Chapter Twenty-Six
Once we were back in Dublin and we’d dropped Nora home (she was going straight, she said, for a lie-down), I’d just put the kettle on when we heard Michael’s key in the door. What did one say to one’s husband who has fallen in love with a (slightly) younger and (definitely) perkier woman?
He came into the kitchen and stood there, grey with worry, his eyes red as though he’dbeen crying all night. There was no sign of Lucy.
‘Rosie?’ he said.
‘Yes?’
‘Are you still mad at me?’
‘Well I haven’t had much time tonotget mad at you,’ she said. ‘So yes, I’m still mad at you.’
‘Cup of tea, Michael?’ I said. ‘We’ve just had such a long drive, I’m gasping. You?’
‘I can’t keep a thing down,’ he said. ‘Not even water. I had to sit next to a baby on the flight who criedthe whole way from Charleroi. And I’ve got a splitting headache.’
‘Granny Nora’s got one of those,’ said Rosie, giving me a look.
‘Grown-ups really are not being the best role models lately to you, are they?’ I said to her, as Michael sat on a chair and massaged his temples. He did look pretty green. ‘You might be the only one among us who has behaved with dignity.’
‘You’re not doing too badly,Mum,’ she said quietly, and gave my arm a squeeze. We waited for Michael to refocus on the room. I noticed he wasn’t begging for forgiveness or following any of the usual errant spouse scripts. Even with his career in danger, he’d obviously decided that Lucy was for him.
‘I’m so sorry,’ he said, eventually. ‘Oh Tab, I didn’t mean this… any of this… it’s awful… I am just so sorry… oh Tab, I can’tbelieve I’ve done this… I didn’t think I’d ever be one of those... politicians…’
‘The sleazy kind?’ I suggested, helpfully.
‘Well…’ he spluttered, not wanting to accept sleaziness but knowing his moral standing was rocky. ‘I know how angry you must be…’
‘Michael, it’s…’
‘You’re probably fuming, wanting my guts for garters… you’ve probably got a little voodoo doll in a suit and you’re goingto stick pins into it…’
‘Michael…’
He was examining my face. ‘You look dreadful, so upset,’ he insisted. ‘It must have come as a terrible shock…’
‘I’m absolutely…’
‘Furious? Devastated? So you should be! What a thing to discover. Your husband having an affair with his secretary. Oh, Tabitha, I am so ashamed, so appalled, so horrified, to have put you through this. To have hurt you and Rosieso badly, to have destroyed your lives like this…’
‘Hold on a moment…’ I said. ‘Michael…’
‘You’ll forever be known as Michael Fogarty’s wronged wife. I can’t believe I have done this to you, Tabitha, it was so selfish of me. How will you ever get over it? And my constituents! They will be devastated. I’ll lose my seat, for sure.’ His eyes were almost gleaming at the thought of his great fall.‘It’s just that when you fall in love, passion gets in the way of everything. People get hurt. But… but sometimes, that’s the way it has to be.’
I’d heard enough. ‘Michael, please. Just listen. It’s fine. Believe me.’ I nodded, smiling, encouragingly. ‘I’m really pleased for you. Really pleased. I can’t talk for how Rosie feels about the matter, but for me, I can see that you and Lucy are meantfor each other. I mean, she’s such a marvel. And your constituents will get over it. They’ll just go and vote for someone else. We’ll all be fine.’
‘What?’ He looked shocked and almost disappointed I was taking it so well. ‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ He looked at me sceptically, puzzled that I had taken his one chance to be a blackguard away from him. ‘Rosie?’ he said, the colour now fully drainedfrom his face.
‘I’ll get over it,’ she said.
‘I just… we couldn’t help…’
‘Falling in love?’ I prompted.
He nodded miserably.
‘Michael, we can talk about this in detail another time but we need to get divorced and you need to move out as soon as possible. Now, in fact. And you and Lucy have my full and complete blessing as long as you do this as swiftly and painlessly as possible. For allour sakes.’
