Page 109 of The In-Laws

Now the twins looked worried. ‘What’s going on?’

Frank laid his palms flat on the table. ‘You know how much your mum and I love you. Your happiness and wellbeing are the most important thing in our lives.’

‘Not in Mum’s life, they aren’t,’ Janis said.

‘That’s not fair,’ Frank defended Melanie.

‘I may not be the world’s greatest mother, but I do love you,’ Melanie said. Although Janis had a point: Melanie had put work before the girls many times. She was able to because Frank was always there to fill in the gap. Then again, he had pushed her into having children so …

‘We both love you so much and we love each other very much, too. But sometimes in relationships that love goes from being a romantic love to a more platonic one. Your mother was my first great love. We met when we were both in our early twenties and have been very happy together. But lately we have grown apart. I think –’

‘Oh, my God, are you getting divorced?’ The penny dropped for Joni as Janis’s face fell.

‘Are you?’ she gasped.

‘We have decided to separate with a view to divorce, yes.’ Melanie decided to be straight with them. ‘But we want you to know that nothing will change for you. You are still our priority and your welfare is paramount.’

Janis frowned. ‘What do you mean, nothing will change? Where are we going to live? Who are we living with?’

‘Your dad will have primary custody.’

‘Thank God for that,’ Janis said.

‘You will still live here. I’m going to move out.’

‘Your mother,’ Frank told them, ‘has been very generous and offered for us to remain in the house and for me to be your primary carer.’

‘Well, you are,’ Joni pointed out. ‘You do everything.’

Melanie knew this should have stung her deeply, but it didn’t. Joni was right. Frank was always there for them. He was a brilliant dad and made up for her hands-off mothering. She loved her children, but she had always found being a mother difficult. It had never come naturally to her. If she’d had her way, they would have gone to boarding school, like Ross had, but Frank wouldn’t hear of it.

Instead of feeling bad about what Joni and Janis had said, she was looking forward to having her own place. She was excited about this new chapter in her life. She felt as if a noose was being untied and she was being set free. She could be a guilt-free workaholic.

‘Are you having an affair?’ Janis asked her mother.

‘Are you shagging some poxy author?’ Joni hissed.

‘No, she is not,’ Frank said. ‘And neither am I, for that matter.’

‘There is no one else, I promise. We have just grown apart and become more like best friends than partners,’ Melanie told them.

Joni chewed her nail. ‘So we stay here, Dad continues to look after us, and Mum moves somewhere nearby?’

‘Yes, and your mum can call over any time she likes. This is her house too,’ Frank assured them.

Joni’s eyes narrowed. ‘So Mum basically gets what she wants, a place to herself and no responsibility for us?’

‘This is a good day for you, Mum,’ Janis added.

‘Stop, girls, that’s not fair,’ Frank said.

‘Are you okay, Dad? Are you sad?’ Janis asked.

Frank nodded. ‘I am, of course, pet, it’s the end of our marriage, but your mum and I love each other and that will never change. I’m glad there is no bitterness or nastiness. We will always be friends and we will always be a foursome. The four Fitzroys. That will never change. Your mum will just be living down the road.’

No – three Fitzroys and one Miller, Melanie thought.

‘Will we have to stay with Mum sometimes?’ Janis asked.

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