Page 83 of Between Us

‘I was pretty shaken up byHunter, Joe. You know and I know that it contained at least one scene from real life. I got given the last week off from term because the kids were harassing me relentlessly about it, about whether it was real. Eventually I felt I had to find out.’

It was a manipulative moment to reveal this, yet it was an emergency for her dignity.

Joe’s brow knitted. ‘Right, because a bunch of thirteen-year-olds know me better than you do. Sorry, I can’t get past you going to Sesso to chat to the front of house. What’s he called?’

Was Joe jealous? Roisin hadn’t much experience of this, yet she supposed she’d never given him cause.

‘Rick.’

‘You went out for dinner alone and acted like you were interested in the stories of some guy working there?’

‘Yes.’

‘I think the chances of that bloke getting the wrong end of the stick, using it as an opportunity and hitting on you, are pretty high. Which is why you’d never do it. It’s wholly out of character.’

‘I’d never do it, and yet I did,’ Roisin said. It felt vile, being this brazen. Brazen, and hypocritical.

‘Did you?’ Joe said. ‘On your mother’s life?’

‘Yup,’ Roisin said, flinching hard at the lie and telling herself it was absolutely necessary, to keep Matt out of it. ‘He didn’t hit on me.’

‘You honestly thought me shagging waitresses was so likely, you turned private investigator?’

‘I didn’t know what to think.’

‘I think I’m entitled to feel pretty upset, don’t you? I apologised for the scene with your mum, it was out of order. I don’t think it justifies the suspicion I’m full scumbag. This is where we are, is it?’

Roisin didn’t know how to respond. ‘By the way, what day did you go to York, to your parents?’ she said.

‘Sunday.’

‘Your mum said you were arriving Monday.’

Joe blinked, looked momentarily blank. ‘Yeah. I kipped over at Dom’s on Sunday. I knew we’d get pissed having a catch-up and I didn’t want to get in late and wake my parents up. I said York – I didn’t think you cared about my itinerary. Why would I tell you the wrong day?’

‘I didn’t know, that’s why I asked.’

‘Oh, so I can lurk around here with waitresses?’

‘I have no—’

‘Tell you what,’ Joe said, interrupting, angry now, fumbling his phone out of his pocket and scrolling. ‘Here. Proof. Most recent photos on my camera roll.’ He turned the screen to face Roisin. He, Dom and his wife, Vic, saton garden decking, a selfie, cheersing for the camera. ‘It makes total sense I’d use my parents as a cover story given you talk to them directly all the time. Fuck’s sake.’

Roisin said nothing.

‘Why do I feel as if you almost want an excuse, here?’ Joe said. ‘If you want to finish with me, Roisin, do it. Stop all this casting around for a reason you can raise up that makes you the injured party.’

Roisin said, ‘I wanted to know the truth. That’s all.’

‘I guess at least we’ve done this at home for free, instead of paying Relate to listen to it. What a way to discover your real opinion of me.’

Unlike their first two face-offs, Joe was on the moral high ground for this third round. He wasn’t going to let Roisin off lightly.Fair enough, really,she thought. It wasn’t as if she’d gone gentle on him.

She cleared her throat. She was going to have to confirm her decision to end things having made a flurry of false accusations. It was indeed what Wendy Copeland had codenamed NFI.

‘I think we should split up, Joe. Something’s broken for me that can’t be fixed. I think if we went to counselling, it’d delay the inevitable and waste your time, and I don’t want to do that.’

‘Wow,’ Joe said, regarding her. She couldn’t tell what percentage of his righteous indignation was fury and what was hurt. She was busy trying to keep control herself.

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