“Odd family circumstances?” Luis had seethed later, indignation written hotly over his face. “I’ll show her odd family circumstances. I’m going into that school first thing tomorrow to speak with this Miss Bates, andesta vez le voy a decir por dónde sale el sol.”
“Luis—” Ari had begun to argue, but Sebastian had held up his hand.
“Let him go in and fight your corner, Ari. He’ll feel better, you’ll feel better, we’ll all feel better. It’s his turn to drop Reine at school anyway, so you and I can start on the final run to the Dobson wedding next Saturday. If Luis wants to speak with Miss Bates, let him. I know that man. He’ll go in like a lion and come out like a kitten.”
“Sebastian—”
But Sebastian patted Ari reassuringly. “Trust me on this one.”
The next morning, Ari watched as Luis stalked towards the school, Reine’s hand held tightly in his own. Reine’s My LittlePony lunchbox was strapped across his chest, his face set into hard and determined lines. She then watched later when, at lunch, he walked quietly into Ari and Sebastian’s Mayfair office, his hands in his pockets.
“How did it go?” Ari asked, and Luis had clicked his tongue, looking doggedly at the floor.
“Well, I don’t think she’ll be questioning ourfamily circumstancesagain any time soon,” Luis said.
Sebastian stepped forwards, a knowing look on his face. “And?”
Sheepishly, Luis looked up. “And I’m now secretary of the PTA.”
“And?” Sebastian continued, looking at Luis with bemusement.
“And I’m designing the costumes for the school production of Charles Dickens’sA Christmas Carol.”
“Luis.” Ari shook her head, but Luis merely looked indignant.
“What did you want me to do, Ari? She was going to dress Victorian orphans in taffeta.Taffeta.Victorian orphans don’t wear taffeta.”
“What are you going to dress them in then?” Sebastian had asked, raising an eyebrow. “What do you think poor Victorian orphans wore?”
“High quality Egyptian muslin in various shades of brown, of course,” Luis replied, as Ari and Sebastian had exchanged a look. “That’s right, isn’t it?”
No. Ari was no stranger to anger.
Odd then how it seemed to desert her after seeing Tom. Odd how all her rage and fury seem to have been swept aside, leaving nothing but a ball of hurt within. She felt weary and worn out, disappointed and empty, but the fire of her anger was gone, leaving nothing but ashes of sadness.
The next morning, flanked by Sebastian and Luis, she stared at Tom across the table. His mother was by his side, looking as cool and collected as ever, with reams of paper in front of her that she passed back and forth with another man. Ari hadn’t been expecting this to be a formal meeting. She thought she and Tom would simply talk over a coffee, coming to some sort of informal arrangement that suited them both. Clearly, she’d been wrong.
“My lawyer, Andrew A. Andrews.” Marnie gestured to the man by her side, and Sebastian’s mouth dropped open.
“Don’t say a word,” Ari hissed under her breath, clamping a hand on Sebastian’s arm, willing him to be quiet.
“The man is calledAndrew A. Andrews,” Sebastian hissed back. “And you don’t want me to ask him about that?”
“No,Sebastian Aloysius St John Lightowler, I don’t,” Ari snapped. “I’m more concerned,” she raised her voice for Marnie and Tom’s benefit, “about why there is the need for a lawyer at all.”
At that, Marnie glanced up, looking at Ari keenly. “I’m sorry, I should have explained sooner. Mr Andrews—”
“Andrew A. Andrews,” Sebastian interrupted.
Marnie glanced at him. “Yes . . . Anyway, Mr Andrews is here to go over the financial paperwork.”
Ari sat back. “What financial paperwork?”
Marnie smiled at her. “I believe my son owes you eight years of child support. We’d like to settle that today.”
Ari glanced at Tom. He was staring at her, his eyes wide and sad, an aura of defeat around him. His shoulders were slumped, his skin pale, and the shadow of a beard grew across his chin, exacerbating the dark shadows under his eyes.
“Did you know about this?” Ari asked him, and he nodded slowly.
