‘Can you remember when you last told Luca that he did a great job with dinner or keeping the garden tidy?’
‘Why? If I say I don’t remember are you going to add that to your notes? Perhaps it can join the list of reasons why I’m an abysmal husband?’
‘Stop it,’ said Luca.
‘Stop what?’
‘Behaving like a child.’
‘Perhaps that’s how I’m treated in this house.’
‘Compliments are an important positive affirmation in a relationship,’ Jeffrey continued. ‘We all like to be praised when we’ve put effort into something. It’s just something to keep in mind.’
Noah mimed pressing an invisible keyboard button with his finger. ‘Unsubscribe,’ he said and downed the contents of his glass. His focus remained on Jeffrey until he crunched the last remaining ice cube between his teeth.
‘Are you . . . are you wearing my clothes?’ Noah said. He couldn’t hold back his reddening cheeks.
‘Of course not,’ Jeffrey protested. But the new outfits he’d recently purchased had all been deliberately similar to pieces he’d seen Noah wearing.
‘Yes, yes you are!’ Noah persisted. ‘I have that exact same blue shirt and jean combination. Even our trainers are similar.’ He lifted his foot to prove his point. ‘Christ, Luca, can’t you see what he’s doing? He’s moved himself into our house and now he’s trying to replicate me.’
‘I can assure you I’m not,’ said Jeffrey.
‘Look at yourself!’
The tension was broken by the Audite.
‘Email: Friday May third, Message received. From New Northampton Health Partnership. Dear Mr Noah Stanton-Gibbs, We regret to inform you that your scheduled interview has now been cancelled as the position has been filled internally. Your details will be kept on file should any suitable further positions arise. Yours sincerely, Donna Hillyer, Chief Executive.’
Noah placed his fork and spoon on the table, dabbed at his mouth with the napkin and pushed his chair out. He reached for the bottle of gin but left the tonic, and, without saying a word, calmly left the room. Jeffrey noticed Noah had barely eaten his food.
Luca hesitated. He half rose, then half sat again, opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it once more.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, standing up. ‘I know we’re not supposed to be talking away from the sessions. But he really wanted that job. The interview was just a formality.’
‘Go and be with him, we can pick up on this tomorrow,’ Jeffrey replied.
Once alone, Jeffrey helped himself to more food, roused by the thought of returning home to a meal like this every night once Noah was out of the picture.
56
Anthony
Jada was alone in her office, kneeling on the floor surroundedby matching textured cushions and floor tiles. Behind her, a wall of digital wallpaper alternated, offering changes in patterns and colour. Her eyes were hidden behind virtual reality glasses. The room’s decor couldn’t be more at odds with Anthony’s preference for minimalist styling. Jada had once described it as organized, colourful chaos. He envied her vibrant mind.
She was unaware of him standing beyond the glass doors to the entrance, quietly watching her. Sometimes he recognized traces of Jem Jones in his wife, from the way her nose crinkled when she smiled to the line between her eyebrows that appeared when she frowned. But since Jem’s death, the similarities were becoming clearer. Or perhaps he was searching for them more frequently. Because if pieces of Jem were alive in his wife, it might go some way towards minimizing the impact of her death on him.
‘Bright summer morning,’ Jada spoke. She was giving an instruction to the glasses to visualize a room she was planning. ‘Now give me a dark winter afternoon.’
‘Hi,’ Anthony said and knocked on the wall as he approached her.
‘Jesus!’ she yelped and removed her eyewear. ‘What are you doing here?’
It was a valid question given they’d barely spoken in a fortnight. Anthony tried and failed to remember the last time he had visited her interior design business: another example of his neglect.
‘The calendar said you had a meeting in New Birmingham today?’ she continued.
Anthony cleared his throat. ‘I lied to you, I’m sorry. There was no meeting.’
