‘Ask him if he’s ever put a paper collar on “Meowchel J Fluff”.’
SEAN: No, I thought it belonged to Drumlinnie Farm. They have a lot of cats.
‘Should we feed it?’ Summer would hopefully know what to do.
‘It looks young but hungry.’ Summer examined the cat as she showered it with neck scratches. ‘We should try it with a paper collar first to establish if it has an owner. But let’s give it a little something, just in case.’
Cherry texted Sean.
CHERRY: I’m going to feed it that tin of salmon in the cupboard. I’ll get more later.
She went inside, fixed a bowl of salmon, taking care to remove the bones, and came back to the patio, where the cat shot straight to the fish.
Sean replied with a GIF of a man shaking his head.
SEAN: Salmon doesn’t grow on trees, you know.
Cherry shot back a laughing emoji.
CHERRY: What? I can’t ignore a hungry pussy, can I?
The answer came instantly.
SEAN: Absolutely nofucking comment.
By this time, the cat had devoured the food.
‘He’s clearly starving, right?’ Cherry hoped Summer knew more about this than she did.
‘Maybe,’ said Summer. ‘He’s young, so it’s unlikely to be thyroid. I’ll make him a collar. Do you have some paper, a pen and a wee bit of tape?’
‘Hang on, I’ll get some from inside.’ Throwing back the last of her wine, Cherry ran into the house and over to the printer. Where she came thundering to a halt.
Oh my God!
Sitting right there on the printer was the marriage annulment form she had filled in a few weeks ago. But now there was an added envelope. And, on the front, written in a handwriting that could only be Sean’s, the address of a local solicitor to send the form to. Plus, a stamp.
Fuck me. Smart move, Butler.
And now it was hers.
Cherry reached to the printer to steady herself. This was not what she was expecting. Not at all. The annulment was turning into a game of will, with Sean almost certainly testing her.
It should have been simple. Stick the form into the envelope and post it.
But this wasn’t simple at all.
Dread curled behind Cherry’s ribs. If she made her move, that would be it. Marriage over. Goodbye Sean.
Lovely, lovely Sean. The man she’d seen forever with across that shimmering ballroom. The god in a kilt who made her feel safe and protected and the centre of his world. The huge-hearted man who was loved and cherished by so many. He had chosen her right back, and now he’d essentially given consent to sign it all away.
Was it the ginger wine, or did her husband’s gesture make her feel like throwing up?
‘You alright in there?’ Summer’s voice floated in like hot honey from the garden.
‘Yeah, coming.’ Cherry folded the form and slipped it into the envelope. Lifted it to seal it, an action she’d carried out hundreds of times in her life.
But not this time.
