I was hoping to collect Eva from Diane’s with the minimum of fuss and then slink back home. But Diane ushers us through to the sitting room where my daughter is sitting on the sofa in between her Uncle James and Aunty Amelia. Usually I would love to see them, but right now I’m too shaken up for socialising.
‘Gemma! How are you?’ James booms, crossing the room to give me a hug.
Robert’s older brother is an antiques dealer and the proverbial black sheep of the family. It’s awful to say, but Diane heavily favours my husband over James. Robert is taller, more charming, more handsome. I often feel sorry for James; the brother who never quite measures up to Diane’s exacting standards. But the funny thing is, James really doesn’t seem to mind. The brothers have a great relationship and are always joking about Diane’s favouritism. Her criticisms just seem to slide off James. Perhaps he’s simply grown used to them. Witnessing Diane’s constant cutting remarks towards James has made Robert and I doubly determined to show our girls absolutely no favouritism.
Whatever the situation between James and his mother, he’s a lovely man, and has always treated me like a sister. His warm hug is threatening to undo me after the awful day I’ve had. I blink hard and clear my throat. ‘Hi, James. I’m fine, thanks.’
‘And what about this little lady?’ James lets go of me and picks Katie up in his arms.
She flings her arms around her beloved uncle’s neck. ‘Uncle James, swing me round!’
‘Not in here,’ he replies. ‘Grandma will have a conniption and feed us to the fishes if we break anything,’ he jokes.
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Diane replies.
‘What’s akernipshun?’ Katie asks.
James goes on to explain, making Katie giggle with other long words.
‘Hi, Mum.’ Eva gets up off the sofa and comes to give me a hug.
‘How was your day with Grandma?’ I ask, kissing the top of her head and wrapping my arms around her slight body. Her innocent smell grounds me for a brief, blissful moment.
‘Fine,’ she replies. ‘I helped Grandma in the garden today.’
‘Did you? Well done. Maybe we could do some gardening together at home over the weekend?’
‘You don’t do gardening,’ Eva replies, staring at me like I’ve lost my mind.
‘Well, maybe I could start.’
‘Eva was very helpful,’ Diane adds, making my daughter flush with pride.
‘Hi, Gemma.’ Amelia and I kiss one another on the cheek.
‘Lovely to see you,’ I say, meaning it. I get on well with my sister-in-law. She’s a little showy – designer clothes, flash car, jewels – but I consider James’s wife to be a good friend. Which is something of a turnaround, considering our shaky start.
Amelia is also Robert’s ex-girlfriend. They had been together since high school. Robert’s parents and her parents were old friends. They were practically betrothed at birth. But Robert broke things off with her. He said it was because they had grown to be more like brother and sister; the passion had gone – for him, anyway. And then, a year later, Robert and I met at a party and fell deeply in love. The kind of love where you can’t breathe when you’re away from the other person. Where you spend all day in bed because nothing else matters. Where you don’t really think about other people’s feelings. We were purely and wildly in love.
It was only some time afterwards that I realised Robert’s childhood sweetheart was probably heartbroken. And I soon understood that Amelia would always be in our lives, at family gatherings and parties where she fitted in better. Diane treated her more like family than me, with my working-class background. And then, a few years after, Amelia ended up getting together with James.
It felt a bit weird at first, but Robert was genuinely happy for both of them, especially when they announced their engagement. I think he felt relieved that Amelia had finally found love again. So, there are no hard feelings any more. I admit, at the time, it felt awkward to have Robert’s ex married to his brother. But now Amelia is extremely gracious about the past. After a few uncomfortable years, things have settled down to become normal and relaxed between the four of us.
‘Are you okay, Gemma?’ Amelia asks, her brow creasing. ‘Hope you don’t mind me saying, but you don’t quite seem quite yourself.’
‘I’m fine,’ I reply, taking a breath and trying to shake off today’s events. However, I can’t get rid of Cosgrove’s awful words, his sneering expression and his invasive hands. ‘It’s just work stuff on my mind,’ I say, brushing away her concern, my voice sounding small and far away to my own ears. ‘Nothing important. Anyway, look at you! Gorgeous as ever.’ I take in Amelia’s slim figure and salon-shiny chestnut hair, her perfectly made-up face and designer-casual clothes. I feel bland and businessy by contrast, my cream suit crumpled, my make-up faded. I’m too out of sorts to care. ‘How are you doing? We haven’t seen you guys in ages.’
‘Amelia’s been an absolute treasure,’ Diane gushes. ‘She’s offered to help me organise the annual golf club charity dinner dance. I would have asked you, Gemma, but I know how busy you are with work.’
James shoots me a long-suffering look, out of view of his mother. Ordinarily, I’d give him a conspiratorial smile back, but I simply can’t summon up the energy. And besides, Diane’s beady gaze is still fixed on me.
‘Oh, yes, no, that’s fine. Of course.’ Speaking to my mother-in-law always reduces me to a gibbering idiot. ‘So, anyway, we won’t keep you, if you’re in the middle of organising things.’
‘You’re welcome to stay for afternoon tea again,’ my mother-in-law says with a sniff. ‘Amelia’s right. You don’t look yourself. Would you like to sit down?’
‘Thank you, Diane, but no. Really. We’ll leave you to it. You’re busy, and the girls look tired. I’ll get them home and fed and bathed.’
‘I’m not tired,’ Katie says, followed by a huge yawn.
