Page 86 of The Snag List
He glanced up at the monitor displaying departure updates. ‘Needs must but she’s not even awake, honey. I’m just a little concerned re time …’
Officer West cleared his throat. ‘Go, you guys – we’ll escort you right to the top of the queue the second you’re done. You’ve really given me some clarity today, thank you.’
Ailbhe pushed Tilly through the crowd towards the booth, prattling nervously to Tom about how a ‘dream feed’ might keep Tilly relaxed on the flight.
When they reached the booth, she pulled Tom through the curtain and sat him down on the two-seater couch. It was tight in there but Ailbhe figured this could work to her advantage. She parked the pram in front of his knees, effectively hemming him in. At least he wouldn’t be able to escape, he’d have to listen. She hoped.
‘Tom, I don’t need to feed Tilly. There’s something I have to tell you before we get on the plane.’
‘OK.’ He looked worried. ‘You’re freaking me out. I’ve never seen you cry before.’
‘Tom,’ she summoned every scrap of resolve.Do it, Ailbhe. She breathed deep and looked him in the eyes. ‘When I conceived Tilly, I had sex with you and with another man in the space of a couple of days. I cheated on you. There’s a chance she’s not yours.’ She closed her eyes because she knew if she saw his reaction she would think about it until the end of her days. Her tears continued to stream from beneath her lashes. ‘I can’t believe I did it. There is no way that I will ever be able to express how sorry I am and how ashamed I am that I am hurting you like this.’
She braced for Tom’s anger, his rage no doubt building and about to hurtle towards her. She deserved whatever happened next. She squeezed her eyes further shut but there was nothing, only the sound of impatient people beyond the curtain moving through their perfectly ordinary lives. She looked across at Tom and fought to keep her sobs in check. After what she’d just done to him, it felt obscene forherto cry. He looked somehow collapsed in on himself, as though instead of an explosion he was being pulled inward, sucked down by a force deep inside.
‘Tom, I know I can’t ask for forgiveness. And I know any excuses would be an insult but please … Can I just say that Tilly is your baby, you are the father she loves, the only father she knows, and you are an amazing father. It would kill me … to know that I ruined her shot at being your daughter.’ She swallowed, her throat tight, and then she too crumpled, feeling that same strange, contained implosion she detected in Tom. Finally the gasping cries rose up and she couldn’t hold them in.
Tom stood slowly, shakily. He still hadn’t uttered a word. He looked into the pram and ran a gentle hand over the baby’s face. Then he edged around them both and walked out.
‘Ma’am?’ Officer West was outside the curtain. ‘Ma’am?’
Ailbhe felt like she was hearing him from the bottom of a deep lake. Sapped from the emotional crash after telling Tom, she wondered how long she’d been sitting motionless in there. She pulled back the curtain. ‘So sorry officer … I …’
I what? I just ruined my daughter’s life? And Tom’s? And mine?
‘I saw him leave … You guys back at square one?’ he asked gently.
‘I would say we are hitting an all-time low,’ Ailbhe replied, standing wearily. ‘We’re in the minus squares. So he didn’t get on the plane?’
‘Nope, it’s left by now. Your stuff’s on its way to America.’
‘Great. Doesn’t matter.’There’s some kind of heavy-handed metaphor here about getting rid of my baggage, she thought as she reversed herself and the pram out of the booth. ‘Good luck with your life, officer.’
She drifted back out through the double doors. Unlikely she’d ever be back here again.
Officer West called after her. ‘Good luck with your life too, ma’am.’
30
AFTER WAVING AILBHE OFF TO THE AIRPORT THAT morning, Lindy had driven straight to the hastily arranged mediation that had been fast-tracked due to the complicated nature of dissolving a family and a business in tandem. Lindy and her new solicitor, Elise, who’d been recommended by Patrick as she was better versed in family matters, sat across from Adam and his solicitor, Adrian.
Elise was speaking in a commanding voice. ‘What my client is asking for is completely reasonable and has the child’s best interests in mind.’
Lindy had been listening to Elise and Adrian volleying dismal statements about the state of her life back and forth for nearly an hour now. This was supposed to be a civil meeting by the end of which they would have an agreement in place about Max and the future of Maxxed Out. Apparently it was in everyone’s best interest to get this signed off among themselves and not involve a judge. So far, not so good. Adam was being unbelievably stubborn. Knowing she had evidence of his adultery hadn’t remotely shamed him into going along with her wishes. He just didn’t believe she would release it. Part of her wished she could be so selfish – as selfish as Adam! – but she would never. Obviously.
‘Forcing a child to honour business obligations is not reasonable, it’s ludicrous,’ Elise was arguing. ‘There is no precedent for it anywhere in any Irish commercial law or custody decisions. And if Mr Zelner decides to pursue this in family court, there is zero possibility of his winning. The judge will go with the well-being of the child, which, in this instance, doesn’t involve trotting the child out for the internet.’
‘A child’s well-being is also supported by financial resources—’
‘Resources your client depleted with flagrant investing.’
‘My client was trying to generate more income for his family and was unlucky. If Mrs Zelner has her way, the family will most likely lose their home and may even end up in debt. All my client is asking for is eighteen months more. We will go to a judge if we must. And I am certain we will easily prove that Mrs Zelner’s bid to block these contractual obligations is driven by a hurt ego and nothing to do with her son’s well-being. Her husband told her he was in love with someone else and she is exacting revenge.’
‘That isnot true!’ Lindy could no longer take the depressing commentary about her and her family.
‘Lindy.’ Elise placed a hand over hers to signal her to shut up; to Adam and his solicitor, she was scathing. ‘You’ll lose in family court.’
‘Maybe we’ll lose in family court but commercial court is a different matter.’
