Page 56 of The In-Laws

‘It was … awkward,’ Amanda admitted.

‘Awkward? It was a horror show! You could have gone blind looking at that.’ Katie giggled.

Amanda began to laugh. It felt so good to laugh aboutit. It felt good to laugh in general. How long was it since she’d had a chat and a laugh?

‘Stop!’ Melanie said. ‘I can’t get the image out of my mind now.’

‘Look, please don’t tell Jamie or Frank, though, okay? I haven’t even told Ross, because Nancy asked me not to and I respect that. She doesn’t want to look weak.’

Melanie took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. ‘There’s no way I’d tell Frank. He’d be straight over with alternative therapies and motivational quotes.’

Katie and Amanda giggled.

‘I love Frank dearly, but his quotes can be a bit much,’ Katie said. ‘Do you know what he told me when I broke my arm last year and couldn’t work? He said, “We don’t heal in isolation but in community.” I had no idea what he was on about.’

Amanda laughed. ‘He sent a card to Nancy that said, “The wound is the place where the light reaches you.” Nancy put it into the bin.’

Melanie groaned. ‘His latest one to try to get me to work fewer hours is “Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.” I mean, give me strength.’

‘He’s all goodness, our Frank,’ Katie said loyally. ‘He’s obviously got his dad’s genes.’

‘True. I think Jamie is a mixture of the two, kind but also driven,’ Melanie said. ‘What about Ross?’

Amanda paused. What was Ross? A selfish bastard? A thoughtless prick? A cheating scumbag? She desperately wanted to share her secret and her pain with her sisters-in-law, but she was afraid. If she told them, they’d tell their husbands, and they could use it against Ross. He had, after all, had an inappropriate affair with one of hisauthors – not to mention the pregnancy. No, that was a secret she needed to keep.

‘I think Ross is a mixture of his mum and dad,’ she fudged.

‘What’s his dad like?’ Katie asked.

‘I’ve only met him a few times. He’s nice enough. I’d say pretty selfish, though. He’s all about his second family and he treats Ross more like an acquaintance than a son. He never really got to know Ross. After the break-up with Nancy, Ross was dumped in boarding school, Thomas moved to France, met Céline and had three daughters with her.’

‘That’s really sad. Poor Ross. It’s no wonder he’s … well, a bit tricky,’ Katie said.

‘I think the three of them are a bit messed up, to be honest,’ Melanie said.

Katie poured some crisps into a bowl and pushed them into the middle of the counter.

‘Jamie’s the most normal in my opinion, and, yes, I know I’m biased. Mind you, he’ll probably divorce me after today.’

The thing was, though, Jamie adored Katie and she adored him right back. That was easy to see. They had the most solid marriage by far. Amanda envied them their closeness – they were two peas in a pod. They also seemed to have fun together: they went out partying and drinking and dancing. Melanie and Frank, on the other hand, never seemed to spend any time together – even at work. But their lives were so tied up with the agency and Nancy being Melanie’s boss that it would be very complicated for them to split up. No, Amanda thought, the couple in real crisis was her and Ross.

Katie went to pour them more wine, but Amanda puta hand over her glass. She’d had enough. She knew if she drank any more she’d blab all her secrets to these women. She needed to keep her head straight.

Melanie said no to more wine too, so Katie poured the end of the bottle into her glass.

‘I think maybe you’ve had enough. The wine was what got you into trouble. We’re all a lot more honest when we drink,’ Melanie said, blunt as ever.

‘You’re probably right, but the damage is done and now I need to anaesthetize myself,’ Katie said, taking a long sip.

Melanie stood up. ‘I’d better go. I have to prepare for a meeting tomorrow.’

‘Everyone seemed so impressed with that Petrus guy. He must be a big hitter,’ Katie said.

‘He’s one of the most highly regarded writers in the world,’ Amanda said.

Katie shrugged. ‘I don’t know much about writers, but well done, Melanie.’

‘He’s handsome too,’ Amanda said, with a grin.

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