Least Said (77 page)

‘You’re
the
reason
he’s
given
in
his
notice,
then.
He
always
does
that
if
there’s
any
chance
of
his
past
catching
up
with
him,
though
it
hasn’t
happened
for
quite
some
time
now.’

All
the
fight
seemed
to
go
out
of
her,
her
shoulders
drooped
and
she
just
looked
sad.

‘I’m
so
sorry,’

‘Oh,’
she
dismissed,
‘it’s
not
your
fault,
if
it
hadn’t
been
you
it
would
probably
have
been
someone
else.
There’s
always
been
someone
else
for
as
far
back
as
I
remember.’

‘So
why
do
you
put
up
with
him
then?’

She
shrugged,
‘How
long
have
you
got?
It’s
a
long
story,
but
if
you
feel
like
putting
the
kettle
on...’

I
must
have
looked
shocked,
though
I
recovered
quickly
and
offered,
‘Of
course,
come
on
through
to
the
kitchen.’

She
pulled
out
a
chair
and
sat
down,
watching
me
bustle
around
for
a
moment,
and
then
she
said,
‘Well,
they
do
say
it’s
good
to
talk,
and
I
have
very
few
female
friends
for
obvious
reasons,’
I
presumed
that
she
meant
her
husband
couldn’t
be
trusted
with
them,
‘and
I
liked
you
–
I
still
do
in
spite
of
everything
you’ve
just
told
me.’

It
was
very
strange
how
we
sat
there,
like
the
good
friends
we
might
have
been
in
another
time
or
place,
drinking
coffee
and
eating
the
odd
biscuit,
and
I
listened
to
a
story
I
wished
I
could
say
had
nothing
to
do
with
me.

‘Gareth
is
a
good
husband,’
she
began,
‘apart
for
his
weakness
for
women
–
and
he
is
a
wonderful
father
to
the
girls.
I
have
no
doubt
that
he
does
love
us,
in
his
way.’

‘I’m
sure
he
is,’
I
said,
because
I
didn’t
disbelieve
her
for
a
minute,
‘and
I’m
sure
he
does.’

‘I
put
up
with
him,
as
you
put
it,’
she
told
me,
‘for
those
reasons
and
also
because
I
came
from
a
broken
home,
myself,
and
I’ve
never
wanted
that
for
my
girls.’

‘I
can
understand
that,
I
think,’
I
nodded,
adding,
‘Most
relationships
are
built
on
compromise
of
some
sort.’

‘Also,
as
I
said
earlier,
I
thought
he
was
over
all
that.
I
haven’t
caught
him
out
in
quite
some
time’

‘Well,
our
extremely
brief
fling
was
a
very
long
time
ago,
years
in
fact,
and
I
promise
you
that
it
really
was
only
the
once.’

‘So,
why
all
the
fuss
and
the
decision
to
give
in
his
notice
after
all
this
time
–
couldn’t
you
just
have
ignored
each
other?’
There
it
was,
the
question
I
had
been
dreading.

‘My
husband
and
I
had
been
childless,
despite
trying
for
a
long
time,
and
then
I
discovered
I
was
pregnant.’

I
watched
as
the
colour
drained
from
her
face,
‘And
you
think
the
child
is
Gareth’s?’
her
voice
was
barely
above
a
whisper.

‘I
did
–
I
do
–
I
wasn’t
sure.’
How
could
I
tell
her
that
I
thought
her
husband
had
come
back
into
my
life
because
he
had
an
interest
in
the
child
we
might
have
created?
It
was
enough
already
that
my
obsession
had
ruined
one
marriage,
I
didn’t
think
I
could
bear
to
be
responsible
for
the
demise
of
two.

‘When
exactly
was
this?’
she
demanded
suddenly.

‘William
is
six.’

‘Then
he
is
definitely
not
Gareth’s
child,’
she
said,
‘because
he
had
a
vasectomy
eight
years
ago
when
I
became
pregnant
with
my
fourth
child.’

Chapter 20

Catrin
Montgomery
left
soon
after.
I
was
quite
sorry
to
see
her
go
because
if
the
past
hadn’t
got
in
the
way
.
I
felt
sure
we
might
have
enjoyed
a
really
good
friendship.

I
went
back
to
my
work
room
the
minute
she
was
gone,
intent
on
keeping
my
hands
busy
as
I
sorted
out
my
thoughts.
I
certainly
had
an
awful
lot
to
think
about
–
not
least
that
my
precious
son
no
longer
had
that
dark
cloud
of
uncertainty
surrounding
his
paternity
hanging
over
him.
However,
without
a
DNA
test
or
an
awful
lot
of
very
uncomfortable
explaining,
I
didn’t
know
how
convinced
Jon
was
going
to
be.

The
first
thing
I
saw
when
I
walked
into
the
room
was
the
cake
Catrin
Montgomery
had
ordered
for
her
husband’s
birthday
this
coming
weekend.
She’d
obviously
forgotten
all
about
it,
and
who
could
blame
her
under
the
circumstances.
I
was
perfectly
sure
that
if
I
was
married
to
him
he
would
find
himself
wearing
it
rather
than
eating
it.

I
went
over
and
stood
in
front
of
it,
pushing
back
the
other
cakes
that
surrounded
it
until
it
stood
alone
on
the
work-top.
It
was
quite
a
work
of
art
even
if
I
said
it
myself,
with
the
icing
covering
the
cake
in
the
bright
green
of
a
rugby
pitch.
The
white
lines
were
all
picked
out
and,
to
the
fore,
a
slim
run-out
made
of
icing
depicted
a
player
bearing
a
remarkable
resemblance
to
the
man
himself,
wearing
the
team
colours
that
Catrin
had
described
in
detail
to
me
when
she
had
placed
the
order.

I
had
no
compunction
about
consigning
the
whole
thing
to
the
bin.
I
was
quite
certain
she
would
have
no
interest
in
it
now
and
I
wanted
no
reminders
of
something
and
someone
I
would
rather
forget.
I
could
have
used
the
cake
itself
again
but
what
were
a
few
wasted
ingredients
compared
to
peace
of
mind?
The
whole
thing
landed
in
the
bottom
of
the
bin
with
a
satisfying
thud,
and
I
swept
my
hands
together
in
a
dismissive
gesture.

It
wasn’t
anywhere
near
enough,
I
soon
discovered,
to
merely
have
it
out
of
sight.
After
a
few
minutes
of
trying
to
focus
on
the
next
order,
I
returned
to
the
bin,
lifted
the
bin-bag
and
its
contents
out
and
carried
the
whole
thing
through
the
kitchen,
out
through
the
back
door,
and
then
threw
everything
with
some
force
into
the
black
wheelie
bin.

It
was
done,
the
whole
sorry
episode
was
behind
me,
and
with
any
luck
I
would
never
set
eyes
on
Gareth
–
bloody
–
Montgomery
ever
again.
His
wife
was
more
than
welcome
to
him
because,
if
as
she
thought,
he
really
had
turned
over
a
new
leaf
what
the
hell
had
that
earlier
awful
episode
in
my
hallway
been
all
about?
That
man
had
a
nasty
streak
a
mile
wide
running
right
through
him
and
she
deserved
a
medal
for
putting
up
with
him.

Back
indoors
I
picked
up
the
phone
–
and
then
I
put
it
back
down.
Where
on
earth
was
Jon?
Was
he
really
on
a
train
to
London
and
why
hadn’t
he
been
in
touch?
I
should
ring
him
and
just
plead
with
him
to
come
home
so
that
we
could
talk.
Avoiding
what
was
bound
to
be
a
difficult
conversation
wasn’t
helping
and
heading
towards
the
Christmas
festivities
with
our
family
fractured
beyond
repair
really
didn’t
bear
thinking
about.

Somehow,
I
had
to
convince
Jon
that
I
deserved
a
second
chance,
and
not
just
because
I
was
expecting
his
child.
I
had
no
intention
of
sharing
that
particular
piece
of
news
with
him
yet
because,
if
he
wasn’t
prepared
to
try
again
for
William
and
me,
then
another
baby
would
make
little
difference
because
there
was
no
hope
for
us.

I
was
going
to
ring
him,
right
now.
My
mind
made
up,
I
picked
up
the
phone
again,
and
just
at
that
minute
it
began
to
ring
in
my
hand
–
and
Jon’s
name
came
up
on
the
screen.