Yours Unfaithfully (45 page)

“I think Nina’s right Ben, we should take the kids away. What about the Lake District?”

“Where’s that?”

“Ben, are you serious? Everyone knows the Lake District, well everyone except you.”

“I wasn’t thinking of going abroad Beckie, anyway we couldn’t afford it. Nina said she’d help with the cost on condition I didn’t tell you she was chipping in. Bloody cheek. We don’t have secrets, but I didn’t tell her that. I said, “yes OK Neen, whatever you say,” She’s got far more money than I have, she earns more than us two put together, why shouldn’t she pay?”

“Ben, I’m talking about the English Lakes not the bloody Swiss ones. I’ll tell work tomorrow, then I’ll go and see about hiring a tent for a week. We’ll need a trailer as well.”

“That could be tricky, I haven’t got a tow hitch.”

“But you visit dozens of garages everyday in your job, Ben. Ask around tomorrow and find someone who’ll fit it cheaply. I’m beginning to look forward to this holiday already. I haven’t been camping since I was a kid. It’s going to be great. Funny though, why Nina suggested it, don’t you think?”

“I told you she’s mad?”

“Well if we get a nice holiday out of it, who cares?”

When Ben phoned Nina the next night to confirm that he would take the kids off on Saturday she was delighted. “Come over about ten, Ben, and I’ll have everything packed for them. Where have you decided to go?”

“We’re going to the Lake District. It’s up North, according to Beckie.”

“Ben, I know where the Lake District is, thank you. I just hope you can find it. Anyway the kids can read a map, probably best if you let them navigate, and while you’re at it let them put the tent up. If you do it it’ll blow away the first night there’s a breeze.”

“Nina, I thought you wanted me to take
them
camping, not the other way round.”

“Yes, but I trust them implicitly, whereas I don’t trust you to do anything properly. Just take care of them and make sure they have a good time. I’ll see you on Saturday.”

When Melanie saw Ben arrive with his girlfriend on Saturday morning she suspected trouble. “Tim, I think Nina’s got some problem with Ben and that girl. He’s just pulled up with a trailer. He’s probably trying to take half her furniture or something.”

“Well, he won’t get it on that piddling little thing, so stop worrying.”

“Tim, go round there and stop him; find out what he’s up to, please.”

“Mel, he’s still married to her, if he wants to visit he can. If she wants our help she’ll ask, otherwise I’m not interfering.”

“Do you know, Tim, you’ve always had it in for Nina, I know Ben’s your so called mate, but you’ve always resented helping her. You might like to remember that she is my friend and she still lives next door, that makes us neighbours, unlike that prat who lives somewhere else with someone else, OK?”

“Mel, I’m not taking sides, it’s just that I don’t think I should interfere unless I’m asked. Anyway, you know I hardly ever see Ben now that he’s with her. I don’t even know what he gets up to nowadays. He doesn’t play pool at the Globe any more and he’s so wrapped up with Beckie that he never phones me. The only time we speak is if I phone him. Fine, if that’s how it suits him, but we were best pals for three years and he’s dropped me since he met her.”

“Oh dear, is poor Tim missing his little pal? Only trouble is he isn’t little is he.”

“Mel, you’ve never had a good word to say about Ben. OK, he’s not the brightest in the class but he’s a good sort at heart. You need to give him a chance, like you keep asking me to do for Nina.”

“OK, Tim, but if he hurts her I hope you’ll remember those words.”

“He isn’t going to hurt her, that’s one thing about Ben. He’s big, but he’s as meek as a mouse inside, and let’s be honest, Nina can certainly stick up for herself. The Russian bloody army wouldn’t frighten her.”

“I thought we were going to be fair to both of them. Is that your idea of fair? You can’t stand Nina, I know that, you’ve made it obvious often enough. You’d better be right about him, Tim.”

Melanie watched from behind the upstairs curtain, making sure to keep out of sight.

“Tim, he’s taking the kids away from Nina. You’ve got to go round there, now!”

Tim came up to the window. “So if he’s taking them by force, why is she waving them goodbye? Why isn’t she in floods of tears? He must be having them for the weekend, though how the hell he’s going to get three kids in that flat I don’t know.”

If Melanie thought her covert observation had gone unnoticed she soon realised it hadn’t when Ben cheekily looked up at the window and waved as he pulled away. Melanie lip read his words, clearly directed in her direction. “I think he just called me a nosey cow,” she said.

She looked round for support but Tim had gone downstairs, fed up with the goings on next door, which would inevitably result in Mel spending more time round there on a fact finding mission. She waited a respectable five minutes before going round to check on her best friend.

“Neen, is everything all right? I saw Ben take the children off.”

“Yes, it was a bit of a shock. He rang up a couple of nights ago insisting on taking them camping in the Lake District for a few days. It’s a complete turn around for him, but I can’t refuse him, they’re still his kids after all. Well, in law at least.”

“Neen, are you OK?”

“Yes, I’m fine, he’s a crap husband and he’d never win a ‘Father of the Year’ award but he wouldn’t hurt them. I’m sure he loves them, in his simple way.”

“That’s roughly what Tim said, he wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“Except me Mel, he’s hurt me enough.”

“Do you still miss him, Neen?”

“Like a ticking clock I suppose, it annoys the hell out of you when it’s there but you miss it when it’s gone. I haven’t loved him for ages, so if I miss him it’s just the getting used to being on my own, not the loss of his deep love and affection for Christ’s sake.”

“I’ve been so busy I haven’t seen you all week, Neen. How’s the job working out?”

“It’s much as I expected, pretty routine, nothing out of the ordinary.”

“And Hugh Ballantyne, how is he working out?”

“I see him around the office, but he’s busy and so am I, so we don’t talk much. To be honest I don’t think he notices me there most of the time. What about you? You went to dinner with Tim’s boss at the Manor on Wednesday didn’t you?”

“Neen, you should see how the other half live. Veronica, that’s his boss’s sister, showed us around the Manor House. It’s beautiful. They still employ staff, can you imagine that? A cook and a chauffer and a security man and a housekeeper ... it’s like something from the eighteen hundreds.”

“Mel, are you forgetting, you also employ staff, you have a Nanny ... remember? a-ha!”

“I hadn’t forgotten Trudy, Neen, but that hardly stands comparison with the Manor. So you’ve got a couple of days all to yourself… got any plans?”

“No, I’m just going to laze around and take it easy.”

No sooner had Melanie got back to her house than Tim was questioning her about what Nina had told her. Although he hadn’t wanted to go round and get involved – that was far too risky given all that was going on – he was as anxious to know what was happening.

“Neen didn’t seem too concerned. It seems Ben just phoned her up and offered to take the kids camping in the Lake District for a few days. She said the same as you – that he wouldn’t hurt them – but I think she’s a bit concerned that he’s not very sensible, and you can’t argue with that.”

“That’s for sure but Beckie probably has enough brains to keep them out of trouble. You can’t come to much harm camping can you? Especially in the Lake District.”

“Famous last words Tim?”

“No, they’ll be fine, and now that we’ve sorted out what’s happening next door could we think about our plans for today?”

“I don’t have any plans beyond taking James to his music lessons. He’s arranged a lift back. Are you going to watch Henry at football?”

“Of course, but then I thought tonight we might go out to that Indian restaurant by the station – everyone’s raving about it – and then home for a night of pure passion… what d’you say?”

“I could be persuaded... perhaps.”

“Do you fancy giving me a few hints on the best way to persuade you?”

“No, find out for yourself. You should know me well enough to know what I like.”

“Whatever it is, you’ve got it, I’ll book the table for seven thirty, OK?”

“I shall look forward to it, and whatever you have planned for afterwards.”

Tim was pleased that Melanie was trying hard to get their relationship back to normal despite the problems they’d encountered since her return. They’d stopped blaming each other, but it still wasn’t as good as it should be. Tonight he’d get it absolutely spot on starting with a single red rose, which he’d buy this afternoon and give her before they left the house.

He’d pay special attention to her throughout the meal and then hold her tight in the taxi home. He would prove to her that he was still the perfect partner, even after twenty years.

Melanie came out of the shower and walked naked into the bedroom where Tim was waiting with his rose. She took it and gave him a kiss which sent shivers down his spine. He was fully dressed and ready to go and she was completely naked and as beautiful as he had ever seen her. This would be a fabulous evening with a fairy tale ending.

The meal was good. The restaurant was buoyant, happy, noisy. It was impossible not to become infused with the enjoyment around groups of diners and the sincerity of the waiters who gave each table seemingly special attention.

They held hands as they waited for the taxi.

Melanie pulled Tim to her and kissed him enthusiastically, “Thank you, Tim, for a lovely evening.”

“It’s not over yet Mel,” he replied, his thoughts occupied by the promise in that kiss.

They cuddled like teenagers in the back of the taxi and then ran indoors as they hurried to get upstairs. Trudy and the kids had gone to bed, so Melanie took her shoes off at the bottom of the stairs signalling to Tim to go quietly. They sneaked up the stairs as if they were in an illicit relationship, but that only heightened their excitement.

Once behind the closed door they wasted no time in undressing each other and tumbling into bed. As they cuddled Tim sought to seduce her, but his mind wandered to the last few occasions when it had all gone horribly wrong. Somehow Melanie sensed that he was uncomfortable, but as soon as she asked him what was wrong he fell to pieces.

“I don’t know, I’ll be fine in a minute, don’t worry.”

But she did worry, she tensed up as she sensed his lack of confidence and within seconds they had lost the magic that promised to make this moment special.

Tim rolled onto his back and sighed. Melanie silently turned and waited for him to say what was on his mind. All he could think about was his failure, failure to make love to his wife! He doubted if there was any failure worse than this in a man, it was the ultimate shame, to have to admit that he couldn’t satisfy his wife when she was ready and willing to make it happen.

As he laid there in the darkened room his eyes filled with tears. He put his hand down at his side and found her hand. She clamped his hand in hers in an attempt to reassure him that it wasn’t a big problem.

“Tim, it’s no big deal. Maybe you had too much to drink?”

“Mel, I’ve had hardly anything to drink and you know it. It’s me, I’m the problem. It was never like this before you went away, what’s changed?”

“Nothing’s changed, Tim. You’re worrying about it and that’s the problem. You have to relax and believe that it’s going to be all right and then it will be. We’ll try again tomorrow. I bet it’ll be perfect.’

When they tried again on Sunday evening Tim was in trouble even before they got started. He was so afraid of another failure that he made it a certainty. Nothing Melanie could say would help. He was angry with his own inability to function normally, yet there was a deeper issue, one that he couldn’t share with her, the fact that each time he made love to Nina it was easy, there was no problem. Why then was it impossible with the woman he wanted so much?

Had he imagined it to be perfect with Nina? Was his memory playing tricks with him? Only a week ago he had met her on the common and they had found it easy to satisfy each other without a hint of anxiety.

Perhaps the answer to his problem lay with Nina; maybe if he could make love to her one more time he could prove to himself that he was imaging the problem. He could hardly ask her to partake in an act of intimacy purely to assist him in his need to overcome his lack of confidence, a problem that only manifested itself when he tried to make love to his wife.

The only way he could take Nina was by pretending to want her. She’d be keen enough to cooperate in the belief that he was showing his true affection for her. What he was proposing was highly dangerous, but there was no other way to restore his belief in himself.

She had told him to ring her during the day, but that was a bold move which would strike of desperation on his part. She’d be suspicious if he rang out of the blue and suggested an illicit meeting, so tomorrow he would be dignified in his request.

On his arrival at the Manor he was greeted with the news that Simon was returning on Wednesday. Apparently he’d got the message that Veronica wasn’t in a hurry to go and he couldn’t stay away any longer. This could get interesting! A note gave him the ETA at Heathrow.

Veronica called him over to say she wanted the car tomorrow as she thought it unlikely she’d have it once Simon was back. This meant that if he was to put his plan into operation it had to be today. He walked off to a quiet part of the garden and called Nina’s mobile.

“Tim… how nice to get a call from you so early on Monday morning, what a good way to start the week. What can I do for you?”

He wished she hadn’t asked that question, it made it kind of awkward, when what he wanted to say was, “Can you let me make love to you to prove to myself I can do it and can you make it today as I’ve got a lot to get through this week.”

“Neen, it’s a nice day and my boss, Simon gets back the day after tomorrow, I was wondering if you fancied a spin out somewhere for an hour or two, but if you’re busy I understand ... it was probably daft me ringing you and expecting you to be able to make time just like that ... sorry Neen ...”