‘Well then he should be nice,’ he said simply.
I searched my son’s dark eyes for any hint that he might be hiding something from me but only saw purity within.
‘He should,’ I agreed, knowing he was being truthful.
Jay hadn’t calmed down when he came home from the hospital that evening. I dissolved into tears as soon as he took me into his arms as the stress and tension of the day rushed over me once again. He made dinner and even a dessert because he wanted to cheer me up.
I was just lifting a spoon loaded with the last bite of apple crumble when I heard my phone ring and saw it was Maya. Immediately, my heart started thumping.
‘It’s Maya,’ I mouthed to him as though she could hear me.
‘Don’t answer it.’
‘I can’t, Jay. I need to take it. Hi,’ I said, pressing the answer button before he could talk me out of it.
‘Liv, it’s me,’ she began. ‘I’ve been so upset all day… I just wanted to say that I’m sorry about earlier. That wasn’t how I intended it to go. You’ve been such a good friend to me and I think I handled it all wrong. I don’t want to fall out with you over this.’
‘I don’t either,’ I said, softening.
‘I was thinking about what you said and I know you have your feelings on it as do I so I think we should talk it out. All of us together: you and Jay and me and Hugo. I know the four of us can sort this between us rather than getting the school involved.’
‘I don’t know…’ I said cautiously.
‘Please,’ she begged. ‘I feel desperate about how I handled it earlier. I think the emotion overcame me and it wasn’t how I had hoped it would go. I really think if the four of us adults sit down and talk calmly and rationally, we can sort this out. I wonder, would you come over tomorrow evening?’
‘I don’t know…’
‘Please, Liv, it’s important that we resolve this now before it grows into something bigger.’
‘Well, I guess…’ I acquiesced. It sounded like hell. I didn’t think we could resolve anything more than she and I had tried to do in the café, especially if the men were involved. I’d imagine a man like Hugo didn’t discuss anything calmly. I knew Jay would kill me for agreeing to it; after the last time they had met, I had promised him that we wouldn’t go out with them again.
‘Thank you, Liv. We all want the same thing which is for the boys to get along and be happy. I really think this is the best way to sort all of this out.’
52
LIV
Dread and anxiety swirled in a vortex in my tummy all day as I watched the clock creep ever closer to eight o’clock. My sister Linda was going to come over to mind Finn. I had explained to her what was going on and told her we wouldn’t be too long; I imagined neither family would want to prolong the discussion.
‘Let’s just get this over with.’ Jay exhaled deeply as we drove through the Laurences’ electric gates that evening. It had taken a lot of convincing to get him to come. He’d echoed my worries that things would inevitably get heated but in the end, I had managed to talk him around and we agreed to try. He brought the car to a stop on the gravel outside their house and silenced the engine.
Maya appeared on the top step to greet us.
‘Liv, Jay, thanks so much for coming.’ She beamed at us as we climbed out. She was dressed in a cashmere cardigan and a big, voluminous skirt that swept down to the floor. Gold hooped earrings dangled from her ears and her make-up was flawless as always. It looked as though she had put a big effort into getting ready. I started to wish I had at least changed out of the jeans and hoodie that I had put on that morning.
‘Would you like a drink?’ she asked as we followed her inside. She lifted an already opened bottle of red wine and refilled her glass. ‘I have white too but I do love red when the colder weather sets in.’
‘Ehm, actually, water will be fine,’ I said. Although I could have used some Dutch courage, I wanted to have a clear head for what we were about to discuss.
‘Yeah, I’ll stick with water too,’ Jay agreed.
‘Sure,’ she said, pouring two glasses of mineral water for us. ‘Hugo is just putting Elliot to sleep; he’ll be back down in a few minutes. I’ve made a coq au vin for us to eat; I hope you like it.’
‘Wow, you shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble…’ I was taken aback by the effort she had made; I thought we’d be getting straight down to business.
‘Don’t worry, the weather has turned so cold today that I needed something hearty to warm me up. I also made some canapés to snack on while we’re waiting for Hugo,’ she said, removing a steaming tray from the oven.
‘These look delicious,’ I said, picking up a spring roll.
