‘What you watching?’ Cody asks.
‘The Roommate,’ Richard tells him. ‘New crime drama that just dropped.’
Cody steps forward, manages to stand right in front of the screen. ‘What’s it about?’
Elena sighs but makes sure her son doesn’t hear. He isalwayswelcome down here, she tells him regularly. Leah too. Of course, if they choose to stay in their rooms with their iPads, that is perfectly fine also. She can’t be the only parentin the world who quietly craves the solitude of a child-free evening.
‘It’s about this couple who take in a lodger and things go wrong,’ Richard says. ‘We’ve only just started, though.’
‘Does the lodger go psycho and murder them?’ Cody asks.
Elena shudders.
Richard shrugs. ‘Maybe. We’re only halfway through the first episode.’ He picks up the remote. ‘But it’s not for kids, so scoot.’
Cody turns and makes a mock-offended face, then exits the living room, his head already back in his phone.
‘She does look like she could go psycho on them,’ Richard muses, as he presses play. ‘Or send them jumping off a high building. She’s really quite annoying.’
Elena nods slowly. Kristina was really quite annoying too. Elena didn’t mind all that much, but Kyle hated everything she did. She would help herself to their food and finish off their juice and leave plates and glasses all over the kitchen. They’d find her muddy boots congealing in the hallway. Her hair moulding in the plughole. Her laundry musting in the machine. Every night, Kyle would rant to Elena about how irritating Kristina was and Elena would nod and agree and say they should talk to her again, but she was never as bothered as Kyle. It’s part and parcel of sharing space, she always thought. And some people are tidier than others.
Now, of course, there are no such problems. The Sullivans have a cleaner who comes three times a week. So even if the kids do leave dishes around at times, it’s not something Elena ever has to deal with. They have a gardener who comes on Fridays, and a nanny-housekeeper every weekday to look after the kids and cook family meals. Neither Elena nor Richard can cook, so the plan is to keep the housekeeper forever, even when the kids move out.
‘Ugh, gross.’ Richard puts his hands over his eyes as, on TV, Ben pulls a huge, tangled glob of strawberry-blonde hair from the bath plughole. Elena’s stomach contracts. These are all just normal things housemates deal with, she reassures herself. And the physical similarities – well, lots of people have strawberry-blonde hair and pixie faces, no doubt. This actress on TV does, for a start. Meanwhile, the actors playing Ben and Marcia look nothing like Kyle and Elena. She’s being ridiculous. She takes another gulp of wine and tunes back in.
On the show, Ben is talking to Marcia about a dinner party they’re hosting.
‘This is too important, Marcia. I have to get it right if I want this promotion. Jane needs to be out of the house.’
‘She’s going to the lake, to her family’s cabin,’ Marcia says, with a soothing hand on his arm. ‘Don’t worry. Your boss won’t have to listen to her singing or watch her drop food on herself.’
Elena’s skin prickles. A dinner party and a promotion. This is a little too close to home.
The show ends with Jane announcing she’s not leaving for the cabin after all, and Ben looking stressed and furious.
‘One more episode?’ Richard says.
Elena nods mutely. One more episode. She can’t bear to keep watching but she can’t turn away.
The second episode opens with Ben crushing up pills to put in Jane’s juice. Richard leans forward, squinting to read the label.
‘Can you see what they are?’ he asks. ‘I think I need stronger glasses.’
‘Sleeping tablets.’ Elena’s voice comes out low and shaky.
‘Are you OK?’ Richard asks.
A flash of a smile. ‘Absolutely. Just wired after New York. The deal came really close to falling through ...’
He pats her knee, grinning. ‘You love it – don’t even try to pretend you don’t thrive on the adrenaline. If your job was easy, you’d be bored.’ He looks back at the screen, at the pill bottle with the tiny print. ‘I can’t see that at all – your eyesight is way better than mine.’
She can’t read the label either but she doesn’t need to. She already knows. Zopiclone. Enough to knock out Jane – Kristina – for a few hours so she won’t interrupt the dinner party. Elena can feel beads of sweat breaking across her brow as she watches Jane go for a lie-down. After checking she’s asleep, Ben takes the key from the inside of her bedroom door, quietly locks the door from the outside and pockets the key. He does the same with the door that leads to the garage, then pockets the sleeping pills too. The dinner party goes off without a hitch or any interruptions from Jane.
On TV, Ben is sure the promotion is his.
On the couch, Elena is sure she’s going to be sick.
Please don’t suggest going to a club, she thinks, her knuckles white around her wine glass.Everything will be OK as long as they don’t go to a club.
