Page 10 of The Mistake

Good sales day! Three sold off plan – some of us are going to the Kings Arms for a few drinks if you fancy? V

There is nothing Pete would like more than to be in the pub with a cold pint, football on in the background, maybe a kebab on the way home. It’s been a long time since he and Natalie have done that. Leaving Zadie in front of the telly, he hurries upstairs and taps lightly on Emily’s bedroom door. She is rummaging in a drawer as he enters, her face flustered as she turns to him with a frown.

‘Good day?’ Pete asks, perching on the end of her bed.

‘Yeah. Wish we were in Tenerife with Uncle Stu, though.’ Emily pulls a face.

‘Me, too. Listen, would you mind looking after Zadie and Erin, if I take Mum to the pub for a couple of hours? Mum just fed Erin so hopefully she’ll sleep.’ Emily raises her eyebrows. ‘She’ll sleep on you, at least, if you sit in front of the telly with Zadie.I’ll get you a takeaway …’ Pete waggles his own eyebrows, and Emily laughs.

‘Nope, sorry.’ Emily shakes her head, bending down to peer into the drawer again. ‘I only came back to get a jacket and to find my ID. Jake and I are going out tonight.’

‘You’ve been out all day, Em.’

‘And?’ She stands, sliding her ID into her wallet. ‘I’m a teenager, and it’s a bank holiday weekend. It’s what I’m supposed to be doing.’

Pete can see her point, but even so. She’s spending far too much time with Jake – she seems to be out all the time, so God only knows when she’s actually getting any studying done. ‘Sorry, Em, but no. You’ve been out all day and I’m taking your mum out for a bit of a break.’ Emily opens her mouth to argue, but Pete carries on. ‘Everything your mum does for you, the least you can do is look after your sisters for a couple of hours. Now, text Jake and tell him your plans have changed, or I’ll do it for you.’

Pete kisses her forehead in an attempt to soften her mutinous expression, and heads for the bedroom he shares with Natalie. She is lying on the bed with the blinds shut, and she raises a finger to her lips with a frown as he steps inside.

‘Let’s go to the pub.’ Pete scooches on to the bed next to Natalie and kisses her forehead, ignoring the faintly sour scent rising from her hair. ‘A few people from work are there and they’ve invited us.’

‘Why?’

‘I thought it might be nice. A couple of drinks, maybe stop for a bite to eat on the way home.’ They haven’t been out for dinner since the night Natalie told him she was pregnant. She was too sick for the rest of the pregnancy, and since Erin came along they’ve both been too busy and too tired.

‘Oh, Pete, I don’t think so.’

‘Come on, it’ll be fun. Better than sitting in here all night.’

‘I’m too tired … and what about the kids?’

‘You’ll feel better once you’ve had a shower and washed your hair.’ Pete gives her hand a tug. ‘Emily’s going to watch the kids, let’s go and have some fun. It’s been ages since we’ve been out together.’

Natalie pushes him away, rolling over to face the cot where Erin now sleeps soundly. ‘I can’t believe you.’

‘What? I just want to spend some time together out of the house.’

Natalie rolls back to face him, her mouth downturned. ‘Pete, I’m fucking exhausted, can’t you see that? I’ve been up God knows how many times in the night with Erin. The last thing I feel like doing while she isactuallyasleep is putting on make-up and going out for a drink.’

‘I thought it might be fun, that’s all. Just for an hour?’

‘No, Pete. Look, you go if you want to. I need to get some rest, but if you want to go then just go. There’s no point in you moping around the house when you’d rather be somewhere else. In fact, please do go – just give me a bit of peace.’ And she turns her back on him again.

Any guilt that Pete feels at leaving Natalie home alone with the children disappears the moment he pushes open the door to the pub. A wave of warm, hop-scented air hits him, and the atmosphere hums with laughter and conversation, the rain outside pushing punters in from the High Street. He spots Vanessa’s slim figure at the bar, her dark hair rippling down her back, and as he begins to weave his way between drinkers towards her, she turns and spots him.

‘Pete!’ A wide grin splits her face and Pete finds himself returning it. ‘I’m so glad you made it!’ She squeezes his arm and turns to wave at the bartender. ‘What are you having? This one’s on me.’

‘Errr … a pint of Goose Island, please. Cheers.’ Pete takes the pint and Vanessa clinks her glass of white wine against it. It’s beena long time since a woman has bought Pete a drink – even longer since he and Vanessa were in a pub together, pooling their money for two halves of shandy and praying they didn’t get ID’d – and it feels a little bit odd. ‘Good sales day, then, eh?’

‘Brilliant. They’ll all be sold off plan before you’ve even started the next phase at this rate! Where’s your wife? I thought you were bringing her?’ Pete had texted back before he’d spoken to Natalie, and he pauses for a moment as Vanessa waits expectantly for an answer.

‘Oh, she’s … She’s a bit knackered, you know? New baby. I’ll just stay for one or two and then I’d better get back to her.’

Famous last words. Pete really does only mean to stay for one or two, but then Dave arrives, and he gets on well with Dave. He’s the best foreman Pete’s ever had, and it’s only right that Pete buys him a few drinks. Then, as darkness falls outside a band comes on and they’re playing old nineties Britpop tunes, the stuff Natalie and Pete were dancing to at university. It’s almost closing time when the strains of ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ fade away and Pete finds himself with one arm around Vanessa and one around Josh, the estate agent, as they sway to the music. There are long, loud drawn-out goodbyes as people leave, and Pete is more than a little tipsy, his throat hurting from singing, as he fumbles his key into the front door, sneaking his way upstairs and into the bedroom.

‘Good night?’ Natalie’s voice is low as she sits up in bed, feeding Erin a bottle, the bedside lamp giving off a soft golden glow.

‘Sorry I’m so late,’ Pete stifles a hiccup, frowning as he notices the bottle. He didn’t know Natalie was going to stop breastfeeding. ‘There was a band playing Oasis …’

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