‘Hiya, love. We had a fab time, we went bowling after ice creams. Shame you couldn’t have come with us,’ says Michael.
‘Yeah, Mam. Dad said how much he wished you were with us, didn’t you?’ says Jasmine.
‘Yeah.’ Michael does that downcast look as though he is a lost soul, but it doesn’t wash with me. The thought of that catfish account is getting stronger by the second.
‘Oh, well. There’s always a next time. I was saying that maybe Friday night we could all go for dinner somewhere. We could go to the brasserie. I remember how you love the garlic mushrooms there,’ says Michael.
‘Oh, I won’t be able to, besides, I’ve gone off garlic mushrooms.’
‘Why can’t you go? It’s not like you to turn down the chance of a meal out. You’re always moaning about having to cook.’
‘It’s been two years since we lived together. How do you know? A lot about me has changed,’ I snap.
‘Alright. No need to be like that. Calm down.’
‘Anything on TV?’ he says, looking around the room.
The longer Michael is here, the more I feel as though steam will start coming out of my ears. How did I even live with this man for so long?
With a documentary on octopuses playing in the background on the TV, I grab the remote control and switch it off. It is finally time to snap.
‘That looked good.’
‘Right, can I have a word, please?’
‘Uh-oh, seems I am in trouble…’ says Michael, rolling his eyes at Jasmine and Poppy.
I lead him outside to the hallway, out of earshot of the girls. I don’t want to lambast their dad in front of them.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asks.
‘What’swrong? Right. I’m going to put this firmly so there’s no mistaking what I’m about to say. You had an affair for two years behind my back. It came to light, and I realised we weren’t the perfect little family I thought we were. I had to pick myself up and try and show a brave face whilst you swanned around with your mistress. Apparently, it hasn’t worked out with her or anyone else, and so now you’ve come running back to me. On top of that, you then get the girls involved to try and convince me that we should all be back together as a family and play on their emotions. That’s not on at all.’
‘I didn’t play on their emotions. They want us back together.’
‘Yes, you did. You can’t do that to them, and you can’t waltz back in here just because you found out I met someone on holiday. Now suddenly you don’t want anyone else to have me. Am I right?’
‘No, I told you. It made me realise how much I loved you. The thought that you could’ve been kidnapped, or anything happening to you on that yacht, was awful. When you didn’t reply to my messages, I was overwhelmed with sadness. There was so much I wanted to say to you.’
‘But, you know, the one thing you’ve never said is sorry. Not once have you apologised for what you did to us.’
Michael looks at the floor and then picks at a bit of peeling paint from the wall of the corridor.
‘Well, I’m sorry now. Alright.’
‘It’s too little too late.’ I take a deep breath before I tell him about Elias.
‘I’ve met someone else and I’m going to give it a go. It’s early days, but he seems to appreciate me. He encourages me with my writing, and he understands that I have this dream. You never believed in me like that. I know you think me trying to write a book is a waste of time. I don’t think you’ve ever understood my feelings about it.’
‘Well, maybe we should have talked more and then I wouldn’t have run off with another woman.’
‘Don’t even go there and try to blame me for this.’ My voice is so loud that I realise people will hear us as the communal door downstairs slams shut. I try to lower my voice.
‘I’ve said all I want to. Now please stop treating my apartment as your home. You’ve got your own place. We need boundaries.’
‘Boundaries. Pfft. You sound like you’ve been seeing a therapist, have you?’
‘What’s going on, Mam, Dad? You’ve been out here ages,’ interrupts Jasmine as she opens the apartment door and peeks around.
