I make an animal sound in my throat. ‘Robert!’ I stagger backwards a couple of paces as he pushes himself up off the bed.
‘Gemma!’ he cries.
‘Oh my God!’ I gasp. ‘I don’t believe this.’
Sadie is still lying there, her skirt hitched up around her thighs, her pussycat bow undone, her cleavage spilling out of a pale pink lacy bra. She seems unperturbed by my arrival. She simply sits up and starts rearranging her clothing.
‘Gemma,’ Robert says, his hands out towards me in a calming motion.
‘What the fuck, Robert!’ I cry. ‘How long has this been going on?’ My mind reels backwards. ‘That night I smelt her perfume on our bed… I’ve been so stupid, so naive.’ The room is spinning and I don’t care that my voice is becoming louder, that people downstairs might hear.
‘Nothing happened, Gemma,’ Sadie says, getting to her feet, her clothes all done up once again.
Her voice makes me want to scream. ‘Just shut your mouth, Sadie. I never trusted you. And now I know why.’
‘Gemma,’ Robert says, trying to sound matter of fact, ‘I promise you, you’ve got this all wrong. It’s not what it looks like. Not at all.’
‘Oh, right. So you lying on top of our ex-nanny on a bed while half her clothes are undone is not what it looks like?’ I snarl. And then I gasp and double over as the reality starts to sink in. I’m one ofthosewomen. One of the ones whose husbands have an affair with a younger woman. But this isRobert. My soulmate.
He comes over and puts an arm around my shoulder. I flinch and jerk away.
‘Don’t touch me! Not with those same hands that were touchingher. Don’t you dare…’ But I can’t say any more. I’m still trying to let this sink in. Trying not to break down and sob. I can’t give Sadie the satisfaction of seeing me broken. Of letting her know she’s won. Because I realise now, in my drunken haze, that this whole thing has been her plan from the start. To take my husband from me. To steal what was never hers and leave me discarded by the wayside.
‘Gemma, what you saw,’ Robert tries to explain, ‘I know it sounds crazy, but when you pushed open the door, Sadie tripped backwards and fell onto the bed with me on top of her. I swear that’s all it was.’
‘You’re right,’ I reply. ‘It does sound crazy. It sounds like the mostpatheticexcuse I’ve ever heard. You actually expect me to believe that? You were both up here, in a bedroom, on your own… and then you accidentally fell onto the bed. Do you think I’m stupid?’
‘He’s telling the truth,’ Sadie adds. She’s standing behind Robert. Her voice sounds distraught, but the look she’s giving me is halfway between pity and triumph.
‘You’re a conniving little whore,’ I hiss. And then I turn to Robert. ‘And you’re a weak bastard for falling for it. Well done, Robert. You’ve just screwed up your marriage and destroyed your family. Well fucking done.’ I clench my fists, yearning to punch Sadie in her perfect little face. To shake Robert until his bones rattle. But my children are here. I can’t unleash my emotions. Not yet.
With massive self-restraint, I spin on my heel and walk away across the landing towards the staircase, my fury blazing like an August sun. But Diane is coming up the stairs towards me, her nostrils flaring. I can’t deal with my mother-in-law right now.
‘Gemma, what’s going on up here?’
‘You can tell your son to bring the box of glasses down,’ I say through clenched teeth. ‘I’m going home.’ I make to walk past her, but she moves to the left, blocking my escape.
‘What are you talking about?’ She frowns. ‘Are you drunk, Gemma? We can all hear you shouting obscene language. It’s not appropriate. Especially not when I’ve got a houseful of guests. Your young daughters are downstairs, for goodness sake. Is this how you behave at home?’
I turn to Robert and give a sarcastic laugh. ‘It’s not appropriate. Did you hear that? My language is inappropriate.’ I turn back to my mother-in-law. ‘Tell me, Diane, is it appropriate for my husband to be having sex with the nanny in the spare bedroom during our daughter’s party? Where does that sit on your scale of appropriateness?’
Diane’s mouth falls open as she looks from me to Robert, and then to Sadie. Sadie shrugs and shakes her head as though she has no clue what I’m talking about. Diane puts her bony fingers to the diamond pendant at her throat and starts fiddling with it.
‘Gemma’s got it wrong, Mum. She’s had a bit too much to drink and she’s got the wrong end of the stick.’
Diane’s shoulders relax. ‘I thought that must be the case. Robert, why don’t you take Gemma home? Leave the girls here to enjoy the party. I’ll simply tell everybody that Gemma’s not feeling well and you’ve had to leave.’
‘Well done, Diane.’ I start to clap. ‘That’s a nice, neat explanation for “Gemma’s discovered her husband shagging the nanny”.’ I yell the last part.
‘For God’s sake, Gemma,’ Robert says. ‘Keep your voice down. Do you want to upset the girls? Let’s go home, have a strong coffee and talk about this sensibly.’
‘I’m going home. But you feel free to stay here and carry on with what you were doing. I think I interrupted you just as you were getting to the good part, didn’t I?’
My husband’s face turns crimson. He grabs my upper arm and starts marching me down the stairs.
‘Get off me!’ I yell. But he ignores me and keeps going. Ignores the faces that are turned towards us in fascinated horror to witness the breakdown of our marriage. Or perhaps they think it’s just me having some kind of nervous breakdown.
‘Please, be quiet, Gemma,’ Robert says under his breath. ‘Wait until we get home. You can yell at me then.’
