Knowing Me Knowing You (17 page)

She had already started to sample the Australian white, some of which was destined for the dinner. She looked at the recipe. Cut the chicken into chunks of approximately two centimetres in diameter, heat oil in a pan, fry chicken until sealed (what did that mean?),
roughly
chop the onion and the mushrooms.

The phone rang and Kate put down the recipe and picked up the handset.

‘
Hello.
’

‘
I can’t believe you’ve done this,
’
Matthew’s voice spoke angrily.

‘
Hello,
’
Kate repeated not knowing what else to say.

She thought perhaps if she pretended she didn’t recognise who it was he would say something else and not sound so mad. She knew what this was about.

‘
I’ve had a phone call from the Child Support Agency. Do you know how much they want me to pay?!
Almost
five hundred pounds
a month!
Five hundred
!
’
Matthew continued.

‘
Oh,
’
Kate responded, trying to keep the delight out of her voice.

Almost
five hundred pounds
! That was a lot. She could buy something frivolous like Heinz baked beans instead of supermarket own brand with a sum like that.

‘
It’s crazy! I can’t a
fford to pay that sort of money.
I have a flat and bills and Amanda has
…
’
Matthew ranted.

‘
Amanda. Who’s Amanda?
’
Kate questioned
anger burning her throat as a name was put to the horrible voice that had called her a
‘her’
.

‘
I can’t afford five hundred
a month Kate; you know how much I earn,
’
Matthew replied deliberately avoiding the question.

‘
You should have thought about that before you stopped the standing order
.
A
nyway exactly what does Amanda have that you need to pay for ahead of paying for your daughter?
’
Kate questioned rage building up.

‘
It doesn’t matter, I can’t pay it and I’ve told them that. Look, can we try and be grown up about this, let’s not involve the CSA. Let’s arrange something between us,
’
Matthew suggested to her the tone of his voi
ce changing immediately.

It was
like an actor switching roles halfway through a performance.

‘
What like you reinstating the standing order?
’
Kate asked, picking up her wine and taking a long swig from it.

She had the upper hand here now; she was dictating proceedings for once.

‘
Well, yes, but not for a
s much -
maybe
fifty pounds
a week or something?
’

‘
No,
’
Kate replied immediately.

‘
Come on Kate, it would be something. I really can’t afford to pay the CSA what they want,
’
Matthew spoke.

‘
That isn’t my problem and I think, if you don’t pay, they just take it out of your wages,
’
Kate responded coldly.

‘
Kate, don’t do this. Please, I mean I wouldn’t be able to live,
’
Matthew said in a small and pitiful voice she had never heard before.

‘
Goodbye,
’
Kate said and she put the phone down, feeling in control for the first time in a long time.

She was glad he would struggle
.
W
asn’t she struggling just to maintain herself and
Bethan
?
Him
having a new girlfriend with expensive tastes wasn’t really an unavoidable expense as far as she was concerned and she was certain the CSA would take the same view.

Unfortunately, the feeling of control didn’t last more than five minutes. She prepared the chicken as best she could and then
Bethan
started screaming loudly, lying on the floor and kicking her legs in the air. Having placated her with
Teletubbies
a
nd a rowdy rendition of ‘Polly P
ut
T
he
K
ettle
O
n’ the chicken was now sticking to the bottom of the pan. Desperate, Kate phoned Hermione.

‘
The chicken’s sticking to the
pan,
it doesn’t say how much flour to add to this stock stuff and what does
“
roughly chop
”
mean? Does it just mean I go at it like a woodcutter?
’
Kate blurted down the phone as soon as Hermione picked up.

‘
More oil in the pan but you only
need
to fry it until it’s sealed
.
T
hat means just until the outside of the chicken turns white, then add the other ingredients.
’

‘
And the stock and the flour?
Bethan
, don’t put that in your mouth, it’s dirty,
’
Kate spoke as
Bethan
picked up a stray mushroom from the kitchen floor.

‘
Just add enough flour to make the stock thicken
-
so it turns into a sauce rather than a soup,
’
Hermione instructed.

‘
Joel’s going to be here in ten minutes,
Bethan
won’t settle in bed, I’ve got flour in my hair and down my clothes and the dinner looks like shit,
’
Kate admitted with a heavy sigh.

‘
Well it’s a good job it’s only business then and not a date,
’
Hermione answered sceptically.

‘
I stil
l want the dinner to taste nice.
I mean he’s helping me out for no fee and we might not even get
any money from the competition -
the least I can do is feed him,
’
Kate replied.

‘
Stop panicking, take a deep
breath
and relax, it will all be fine.
I read your tea leaves again and good things are coming your way,
’
Hermione admitted.

‘
I thought I told you to stop doing that without asking me.
’

‘
I just wanted to put your mind at rest that’s all.
’

‘
Did the leaves tell you that my dinner is going to be a success?
’

‘
They’re never that specific so just keep it simmering until the vegetables are cooked, add the sauce and leave it on a low heat until you’re ready to eat,
’
Hermione advised.

The doorbell rang and Kate almost dropped the telephone.

‘
Oh God, he’s here, he’s early
.
Bethan’s
still up, the dinner isn’t cooked
-
I’ve got to go,
’
Kate spoke hurriedly.

She ended the call and wiped her hands on the tea towel.

She hurried down the hal
lway,
Bethan
hot on her heels
and opened the door.

On the doorstep stood a tall, red
-
haired woman aged about twenty five. Kate didn’t recognise her.

‘
Are you Kate Baxter?
’
the woman asked.

God maybe she was from the bank? Maybe they were going to talk to her about her lack of funds. This
could be the perfect opportunity to ask for the overdraft she’d been putting off. She didn’t look too scary.

‘
Yes I am, are you from the bank?
’
Kate
enquired
hopefully.

Before she could do or say anything more the woman struck out, punching Kate hard in the face. Shocked and bewildered she put a hand up to her bloody nose as
Bethan
screamed and began to cry, pulling at her legs.

‘
Just leave Matthew alone you vicious witch,
’
the woman spat.

‘
I
…
’
Kate began, trying to speak as blood trickled down the back of her throat.

Without saying another word, the woman turned her back on Kate
and
hurried down the path
, almost bowled into Joel
who was
on his approach.

‘
Christ, what happened? Are you OK?
’
Joel asked immediately noticing Kate’s face and hurrying up the path to her.

‘
I’m fine, Mummy’s fine
Bethy
. Could you pick up
Bethan
while I find something to wipe my face with?
’
Kate spoke, putting her hands under her nose to collect the blood.

‘
Sure,
’
Joel said, putting down the bag he was carrying and scooping the child up into his arms.

Kate hurriedly grabbed the tea towel and held it to her nose.

‘
Who was that woman? Did she do this?
’
Joel questioned, sitting down on the sofa and bouncing
Bethan
up and down on his knee.

‘
I think I just met Matthew’s new girlfriend,
’
Kate told him.

‘
Should I call the police?
’
Joel suggested.

‘
No! No, I’m fine, honestly. Oh shit! The dinner! I need to add the sauce and it needs to simmer,
’
Kate exclaimed, hurrying to the pan where everything was beginning to stick.

‘
Here, let me,
’
Joel spoke, putting a happy
Bethan
on the
floor and moving into the open-
plan kitchen area.

‘
Sorry about this
.
I
t was supposed to be ready,
Bethan
was supposed to be in bed and I was supposed to have finished writing the list of questions to ask you
.
I haven’t succeeded on any count,
’
Kate moaned.

‘
Well, I could finish the dinner while you take
Bethan
up to bed if you like,
’
Joel spoke, taking the spoon from Kate’s hand and stirring the meal.

‘
It’s supposed to be chicken chasseur but I’m so hungry I rea
lly don’t mind how it turns out -
as long as you’re happy with that,
’
Kate answered.

‘
That’s fine, go on,
’
Joel insisted, looking at the sauce Kate had made.

‘
OK. Come on
Bethy
,
time for bed.
P
ick up Mr Crisps and say goodnight to Mummy’s friend Joel,
’
Kate spoke, picking up her daughter who was hugging her bear to her.

‘
Goodnight
Bethan
and goodnight Mr Crisps,
’
Joel said, smiling widely at the child.

‘
Night
,
night,
’
Bethan
answered, waving her hand in the air.

‘
I won’t be long,
’
Kate spoke.

‘
It
’
s
fine,
’
Joel told her.

‘
If you want a drink, there’s wine already open in the fridge. Sorry, started earlier when I couldn’t cut my chicken the right size.
’

Excitable though
Bethan
was
,
she was also very tired. Kate read her two of her favourite stories and very shortly afterwards she was fast asleep.

Kate quickly changed out of the flour
-
covered top and inspected her nose in the bathroom mirror. It was swollen, bruised and sore. So
,
that was the new woman in Matthew’s life. She was young though, younger than her, and pretty in a pale sort of way. It was no surprise she was red haired, Matthew had always liked red
-
haired women. Drew Barrymore in her red phase had been much lusted after.
So had her cousin Sophie at their wedding.
Perhaps that was why he’d left her. She hoped not, she could have been persuaded to dye it.