‘You’re Kenneth Manson’s wife,’ the young woman said in a tone that was more of a statement than a question.
Bernadette nodded. ‘I am. Sorry, who are you?’
‘I’m Lila Anderson.’
28
Lila
The call had come just after eight o’clock, seconds before Lila walked into the restaurant. Ken.
‘Hey baby, were you missing me?’ she teased playfully.
‘Were you at my house?’
‘What?’
‘Were. You. At. My. House?’
‘No, of course not! I wouldn’t…’
‘You’re lying.’
How did he know? Had someone seen her? Reported her car? Did he have a CCTV camera that she hadn’t spotted? Oh God, he sounded so angry, so absolutely furious that she kept waiting for him to come out with a punchline and tell her he was joking. She’d never heard him like this before.
‘Baby, I…’ she stuttered, playing for time, realising that she had to come up with something fast. Maybe he’d just nipped home and spotted her car driving past him. Yes, that must be it. ‘I think I may have driven down your street,’ she said hesitantly. ‘I’d… I’d…’ She needed an excuse. Any excuse. Something convincing. ‘I was picking some things up for my mum at a gorgeous little deli not far from there. And… Oh, wait a minute, I pulled over to take a call. The office needed some figures, so I had to get my laptop out…’ She was warming to her story now, ‘That might have been in your street. I can’t quite remember. But I certainly wasn’t at your house. Why would I be there?’
It was lame, not an entirely waterproof story, but it was all she could do in the circumstances. He didn’t reply immediately so Lila could sense he was thinking about it. That told her he didn’t have actual proof she was at his house, knocking on his door, determined to throw his whole life into chaos. She decided to probe further, but go with teasing and cajoling in the hope of de-escalating things.
‘Anyway, my gorgeous grump, how did you know where I was? Are you missing me so much you’re having me followed?’ She added a giggle for effect.
Another pause. ‘Your Facebook post about fucking lipstick. You, in the car. I recognised the street in the background.’ Her stomach lurched just a little. Shit! Number one, she hadn’t thought of that. And number two, even if she had, she wouldn’t have thought there was enough of the background in the shot for someone to identify it. But then, he was the smartest guy that she’d ever met. Wasn’t that one of the things that turned her on most?
‘Baby, I’m sorry if I gave you a shock, but I promise it was all perfectly innocent.’ It wasn’t. And no, her plans hadn’t changed, but if she was going to reveal all to that frump he’d married, she didn’t want to give him advance warning.
‘Look, Lila,’ he didn’t sound angry now, maybe just a bit weary. Well, she could certainly make him feel better. In fact she could… ‘Maybe we should take a break from this for a moment.’
‘What?’
‘I just think that we need a break.’
What was he saying? The words were floating out there but she couldn’t quite grab them and make sense of them. A break. They’d just got back together again a couple of months agoafter the last break. That’s not what they needed – what they needed was for him to leave his wife so they could be together.
He was the first to fill the silence. ‘It’s a really busy time for me at work, and my son and daughter need my time…’
‘I need your time,’ she blurted.
‘Lila, I know, and I want to give it to you. I do. But my schedule is just so intense. You deserve someone who can be with you all the time, and until I’m free to be with you, that can’t happen.’
Now it was her turn to get angry. She’d heard all this before, last time he’d called it off, and the previous time too. He loved her – the fact that he kept coming back proved that. ‘Make it happen! For god’s sake, Ken, it’s not difficult. People leave their wives all the time, marriages break up, it’s no big deal.’
‘It would be a big deal to my children. Look, you know I don’t love Bernadette. It’s always been you. But I can’t just walk out – the consequences right now are unacceptable. My children would be devastated…’
‘They’re adults, living their own lives! Nina is almost the same age as me! I really don’t think her world will stop if her parents divorce now.’
The urge to scream was almost too strong to ignore. This wasn’t happening. Not now. She wasn’t giving him the chance to push her aside yet again. For seven years she’d waited for him to make good on his promises, and yes, she knew it all came from a place of decency. He just didn’t want to be the bad guy who left his millstone of a wife. Well too bad. Time had come. After this stupid meal with Cammy was over she was ending Ken’s marriage for good. He’d thank her for it in the end. In the meantime, she wasn’t going to give him a chance to finish what he’d been trying to say.
‘Listen, darling, I’m just about to walk into a restaurant now… and by the way, I’m wearing that dress that drove you wild in London. I’ll call you later. Kiss kiss. Love you.’
