Page 26 of One Midnight With You
‘Right.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I went to your mum’s new flat. It was the forwarding address she gave when we sold the house, so I knew where it was.’
No wonder he looked stressed.
‘I’m scared to ask, but I take it by the fact that you’re sitting here, it didn’t go well?’
‘She wasn’t in.’
Oh. That was a bit of an anticlimax. Her emotions were struggling to cope with the peaks and troughs of this meeting, and she’d only just sat down.
‘But I spoke to her…’
‘I thought you said she wasn’t in?’
‘She wasn’t. I spoke to her through the doorbell.’
Emmy closed her eyes for a second of reprieve. This was unbelievable. What should have been a cataclysmic point in her parents’ relationship, and it was conducted via doorbell. Great.
‘So what was the upshot of that then?’ she probed.
‘Well, she said she was out with Rhonda and Gwen, so I asked her when she’d be back and told her I needed to speak to her and she basically told me to sod off.’
Emmy felt the corners of her mouth begin to twitch and there was a tiny swell of admiration for her mum there. The old Ailish would never have done something like that. Throughout their entire marriage, her mum had been absolutely devoted to her dad, and she’d always put him first. This was Ailish Mark Two, and Emmy wholeheartedly approved. Besides, if she was with Aunt Rhonda and Aunt Gwen, she must still be on Gwen’s ward in the other wing of the hospital, not, as her dad clearly imagined, out gallivanting somewhere getting fired up for a big night out.
Her dad put on his best ‘taking action’ face. ‘I think the only answer is to go and sit outside her front door until she comes back.’
‘You can’t do that, Dad. That’s stalking. You’ll get arrested.’
‘Exactly. Which is why I need you to call her to find out where she’ll be tonight.’
Bugger, she’d walked right into that one.
‘No. I’m not getting involved. I told you that you need to sort this out for yourself.’
‘I understand. I do. I’ll just wait it out at her apartment right enough then, because this is a conversation I want to have face to face and I need to do it today.’
Ah, the manipulation. Emmy saw it loud and clear, but at the same time, she didn’t relish two of the possible outcomes of that decision: either Dad getting hoicked off to the slammer after some concerned neighbour reported him for suspicious behaviour or – more importantly – Mum getting ambushed when she got home.
‘Okay, I tell you what. I’ll find out if she’ll be around later, and then you can call her and ask to see her. That’s as much as I’m doing, Dad, so don’t ask for any more and don’t you dare tell Mum I helped you. I’m not taking sides in this, although, if I was, it would obviously be Mum’s.’
Much as she loved him, she still wasn’t letting him get away with what he’d done.
Putting her tuna sandwich down, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and texted…
Hey mum, hope Aunt Gwen is doing well today. I was thinking about popping over tonight while Cormac is at work. Are you going to be in?
She tried to tell herself she wasn’t doing a terrible thing, because she’d already tentatively suggested that she might join her mum on the couch later if she didn’t have other plans and wasn’t too tired after work.
Her mum’s reply was almost instant.
Spooky! I was just about to call you. Gwen got discharged and we’re in the hairdressers’ because we’ve decided to go out tonight. Very welcome to join us? Xx
What? Now she was intrigued. And also, obviously, very happy that Aunt Gwen must be out of the hospital. Her mum must be so relieved.
I don’t think I’ll make it, Mum – I don’t want to go out to party in case Cormac gets finished early. Where are you going?
Okay, so it wasn’t strictly true, but it was close. Kind of.
You’ll never believe it – they’ve talked me into going to Gino’s. Reluctant, but actually quite excited now. Love you. Will call you at midnight. Xx
