Yours Unfaithfully (30 page)

“What’s wrong, Tim, is everything all right?”

“Yes of course it is... well no, actually, it isn’t. I’m fed up with you lying to me about what’s going on there. Have you been to the zoo?”

“Tim, you sound a little crazy, have you been drinking? Are you with Ben? He’s put you up to this hasn’t he? I might’ve known he’d be causing trouble before long with me not there.”

“Well that’s the trouble, you’re not here, I’m here on my own and I’ve had enough Mel, do you hear me? I’ve had as much as I can take. I don’t know what you’re doing or who you’re with. Why don’t you tell me anything? Who are you with now? Is he listening?”

“Who’s he exactly?”

“Nina’s boss, she told me how you met at her party. You knew all about this bloody trip before we went on holiday didn’t you...? All that bullshit about nearly resigning, you couldn’t wait to bloody go, and I fell for it, every word of it.”

“Tim, is Trudy there? Can I speak to her please?”

“No you can’t. I’m round at Nina’s.”

“Then I’ll speak to Nina, now Tim, please.”

He handed the phone to Nina, “She wants to talk to you.”

“Hi Mel, I’m sorry about this. Tim came round half an hour ago. I gave him something to eat but he is really distressed. I’m trying to find out what’s upset him but he’s in too much of a state at the moment. He’s going on about the zoo; it seems to be quite important to him.”

“Neen, he’s just said that you told him about Ratty and me meeting at your party. Why? Why did you tell him that? That’s bound to make him think something’s wrong, and just in case you’re wondering, nothing is wrong, especially on that front. This trip is business, that’s all, so please make sure he understands that, will you?” Her voice was verging on anger.

“Mel, it wasn’t like that, I can’t explain now, I’ll speak to you later, ring me at work tomorrow.”

“OK, but are the kids all right? He hasn’t gone and sacked Trudy in a temper has he?”

“No, they’re fine, she’s doing a brilliant job with them. You chose well with her and no mistake.”

“Nina, this trip is hard enough without a phone call like this; I want to be back home with Tim and the kids. I’ve cried myself to sleep for the last two nights, but I have to stay here until it’s all signed and settled and that won’t be for a while yet. Please, Neen, can you look after him? Tell him the way I’m feeling.”

“It might be better if you told him, Mel, it’s you he wants to hear it from, not me, but I’ll do my best.”

“Thanks, Neen, put him back on and I’ll try, but it’ll only make me cry again.”

Nina handed the phone to Tim and then left the room. “Tim, I love you, I promise you I didn’t know about this trip until the day I came back to work. I want to come home just as much as you want me to... she started crying, uncontrollably... Tim, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Unable to say another word she rang off, leaving Tim holding the phone and feeling as confused as ever.

He put his head in his hands and wept silently. How had they come to this? They couldn’t even talk to each other now without shedding tears. What had she said to Nina? Was she in on this game that didn’t include him?

Nina came back and sat down next to him. He turned to face her, “What did you mean, Neen, when you said, ‘It wasn’t like that’? You said you couldn’t explain now. Why not now? Because I’m here? Is that it? You said, ‘Ring me tomorrow at work.’ What’s going on Neen? Are you a part of this conspiracy? I thought I could trust you, I really thought that I could trust you, but you’re in on her dirty little secret aren’t you?”

“Tim, love, I’m not in on her little secret. She didn’t know about the trip, of that I’m certain. You can trust me,” she put her arm around him and pulled herself tightly into him, “please believe me. I only told her to ring me tomorrow because I knew she was about to cry. If you really think I’m scheming against you then you’d better leave but if you do I shall be the one in tears. I’m here for you Tim, if you want me, that is?”

He turned and hugged her, letting all his desire for human comfort explode in an effort to rid himself of the fears that had torn him apart all day. She was warm in his arms, willing, always willing to give him love when he needed it. She was a real friend, she wasn’t at all selfish like Ben had always made her out to be. He just didn’t treat her properly; if he had he would’ve discovered that he was married to a fantastic woman, a woman who would give everything to make him happy, not like Mel, who cared more about the bank than him. That had always been her bloody problem.

“Do you know, Neen, there are three of us in my marriage. That’s why it will never work?”

“Three? Who’s the third person, Tim?”

“It’s not a person, it’s a bank. She loves the sodding bank more than she does me. If she loved me she wouldn’t have gone, would she? She’d have said stuff your bloody job, I’ve got a husband, but no, they said go and she said ‘when’? I’m not stupid, Neen, I’ve known for ages that I was second to her bloody career. You’ve got a brilliant career as a successful lawyer, but it didn’t stop you loving Ben, did it?”

“I don’t know, Tim, maybe it did. I never thought he was right when it came to mixing with the people from my work. He simply let himself down, and he used to let me down, that’s why I asked you to keep him out that night when I had my work people round for drinks. Maybe I’m a snob, Tim, but although Ben wasn’t good enough for me, it doesn’t stop me missing having him around.”

“Do you still love him?”

“I don’t think I’ve loved him for a long time, but he was part of the furniture, part of my life. I got used to dusting around him, putting up with his drinking and the fact that he couldn’t hold a job down for more than five minutes. Does that make me a selfish cow? That’s what he called me in one of our last rows.”

“You’re not selfish, Neen, you are the least selfish person I’ve ever known. Tim put his head alongside hers and felt her arms around him. You’ve given me the most precious gift a woman can give a man, Neen. You wouldn’t have done that if you were selfish. You’ve given me love when Mel was too busy to bother about me. I owe you, Neen, I owe you so much.”

“If you believe that, Tim, take me one more time, make me feel complete, give me the love my husband should be giving me, please ... don’t make me beg for your affection.”

“I won’t, Neen, you won’t ever have to beg me for anything, and even if Mel and I get this sorted out I owe you too much to ever let you be unhappy. l want you right now as much as I ever wanted her.”

They went upstairs and stayed there, together. It wasn’t until six the next morning that Tim woke up with the sun streaming in through the curtains. He was completely naked alongside Nina, who was the same. He climbed quietly out of bed and went downstairs. When he woke her, it was with coffee and toast, and kind words.

“Nina, sweetheart, wake up. I’ve made us some breakfast, then I’ve got to get showered and off to work. He leaned across and cuddled her to him. I meant everything I said last night, Neen, you are a lovely person. I always want us to stay friends.”

“We will, Tim, I promise you, whatever happens we’ll be friends.”

Simon noticed the difference as soon as he set eyes on Tim.

“You look a hundred times better this morning; did you ask your wife about the zoo? Just talking to her has made all the difference hasn’t it? You look your old self again, which is just as well because we’re going to have to stay away for two nights. I’ve had a call from a tenant in Edinburgh; a few problems that need sorting out. We’ll call round to your house when we leave here and you can pick up a few clothes. Maybe I’ll get to meet your children, I’d like that.”

Tim was also surprised at how good he felt, he was on top of the world, yet nothing had been sorted with Mel.

“We did talk, but not for long, and I asked her about the zoo, but she didn’t seem to know what I was talking about. I don’t care anyway. I feel good about things this morning. I won’t be taking up your offer to fly out to see her, but thanks, it was very kind of you.”

“Tim, when I asked you to take this job, I wanted more than just a driver, and I think I got more. I like to think of you as a buddy, Tim, someone I can share my property problems with. I suppose you think that’s a bit strange, people tend to think that because you’re well off you want for nothing. In fact nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, it’s true I can have anything that money can buy, like this car, like the Manor, but Joan, my wife, has always been a very shy, private person. Nowadays she enjoys giving dinner parties at home but you still won’t find her making speeches or coming out of the shadows. She prefers to leave it to me to do that sort of thing, while she watches from the sidelines. The truth is, Tim, I don’t have many close friends. We’re very happy together, but I miss having someone to share my business interests with. She doesn’t want to meet the people we visit on these trips, yet most of them are fascinating people who look forward to my visits as much as I look forward to seeing them. Having someone to share the journey with and experience the welcome which awaits us is a pleasure in itself. It adds enormously to my enjoyment. You’ve a good head on your shoulders, Tim, and you’re easy to talk to. Your wife is a lucky woman and I bet she knows it. Four weeks is a long time to be away from someone you love and I bet any money that she’s hurting, just like you are, but she’ll be back before you know it and then you’ll appreciate each other all the more. Anyway, I intend to keep you extra busy until then, my way of helping you to get through it, OK?”

“Thanks Simon, I count myself very lucky to be working with you.”

By the time they reached the Scottish border, Simon was asleep in the back. Tim turned the radio off, preferring to have some quiet time to examine the thoughts that were filling his head. He thought about what Simon had said. Even with all his money he needed something he couldn’t buy; friends. Yet Tim had made two in as many weeks. Simon was a dependable man, one his father would have called, ‘Officer Material’, unlike Ben who could fairly be described as totally unreliable trench material. What about his other new friend? She had been in his mind all day, unlike yesterday when it had been Mel who occupied that space. The strange thing is, he thought, I should be feeling guilty but I don’t, instead I feel a sense of relief. I actually feel perfectly at ease with what we’ve done... what we
are
doing... no to hell with it, I’ll say what I mean ... what we intend to do. ‘Look Mel, you’re in Poland, you’ve barely found time to speak to me since you went there, you’ve shut me out of your life there, I don’t know what you do or who you do it with. There must by fifty people who know more about you at this moment than I do, waiters, taxi drivers, hotel staff, I bet they’re all laughing at me and thinking, ‘If her husband could see her now, enjoying herself like she’s a single woman. Why? Why Mel? In the past we’ve shared everything, told each other everything. You’ve hurt me on this trip and I don’t know if I can ever get over that. When you come back what are you going to do? Sit down for four hours and tell me everything that happened in Poland? No, of course not. It’ll be, ‘Oh I can’t remember now’. All the events of this four weeks will be a secret shared only with Nina’s boss and the rest of your cronies.’ In his anger Tim forgot that this conversation was meant to stay inside his head.

“Well sod you; I’ve got a secret of my own!”

“Tim, what is this secret that is making you so angry? Would you feel better for sharing it?”

“Sorry, Simon, I was thinking out loud, I thought you were asleep.”

Simon laughed, “I was, Tim, until you woke me up. Come on old chap, you’re upset about something, that’s obvious. I’m very discreet. I was brought up in a family where honour was paramount. My ancestors were tortured by the Roundheads, but preferred to die rather than betray the King. I can’t promise quite that degree of loyalty but anything you tell me will go no further.”

“It’s a bit complicated, Simon. I don’t even understand what’s happening, so I doubt if you could.”

“But I’m looking at the trees from a distance, Tim, unlike you; you’re standing right in the middle of the forest. You’re afraid that your wife might be tempted while she’s away, aren’t you? It’s the most natural thing in the world to feel that way because deep down you see it as a risk, a risk that you might lose the most precious thing in your world. Tim, I have a lot of influence, that’s the one thing money does give me. Do you want me to make some enquiries at the bank about how the trip is going, that sort of thing?”

“Thanks Simon, but no. No one in the bank is going to say if she’s found solace in the arms of Nina’s boss. He’s the one who arranged to have Mel go on this trip. That’s the bit I don’t understand. Why her? There must be people in the bank with more experience of this kind of thing than her. I found out from Nina, that’s my neighbour and Mel’s best friend that Mel met this guy, Rattani Naziree, at a drinks party Nina held a few weeks back, but she never said anything about him at the time. Then, all of a sudden, he’s whisking her out of the country for a month. Doesn’t that seem odd to you?”

“Tim, I’m your chum but I don’t know your wife, so I’ll try to be truthful without embroidering the facts to create a story which we don’t know even exists. I’ve heard of Rattani Naziree. In fact, a few weeks back I went to a seminar at the Hilton, which he gave on contract law. He knows his stuff and he’s highly thought of in the legal world, but that tells us nothing about his private life, does it? There are two ways we can handle this Tim. One, you let me hire a goof to follow her around in Poznan, he’ll soon tell us if Naziree is coming on to your wife, and in the very unlikely event that she has fallen for his charms he’ll give us proof; photos of them together, that sort of thing... or alternatively... you can trust her. The good thing about the first is that you will know the truth, for certain, but the bad thing about it is that you will always feel guilty for having checked up on her behind her back, and if she ever found out it might do immeasurable harm to your relationship. That is a decision, Tim, that only you can make. Why don’t you think on it, let me know tomorrow after you’ve slept on it, OK? Good man.”