Ring of Lies (7 page)

‘
Look
,
are you sure there’s no one else
who can
help?
’

‘
I’m sure.
’

‘
All right,
Grace,
I’ll
meet you
.
But
I can’t promise
you anything
,
you do
understand
that
?
’

‘
I understand
,
and t
hank you
, Jack
.
I’ll see you tomorrow.
’

He
laid
Emilia
in the
Moses Basket.
Her eyes fluttered open, and then closed as s
he stirred briefly
.
He brushed a finger over the cap of dark fluffy hair.
Satisfied that she was indeed asleep, he tiptoed out of the room
.
As he passed the kitchen, he grabbed a clean T-shirt from the stack of laundry waiting to b
e ironed and changed his shirt.

While
he
slapped
buttercup-
yellow
paint on the wall
of
what
was once his study
,
and
now
was
the nursery,
he
thought about Grace.
Early June last summer, they’d been two people in a crowd of thousands attending the Wimbledon Tennis Championship.
His
two-
month secondment
with
the Embassy
in London
over,
h
e’d taken what was left of his accrued leave and purchased a seat for the
duration of the
tournament
.
As it happened,
Grace had
been allocated
the
seat next to his.
When rain showers halted play
,
he’d offered her shelter under his umbrella
,
and
they
started
chatting
.
Equally knowledgeable about the
game
, it turned out that they both played for their local club
s
.
Their
relaxed
banter soon developed
into
an easy I-
like-you kind of rapport.

W
henever there was a break between matches
or play
was
abandoned
due to
inclement
weather
,
they
found
a qui
e
t spot
to share
a bowl of
strawberries
and
a bottle of wine.
By the end of the first week, they were constant companions.

The
n
on the final day of the tournament
,
he’d sugges
ted they have
dinner
together.
At first
Grace had
said no
, but
changed her mind
on
condition
they split the bill
.
Somewhere between the entrée and dessert,
their relationship changed
.
T
he conversation became more personal.
He’d told her about Rosa,
his Cuban girlfriend,
from whom he’d parted
some
month
s
earlier
on less than friendly terms, and
about
his life in Florida.
In turn she’d told him about her sister, and the village in Gloucester
shire
where she lived
.

When it came time to say
goodnight he sa
w her safely back to her hotel.

‘
Thank you for dinner.
’

‘
My pleasure.
Are you going to ask me in for a nightcap?
’

Her smile faltered.
‘
I’m sorry, I can’t.
’
She took a deep breath and looked up at him.
‘
I
—
oh, I don’t know how to say this, so I’ll just come out with it.
Jack, I’m sorry.
I’m married.
’

His smile didn’t falter
it collapsed.
‘
You’re married?
’

She nodded.

A combination of disappointment and bewilderment clouded his features.
‘
That’s a hell of a thing to hear.
Couldn’t you have told me before this?
’

‘
Oh, I tried
,
believe me, but it never seemed
be
the right moment.
I
…
I
like you
, Jack
.
’

‘
Like me enough to lie to me.
’
He glanced at her
left
hand and wondered why he’d never noticed the thin
platinum
band on her finger.
Something in her
eyes
told him the marriage wasn’t all it should be.
For the longest time he just
stared at her, saying nothing.

Eventually, she
held out her
trembling
right hand
.
‘
It was wonderful meeting you
, Jack
.
’

He took her hand, leant forward, and brushed his lips against her cheek.
‘
You too.
’

‘
Have a s
afe journey home.
’

‘
Grace
—
’

‘
I’m sorry.
Goodbye, Jack.
’
She turned and walked quickly
toward the bank of elevators
before he could say anymore.

That was the last time they’d had any contact.
He’d
often wondered
what
might
have happened if
s
he
had invited
him
back to her room
for a drink.

Rosa padded into the room.
‘
Y
ou’ve been painting the same piece of wall for the last five
minutes.
’

Startled, he jumped at the sound of her voice.
The can of paint in his hand tipped, threatening to spill its contents over the polished wood floor.

‘
Damn it, Rosa, do you have
to creep up on me like that?
’

She yawned, and then brushed her long black hair from her eyes.
‘
You were someplace else, what were you thinking about?
’

‘
I was thinking that I’d finish this a whole lot quicker if I wasn’t interrupted every five minutes.
’

‘
You haven’t been interrupted by me, so there’s n
o need to be a grouch.
Did I hear the phone?
’

He
looked at her with something akin to disgust
.
‘
Christ, Rosa,
you
wake up when the phone rings, but not when your daughter cries.
What sort of a mother are you?
’

Hands on hips, Rosa glared at him.
‘
Don’t start, Jack.
You
’ve
no idea what it’s like to give birth.
I just can’t stand her needing me all the time.
’

He sighed.
Rosa hadn’t told him about the pregnancy until it was too late to do anything about it, n
ot that he believed in abortion
.
It was just that fatherhood had never featured high on his list of priorities
.
But
whether the pregnancy was due his carelessness or her forgetfulness in taking the birth control pill,
he’d accepted the responsibility and moved her into
his
condo.
What he couldn’t
tolerate
was her total lack of interest in the child
, and the
home he was providing for them.