Where I Found You (17 page)

11

Maggie had been busy in the salon all morning and only allowed herself a quick lunch break in the park with Harvey before returning to prepare for Judith’s visit. She systematically checked every inch of the treatment room, eliminating any possibility of fumbling or tripping over a forgotten obstacle in full view of her harshest critic. She was in the process of checking the bottles on one particular shelf for the second time when Kathy knocked at the door.

‘A royal visitor for you,’ she said mischievously. ‘I’ve got the china cups ready and waiting if you fancy a cup of tea, your majesty?’

Maggie heard the clip of stiletto heels halt at the door. Judith wasn’t ready to step over the threshold just yet. ‘Haven’t you got customers to scalp?’ she asked Kathy.

With so little contact, Maggie rarely witnessed the two together. This lively exchange served to remind her that Judith was different things to different people. Her friendship with Kathy was surely a testament to the virtues her mother-in-law had yet to reveal to Maggie.

‘Yes, probably,’ Kathy said. ‘And I can easily add you to the body count if you don’t behave.’

It was a veiled threat that didn’t go unnoticed, by Maggie at least. Kathy was proud to have brought James and Maggie together and she saw Judith’s obstinate rejection as a reflection on her.

‘Don’t worry, I’m not hanging around,’ Judith said. ‘I wouldn’t want to upset your customers by showing them what a proper haircut looks like.’

‘Your roots could do with a touch up,’ Kathy said with a sniff.

‘Actually,’ Maggie interrupted, ‘a cup of tea might be a good idea.’ She smiled in Judith’s direction as the next part of her plan took the form of a lie on her lips. ‘I’m afraid the clinic has phoned and asked if we can put the appointment back by half an hour so we don’t have to leave straight away.’

‘Oh, right. Well then … Maybe I could do a bit of shopping and come back later.’

‘I was hoping I could persuade you to have a quick treatment here. Maybe a hand massage.’ Maggie could hear the refusal forming in Judith’s mind as clearly as the air being drawn into her lungs. ‘I insist,’ she added quickly. ‘It’s my way of thanking you for helping me out today.’

‘Oh go on, Judith,’ Kathy encouraged. ‘I can’t believe you have an aromatherapist in the family and have never taken advantage of it.’

Kathy disappeared to fetch the tea while Judith reluctantly settled into the treatment chair. Maggie did most if not all of the talking as she introduced Judith to her world of colourful aromas. As she talked, she went from one side of the room to the other, selecting the items she needed with rehearsed precision. Harvey remained in his bed. He had decided long ago that Judith was not one of his favoured visitors and had not deigned to greet her.

Sitting down on a stool at Judith’s side, Maggie took her hand. The intimate contact made an already anxious Judith tense even more but Maggie was far from relaxed either. ‘Do you moisturise your hands regularly?’ Maggie asked as she detected a few rough patches of skin.

‘Only when I remember.’

Maggie poured a little of the oil she had prepared into the palm of her hand, a mixture of chamomile and rose to relax patient and therapist alike. She rubbed her hands together to release the aromas before taking hold of Judith’s hand again.

‘You should take better care of them. Dry skin obviously runs in the family. I can see you work as hard as your son.’

‘I keep promising myself I’ll slow down, that’s why I went part-time at the shop, but I still manage to find new things to fill my days.’

It was the opening Maggie needed and she took it. ‘I’ve told James it was unfair of him to ask you to help look after the baby and that I won’t entertain the idea,’ Maggie said. It was at least a half-truth. ‘So please don’t worry, we’ll manage. I’ll need to shelve the business for a while but when I’m ready and I can convince James we can afford it, we’ll use the same nursery as Jenny. Lily seems happy enough there.’

‘I don’t suppose a business like this could be left for too long without losing custom, but nurseries can be so expensive. I should imagine you’ll be working just to cover childcare costs.’

‘Maybe not even that,’ added Maggie.

‘And I’m not saying we wouldn’t be able to help out occasionally …’

Maggie’s head was bowed so Judith couldn’t see the look of confusion on her face but she would have felt Maggie’s grip tighten on her hand. It had never occurred to her that Judith’s position would relax. She had been relying on them both finding the whole idea implausible.

‘But it would have to be on your terms. I understand that,’ Maggie said, giving them both an easy way to sidestep the issue. She poured more oil and concentrated on Judith’s other hand. ‘It’s not the only reason you’re unhappy about the baby though, is it?’

‘I’m not
unhappy
about it. James is my only son. I love my grandchildren and I will love this one too,’ Judith began before adding the ‘but’ that would contradict her previous statement. ‘But babies are hard work under the best of circumstances and you’ve accepted yourself that keeping your business up and running will only add to that pressure. These things are bound to add stress to any relationship.’

‘It’s not the only thing that adds stress to a relationship.’

‘Exactly,’ Judith said as if they were in perfect agreement but as Kathy tapped on the door and entered with a tray of clinking china, she and Maggie were still worlds apart.

‘Ready for some tea, ladies?’ Kathy asked.

They both mumbled their thanks and the awkwardness that hung in the air was as tangible as the scent of chamomile and rose. Kathy, wisely, chose to leave as quickly as she had arrived.

‘I think I’m about done,’ Maggie said, her words flowing uncomfortably over the lump of anxiety lodged in her throat. ‘I’ll give you a pair of cotton gloves to wear while you drink your tea.’

‘Thanks, Maggie.’

Silence fell as Judith sipped her tea and Maggie filled the time by clearing away her equipment and washing her hands. Each practised move was completed to perfection despite her mind being elsewhere. She had pushed the conversation but, in her own inimitable way, Judith had used Maggie’s openness to contrive more fault lines in her daughter-in-law’s life. She checked her watch. They would have to leave in ten minutes but perhaps there was still time.

Maggie sat back down on her stool, a flush rising to her cheeks as the questions lined up in her mind. Why are you adamant that James has made a big mistake in marrying me? Why, now that I’m pregnant, are you still willing the marriage to fail? What do I have to do to get your approval? Her mind raced as fast as her heart but as she steeled herself, Judith jumped in with her own questions.

‘How’s that lady doing? The one with you in the park the other day?’

‘Mrs Milton?’ Maggie asked, her thoughts stumbling as the conversation steered away from its intended course. ‘She’s doing OK, I suppose.’

‘Has she been suffering from dementia long?’

‘Yes, quite a while I think.’

Judith’s curiosity had been piqued by what James had already told her but Maggie wasn’t about to fill the gaps. Ted had been right, Elsie was entitled to keep her secrets even if the old lady’s mind insisted on making them public. As Maggie concentrated on her replies, the adrenalin that had quickened her heart slowly washed away. Crockery clinked as Judith placed her empty cup on the saucer and dropped a pair of cotton gloves onto the table. The opportunity for confrontation had slipped through Maggie’s fingers and her growing confidence cut back down to size.

‘It was good that you could help her like that, amazing really. And I hope you didn’t mind me interfering but no one could expect you to look after the children and be a Good Samaritan at the same time. I would have hated to see you getting into trouble over it and you never know who’s watching.’

‘In trouble with who?’

There was a long pause while Judith fumbled with her bag as she prepared to leave. ‘Oh, I’m guessing James, for one,’ she said at last. ‘I hope you didn’t fall out too badly over it. Those boys have seen too many arguments and they know how quickly things can turn ugly.’

Maggie listened in stunned silence. Judith’s voice was soothing and sympathetic, too intent on imagining the collapse of James’s second marriage to consider that he might have been angry with his mother, too. Her daughter-in-law’s mouth was agog but by the time she had the presence of mind to close it, Judith had moved the conversation on again. ‘I should come here more often – my hands feel amazing. You’ve still got a little tea left in your cup if you want to drink up. We’d better leave soon.’

Judith was rising to her feet when Maggie took a deep breath, hoping that the remnants of the essential oils in the air would be enough to steady her for one last attempt to speak openly and honestly.

‘Judith,’ she said. ‘I wish you would come over more often. I wish we could know each other better.’ It was hardly the no-holds-barred discussion she had imagined; it was a plea and a desperate one at that. Maggie could feel her heart thudding against her chest as she waited for Judith’s answer.

‘Shall I get your coat?’ Judith said.

The hurt cut deeply into Maggie as Judith deftly ignored the proffered olive branch. She was about to respond, all sense of tact and diplomacy abandoned but luckily Judith spoke first.

‘How about I make another appointment with you so I don’t go undoing all your good work?’

‘I was stunned, completely stunned,’ Maggie confessed in a hushed whisper. ‘I still am.’ She was in the kitchen with Jenny, out of earshot of their husbands who were engrossed in their own discussions in the dining room about the dire state of the economy.

‘I know how frustrated you are with Judith but you can’t rush these things.’

‘In case it’s escaped your notice, I’ve been married to her son for precisely one year,’ Maggie said. She and James had invited their friends over for a quiet dinner to mark their first wedding anniversary. It was Sunday evening and Lily was sleeping soundly in the living room allowing her parents some much-needed time off to share a meal and a celebratory glass of champagne. ‘And we were living together for six months before that. She’s had plenty of time.’

‘You mark my words, one minute you’ll think you’re getting nowhere and the next she’ll be interfering in your life as much as she has with James’s for the last thirty-five years.’

‘I know you’re trying to put me off but right now that would be the lesser of two evils! Keeping her at a distance was quite tempting, but the more I glimpse how her mind works, the more I’ve realised I need to be around to correct all the outrageous assumptions she jumps to.’

‘So how did she wind you up so much that you’re in danger of curdling the soup?’

Maggie was standing over a large saucepan, the contents of which were still swirling around long after she had the presence of mind to stop stirring. ‘I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you. Let’s just say that she asked the midwife some pretty damning questions.’

‘Like?’

So far Maggie had kept the events of her antenatal appointment to herself. She hadn’t even told James; she didn’t want to shatter the illusion that she and his mother were making progress. ‘It doesn’t matter. It was just lucky that Mel was there to deal with her. Well, I say lucky but actually I’d forewarned her and she made sure she was at the clinic to see us.’

‘You’re nothing if not prepared,’ Jenny said. She was on the far side of the kitchen rummaging in the fridge. ‘Ooh, that looks nice.’ A freshly made cheesecake was taking pride of place on the top shelf.

‘And I’ll know if you try putting your finger in it,’ Maggie warned, trying to keep the mood light when her insides were tied up in knots. ‘You’ll find the butter on the second shelf from the top.’

‘You always did have eyes in the back of your head.’

‘And I’m going to need them with Judith around,’ Maggie said under her breath. She could hear the roiling soup that was a perfect match for her emotions. She tipped her head back so that the tears brimming in her eyes wouldn’t fall. ‘I really thought it was going to work, Jen.’

‘Hey, don’t get upset,’ Jenny said turning towards her. ‘If I know you, you’ll win her over eventually. Give it time.’

It wasn’t so much the words as the sympathy in Jenny’s voice that knocked some sense into Maggie. She sniffed back her tears and straightened up. ‘I’m sorry, Jen. I should be the one consoling you. How’s Mark dealing with the news? How are
you
dealing with it?’

Jenny had picked up a bread knife and was cutting a granary loaf into wedges, her efforts slow and deliberate as she tried to make sense of how her life was about to change. After living under the shadow of redundancy, Mark had been served notice that week. It was official. He would be unemployed come September.

‘It’s awful – for me and for him. Just awful.’

Maggie looked over in Jenny’s direction, shocked by how all the colour had been drained from her voice. ‘I can’t believe you’ve let me rant while you’re there putting on a brave face.’

‘Take my word for it,’ Jenny said. ‘This is not a brave face.’

Maggie left the soup simmering and stepped towards her friend. She placed a palm gently against her cheek. Thankfully there were no tears but her jaw was set firm, pulling her mouth in a downward direction. Her bottom lip trembled.

‘So this is where you take up the strain?’ Maggie asked.

Jenny tried to nod but she didn’t seem to have the energy. ‘I’m going to apply for the assistant manager’s job even though I don’t know if it’s what I really want. I have no choice, we need the money, but with so much pressure on me now I’m bound to mess it up. Mark isn’t particularly sympathetic and why should he be? I’m panicking about the possibility of getting promoted, for goodness’ sake. It’s already driving a wedge between us and it’s bound to get worse.’

‘Not necessarily and who’s to say there isn’t a new job for Mark right around the corner?’

‘Actually, he’s been talking about retraining once he’s worked his notice.’