Page 116 of From Notting Hill with Love…Actually
“I can assure you I had no ideayouwere going to be here either, Tom,” my mother replied calmly. “Or I definitely wouldn’t have come and upset everyone’s evening like this.”
“Youwouldn’t have come?” my father bellowed again. “When didyouever care about anyone else but yourself? You certainly didn’t care twenty years ago when you walked out on us, did you, Rose?”
My mother looked around at everyone staring in shock at the situation unfolding in front of them.
“If you’ll just let me get this wine cleaned up,” I said, trying to move toward Dad again, “then I can explain—”
“Stay right there, Scarlett,” he said, holding up his hand. “I thinkyou’vedone enough already.”
I turned back toward my mother.
“Mum?”
“Perhaps I’d better just go, Scarlett. I don’t want to ruin your evening further.” She glanced back at my father. “It’s quite obvious I’m not welcome here.” She made a move toward the door.
“But…” I didn’t know what to do. What to say. I’d messed up big time and I was scuppered whatever I did next. Whichever parent I tried to appease it would look as if I was taking sides.
“Mum, please don’t go.”
She turned around, her hand still on the doorknob. “Scarlett, I must. It really won’t be pleasant for anyone if I stay. I’ll call you tomorrow and we can talk about this then.”
I just nodded at her.
She gave a quick glance back into the hall. “I’m so sorry. I do hope I haven’t ruined your evening too much. Good night, everyone.”
And then she was gone.
I felt my heart wrench as the door closed behind her. Slowly I turned back to the waiting guests.
Among the emotions on the row of faces that greeted me, the strongest by far was anger on that of my father. He still stood in the pool of spilt wine, his face even paler than it had been before.
“Dad?” I said in a small voice. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean for it to be like this.”
Dad still didn’t speak. He just stood there. So I moved toward him.
“No!” he said, finding not only his own voice now but those often others at the same time. “No, don’tyoucome anywhere near me.”
“But, Dad…”
“How could you, Scarlett? How could you after everything we’ve been through together? Everything I’ve told you about her? How could you do this to me?”
I stood in the middle of the hallway feeling the weight of everyone’s eyes upon me. My father’s were full of anger, Oscar’s shock, Ursula’s sorrow, and David’s pity. When my eyes made contact with Sean’s, I felt myself begin to shake.
“That’s enough,” Sean said immediately, stepping in between my father and me. “This stops now. You two need to sort this out later, quietly and in private when you’ve calmeddown.” He looked about the room. “Ursula, can you get something to clean this red wine up with, please. And Oscar, could you take Mr. O’Brien into the lounge again and pour him a large whiskey?”
Oscar opened his eyes wide at the thought of trying to take my angered father anywhere.
“Scarlett,” Sean said, coming over to me and putting his arm around my shoulders. “You’re shaking. Are you OK?”
“Andthisstops now!” I heard yet another angry voice say, as David marched over to Sean. “She’s my fiancée, and I’ll be the one to comfort her if she’s shaking.”
“Why didn’t you do something just now, then?” Sean asked, his arm dropping away from my shoulders as he turned on David. “If you care so much about her, why was I the one who had to step in to rescue her in her hour of need yet again?”
I stood silently watching them all: Ursula trying to mop up a bottle of red wine from the floor around my father’s feet; Oscar trying to persuade my father to move away from the wine and go through to the lounge for a drink; and Sean and David arguing over me once again.
And very slowly I felt myself backing away from them. I lifted my jacket that was hanging on the coat stand and gently pulled open the front door. As I did an icy wind blew through my body and back into the house.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned toward the opened door.
