Kiki watched her daughter in wonder. Who was this girl? Who had Ava become since she’d joined this school? Her shy, studious loner was suddenly gregarious and giggly and alive. A realisation dawned… it was because she belonged here. In this world. With these people. It wasn’t just that she had talent, it was that this was the language she understood, the creativity she thrived on. It had changed her. Made her comfortable in her own skin. And that made Kiki even happier than seeing her up on that screen.
‘Oh, hang on – the royal family have just walked in…’ Ginny announced. Kiki followed her gaze and saw that all the celebrities who had been in the VIP row earlier had just entered the room. And. Her. Heart. Stopped. There he was. Right there. Oblivious to her presence, but walking right towards her, deep in conversation with Moira Chiles.
Two things happened at once. Ava nudged her and whispered, ‘Mum, do you know who that is? Do you? That’s…’
Just as the guy lifted his head, spotted Ginny and said, ‘Hey, babe…’
Kiki wanted the ground to open. She wanted to disappear. She wanted to be anywhere else but here. Yet there was another part of her that wanted to stand her ground, look him straight in the eye. He still hadn’t even registered her presence until…
Ginny returned his smile, then immediately turned back to Kiki and Ava. ‘Babe, I know you’ve met our brilliant Ava,’ she said to him, ‘and this is her mum, Kiki.’
‘Kiki, this is my boyfriend, Caden Church.’
A cannonball fired from the opposite wall and smacked right through Kiki’s torso. Or maybe that was just how it felt. There he was. Staring at her. Frozen in the moment. Horrified. Shocked. And clearly Ginny and Ava sensed the weird energy because they were both looking from one to the other. That was the moment that something snapped in Kiki’s mind.
She’d always thought that Ava’s acting talent must be a throwback to another time or descendant, maybe even Kev’s short time in drama class at school, but now she realised it came straight from her. Because despite the violent explosion inside every cell in her body right now, Kiki managed to make her face smile and her voice sound light as she said, ‘Actually, we already know each other. I’m not sure if you remember, Caden, but we went to school together. We used to sit next to each other in chemistry.’
Oh, he remembered. And all the blood seemed to be draining from his face as he remembered a whole lot more than that. Fifteen years more than that, to be precise.
‘No way!’ Ava gasped. ‘Mum, I can’t believe it. He’s, like, one of the best actors in theatre. He’s inJudas – The Traitorright now. Why did you never tell me that you knew him?’
Because I was in love with him. Because he promised we’d be together. Because I didn’t want you to have a reaction like this and then be heartbroken if he broke his promises.
But instead, Kiki replied, ‘To be honest, I completely forgot…’ Then she turned to Caden and added, ‘…until I saw you here tonight.’
Ginny must still have been stuck on the ‘same school’ thing, because she was also very obviously surprised. ‘That’s so funny. That means you must have been in the same school as Ollie too.’
Kiki nodded. ‘I was. He was a couple of years older than us though, so I didn’t know him.’
Caden still hadn’t said a word, but Ginny was barrelling on, oblivious to his stunned silence. ‘It still blows my mind that you and Ollie went to the same school,’ she told Caden, before bringing the conversation back to Kiki and Ava. ‘Caden and I had been together for years before I started working here, and I had no idea they knew each other. It was only when I got the job here that Caden told me. Imagine keeping that to himself.’
Kiki had to clamp her mouth shut so that she didn’t make a comment about him being good at keeping things to himself. He’d been going out with Ginny for years?Years?She remembered seeing a photo on Instagram of them together at a show opening night a while ago, but she’d just assumed Ginny was one of the other cast members, not a long-term girlfriend. Until six months ago, he’d also been showing up at Kiki’s flat every time he was back in Glasgow and sleeping with her too. What. A. Reprehensible. Bastard.
It had taken a few moments for the shock to wear off, but Caden finally found his voice. ‘Well, some things don’t need to be broadcast,’ he said, replying to Ginny, but staring straight at Kiki when he said it. She wondered if that was a subtle message. Keep quiet. Say nothing. And she truly hoped that he was afraid right now.
‘Of course I remember you, Kiki. Great to see you again. That’s a talented daughter you have there.’
‘Oh, I know that,’ Kiki agreed, another flush of pride consuming her, followed instantly by a different emotion. Defiance? Anger? A twisted sense of satisfaction? See what I achieved without you, you cheating scumbag.
She’d come here tonight determined to get what she felt she was due from him, but in the last sixty seconds, that desire had completely evaporated.
No. She didn’t need him. She wasn’t going to ask for his money to pay for Ava’s extra lessons. Look what they’d achieved on their own. Hadn’t they already proven that they didn’t need anyone else? Especially this pathetic liar of a man.
In her head, she heard Ava’s comment from the scene with Netta on the documentary earlier.
‘I just want to make my mum proud of me.’
Well, that went both ways. Kiki wanted to make Ava proud of her too, and she wasn’t going to do that by taking anything from this guy. Her dignity and integrity were worth more than this turd of a guy could afford.
‘Anyway, nice to see you again after all this time,’ Kiki told him, her carefree act still intact. ‘And, Ginny, thanks again for taking such good care of Ava. She thinks you’re wonderful and it’s been lovely for me to see that there are such kind, caring, decent people in this world.’
When she met his gaze, she knew for absolute certain that he got her message that he wasn’t included in that.
‘You’re so welcome, but, honestly, the pleasure is all mine. Ava, I’ll come and find you later and let’s hatch a plan to celebrate. I’m going to have a wee party at my sister’s café next week, so prepare for cake. Kiki, you’re invited too.’
‘Count us in. We’d love that,’ she replied, and oh, it was glorious to watch him squirm. She also had the strongest feeling that Ginny needed to know exactly who and what he was, but not tonight and not here. That was something she would think about later, and maybe run past Netta, because she’d sensed how close they were.
As Ginny and Caden walked away, Kiki felt her whole body begin to shake. All those conversations in her head, the payback, the justice, the retribution… Turned out she didn’t want any of it. She just had to see his face as she made it clear she didn’t need him. That was justice enough.
