Page 32 of Sorry, Not Sorry
‘Well done, hon.’ Salome reached across the kitchen table to squeeze her sister’s hand, her eyes brimming with compassion. ‘Meeting your ex’s girl can’t have been easy for you.’
‘Especially when she looks like a bloody supermodel and seems like a lovely person,’ Delilah agreed with a wry smile.
‘Thank God you don’t have feelings for Noah any more.’
When Delilah made no comment, Salome tilted her head and scrutinised her sister through narrowed eyes. ‘Hold on, you don’t still have feelings for him, do you?’
Delilah sighed. ‘I don’t know – maybe?’ She buried her face in Arin’s curls. ‘Seeing him again is bringing up all these weird emotions, but maybe that’s just a normal reaction to meeting an ex’s new partner.’
‘It didn’t bother you when it was Desmond,’ Salome observed dryly, reaching across the table to stroke her son’s cheek.
‘True, but then he wasn’t asking me for marriage counselling, was he?’
Salome’s hand stilled and she stared at her sister with wide eyes. ‘Marriage? Are you serious?’
Delilah nodded. ‘Yup. And so, it appears, are they. Once they get mummy dearest onside, they’ll be setting a date.’
Salome looked stricken as she took in the information. ‘I’m starting to regret making you go through this apology exercise. I didn’t realise you were still into Noah. I’m sorry, sis – what are you going to do?’
‘There’s nothing I can do except finish what I’ve started. I owe him, Sal, and if I can help him get his happy ever after, maybe he’ll stop hating me and I’ll stop feeling guilty. When they get his mum’s blessing, and I get Noah’s forgiveness, hopefully then we can all move on with our lives. I’m meeting up with them on Tuesday to talk through some strategies – I mean, suggestions.’
Salome’s sympathetic expression was beginning to jar, and Delilah quickly changed the subject. ‘Guess who’s back from Brazil?’
‘Really?’
‘Yup. I called him yesterday. Do you know, Remi’s the first man on your stupid list who actually sounded pleased to hear from me.’
‘Why?’ Salome asked bluntly.
‘I didn’t ask! Anyway, I’m meeting him on Thursday evening, so I suppose I’ll find out.’
Arin squirmed on her lap and Delilah sniffed, screwing up her nose as the tell-tale aroma hit her. ‘Eww, Arin! I wondered why you were sitting so still! Sal, your child needs changing.’ She stood up and held Arin under his arms, dangling him above the table.
Salome didn’t move. ‘Well, I’m knackered. Delilah, you do know that you could change him yourself.’
‘Haha. You know I don’t do poopy nappies. Seriously, Sal, take him before he leaks all over me!’
Reluctantly, Salome pulled herself up from her chair and reached for her son. ‘Come on, little man. Let’s go upstairs and get you cleaned up.’ She glanced at Delilah. ‘Can you make me a cuppa, hon? I’m parched.’
Delilah had just switched on the kettle when Farhan wandered into the kitchen. Walking over to the fridge, he took out a half-empty packet of sliced cheese and glanced over at her. ‘Where’s Sal?’
‘Upstairs, changing Arin. Actually, if you’ve got a minute, I’ve been wanting to have a word.’
‘Oh? Why, what’s up?’ He folded a slice of cheese into quarters and crammed it into his mouth and then opened a cupboard and took out some crackers.
‘Have you noticed how tired Sal looks lately?’
Farhan lowered the cracker that was halfway to his mouth and swallowed hard. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean my sister looks absolutely shattered and needs more support than she seems to be getting from you,’ Delilah said.
A flash of anger crossed his face. ‘What exactly are you trying to say, Delilah?’
Delilah ignored Farhan’s terse tone and stuck to her guns. Salome’s unguarded confession about feeling frustrated with her life had been weighing on Delilah. Her sister’s upbeat demeanour couldn’t hide the dark shadows under her eyes, nor had a new air of restlessness escaped Delilah’s notice. Salome worked extraordinarily hard to make everyone happy and ensure everything around her was perfect. Any cracks in the flawless image her sister chose to project meant something was very wrong, and her husband should have been the first to spot it.
‘Listen, it’s your job to take care of her and, if you ask me, I think she’s doing too much,’ Delilah said firmly. ‘I know you’ve been busy with work, but you must have noticed she’s run off her feet.’
Farhan flushed and dropped the cracker he was holding on to the kitchen counter. ‘Are you serious?’ he said, his voice rising with incredulity. ‘You think I don’t know how hard Sal works to take care of the kids and me, not to mention looking after the house? Not that I need to justify myself to you, but I’ve been begging her for months to let us get a cleaner in to help out, and she won’t have it. If you can take a minute to climb down from your high horse, maybe you can ask yourself what’s taken you so long to notice! Instead of having a go at me, look in the mirror and ask what you’re doing to help.’
