“You are a dreadful liar, Steph and you’re obviously upset. Please talk to me. I love you and I want you to be happy and settled and as I know your bloke’s secret marital status you can talk to me.” She reached across and squeezed Steph’s hand in reassurance then grinned as her younger sister softened.
“Oh, Jess, I don’t know where to start, but I will try. He is the perfect man for me, except for the wife. She is beautiful, and I think she knows about me. She has gone to Dublin with him.” She sighed. “I am confused, I don’t understand it, them, why would she turn a blind eye? Jon is not the sort of man you would ever want to share, I certainly don’t, and yet they rarely spend time together. I see him on Wednesdays and Fridays and then we usually spend the weekend together and other nights we talk even if we don’t meet up,” Steph told her sister. “I don’t even know where she lives, but she doesn’t share his flat in London. I have things there, but there is no evidence of anyone else ever being there. I met her in his office one time and she said to him,it would be nice to see you at home at the weekend,but he didn’t go home.” Confusion and emotion oozed from every word as they clogged her throat.
“It sounds a bit too much like hard work, sis, just give him the elbow, personally if not professionally,” Jess suggested.
“I can’t,” she cried. “I love him, Jess.”
“Oh dear.” Without another word, Jess got to her feet and fetched them some more coffee.
Upon returning with two large, flat whites Jess studied her younger sister’s sad expression and hugged her tightly. “You need to tell him how you feel Steph. Give him the opportunity to choose you.”
Steph shook her head and asked, “But what if he doesn’t feel the same or ends things? I don’t want to lose him.”
“What if he chooses you and he does feel the same? What if his marriage is over and he just needs you to admit that you want something more than a fling?” asked her sister frowning now. “You owe it to yourself to be honest with him.”
“He told me at the beginning that divorce wasn’t an option so even if he does feel the same he can’t act on it,” said Steph sadly.
“Then you need to make a choice, baby sister, because you are too young and beautiful to waste yourself on someone who can’t give you everything you want and if you and Jon are done then you can move on and find someone who is available, someone like him, not like Simon.”
“I don’t want anyone else, Jess,” she admitted sadly. “It would be so much easier if I did and even then I would never allow myself another Simon.”
“I have never seen you like this about a guy before. What is so different about Jon?” Jess asked curiously.
“Everything. He is like nobody I have ever known and he makes me different, oh I don’t know. I can’t understand what I mean myself, but I don’t think I would ever meet anyone that could come close to Jon ever.” She was more confused than ever now.
“Look, just think about talking to him,” Jess said, essentially ending the topic of conversation. “What are you doing tonight? You are welcome to come back with me and enjoy Saturday night TV and a takeaway.”
Steph smiled across at her and was glad for her sister’s support but declined her invitation.
“Thanks, but I really should go home, I’ve got some work stuff to finish off,” she told Jess who shrugged and smiled.
Steph was drinkinga glass of wine and working through some figures when her phone vibrated next to her. She looked down and smiled when she saw that she had a message from Jon.
Hi darling am back at home now. Are you ok? How have you been? Which holiday did you and Lindsay decide on? I’ve missed you more than I thought was possible. When will I see you? Jon x
Glad you are home safely. I am fine. I have been ok, not ok, a bit out of sorts, confused. Lindsay and I went with all-inclusive to Marbella. I have also missed you. I thought we had agreed to see each other on Monday? Steph x
So you are not fine then! Can I help? Marbella, very nice choice darling. Not the naturist choice then? I think we need to talk about that, don’t you? If we have both missed each other why don’t I come round, Monday is a long way off! Jon x
Maybe I am not fine. Can you help? Maybe you can. I wondered if you had seen the naturist choice, that was a joke, lol. I told you that I had plans for the weekend and we have made plans for Monday. Steph x
Tell me how to help you to be ‘fine’. I didn’t laugh at naturist choice! I handed the details over to our travel advisers before checking them. What are your plans then? I don’t think I can wait until Monday. Jon x
Steph readthe message a couple of times and as she decided on her reply her phone rang.
“Hi, darling, this whole texting thing isn’t working for me and if I can’t see you, I can at least hear your voice,” Jon said.
“So I see, or hear at least.” She smiled down the phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Just some last bits of work that I didn’t finish on Friday,” she told him honestly.
“I see. So all this business about a weekend with your friends and family was just a ruse to avoid seeing me? Great.” He sounded genuinely sad.
“No, maybe, yes,” she admitted and then attempted to explain her reasons as she remembered what Jess had said earlier. “I would normally have seen you this weekend, but you were going away and then the whole Lucy thing happened and I am obviously a really crappy mistress because I instinctively lashed out and tried to punish you in the only way I could, by not being available to you.”
“I suspected as much, but I wish you would talk to me rather than sulking about things.”
