Opal marched up the stairs and into the master bedroom, the one she’d exiled herself from, and threw open the windows. The cool early morning air wafted in and the soft light bathed her face. Down below was the gravel drive and the fountain. She giggled gleefully as she collected his things – suits, shoes, ties, jumpers – and flung them out the window.
She’d seen her mother do this once, with husband number four. She’d been about sixteen then and remembered howoverly dramatic and childish it had seemed to her. When she was an adult she would never do such things, she’d thought. But now, here she was, throwing a man’s life out the very same window. And just like her mother before her, there was a grin on her face.
Quite opposed to being the image of a woman losing control, this was defiance. It was power; it wasfucking liberating. Her only remaining regret was that she couldn’t share this moment with Debbie.
Chapter 48
Ruby couldn’t stop writing. The problem was that none of it was any good. She’d written so many poems about sex, but maybe part of the appeal of that had been that no one had asked her to; she had enjoyed the deviance of it. Now that it was homework, she couldn’t muster anything punchy at all. Just pages of scribbles about cocks and men who didn’t know how to please. It felt facile and superficial. But Ruby was determined. The argument with Heather had been a wake-up call. She’d let herself get distracted.
If anything she was thankful that it came when it did. She still had time to win this thing. She’d taken her eyes off the prize. She wasn’t here for a boyfriend, or a girlfriend for that matter; she was here for the cash.
Now, sitting at her desk, her brain hazy from the previous night’s spliff, Ruby began to feel the encroaching panic of the deadline. The final showcase was tomorrow and nothing that she’d written in the past few days would be good enough to make up for failure in the first challenge, let alone compete with whatever the others had brewed up.
She stared out the window, begging the view for inspiration. None came. The beauty of writing, she had to remind herself,was that if inspiration struck she could get the words onto the page in a matter of minutes. She often did write like that, in a frenzy, as though trying to keep up with the sudden onslaught of feeling unravelling in her mind. For now, she put her pen down and headed down to breakfast.
‘Oh, Ruby, you made it. I’m so glad. I was thinking how nice it would be to try and have everyone together on this last proper day.’ Opal was glowing, her voice almost manic with glee. Ruby found it confronting.
‘Yeah, sorry I missed the last couple. I was busy writing,’ Ruby mumbled. It was true, but for some reason she got the sense that the others didn’t believe her.
Johan was sitting at the far end of the long table, smirking over the top of a newspaper he was pretending to read; Noah and Adam sat side by side. Opal was at the head of the table as usual. Ruby pulled out a chair, trying not to dwell on the fact, but also instantly noticing that Heather wasn’t there. It was a strange thing to get accustomed to, that in a house like this, you could successfully avoid someone for days.
‘Heather hasn’t been down to breakfast for most of this week,’ Opal said, as though reading Ruby’s thoughts. Ruby felt flustered, worried that she had somehow given something away. Almost instinctively, she shrugged, calming herself with the reminder that that no one else could hear how fast her heart was beating.
‘Well, it’s a shame because I wanted to let everyone know that I’ve invited Gareth down for tomorrow’s showcase. I’m hoping he can help me pick a winner, especially as he’ll be exhibiting them!’ Opal couldn’t seem to stop grinning, and Ruby couldn’t help but wonder what had gotten her in such a good mood.
‘Opal, I was hoping we could make a request.’ It was Adam speaking, and Ruby did a double take as she noticed his fingers intertwined with Noah’s resting visibly on the table. She looked around but no one else had reacted.
‘We’d very much like to do a joint final piece.’ Now it was Noah speaking. He gazed into Adam’s eyes as he spoke and Ruby surmised that she’d missed a lot in her few days of absence.
There was a heavy sigh from Johan, accompanied by an exaggerated eye roll.
‘Um … well I’m sure we could work something out …’ Opal began.
Johan interrupted then, although he didn’t lower the paper from in front of his face. ‘I know you two don’t think that the rules apply to you but there’s only so muchbendingof this competition you can do – surely.’ Johan’s disdain was evident.
Ruby was surprised by how angry the comment made her, and she was about to jump to Adam and Noah’s defence when Opal beat her to it.
‘Oh, Johan, would you please shut the fuck up.’
There was an audible gasp, and it took Ruby a moment to realise it had come from her. The scene was so absurd that she found herself giggling. Johan huffed, Noah and Adam smiled at each other and Opal looked triumphant.
‘Well that’s settled then.’ Noah shot Johan a self-satisfied look.
‘Yes, it is,’ Opal agreed, before turning to Ruby. ‘Is something funny?’ Opal didn’t sound angry, just genuinely curious.
‘Nothing,’ Ruby spluttered, ‘just wondering what’s gotten into you.’
Opal’s grin was back. ‘I guess I’m just feeling fucking liberated.’
Johan pushed his chair out suddenly. ‘As charming as this has all been, I have to get on with some actual work,’ he said as he strode out the room.
Ruby couldn’t be sure but she sensed tension between the two. Once again it was obvious she’d missed something. Adam and Noah left soon afterward but Ruby ate slowly, turning her head towards the door every time she thought she heard something.
‘You’re waiting for Heather?’ Opal was buttering another slice of toast, and the question seemed offhand.
Ruby’s response was unconvincing. ‘No,’ she snapped.
Opal seemed to weigh up whether she should dig deeper, before seeming to decide against it.
