Judge Dowling was gracious enough to allow the group of former plaintiffs and defendants to leave the court building through a service entrance out back. Dealing with the media frenzy out front would have been way too much, especially as all parties were still managing their shock and trying to absorb what had just happened.
Madeleine was reeling all weekend from Scott’s revelations, and had been so eager for the judge to learn the glorious truth that would get her and Tom off the hook on Monday morning that she hadn’t properly considered how Kate would react.
But, she warned her husband and Matt Townsend, there would be no triumphant courtroom posturing over Kate’s mistake; hence her insistence that the legal team introduce Scott in private.
In this situation, Madeleine realized sadly, nobody won.
For her part, Kate had informed the judge that she wanted to drop the case and wasn’t going to drag it out any longer. Yes, she had suffered a loss of income and other hardships, and she and Rosie would continue to live in an altered reality, but what had happened was no one’s fault, it was just nature doing what it did.
Viruses evolved and spread, people got sick.
“I’m so sorry,” she kept saying to Madeleine, clearly distraught. “I was so certain...”
“You weren’t to know. Try not to think too much about that now, and just go home to Rosie,” she soothed, while behind her she felt the weight of Tom’s incredulous stare.
“She’s bloody lucky we’re not going to take her goddamn lawsuit and throw the very same charges back in her face,” her husband fumed as all parties quietly made their way outside to the waiting cars.
But it was not the time for remonstration or gloating.
Up ahead, Declan opened the door of their car so Kate could climb in. However, just as she was about to enter, she turned back to look at the vehicle that had pulled up behind it, where she and Tom waited for their lift home.
Madeleine paused then to meet Kate’s eyes. The two women held each other’s gaze for just a moment, and something passed between them. All at once it seemed to communicate a mixture of regret, forgiveness but not quite acceptance, Madeleine realized. It might have been resignation that, yes, this whole ordeal might be over, but there were still other struggles that needed to be addressed within their small community and within each of their respective families.
There were still issues that both she and Kate had to face.
The time for placing blame was over. Now it was time to address a new reality.
53
A week later, Madeleine was standing in her kitchen, loading the dishwasher, and reflecting on her life—and her family’s life—over the course of the past year and a half.
Everything felt so...odd.
The case had been so abruptly dismissed that she was still trying to process what had happened. It had only been days since that meeting in the judge’s chambers, yet it felt like an eternity.
However, at least life seemed to be returning to normal.
The press coverage had subsided, thank goodness, or finally they had decided that Kate and Madeleine’s feud was yesterday’s news. Yes, a few journalists were still calling, looking for a comment, but the majority now seemed to be focusing on just how “at risk” the general public was for transmitting highly communicable diseases, and just how dangerous places like the RDS, the various museums or other so-called “child friendly” places happened to be.
In the wake of the dismissal, Matt had broached the possibility with Tom about potentially issuing counter proceedings against Kate or indeed the university authorities, but Madeleine had very quickly shut that idea right down. She’d had enough legalities and so had their family; their lives had been upended in the worst way and they needed to get back to normal. Thankfully, Tom had agreed with her, joking that maybe now would be an ideal time to buy stock in a company that produced highly effective hand sanitizers. Madeleine had appreciated his attempt at humor—it was a step toward returning to normality.
Yes, they had bills to pay and challenges to face and definitely fences to mend as they tried to get family life back on track, but she was confident that they had withstood the storm. She and her Tom had faced without doubt the most challenging time of their married life together, but they would prevail.
However, she also knew that in order for that to become a reality, she needed to reassess some priorities. So she decided that from now on, she wanted to remain focused on being a mum privately and forget all about the public side.
There was no point in worrying about her public image if her private life was a disaster. Madeleine was just going to focus on her family and be happy. She was well aware of how close she had come to losing everything.
Pressing Start on the dishwasher, her ears perked up at the sound of a car pulling into the driveway outside. Leaning forward to peer out the window, she thought it interesting that she didn’t feel in the least bit surprised when she saw Kate O’Hara getting out of a battered-looking car.
Wiping her hands on a dish towel, Madeleine headed to the front door, not waiting for the other woman to ring the doorbell. She stepped out into the cool autumn air.
Kate, who had been walking up the front path, stopped in her tracks and eyed her warily, like an animal who had just been spotted by a predator.
But Madeleine offered a small smile. “It’s OK,” she said, easily plopping down on the leaf-covered front steps. Regardless of how she felt, she knew Tom wasn’t quite at the stage where he’d want Kate O’Hara comfortably ensconced in their front room. This would have to do for now. “I won’t bite.”
Kate approached the steps and sat down next to her. Neither of them spoke for a beat, but then Madeleine did. “I was wondering when you would come.”
“How did you know I would?” Kate asked, glancing at her out of the corner of her eye.
