Antidote to Infidelity (58 page)

Ashen faced, Rob
wanders over, kicking out at a crunched up coffee cup.

“
It
’
s been
hours
,
”
he sighs, running a nervous
hand through his wavy, identical-to-Will locks.
“
Damn
it, Sally. Surely someone knows something by now. I
’
m gonna see what
’
s going on.
”

“
No,
don
’
t
,
”
I beg, remembering one of Will
’
s favourite sayings: never go
looking for bad news.
“
Five more minutes,
okay?
Please?”

Turning Will
’
s thick gold wedding band over
and over in my palm, I read the tender inscription we had engraved on our
rings:
two souls entwined, yours for eternity
, before closing my fist
and pressing it to my heart. Oh, God. This miserable mess is all my fault. Yes,
the past three weeks have been a circus and Will
’
s
been a clown - but I alone have been the ringmaster.

Tugging me from
Greg’s arms to hers, Bianca squeezes me tight.

“
Sometimes,
”
she whispers in my ear,
“
It takes a good kick up the
arse to knock people to their senses. It
’
ll all work out,
Sal. Will
’
s strong.
”

I flinch, tears
flowing freely.

So strong he
’
s leapt off a
balcony . . .

Nodding, saying
nothing, I just close my eyes and wait.

For Will.

I
’
m not about to go looking for
bad news but if
it
finds
me
, I know one thing for sure. I
’
ll never, ever, forgive myself.

***

Five hours ago,
having established Greg
’
s panicked
‘
get out here
’
meant to Puerto Delfina and
‘
right away
’
meant before it
’
s too late, I raced the short
distance to East Midlands Airport with Bianca and Rob at my side.

As I rocketed down
the motorway, Rob relayed the twisted events to his devastated parents and also
to Amy, who agreed to pick up theirs and the kids’ passports and meet them in
the departure lounge within the hour.

Armed with nothing
but Will’s wedding ring, we boarded the private charter flight Bianca had paid
for and soared off into the unknown.

Although Greg told
us everything he could, all we
really
knew was that, sometime between
six and seven am this morning, Will had apparently hurled himself over the wall
of Ben
’
s apartment into the
sea. Having miraculously survived the rocks, he was rushed to hospital by
helicopter and had been in surgery for most of the morning.

The agonising
two-hour flight was spent in tearful silence, but as we hovered above Malaga
Airport, waiting for clearance to land, Bi and Rob finally spilled the beans on
what was going on, and why Will was in Spain.

“
I could have stopped this, I
should
have stopped this,
”
Bianca said
guiltily,
“
We genuinely thought
it would all blow over, Sal. We didn
’
t want to spoil the
surprise.
”

“
We?
What surprise?
”
I asked, drying my eyes and
willing the plane down so I could rush to Will
’
s
side.

“
All of us,
”
Rob said miserably.
“
We
all
knew he was in
Spain. It
’
s where he was
Christmas Eve. He wasn
’
t with
me
,
Sally, he was signing the lease for the premises. He planned to fly in, fly out
but his plane got delayed. He had some kind of guilty mid-air meltdown and felt
the need to confess all. Silly prat.”

“
What
premises?
”
I demanded, as we drifted
towards the runway.

“
The new office,
”
he said, thumping the window.
“
Your
office, Sally. The
soft git
’
s leased you the
Spanish franchise of Something for the Weekend. It’s your birthday present.
Not
that you deserve one.
”

As I looked from
friend to brother-in-law, Bi added,
“
Rob
’
s known for
weeks
but
Ben let it slip to Amy on New Year
’
s Day. He knew she’d
tell us. Probably thought Will could use some support.”

“
He knew the claws were out,
more like,
”
Rob snapped.
“Goading her to shag that
doctor.
Christ,
Sally can
’
t take a piss
without
your
permission. Will needed you fighting
his
corner, not filling
her
head with crap.”

“
That
’
s a bit harsh,
”
Bi said, giving him a nudge.
“
To be fair, he did pick a
pretty shitty time to tell her about his fling . . .
”

“
But he
told
her, didn’t
he? He didn
’
t
have
to,
”
Rob said, teeth clenched.
Then, turning to me,
“
I told him to keep
his trap shut, but no. This, the apartment, he wanted it all to be a fresh
start, now he
’
s gone and fucked it
right
up
’
cause you
’
re messin
’
with his head. I hope you
’
re
proud of yourself.
”

Crying as he
cold-shouldered me, I realised: whilst I
’
d been dishing the
dirt on Will to
my
friends, he
’
d obviously been
sharing
his
troubles with Rob. Which is why, quite understandably, Will
’
s only sibling was furious with
me.

But nowhere near as
furious as I was with myself.

Deciding it best to
give him some space, I shuffled across as far as the belt would allow as the
roar of the engines kicked in. As the wheels hit the tarmac and the G-force
sucked me back, I felt numb. Displaced. As if I was floating on an invisible
cloud, looking down on us in slow motion from the ceiling.

Oh God, Will.
All the time I
’
d been on his back, slagging
him off to anyone who
’
d listen, my husband
had been plotting the surprise of the millennium. For me. Ensuring my future
happiness whilst I kicked him in the teeth.

Why? Because he
loves me. Only me.
Always
me. And he was just giving me what he thought
I wanted. What he promised me on our wedding day. What he thought I thought I
deserved.

The ironic thing is,
I don
’
t want any of it.
The only thing I need is Will and the kids. Whether I
deserve
them or
not, is another matter. I
knew
full well he was struggling with his emotions - and yes, bitterly sorry for
hurting me - but I just kept on chipping away at him. Rather than showing
forgiveness and tossing him a lifeline, I tipped him over the edge. Now I
’
ll have to live with the
consequences.

***

“
Which one of you is Mrs Moss?
”

The appearance of a
young Englishman in a green operating gown and matching surgical mask drags me
out of my dark reminiscing and back to the relatives
’
room.

“
I am!
”
I cry, sprinting towards the
door with Rob, Greg and Bianca at my heels.
“
What
’
s happening? Is he okay?” I
beg. “Is he awake? Can I see him?
”

“
Whoa, steady now. I
’
m Doctor Westbury, let
’
s just take a seat, shall we?
”
he smiles, closing the door
behind him before settling onto the navy sofa, patting for me to join him. 

Fearing the worst as
he’s asked me to sit, I collapse beside him, sobbing uncontrollably, Bianca
stuck to me like Sellotape.

“
He
’
s doing well,
”
he says carefully, alert grey
eyes studying us in turn.
“
Very well,
considering. He
’
s very weak and he
’
s lost a lot of blood but I
’
m delighted
with how the
operation went.
”

Pausing for a second
as we all remember to breathe, he adds,
“
I think I can safely
say he
’
s out of the woods.
”

“
Thank
God
for that!
”
Rob cries, raising clenched
fists to his forehead before slumping to the floor and weeping at my feet. I
kneel to console him but end up sobbing alongside as Bianca says,
“
Oh, thank you doctor. Thank you
so much. You
’
re
sure
he
’
s gonna be okay? Where is he
now?
”

Clicking his biro
into a fluff of ginger curls behind his ear, the doctor pats my hand.

“
Now don
’
t panic Mrs Moss, but he
’
s in intensive care . . .
”

As I gasp, spring up
and
panic
he adds quickly,
“
It
’
s just a precaution, don
’
t worry. It
’
s better to be safe, his body
’
s been through quite a trauma.
”

“
What
’
s wrong with him?
”
I plead.
“
You
’
re
certain
he
’
s not going to die, doctor?
Please
say you
’
re certain . . .”

Smiling
sympathetically at the fifteen-stone hulk howling on the carpet, Doctor
Westbury nods.

“
I
’
m
certain
. With a bit of TLC I’m sure he’ll be good as new in no time.
”

Checking his notes,
he adds,
“
Mr Moss has a
fractured pelvis, a twisted ankle and three broken ribs. It was the head
injuries
that really had us worried.
”

“
Head injuries
?
”
I cry.
“
Oh no. No no, not head
injuries, please . . .
”

“
Not permanent,
”
he assures me swiftly.
“
He
’
s got a hairline fracture of
the scull, I
’
m assuming, from
where his head struck a rock. A pocket of blood was pressing on his brain.
”

“
And now?
”
Bi asks, wide-eyed.

“
And now, it
’
s not,
”
he says, matter-of-factly.
“
But he
’
s going to need a lot of rest .
. .”

“
Can I see him?
”
I cut in, clutching at his
flapping coat tails as he strides towards the door.
“
Please?
”

“
Well, I don
’
t see why not,
”
he nods.
“
But one at a time and don
’
t expect him to talk. He
’
s on strong medication,
drifting in and out of sleep at the moment so he might not recognise you.
”