The Reunion (30 page)

“What on earth are you going to do with all the money?” Jane
asked.

“I’m sorry, but that’s not your concern.”

“Maybe it is. You’ve got enough to change the arrangement
for how much I contribute towards the children’s maintenance.”

“I’ve buried my mother today, Jane. This is not the time
to have a discussion about anything to do with money,” David asserted. “Much of
it will go in tax, then half to Charlotte, and my half for a business venture
I’m starting.”

“Your café? I’ve heard about that from the kids. Why on
earth are you chucking in a good job to do something so daft? I don’t
understand.”

“Well, it’s not for you to understand any more, is it? Perhaps
more appropriate today is for you to offer your condolences.”

“You never even liked her. She got on better with me than
with you.”

“Yes, maybe you were more similar than I ever realised.”

“That’s insulting.”

David returned to the window and faced the garden. There
was a splash of colour, a clump of purple tulips with petals open wide and drooping.
Soon they would be rotting – like his mother.

The impasse continued as they both waited for the other
to speak. Finally Jane left and he heard her stamp downstairs.

Rachel came into the room. “Dad? Everything OK?”

“Yes fine, Rachel,” he said as she moved closer. He smelt
tobacco.

“Mum’s stormed out. What was that about?”

“Just the usual post-separation hassles. She’s tough,
she’ll get over it.”

“I hope so, she was furious. We were on our way in and
she brushed straight past us. Not even a bye.”

David shrugged.

“Would you rather be alone?” Rachel continued. “Shall I
go downstairs?

“No. Actually I’d like you to look at grandma’s
jewellery. See if there’s anything you want as a keepsake. Then as soon as
everyone’s gone we’ll get going with clearing out her stuff.”

“It’s weird. I don’t feel a strong sense of loss, but now
you’ve said ‘clearing out her stuff’, like chucking away evidence of her life,
I think it’s all very sad.”

When Sam came in to see what was going on, his father and
sister were hugging.

The Reunion – R J Gould
Chapter 39
It had been a traumatic day compounded by a painfully
slow journey home. David was desperate to unwind. He settled down to watch the
recording of a TV drama about a group of factory workers who had won the national
lottery. The reviews had been positive and this light-hearted production would
provide much needed escapism.

The doorbell rang. He waited in anticipation of either
Sam or Rachel coming downstairs to answer it, but neither did. With reluctance
he pressed pause on the remote and investigated. It was Jim.

The last thing David needed was this. He would not
tolerate an accusation that he’d treated Jane unfairly.

“May I come in, David?” Jim always looked earnest and
sincere. Perhaps it came from being a Philosophy lecturer. The rat.

“I suppose so, but I’ve had a busy day so not for long if
you don’t mind.”

Since Jane had left there had been only a few brief conversations,
predominantly when the children were being taken or collected from their two
parents’ homes. The meetings had been civil enough with David’s resentment dissolved
once his relationship with Bridget had started.

“Don’t worry, this can be quick, but there’s something
you need to know,” Jim said. He had a face that exuded mood and this one suggested
the end of the world was nigh. David prepared his answer to what was to come. He
had phoned his solicitor and there was no way Jane was entitled to any of the
money left to him by his mother.

They sat in the lounge. The TV screen was frozen on a painfully
thin, middle-aged lady wearing a factory overall. Temporarily static tears rolled
down her cheeks. David was unsure whether they were tears of joy or sorrow
because despite the win, not all was going well for the lottery winners.

“Could we…?” Jim suggested, nodding towards the screen.

“OK,” David conceded and switched off the TV. It struck
him that when they had been friends Jim always got his own way. He had a knack
of making it blindingly obvious that his preference was the logical one. He
wasn’t going to win this time. “What do you want to talk about, Jim?”

“About Jane. Jane and me.”

“Look I know how she feels about my inheritance but I
have to tell you…”

“It’s nothing to do with money, David.”

“What is it then?”

“I’ve decided not to marry her, David.”

David was unsure how to respond. Jim had had what seemed
like a wonderful marriage until poor Vanessa had died of cancer. She’d ignored
the symptoms for ages and by the time it was diagnosed it was too late to take
action. Jane, David too, had been supportive during the last few months of
Vanessa’s life and then with Jim afterwards. Of course David hadn’t been aware
of just how supportive Jane had been. Was it now evident to Jim that his love
for his wife had been so strong that he couldn’t put her memory aside and
remarry?

If this was the case, David had a suggestion. “You
needn’t think about marriage. Just enjoy the relationship and see what happens
in the future.”

“I don’t only mean not marrying. It’s over between Jane
and me, David.”

“What?”

“I’ve fallen in love with someone else, David.”

David remained silent.

Jim continued. “A lecturer joined my department in
January. We see eye to eye on everything. Right from the start we’ve spent
hours in coffee bars and pubs chatting away on the same wavelength. It’s incredible,
it’s like we’re telepathic. Yesterday we discussed producing a joint paper on
free will versus determinism. You see Descartes viewed the mind as pure ego, a
permanent spiritual substance. Of course since then…”

“Jim, I’m not interested in that. I have similar ideas about
the layout of balance sheets as some of my female accountancy colleagues, but
that doesn’t mean I have an affair with them.” Mary did cross David’s mind at
that instant, but he brushed the thought aside.

“Fair point, David. For me and Ursula it’s more than
that. We’re in love.”

“Does Jane know this?”

“Yes she does. She’s rather upset, David.”

“Rather upset! Honestly, what do you expect?”

“Fair point, David.”

“Stop saying ‘fair point’ will you?”

“Fair…yes, sorry, David.”

“And stop putting a ‘David’ at the end of everything you
say. It gets on my nerves.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean there are only the two of us in the room, not a
group. When you speak it’s obviously addressed to me so there’s no need to end
with a ‘David’.”

Jim called up his hurt look. Head down, speaking even
more softly than usual, he conceded. “Well, if it bothers you that much I’ll
stop doing it.”

“Good,” David replied, adding “Jim” for good measure to
make it evident he saw through the manipulation. But he didn’t anticipate what
was to come.

Jim turned on his ‘deep in meaningful thought’ face as he
looked around the room. “I’ve not been in here since you changed things. Jane
told me how much she liked the new colour on the walls and I must say I rather agree.”
Once again his face transformed, now to an ‘I’ve suddenly thought of a great
idea’ mode. “You’re incredibly similar, you two. Made for each other. David,
would you consider taking her back?”

“What?”

“Jane. Would you take her back? I think she still loves
you, David.”

“I have a new partner, Jim. Someone I love very much. And
unlike you with Jane, I intend to ensure it’s long-lasting.”

“There’s no need for that jibe, David.”

“I think there is. You’ve quite possibly ruined her
life.”

“I don’t think so, David.”

“Cut out the David, will you!”

“Jane will be fine. She’s an attractive woman and let’s
face it, there are plenty of fish in the sea for her to choose from.”

“Including sharks. Fortunately not everyone behaves the
way you do. I think you’d better go now.”

“Yes, perhaps I should, David.”

Jim stood. Some people think a hand shake makes up for
appalling behaviour. Jim had attempted it when he and Jane had broken the news
of their relationship and now Jim extended his hand once more. David refused to
take it and marched Jim out to the hallway. Jim departed without a further word
between them.

David was shocked to hear the news, but there was nothing
he could do about it. It was Jane’s problem. He returned to the lounge,
switched on the TV, and fast forwarded to the point where the factory worker
was crying. He was pleased to see they were tears of joy. The drama moved on to
a younger winner who had bought a flash sports car and had been caught speeding
by the police. Offering them a £200 bribe to let him off was not a good idea.
It looked like the police were going to arrest him which was a bit of a problem
because his wife’s waters had broken and he wasn’t answering his mobile. The
drama was hotting up.

The doorbell rang again. He pressed pause on the remote.

It was Jane and she was in floods of tears. The memory of
her behaviour earlier that day had further soured his feelings towards her, but
David’s good nature came through and he put a consoling arm around her
shoulders. She was blurting out the news in between tears and David informed
her that Jim had been round so he knew. He led her to the kitchen and offered
her coffee or wine. She chose wine; he opened a red and poured two glasses.

“Well he hasn’t come home since visiting you. No doubt
he’s off to the club again,” she mumbled.

“He only left a couple of minutes ago so he wouldn’t have
got back yet. But what do you mean by ‘the club’?”

“The club where he met his new woman.”

“No, she’s a colleague at the university, a Philosophy
lecturer.”

Jane dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief, downed the rest
of her wine and held up her glass for a refill. David poured as requested. She
took another large swig before continuing. “No she isn’t. I discovered the
truth. Jim is a regular at
ComeInside
. All this time when he’s been
telling me he’s got to stay on for a lecture or a meeting at the university, in
actual fact he’s been going to a strip joint near Covent Garden.”

“Are you sure?”

“Completely. I found out after a work colleague phoned to
speak with him, a woman called Ursula who I vaguely know. I’d met her at a
university drinks party. The evening she called he’d said he’d be late home as
he needed to plan next year’s courses. With Ursula, the idiot told me.” Jane
started to cry again. “Got a tissue, please?”

“Yes, I’ll get them.”

David rushed up to his bedroom, once upon a time their
bedroom, and brought down a box of tissues. Jane took a handful and dabbed her
eyes before continuing. “Soon after Ursula called, he texted to let me know
that the meeting wasn’t over and he’d be staying over. That wasn’t for the
first time. Until then I’d had no reason to doubt what he said. I know lecturers
can get a bedroom at the university if they’re working late and that had been
his routine excuse. Of course, he didn’t stay there.”

“How do you know?”

“Because this evening I confronted him. As calm as
anything he came out with it. Full of his bloody intense looks and you see
Jane, this and you see Jane, that.” She gave a bitter laugh before continuing.
“I yelled at him for calling me Jane every few seconds. What’s the point when
I’m the only one in the room? You have no idea what I’m talking about, but it’s
a habit that drives me mad. He speaks like he’s a counsellor giving me advice. So
there he was, fucking someone else, and my biggest complaint when he told me
was his use of language!”

“But what was going on if it’s not Ursula?”

“He’s fallen in love with Nadine, one of the hostesses. I
think that’s what they call them though if my internet research is anything to
go by, prostitute might be a more appropriate word. According to him she’s
different to all the others; a comment which doesn’t help because it implies that
he knows all the others. And ‘knows’ in a strip joint puts a certain slant on
the word. I hope I haven’t picked up anything.”

Jane looked across to David, sensitive to the
tactlessness of her remark. But thinking about Jane having sex with Jim no
longer disturbed him.

“What happens now?” David asked.

“Jim thinks she’s different, a ‘reluctant’ worker at the
club, gallantly saving to make sure her daughter has a good quality of life. And
now that she’s found true love, la-di-da, she’s going to quit
ComeInside
and live with him. I suppose as soon as I’m out of the way.”

She started crying again as she stretched her arm out for
another top up of wine. David was still on his first glass. “It won’t last,” he
said. “The man’s an idiot.”

The children had heard the crying and were standing by
the lounge door. David was unsure how much of the sordid story they had picked
up.

“Can mum stay here tonight, dad?” Sam asked.

David had contemplated that; he was prepared to sleep on
the couch.

Jane thanked Sam, but indicated there was no need. Jim
had agreed to move out until she found somewhere else to live. She reckoned that
somewhere might be her mother’s for the time being.

There was an awkward silence as the four of them walked
to the hall and Jane opened the front door. “What the hell am I going to do now?”
she said quietly as she left.

“I’m afraid that’s her problem,” Rachel said after the
door had closed.

The Reunion – R J Gould
Chapter 40
WPC Zara Dixon was sitting on a very comfortable couch in
a middle class home located in one of the most affluent outer London suburbs. She
was drinking Earl Grey Tea served in a bone china mug. The startlingly bright
orange walls were perhaps atypical, but everything else was appropriately respectable.
The room was spacious with high ceilings; a maroon lacquered Chinese cabinet with
big brass inlays stood by the bay window; two bold abstract art works hung on
the wall opposite the Victorian fireplace; and a dark wood table in the centre
of the room had coasters placed on each corner. She set her cup down on the one
nearest her then examined the swirling pattern on the Oriental rug that covered
most of the polished wooden floorboards.