Page 46 of How Much Wine Will Fix My Broken Heart?
I don’t know what I’m supposed to do next. Does she want me to get tampons out of my bag to prove that I can menstruate, that I’m a woman with reproductive potential, that adoption was a choice? Does she want to know the story of my amazing little girls?
‘Face it, you’re just his dirty little secret. The only person he can get with at the moment is some dried-up widow.’
At this point, Bob makes a face in shock. ‘Seriously, Orlagh, I don’t think this is the time or place?’ he says.
‘Oh, piss off, Bob!’ she yells.
I don’t know what my default setting is at the moment. There are many retorts in my locker. I want to pull out your extensions and stick your head under the water. Dried-up widow? Not so when I’ve been riding your ex-husband. How lucky Sam was to get rid of you; he’s certainly safer in my hands. But I am silent and just smile. I radiate some inner calm because I don’t have to compete with you at all, on any level.
‘The sad thing is Sam would still be married to you if you hadn’t left him. He adored you and you tossed that all away. So don’t blame me for what you did. He deserves better than you.’
Bob can hardly move for the drama. The colour drains from Orlagh’s face and she reaches over, takes my goggles and throws them into the middle of the pool. That’s all she has? I am sleeping with your husband so you’re going to chuck my basic five-pound Amazon goggles over there? Even Bob looks disappointed. You can tell he wanted something akin to mud-wrestling so he could see a bit of nipple.
‘Umm, Grace…’ I turn to the poolside to see Meg standing over us. ‘We need to leave, Linh doesn’t feel too well.’
Bob and Orlagh shift their gazes to the table, where Linh is sitting with her head in her hands.
‘Is she OK? Is it her heart?’ I ask, concerned. Or maybe she’s had too many mimosas. I look over as she rests her elbows on the table.
‘I just think it’s best we scoot. Get yourself dried up and throw some clothes on.’ Meg stands over Orlagh like she’s very close to pushing her underwater, but she resists the urge and kills her with a murderous stare instead.
I nod and turn to Orlagh. This isn’t over because, now the secret is out, she’ll spread all sorts of slander about me at the school gate. I can only hope that one day Maya will choose to sink her teeth into her too. I wade over to the ladder to take my leave from this awful situation. I’d like to say it’s a graceful exit but it’s the bedraggled sort you have when water drains out of your gusset. Meg offers me a towel.
‘Quickly dry and put your clothes on over the swimsuit. You can change in the car. I’ll take Linh out first.’
I grab her arm. ‘You’re worrying me, Meg.’
‘Trust me.’
I go to my cubicle and throw my T-shirt and joggers over what I’m wearing, leaving unsightly wet patches in the wrong places, trying to dry the ends of my hair. Lordy, we may need a hospital. The Bristol Royal Infirmary is the closest. I can send Meg back to get all Linh’s insurance documents, and her bags of pills too. Did Linh forget to take a pill today? She has one of those days-of-the-week containers. I didn’t check. Shit. I slip my trainers on without socks and run to the entrance with my belongings to see Meg waiting and Linh perfectly upright and functioning.
‘Hello?’
Linh comes and takes my hand, urging me to walk quicker.
‘What is going on? Are you OK? You had me worried sick! What is going on?’
Linh and Meg giggle in unison. It’s not a good sound; it’s a sound filled with mischief. They usher me away from the premises in a strange marching fashion.
‘Meg said that’s the ex-wife of the man you are having relations with?’ Linh asks.
‘Yes, for want of a better term. Why? Meg, you paid good money for me to swim there and use the facilities. I feel bad wasting that.’
My sister shakes her head. ‘Gracie, what I got was worth the fee alone.’
I glance between the two of them.
‘No one should speak to you like that, Grace. Not ever. In any case, she has a very weak chin. Very pointed. She quite deliberately swam into you too,’ mentions Linh.
‘I’m glad I didn’t imagine it. Didn’t she go in there with some sort of agenda? I felt like she was out to get me.’
Meg nods in agreement. ‘She kept glaring at you. Remind us, she left Sam first, yes? She’s just doing the whole wronged woman act because…’
‘She’s a bitch?’ Linh says, filling in the gaps. ‘You’re so much better than her, Gracie. And prettier too.’
‘I… thank you but why did we have to leave so quickly?’ I say, my steps becoming smaller to mend the discomfort at still having my soggy swimsuit on. Meg and Linh shuttle looks between each other.
‘I may have gone in her cubicle and sandwiched some avocado in her towel. I think a piece of bacon slipped in there too,’ Linh says, shrugging.
