Page 55 of The In-Laws

Katie half smiled. ‘I’ll be getting the silent treatment until she’s six feet under.’

‘She pokes holes in everyone,’ Amanda pointed out.

Katie poured more wine into her glass and shook her head. ‘No, Nancy has always belittled me more than you two. I’ve always been “just a hairdresser”. I didn’t go to college, I’m not book smart. She’s never rated me. She’s always made me feel that Jamie married down and could have done better.’

‘It’s true. She does do that,’ Melanie agreed. ‘She also kind of forced me to marry Frank.’

‘What?’ Amanda hadn’t been aware of that.

‘Yeah, when I started to work in the agency I was only twenty-two. It was my first job out of college and Nancy pushed me towards Frank and kept encouraging me to date him and then to marry him.’

‘But you fell in love with him,’ Katie reminded her.

Melanie twisted her wine glass around. ‘I did, but he was my first proper boyfriend and I didn’t really know what love was. I was in awe of Nancy and let the momentum carry me along.’

Did she regret marrying Frank? Was that what she was intimating? Amanda glanced at Katie, who shrugged.

‘Well, you all know she thinks I trapped Ross by getting pregnant,’ Amanda admitted, for the first time.

‘I think Ross was lucky to meet you. You’re a saint. If I had to live with Nancy, I’d have called her poisonous bitch a long time ago.’ Katie laughed. ‘And you, Melanie, you work with her every day. I only see her every few weeks and look at what I just did.’

They laughed.

‘I spend most of my time in my office with the door closed and we only ever talk about work, which is fine because I respect Nancy from a professional point of view,’ Melanie told them.

‘I hide in my bedroom when she’s around or go out for long walks,’ Amanda said. It felt good to be honest. It was freeing to confess that she hid in her room because she had nowhere else to go.

‘You guys need to get out of that house. I feel sorry for you and Theo,’ Katie said. ‘I can give you spare keys and you can hang out here while I’m at work if you like. You’re welcome to come and chill out.’

Amanda was touched. It was a thoughtful offer and she was tempted to take Katie up on it, but her love oftidiness and order would probably prevent her from being able to relax. Katie’s house was messy and chaotic. There was stuff everywhere, toys, coats, bags, shoes, books, magazines, footballs, tennis racquets … Amanda could never live in such clutter. She needed everything to be orderly and in its place.

‘Thanks, but hopefully she’ll be back on her feet soon and we can leave. To be fair, she is keen to have the house back to herself, but she’s still unsteady.’

‘I think the fall has aged her a lot,’ Melanie agreed.

‘Pity it didn’t kill her,’ Katie said, then held up her hands. ‘I know, that’s mean to say, but …’

‘How long more do you reckon you’ll have to stay?’ Melanie asked.

‘I’m not sure. I thought she was doing well, but …’

‘But what?’ Katie pounced.

Amanda knew she had promised not to say anything, but it was nice to be able to confide in others. ‘A week ago, Nancy had a fall. I found her in the bathroom, on the floor.’

‘Poor Nancy.’ Melanie looked concerned.

‘Was she naked?’ Katie asked.

Amanda covered her eyes and nodded.

‘Noooooo!’ Katie and Melanie said at the same time, then burst out laughing.

‘What did you do?’ Melanie asked.

‘Well, I grabbed a towel and covered her up.’

‘I almost feel sorry for her,’ Katie said. ‘But I feel really sorry for you.’

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