Artistic Licence (12 page)

‘I’ll get on with making supper, then.’

Ben followed her into the kitchen. ‘I’m sorry if our arrival spoiled your little tête-à-tête with Rory. You
must have been all set for a romantic evening.’

‘Well, we were.’ Thea pulled out a couple of plates from a cupboard. ‘We were going to stare into each other’s eyes while Lara had puppies around us.’ She wanted to tell him they were going to make mad, passionate love on the floor, because he’d suddenly made her angry. She glared at him. ‘I’m going to have a glass of wine. I think I need it.’

Ben’s eyebrow flicked upwards, possibly asking what she’d done to deserve wine. ‘She seems to be dozing and I can’t see any contractions at the moment.’

When the kettle was on for water for the frozen peas and the chops were beginning to heat up under the rather inefficient grill, Thea took her wine and went to join Ben. She had a few questions for him. ‘Did I gather that you’ve heard of Rory and knew his work? He told me he hasn’t exhibited since a disastrous time just after he got his degree.’

‘I was at his show. It was stunning, though his behaviour during it was even more so and not in a good way. I haven’t heard of him since.’

‘So what is it you do, exactly?’

‘Do you want a CV or just a brief rundown?’

Why was he being so bad-tempered? Then she remembered he’d spent all day in a car with Molly and Petal, and had been forced to deliver puppies almost the moment he arrived. His blood sugar level must be at rock bottom. She forgave him. ‘A rundown is fine.’

‘Well, now I’m an art director in an advertising agency. Once I was head of an art college.’

‘What made you change? The two jobs sound rather different.’

Ben shrugged. ‘My life changed. I got married, had
Toby. My wife wanted something better than I could give her on my salary as head of an art college so I changed direction.’

‘Are you – um ?’

‘Still married? No. But being divorced is even more expensive. Two houses, a full-time nanny, the odd little legal argument.’

There seemed to be a fair amount of bitterness attached to this statement. ‘So you think Rory’s work might be good?’

‘It might be. But it’s perfectly possible that it’s a load of self-indulgent rubbish.’

‘I don’t think so, which is why I told Molly about it. I thought she’d know who I should send the slides to.’

‘But you weren’t expecting her to turn up, large as life, with a whole supporting cast?’ There was a glimmer of a smile in this.

‘No, I wasn’t. It was quite unnecessary, when I’ve taken loads of slides and it wouldn’t have taken long to get them developed.’ Her gaze narrowed. ‘I suppose Molly said something which made you think my slides wouldn’t be any good.’

He had the grace to look embarrassed. ‘Toby and I had a trip to Ireland planned anyway. He’s mad about Irish myths and legends. I think he secretly believes that he’ll see a leprechaun, though he’d never admit it. I’d never been to Mayo, so we just went north instead of south. And very far west.’

Thea laughed.

‘But I wouldn’t have brought Molly and Petal if they hadn’t made such a fuss about wanting to come. She said she really needed to see you about something, but personally I think she wanted to catch you and Rory in
the act.’

‘Huh!’

‘But Molly’s been very good to me over the years, and Toby likes her, so I indulged her and let Petal come. If she’d known Lara was chaperoning you I’m sure she wouldn’t have insisted,’ he added palliatively. ‘And I didn’t know about the slides, so Toby and I would have turned up anyway.’

‘Do you have Toby for holidays, then?’

There was an irritated pause. ‘I have Toby all the time. His mother has him for the occasional weekend if she can get a babysitter.’

‘Oh.’ Thea wanted to apologise for assuming Toby’s mother would be his main carer, but she didn’t know how. Besides, Ben seemed quite capable of jumping to conclusions too.

‘It is fairly unusual, even nowadays,’ Ben went on, slightly less starchily.

Thea nodded. ‘I do think you might have phoned.’

‘We tried, every time we stopped, but we could never get an answer. Molly assumed the worst and decided we should press on regardless and save you from making a terrible mistake.’

‘For God’s sake! I’m free, white and over twenty-one.’

Ben shrugged, absolving himself from responsibility.

Lara, filling in the awkward silence, gave a little moan. Ben and Thea watched as a huge contraction rippled along her body.

‘Do you think we should get her gas and air?’ asked Thea, partly to lighten the atmosphere and partly because she needed reassurance that all was going
well.

‘I think she’s managing fine. She’s obviously gone to her NCT classes.’

‘Humph.’ Thea hadn’t had children herself but had several friends who, all set for a natural birth, ended up yelling for drugs when it was too late.

Ben glanced at her. ‘I don’t think it’s anything like as painful for dogs as it is for humans, unless one of the pups is breech, or something like that. Toby’s mother had an elective Caesarean.’

Thea winced. ‘That’s
more
scary. But what worries me is that we don’t even have a telephone number for a vet, let alone know where one is.’

‘We should try and find out about one.’ He paused and sniffed.

‘Oh, my God! The chops!’ Thea fled to the kitchen, turned the chops and poured boiling water on the peas. When she came back she said, ‘The trouble is I haven’t a clue where to start looking for vets. I don’t know anyone to ask, either. Except Susan – she’s Rory’s “wee girl” who comes in to clean. But I don’t know where she lives.’

‘Well, we may not need help. Oh. Here we go. Any minute now.’ Lara got on to her haunches and strained.

‘Should we get Toby?’

‘I hope he’s dropped off by now. It’s been a tiring day.’

‘I’ll just check. I’d feel mean if he were awake and we’d promised to let him know.’

She found Toby fast asleep in her bed, pulled the covers up over his shoulders and sped back, arriving just as another black bag appeared. ‘Toby’s asleep,’ she
said, watching the puppy being shoved about by Lara’s huge, rough tongue. ‘It’s amazing how they’re just an amorphous mass and gradually take on puppy shape. It’s as if Lara’s a sculptor or something.’

‘I think it’s where the expression “licked into shape” comes from.’ He looked up. ‘If it’s ready, we could eat. There’s probably time.’

While he washed his hands, Thea cleared enough table for two plates and two glasses. She served up in the kitchen, adding a huge lump of butter to their shared potato. ‘I hope they found somewhere nice to eat and stay,’ she said, refilling her glass and waving the bottle questioningly over Ben’s.

He indicated that he would like some. ‘Yes. I don’t think Molly’s used to roughing it. Nor is Petal.’

‘Well, after all this, I hope you like the paintings.’

‘So do I.’

‘What will you do? Buy them all? Do sit down and start. We may not have long to eat this.’

‘We’ve probably got hours and I doubt if I’d be able to buy one, let alone the lot. No, I’ll try and talk a London gallery into giving him a show. They’re booked up years ahead, of course, but he’ll just have to wait.’

Thea thought that while Rory might be prepared to wait a few days to get her into bed, it was unlikely he’d be willing to wait a few years for an exhibition, not when he’d just broken out of his artistic purdah.

‘I’m sorry the chops are a bit overdone.’

‘They’re fine. I eat a lot of crispy chops. The phone always rings when I’m cooking.’

‘It’s funny, that, isn’t it? You’d think they’d tell people selling fitted kitchens that people aren’t
receptive when their unfitted one is in chaos and they’re trying to get a meal on the table.’

‘So you use your candle and smoke alarm trick, do you?’

She looked bemused for a moment. ‘Now, how do you know – oh, yes, you were there when I did it the other day.’ She smiled. ‘No, I find it far easier to get rid of cold callers, I just say “no thank you” and put the phone down.’

‘You cook for your lodgers, do you?’

‘For my sins, and only in the evening, and not if they tell me they’re going to be out. Just like a family with rather a lot of teenagers in it, really.’

‘It must be quite tough, taking on teenagers when you haven’t had children of your own.’

She shrugged. The fact that she hadn’t had babies was something of a sadness for Thea. When she was younger she’d felt you couldn’t mix dashing all over the country being a photojournalist with small children, unless you had a really supportive partner. None of the men she knocked around with were partner material. Conrad, she had thought, was the exception, but even before his massive betrayal she had known he wasn’t cut out for fatherhood. Now that she had retired from the lists of cut-throat journalism, she was beginning to worry about being too old and had no partner at all, suitable or otherwise.

‘These knives are hopeless,’ she said a moment after she had shot peas across the table on to Ben’s plate. ‘I’ll go and see if I can find something a bit sharper in the kitchen.’

Ben put a hand on hers as she stood up. ‘Don’t worry about it. You probably won’t find anything and we can
use our fingers.’

Thea sat back in her chair, tiredness wafting over her unexpectedly. ‘OK. You must be shattered. Did you drive all the way?’

Ben, who had picked up his chop, shook his head. ‘Molly drove too. Fortunately she’s a good driver.’

‘Why didn’t you fly from Stansted to Knock airport, like I did? You could have hired a car.’

‘We didn’t know about Knock airport. Besides, it would have been much more expensive with so many of us.’

‘I didn’t think Molly worried about things like expense.’

‘She doesn’t, but I do.’

Thea was stabbed by a pang of guilt for running out on Molly when she had paid for her holiday. ‘I do hope she enjoys herself. I really shouldn’t have just… run away like that.’

‘I wouldn’t worry about Molly. She’s loving this adventure. Is there any more wine in that bottle?’

‘I expect I could find another if we needed it.’

‘No, I’m sure just the one bottle will be enough, seeing as we’re working.’

Thea grimaced. ‘What are we going to do about a vet?’

‘Hope we don’t need one.’ He got up and stacked the plates together.

‘Oh, let me do that,’ said Thea. ‘Lara might need you!’

Chapter Seven

He gave her the sort of glance midwives give fathers who look as if they might faint. ‘You could go to bed if you liked. I’m sure I can manage.’

‘I wouldn’t dream of it! I couldn’t abandon Lara now.’ She didn’t add that Toby was in her bed already.

‘I think Lara is quite happy with me,’ said Ben, not realising that Thea was being flippant.

Thea shook her head. ‘I think she’d rather have another woman with her, at this difficult time.’

Ben raised his eyes to heaven. ‘Then make us a cup of coffee.’

‘And raspberry leaf tea for Lara?’

He frowned. ‘Don’t you take anything seriously?’

‘Not if there’s someone there to do it for me.’

‘Molly never told me you were like this.’ He meant ‘warned’.

‘Oh, I always behave myself with Molly. Petal does too.’ Thea sighed. ‘I’d better get the kettle on.’

Having done the washing up, she came back with two mugs and set them on the mantelpiece. There were no more puppies and Lara was looking fed up. ‘Poor Lara, I haven’t known her long, but I feel she’s an old friend.’

‘Like her owner.’

This was a statement, not a question and Thea didn’t
know how to take it. Was it a criticism? Was he, like Molly, infused with moral outrage? Well, if he was, he could go on being infused. She wasn’t going to tell him that actually, she hadn’t slept with Rory in case he spotted the missing ‘yet’. ‘Possibly.’

Lara, who had a strong social sense, decided to lighten the atmosphere with another contraction.

‘That’s a good girl. Just breathe through the pain. Sorry,’ Thea said to Ben. ‘I’ll shut up now.’

The labour went on through the night, with no sign of Rory and the others. Ben and Thea agreed that while the absence of Molly and Petal was definitely a good thing, Rory could at least have helped them find a vet if they needed one.

Lara had had four puppies and Thea had made three lots of tea when a problem seemed to develop. Lara had been straining for some time, with no result. Suddenly she leapt on to the sofa with surprising swiftness and passed a lot of black fluid all over the cushions.

‘Oh,’ said Thea.

‘It’s all right. It means the bag has burst inside her. It’ll be a dry birth and the puppy might be breech.’

‘It doesn’t sound all right at all and here’s us without a vet.’

‘You could look in the Yellow Pages.’

‘I don’t know where they are, or whether they even exist in Ireland. I don’t get through the door of a house and check it out for telephone directories before I’ve even got my coat off. I see now it’s a terrible failing of mine.’

‘There’s no need to panic’

‘I’m not panicking,’ said Thea, who was. ‘I’ll have a look round.’

‘If we have to manage without a vet, we’ll have to manage. Ah, I can see something coming. It’s a leg. Two legs.’