costs nothing to be polite.'

'Shut up and get me upstairs.'

Gus and Terry sat in a restaurant near his office, eating lunch. Or rather, he was eating, she was just pushing salad around the plate.

'Don't you like your food?' he asked, noticing her lack of enthusiasm.

'It's fine, I'm just not hungry.' 'You're very quiet.'

Her eyes met his. 'I'm not the only one.' He looked back down at his plate. 'What does that mean?'

'You've been behaving a bit strangely since we bumped into Dana,' she said quietly.

'Have I?'

'You know you have. Look, if you're having second thoughts about us, I'd prefer you to just come right out and say it.'

'Us?' he echoed.

She reddened. 'Oh, sorry, was that presumptuous? It's just that we've been seeing each other for a few weeks now and I thought — obviously wrongly — that it was going quite well.'

'It was, it is,' he assured her. 'Look, I'm sorry if I've been a bit distracted lately, Terry, but it hasn't been an easy time. Dana has some problems and, well ...' he trailed off. It was always at the back of his mind that Terry worked for a tabloid. He wasn't about to reveal any private information about his wife. 'Let's talk about something else.'

She pushed aside her plate and stood up. 'No, let's not.'

'Oh, come on, Terry,' he said wearily. 'Sit down.'

'I thought you were separated, Gus.'

'I am.'

'Then why are you still so involved in her life?'

'It's complicated.'

'So you said. I tell you what, when you've helped her sort out all of her problems, give me a call.'

'Terry,' he protested but she had turned on her heel and was making her way through the restaurant towards the door. By the time he'd paid for their meal and followed her outside, Terry had disappeared. 'Shit,' he muttered, and walked back to the office. He could call her and apologize. He could buy her dinner tonight and show her he was sorry. But would that be fair? She was right. He was preoccupied. Ed had sent him a text message to say that he'd moved in with Dana and would call him. Gus couldn't wait to hear from him. He'd have given anything to be a fly on the wall when brother and sister met again after all these years. It had to be going well. Otherwise Dana wouldn't have allowed him to stay. It was a good sign, he decided, as he turned in at the gate of his office.

'Gus!' He turned as his partner got out of his car and crossed the car park to join him. 'I was going to phone you from the car.'

'What is it?' Gus noticed Tom's anxious expression and the beads of sweat standing out on his forehead.

'Ashling's gone into labour.'

'What? But it isn't due for a couple of weeks.'

'Yes, well, apparently babies don't operate to a timetable,' Tom said, pulling nervously at his tie.

'Well, don't just stand there, mate! Go and take her to the hospital.'

'She's already on the way; her sister and mother are with her. Luckily they were there when her waters broke.'

Gus shuddered. 'Too much information. Tell me what I can do. Do you want me to drive you over there?'

Tom shook his head. 'No, I'll need my car later but I have a new client arriving for a meeting. He's due any minute.'

'I'll take care of him,' Gus promised. 'Anything else?'

Tom ran a hand frantically through his hair. 'I'm not sure, I can't think straight. Ask Carla, she'll know.'

'Will do. Now go.' Gus pushed him gently towards his car. 'I'll look after the shop.'

'I'll call you when I know what's going on/ Tom called over his shoulder.

'Wish her luck for me,' Gus shouted. 'And don't worry. Everything will be fine.'

Carla was on her feet the moment he walked in.

'I know, I met him in the car park/ he told her before she could say a word. 'Can you get me the file on this client so that at least I look as if I know what I'm talking about?'

She handed it to him. 'Right here.'

'What would I do without you?' he said, heading for the meeting room. 'Would you be a real darling now and organize some coffee?'

'There's a pot already on,' she called after him.

'You're an angel,' he said, disappearing inside.

'Gus?' Carla hurried after him. 'There was a call for you while you were out. It was from Ed O'Carroll. He asked if you'd call him as soon as you got in.'

'Thanks, Carla.' Gus looked at his watch. There was no time to call Ed now. It would have to wait until after the meeting. Today the business had to come first.

Between Tom's work and his own, Gus never got time to phone Terry or return Ed's call. But he had rather enjoyed being so busy. He had been coasting for weeks now, and it was time that changed. Tom would be taking at least two weeks off once Ashling and the baby came home. And even when he came back to work, Tom wouldn't be up to par, given the sleepless nights that lay ahead of him.

Going to the door, he called to Carla, 'Any word?'

She looked up from her desk. 'Nothing.'

'But it's been ages.'

"This is nothing,' Carla said with a laugh. 'My sister was in labour for eighteen hours.'

Gus winced. 'Poor old Tom. It's going to be a long night.'

Carla fired a pencil at him. 'And what about poor Ashling? She's the one doing all the work.'

'Just kidding. So what about you, Carla? Any maternal feelings surfacing yet?'

'No way!' she said, shaking her head. 'I love being an aunty, but being tied down twenty-four-seven? I'm too selfish for that.'

'Me too.'

'So weren't you and Dana going to have children?' Carla ventured.

'No. We did argue a lot about having a dog, though. I wanted one, she didn't.' Gus laughed. 'I suppose that means I would have got custody.'

'So you're definitely going to separate? Officially, I mean?'

For the first time Gus noticed the rapt look on the girl's face and the way she had turned her chair around to allow him an excellent view of her legs. Oh, fuck. 'Not sure.' He edged back towards his office. 'It's late, Carla. Why don't you go on home?'

Her face fell. 'I don't mind hanging on. I haven't typed up the minutes of that last meeting yet.'

'It can wait until tomorrow.'

'Well, if you're sure.' She looked reluctant.

He beamed. 'I'm positive. 'Night.' He closed the door on the confused girl and sat back down at his desk. 'You'll never learn, Johnson,' he muttered. He would have to be very careful how he handled Carla in Tom's absence. He closed his eyes briefly. Maybe 'handle' wasn't the best word to use. Were all women this complicated, Gus wondered. Or just the ones he knew?

He picked up the phone and dialled Terry's mobile. She answered on the first ring.

'Hi, it's me.'

'I know,' she said coolly.

'Look, I'm sorry about earlier. It's just, like I said—'

'Complicated.'

'It has nothing to do with us.'

Terry gave a weary sigh. 'But, Gus, if you've left her why are you running back there every five minutes to help her?'

'I've been back twice,' he corrected her. 'And you have to understand, Terry, you can't end a six-year relationship just like that.'

She hopped on his words. 'So you are ending it?'

He grinned. This was one of the drawbacks of dating a journalist. 'Sure. Why don't I pick you up and we'll go out to dinner? It will make up for the lunch you didn't eat.'

'I can't. I have a job on.'

'Oh, okay. Do you want to meet for a drink when you finish?'

'No, I've an early start.'

'Right.'

'Why don't we leave it for a few days, Gus?'

He sighed. 'If that's what you want.'

'It is. Bye, Gus.'

He hung up with a sigh. He couldn't blame Terry for being fed up with him. She was a clever girl and it wasn't surprising she'd picked up on his mood. Maybe it would be better if they didn't see each other for a while. He was going to be busy in work and he knew he'd be preoccupied until he found out all of Dana's secrets.

With that in mind, he dialled Ed's number. 'It's Gus Johnson, Ed.'

'Oh, hi. Hang on a minute.'

As Gus waited, a message came in on his mobile. He smiled delightedly as he read it.

WANT TO COME OVER AND MEET MY DAUGHTER?

He immediately sent a message back.

SURE. THEN I'LL HELP YOU WET HER HEAD! CONGRATS.
LUV 2 ASHLING.

'Gus, are you there?'

'I'm here.'

'Sorry about that.'

'That's okay.'

'Listen, I just wondered if you wanted to meet up. I thought you might like an update.'

'I'm sorry, Ed, but I can't meet you tonight. How about lunch tomorrow?'

'No, I'm taking Dana to the hospital.'

'What?'

'It's okay, she's fine. She had an accident and broke her wrist. I have to take her back tomorrow for a check-up.'

'What kind of accident? Was she driving?'

'No, nothing like that. She had a fall. Really, Gus, she's fine.'

'A fall?'

'Yeah.'

'She was drinking, wasn't she?'

Ed's sigh was audible. 'She says not.'

'Huh. So when did this happen?'

'Last week. I actually found her. She was out cold in the driveway.'

'Jesus! She could have been there for days!'

'Calm down. It was a mild concussion. She came round very quickly. Honestly, Gus, I'd have called you straight away if there was anything to worry about.'

'Okay. So, how's it going?'

Ed chuckled. 'A little strained.'

'Still, she let you stay. That's a good sign.'

'She didn't have much choice! She's in plaster to her elbow and can't manage without help. I suppose I was just lucky she has no one else.'

Gus said nothing. He had this image of Dana lying undiscovered in their driveway with no one knowing or caring.

'Hello? Gus, are you still there?'

'Yes. Sorry. You were saying?'

'There isn't much else to tell you at this stage. But it's early days. I just wanted to let you know about the accident.'

'Thanks for that. Are you at the house now?' Gus asked.

'Yes. Why?'

'Maybe I could just say hello.'

'I don't think that's a good idea. She wouldn't be impressed if she knew I'd been on the phone for the last ten minutes talking to you.'

'No, that's true. I'll call her tomorrow evening. I'd like to know how she gets on at the hospital.'

'Good idea. I'm sure she'd appreciate that.'

'But—' Gus frowned. 'How do I know about her accident?'

Ed laughed. 'This is getting complicated, isn't it? Look, I'll answer the house phone when you call and I'll tell her that I filled you in on the accident.'

'Good idea. Okay, then. Goodnight, Ed. And thank you. Thank you for everything.'

'Goodnight, Gus.'

Gus put down the phone and sank back in his chair. He took a moment to examine his feelings. When Ed had told him about Dana's accident, his gut had twisted in terror. Whatever had happened between them, he still loved her. He was in no doubt of that. But the more time he spent with Terry, the more he realized how strange his marriage had been. He'd only got to meet Dana's brother because he went hunting for him in Wexford. And he'd found out more about the O'Carroll family from him than he ever had from his wife.

By contrast, in the short time he'd known Terry, he already knew her mother was slightly agoraphobic. Her father was nuts about Gaelic football. And her younger sister was a constant worry to them all because she couldn't settle on a career.

Terry's openness made Gus realize how troubled Dana must be. She had always presented an image to the world of a confident, sophisticated and carefree woman. And though she had let her guard down with him to a certain extent, she still wouldn't discuss her past. She had mentioned Ed from time to time but never told him why they didn't keep in touch. He knew she had been close to her mother and that the woman had died while Dana was away at university. Gus knew that Conall O'Carroll was the crux of all Dana's problems, but Dana refused point-blank to discuss him. One night in the early days of their marriage, when they had been more than a little drunk, he had asked her about him.

'I don't have a father,' she'd said bitterly.

'He's dead?' Gus had said.

'Happily, yes.'

Gus had found that slightly shocking. He had always been quite close to his family. Both his parents were dead now and his sister lived in Auckland, New Zealand. But, though he didn't see Annie that often, they were still very close.

His sister hadn't liked Dana, he remembered now. Oh, she hadn't said as much, and she'd made an effort to get on with his fiancée when they met just before the wedding. But he could tell there was no meeting of minds there. It had saddened him at the time but not worried him greatly. Women were strange like that. They made snap decisions about each other and that was that. He knew, had Annie lived in Ireland, she would have grown to love Dana as much as he did. Or was he kidding himself? He must call her and ask.