“In the end, you’ll have alienated all our allies. You must stop it.”
“They’ll get used to it,” I say, exasperation seeping from my pores.
“Arthur, you can’t protect them from everything. Not Tessa, and not the baby either. Reasonable precautions, yes. Turning their home into a prison, no.”
“I’m not—”
“Yes, you are.” She pats my cheek like she’s dealing with a six-year-old version of me. “Now, I know you won’t want to hear it, but if ever there was a time for you to let go of what happened with your mother, it’s right bloody now.”
“This isn’t about my mother,” I scoff. “This is about the baby.”
“And your wife, who you are clearly terrified of losing,” she says.
I start to defend myself, but she holds up her hand. “I had lunch with my friend Betsy Yates today. She told me how you treated her grandson, Ted, the very qualified obstetrician. She was completely horrified, and frankly so am I. Honestly, suggesting he has some sort of vagina-fixation. He’s a highly regarded medical professional.”
“Doesn’t mean he does it for the right reasons.”
“He’s also gay.”
“Oh, well I may have gone a little overboard in that case, but I stand by my desire to do whatever necessary to protect my wife and child.”
Gran sighs and shakes her head. “You’re going to make a terrible mess of things if you carry on like this. Don’t say I didn’t warn you when it all blows up.”
“Nothing’s going to blow up. I know what I’m doing.”
“Famous last words.”
