Our inside source claims Ben cannot keep his hands off his new partner and Shelly seems to be reciprocating the attention with as much enthusiasm. The same source claims to have heard Shelly say that she wanted a change from being at home with their two daughters, and now seemed like the perfect time since Marcus has recently retired from the pitch.
With Ben Battle in superb physical condition, the pitch might not be the only thing Marcus is retiring from. Live shows premiere next week, but a lot can happen before then.
Callum and James meet me in the golf club car park with tight smiles.
‘You guys seen the paper?’ I slam the Audi door.
‘Yeah. Don’t let it get to you, man. You know the media are always spinning some angle to sell papers and up ratings. Take no notice.’
‘Easier said than done.’ A gust of air whooshes out from my chest but does nothing to relieve the tension building there. I have absolutely no control of the situation we find ourselves in. As a captain, and a natural born leader, that is a very tough pill to swallow.
We grab our stuff and amble towards the course together.
‘You and Shelly are ok though, right?’ James asks. Presumably Nadine’s been talking to Shelly. I wonder if she’s regaled the stress that this show is already putting on our marriage and it’s barely even got going yet.
‘I don’t know. I thought she was happy at home.’
‘It’s simply the lure of dancing again.’ Callum pats my arm in a rough show of support.
‘I bet that prick Ben is loving it.’
‘Don’t give him any excuse to get between you and Shelly. Go to the live performances. Show your support. Wolf whistle, shout, cheer as loud as you can. While you’re in the audience, seen to be cheering your wife on, it will make it much harder for the media to tear the two of you apart,’ James says.
Callum nods in agreement. ‘Whatever you have to do, keep things tight between you. Ben Battle was the slipperiest fucker, on and off the pitch. And he made no secret of his designs on your wife. And did you ever notice that he’s never been photographed with a serious girlfriend?’
‘That’s exactly what’s worrying me.’ There have been a string of models, singers, a hundred faceless wannabes, but never anyone long term.
‘Could you guys be reading too much into this?’ James scratches his stubble, glancing between the two of us.
He didn’t make the team until later. He wasn’t there to see it first-hand.
‘No,’ both Callum and I say together.
‘On a separate note, I need your help, guys.’ Talking to Mam has only reinforced the need to try and save the old rugby club, not only for the sake of the teenagers who will use it, but for my own sake. Moral and financial involvement from the rest of the team is my only hope of making this a success. The project is too much to undertake alone.
It’s the perfect distraction. And perhaps a sense of real purpose might fill that whacking great void in my life since I retired? The only problem is the promise I made to Shelly about buying property. Is it something I’m willing to go back on? And at what cost to our relationship?
