Just then, I saw Maya emerging from the school building with red-rimmed eyes. She made her way over to an enormous Range Rover jeep. She opened the passenger door and then I saw her husband – the same man from the counselling sessions – was sitting in the driver’s seat.
‘I wonder why he didn’t go into the classroom?’ Jay asked, clearly thinking the same thing as me.
I shrugged. ‘Who knows?’
We began walking down the path. As we passed their jeep, I saw her face was contorted in rage and she was stabbing her index finger in his direction while he shouted something back at her.
We quickly looked away before they spotted us.
10
MAYA
I fought back the tears as I left Elliot alone in the classroom. He had wrapped his arms around my leg as I tried to walk out, clinging to me like a koala.
‘It’s okay; sometimes, kids take a little wobble,’ Ms Higgins said, coming up alongside me.
‘I don’t want to leave him in this state.’
‘He’s going to be just fine,’ she assured me, putting a steady hand on my arm and smiling kindly. ‘The best thing you can do now is just go rather than prolong it for him.’
My heart was shredded but I knew I had to do it. It went against all my maternal instincts to leave him alone when he was upset. It made me even angrier at Hugo; at least if he had been there with us, I would have had support.
I nodded and swallowed a lump in my throat as I prised his small hands off my legs and left him wailing after me. I could hear him screaming, ‘Mama, Mama, come back, Mama! I don’t want you to go,’ after me as I walked down the corridor and out of the building.
My upset soon changed to anger when I saw Hugo sitting in the driver’s seat of his car, waiting for me.
‘Where were you?’ I hissed as I climbed into it. I was so worried about Elliot that I hadn’t even had time to process meeting the other couple that went to marriage therapy before us. Could this morning get any worse?
‘You know where I was: I was on a call. How did he get on?’
‘You would know if you’d bothered coming into the school!’ I spat. ‘I just don’t get you. Five minutes – that’s all you had to give him.Five minutes.Why couldn’t you do that?’ I shook my head desolately. ‘What could be more important than being there on your son’s first day of school?’
‘Look, I’m sorry, Maya…’ he said contritely. He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed them.
‘Why didn’t you follow me into the classroom when your call had ended?’ I continued.
He splayed his hands out on either side. ‘I only just finished when you came out of the building.’
‘You always have an excuse.’
‘Here, check my call log if you don’t believe me,’ he said, thrusting the phone in front of my face.
I pushed it away. ‘Elliot was really upset,’ I went on. ‘I could have used your support.’
‘I’m sorry, Maya but it was an important call.’
‘They are always important calls,’ I snapped. ‘And then to top it all off, that couple who go to the counselling session before us have a son in Elliot’s class!’
He turned towards me. ‘Are you serious?’
‘Yes!’ I cried. ‘I couldn’t believe it. What a nightmare! I needed you there, Hugo but you’re always too busy. Too important. Your job always comes first. Even ahead of your son’s first day at school.’
‘Look, I said I’m sorry.’
‘When are you going to learn that you get one life? You won’t get this day back again.’
‘I get that but I’m also running a multi-million-euro business. It won’t run itself.’
