Least Said (73 page)

She
shook
her
head,
and
pleaded,
‘Don’t
tempt
me.
There’s
nothing
I’d
like
better,
but
I
have
that
big
corporate
event
to
cater
for
and
a
few
last
minute
changes
to
incorporate.’

‘Perhaps
I
can
give
you
a
hand,’
I
brightened
at
the
thought,
‘and
then
I
won’t
feel
so
bad
about
Calum
giving
up
his
valuable
time.’

‘We’ll
see
how
you
feel
in
the
morning,’
Tina
said,
noncommittally.
‘You’ve
obviously
been
over-doing
it
recently,
mentally
and
physically.’

In
fact,
after
a
good
night’s
sleep,
I
felt
one
hundred
percent
better,
though
Tina
and
Calum
insisted
we
stick
to
the
plans
made
the
night
before
and
I
found
myself
with
my
feet
up
in
front
of
the
TV
with
a
cup
of
coffee
and
a
pile
of
the
latest
glossy
magazines
by
my
side.

With
Will
out
for
the
day
with
Calum,
and
Tina
busy
at
work,
I
soon
became
fidgety.
I
flicked
through
the
TV
channels,
and
then
I
flicked
through
the
magazines,
but
I
wasn’t
used
to
sitting
around
and,
preferring
to
keep
busy,
I
went
in
search
of
Tina.

Her
business
premises
–
comprising
what
had
formerly
been
the
house
next
door
–
were
massive
compared
to
mine,
but
then
her
home
cooking
business
had
really
taken
off
since
she’d
relocated
to
London
after
her
marriage
to
Calum.
Hardly
surprising
that
there
were
far
more
people
in
a
huge
and
bustling
city
after
her
unique
catering
services
than
there
had
been
in
a
relative
backwater
like
Brankstone.

I
pushed
open
the
communicating
door
and
passed
through
offices
where
people
were
busy
on
computers
and
telephones
and
marvelled
that
my
friend
was
keeping
them
all
in
work.
I
wasn’t
envious
at
all,
because
Tina
deserved
every
bit
of
her
success.
For
myself,
I
had
been
happy
with
my
one
woman
business
running
comfortably
alongside
my
family
life.
I’d
always
felt
it
gave
me
the
best
of
both
worlds
–
and
it
had
until
I
messed
up.

Pushing
the
thought
away,
I
asked
Tina,
‘Can
I
help?’
as
I
walked
into
a
kitchen
that
seemed
to
stretch
for
miles
and
was
usually
full
of
staff
wearing
white
overalls.
‘Where
is
everybody?’

‘On
a
break,’
she
smiled
at
my
puzzled
look.
‘I
often
send
them
all
off
together,
just
so
that
I
can
remind
myself
that
it
is
my
kitchen.’

‘We
always
used
to
take
our
breaks
together,’
I
reminded
her.

Tina
smiled
again.
‘Yes,’
she
allowed,
adding,
‘but
of
course,
we
were
quite
different.’

I
took
it
for
the
compliment
it
was
clearly
meant
as.
‘So,’
I
looked
around,
‘where
do
I
start?’.

‘Quiche,’
she
said,
pointing,
‘over
there.
The
fillings
are
all
ready
for
the
pastry
cases.’

The
cheese
and
onion
filling
proved
to
be
no
problem,
and
I
placed
six
into
one
of
the
huge
ovens
before
moving
to
the
next
filling.
I
hadn’t
even
touched
a
mushroom
when
I
began
to
feel
queasy,
but
I
manfully
ignored
the
feeling
and
continued,
feeling
sure
it
would
soon
pass.

When
I
really
couldn’t
carry
on
I
left
the
fillings
for
someone
else
to
complete
and
made
my
way
across
to
where
Tina
was
mashing
up
a
bowl
of
sandwich
filling.
It
was
nothing
more
harmless
than
tuna
and
sweet
corn,
but
one
glance
in
the
basin
send
me
rushing
from
the
room
and
into
the
nearest
cloakroom.

Luckily
there
was
no
one
in
the
room,
either
before
or
after
I
was
ill,
and
I
stood
staring
at
my
pallid
complexion
in
the
mirror
over
the
sinks
for
what
seemed
like
a
very
long
time.
Eventually,
I
made
my
way
back
to
Tina,
who
was
standing
exactly
where
I
had
left
her.
She
was
staring
at
the
door,
obviously
waiting
for
me
to
come
back.

As
soon
as
I
stepped
inside,
she
said,
‘You’re
pregnant,’
and
I
nodded
and
agreed,
‘I’m
pregnant.’

Chapter 19

‘You
are,
aren’t
you?’
Tina
asked
the
question
needlessly,
because
we
both
already
knew
the
answer.
‘You’re
pregnant.’

‘Mushrooms
and
sweet
corn,’
I
grinned,
‘and
I’ve
gone
off
tea
–
it’s
just
the
same
as
it
was
when
I
was
having
William.
I
really
must
be,
Tina.
I
must
be
pregnant.
Oh,
my
bloody
God
–
and
there
is
absolutely
no
doubt
about
who
the
daddy
is
this
time.
This
baby
is
definitely
Jon’s,
which
probably
means
that
Will
is
as
well.’

We
stared
at
each
other
and
then
both
burst
into
tears
and
flew
into
each
other’s
arms
–
which
was
when
all
the
other
cooks
began
returning
to
work,
gawping
at
us
as
they
filtered
in.

‘We’re
just
so
happy,’
Tina
told
them,
and
we
cried
some
more
as
she
led
me
away
and
back
into
the
main
house.
‘Now,’
she
ordered,
after
she
had
tucked
me
up
on
the
couch
once
more
and
placed
a
cup
of
milky
coffee
beside
me,
‘you
stay
put
while
I
pop
along
to
Boots.
I
won’t
be
long.’

There
was
no
need
to
ask
why
she
was
going
to
the
chemist
and,
despite
the
fact
I
felt
quite
sure
that
I
really
was
pregnant,
I
still
felt
quite
nervous
in
case
a
pregnancy
test
said
otherwise.

It
seemed
a
very
odd
state
of
affairs
that
Jon
wasn’t
the
first
person
after
me
to
learn
we
were
expecting
a
child.
Another
child,
I
reminded
myself,
because
wasn’t
this
the
very
thing
I
had
been
hoping
and
praying
for?
I
finally
had
the
proof
I
needed
that
Jon
was
perfectly
capable
of
fathering
a
child
of
his
own,
whatever
the
state
of
his
sperm.

Had
the
circumstances
been
different
I
would
have
been
bursting
to
share
the
news
with
Jon
face
to
face.
Whether
he
was
at
work
or
out
with
a
client,
it
would
have
made
no
difference.
I
would
have
tracked
him
down,
flung
myself
into
his
arms,
and
watched
as
a
joy
to
match
my
own
spread
across
his
face.
As
it
was,
I
was
so
unsure
of
his
reaction
that
I
found
myself
hesitating
about
telling
him
at
all
–
at
least
for
now.

‘You
have
to
tell
him,’
was
Calum’s
immediate
reaction,
when
he
arrived
home
to
two
very
excited
women
and
three
positive
pregnancy
tests
-
which
was
understandable
given
the
secrecy
surrounding
his
own
child’s
birth
many
years
before.

He
went
off
then
to
watch
a
DVD
with
William,
who
was
thoroughly
enjoying
having
his
honorary
uncle
all
to
himself.

‘Calum
is
right,’
Tina
said.
‘Don’t
assume
anything
about
what
Jon’s
reaction
might
be.
That
was
the
mistake
I
made
with
Calum
-
assuming
he
wouldn’t
want
to
be
tied
down
with
a
child
-
and
not
allowing
him
the
choice
meant
he
missed
the
first
eighteen
years
of
Leanne’s
life.
If
Jon
doesn’t
want
to
be
involved
let
him
spell
it
out
to
you
himself.’

I
knew
they
were
right,
but
I
had
to
be
so
careful.
After
all,
it
had
been
me
that
Jon
rejected
when
he
became
aware
of
what
I
had
done
–
not
William,
never
William.
I
didn’t
want
Jon
to
feel
obliged
to
forgive
me
and
try
again
just
because
I
was
pregnant.
Another
child,
however,
much as
it
was
wanted,
wasn’t
going
to
repair
the
damage
my
affair
had
done
to
our
relationship.

I
did
feel
some
regret
that
I
hadn’t
managed
to
continue
to
keep
the
affair
secret
–
just
as
I
had
managed
to
do
for
seven
years
–
because,
in
my
heart
I
wasn’t
totally
sure
that
honesty
really
was
the
best
policy
in
every
single
case.

If
only
I
hadn’t
become
obsessed
with
the
bloody
Adonis
who
had
suddenly
popped
up
from
my
past.
If
only
I
hadn’t
allowed
his
appearance
to
feed
into
my
insane
belief
that
he
was
obsessed
with
me
and
the
child
that
I
had
always
been
convinced
was
his,
I
might
have
been
able
to
do
just
that.
It
might
not
have
been
honest,
but
it
would
surely
have
been
easier.