‘You’d like her to not come home, to fail. I saw the divorce papers.’
Ryan moved in a little closer, his nose almost touching hers. ‘You really think you know her, don’t you?’ He let out a snort and burst into laughter.
‘You told the girls that she’d abandoned them to go to the pub and that they were better off with you.’
He held up his calloused hands, chapped and hardened from his gardening contract work. His fair hair had been almost shaved to the skin and looked prickly on the top of his head. ‘I told them the truth. Just before she threw me out, she was out with friends all the time, leaving me here with the kids and there was a man. She’d come home half-cut without any explanation. I’m the one who covered for her, telling them that Mummy had work to do, and that when Mummy was in bed nursing a hangover, she was poorly. I covered for her all the time. It’s about time they know the truth, which is more than I can say for Susan. She doesn’t know the meaning of the word truth. I bet she never told you she’d roll in in the middle if the night and ignore me when I asked where she’d been.’
Mary swallowed the lump that had formed at the back of her throat. She felt a tear slipping down her cheek.
‘Mary, I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you all this. Susan filed for divorce. Susan changed over the past few months. Susan chucked me out. I was happy. I love my family and I never wanted us to all split up. Susan was secretive, not telling me anything. What wasn’t she telling us? That’s what you should be concentrating on if you want to find out where she is. For now, I have to keep things as normal as possible for Phoebe and Jasmine.’
‘And what about a fight you were in? I saw it in the divorce papers. You punched one of her friends.’
‘It was nothing. She blew that one up too. Just something silly in a pub. I would never hurt her or my family. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you. I didn’t want our marriage to end. I love Susan and I always will.’
‘It’s a mess in here, Mum,’ Clare interrupted, breaking up the tension that was hanging between them. ‘What’s going on?’
Shoulder dropping, Mary shrugged. ‘Nothing, love. I know it’s a mess, I’m coming to help.’
‘Is Rory ready to go?’ Ryan asked.
‘I can look after him. I know you have a lot on with the girls.’ She needed Susan’s son close. He reminded her of Susan and she wanted his smiley face to be the first thing that Susan saw when she came back home.
Ryan backed off a little and let out a deep breath. ‘That would be much appreciated. Thank you.’
It was as if angry Ryan had suddenly vanished, only to be replaced by the son-in-law she’d always known. The living room door burst open and the boys ran around the adults in the hall. ‘Oi, little man!’
Rory ran across to Ryan and hugged him. ‘Daddy.’
‘Daddy’s got work but you’ll be staying with Nanny for a while. Are you going to be okay?’
The little boy nodded. Harrison began pretending to be a bear and chased Rory back into the living room. ‘I think that’s a yes,’ Mary said. For once the boys were playing nicely, albeit loudly. At least they weren’t fighting or having tantrums.
‘I’ll call you later.’ Ryan opened the door and waved at the girls who were patiently waiting to be dropped off at school. Phoebe held her watch up, signalling that they were going to be late. Wind whistled through the door, instantly chilling the hallway even more.
‘Wait. Jasmine said that Susan was crying Tuesday morning. Did she say anything to you?’
Ryan shook his head as he stepped outside. ‘Not a word. Susan was always crying so nothing’s new there. She wasn’t upset all the time, just angry, frustrated. She’d been struggling to cope and as usual she wouldn’t let me take the kids off her hands.’
‘You haven’t made it easy for her.’ Shivering, Mary maintained eye contact with him, waiting for him to give something away, anything. Was he right about Susan or had Susan lied to her solicitor? Who was telling the truth? Were they both telling the truth as they saw it or was one of them playing games?
‘I wasn’t the one who was cheating in our relationship. Goodbye, Mary.’ He hurried towards the car, slammed the door and drove off without looking back.
‘What the hell was that about? Did you have to have a go at him? Haven’t we all got enough on our plates?’ Clare crossed her arms and her cheeks began to flush.
Mary pulled out the notepad and the solicitor’s letter from her bag. She thrust the letter into Clare’s hand. ‘Read that.’
As Clare went quiet, Mary continued flicking through Susan’s pad. Various notes and to-do lists were scribbled amongst the doodles. Appointments were noted down, then scribbled out or crossed with the word ‘done’.
A torn piece of paper fell out, containing two addresses local to the area and a note to grab some more bread from the shops. Just on the rip line, there was a postcode of a third address. Mary recognised the grey lines on the page: it was from Susan’s diary. ‘She hasn’t crossed anything on this page out. These appointments must have been outstanding. This might be what she was doing on Tuesday.’
Hands shaking and mouth dry, Mary pulled her phone out.
Twelve
I can’t help but smirk as I stand against the wall, peering around. I love watching you, lovely Stephanie, as you come out of work most break times. The others smoke and you always look like you’re suffocating – you delicate little passive aggressive. You can’t come out to the smoking area and then scowl at everyone who smokes. Don’t worry, they’ll all soon be rid of you.
The sun has cleared up most of the frost but not in this alleyway, the sun never reaches these parts.
