and Sunday morning —’
‘It's a lovely idea,’ James said, cutting her off, ‘but by the time I've spent Saturday running round the zoo or the aquarium or whatever I just want to go to bed and sleep. I wouldn't be very good company. Sorry, love. Another time, maybe. And, you know, one of these days Stephanie will say it's OK for me to introduce you to Finn and then you can come down every weekend.’
‘OK,’ she said quietly. ‘Whatever you want.’
Katie put the phone down. She felt sick. She knew what she had to do.
11
When her phone rang Stephanie was in the middle of a rant to Natasha about James and the fact that he had seemed blithely happy when he got home last night, blissfully unaware as he was that Stephanie had finally unearthed the scale of his deception.
‘And as for Katie,’ she was saying for, perhaps, the twelfth time in the past two days. She hardly noticed that Natasha rolled her eyes, and was about to launch into another retelling of her bizarre exchange with her husband's mistress when she checked the caller ID and saw that it was, in fact, that very husband's mistress who was calling her now.
‘It's her,’ she said, in a pointless stage-whisper.
‘Well, answer it, then,’ Natasha said impatiently.
Stephanie did as she was told. ‘Hello,’ she said, in as neutral a way as she could manage.
‘Stephanie,’ Katie's now familiar voice said, ‘it's Katie.’
‘Mmm-hmm.’ Stephanie couldn't trust herself with any actual words until she had heard what Katie had to say.
‘I'm… I think we got off on the wrong foot and that maybe it was my fault.’
‘Well, yes, screwing someone's husband will sometimes do that,’ Stephanie said, before she could stop herself.
She heard Katie inhale sharply as if she was composing herself before she spoke.
‘I know this must have been a shock to you,’ Katie said, ‘but you have to believe it was as much of a shock to me. When James told me you were divorced I had no reason not to believe him. And now… now I don't know what to believe.’
‘So you thought you'd ring up and accuse me of being a fantasist again?’ Stop it, Stephanie, she thought.
Katie didn't seem to be responding to Stephanie's offers of a fight. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I wanted to say sorry for not listening to you. And that I know he's been lying to me now. I think. To be absolutely honest, Stephanie, I don't know what I think.’ Katie's voice cracked and Stephanie realized she was trying not to cry.
‘OK,’ she said, more kindly, waving a hand at Natasha, who was leaving. ‘Let's pretend we're starting again. I've rung you to tell you the man you're having a relationship with is my husband and you believe me. I accept that you thought he was unattached. What do we do now?’
Nearly an hour later Stephanie and Katie were still talking. Katie, Stephanie had discovered, had been seeing her husband for a year. It wasn't as if she and James had hidden their relationship from anyone: she had never seen the necessity because she had had no idea that they might be doing anything worthy of being hidden.
Katie, meanwhile, had discovered that her boyfriend still very much lived with his wife, and that although the past few years since the move to London had been fraught sometimes, they were still very definitely married. She had learned that Finn had been happily spared the traumas caused by warring parents, and that rather than just seeinghis father for a few hours on Saturdays he spent half of every week with him and the other half looking forward to seeing him again. She had learned that, just as she had trusted that James was buried in his work and sacrificing comfort and home life on the days when he was in London, so Stephanie had believed he was doing the same when he was in Lincolnshire.
Both had had to acknowledge to themselves that he had been living a lie. Stephanie, who had had a few days to get used to the idea, was trying to reprogramme her anger so that
‘It's a lovely idea,’ James said, cutting her off, ‘but by the time I've spent Saturday running round the zoo or the aquarium or whatever I just want to go to bed and sleep. I wouldn't be very good company. Sorry, love. Another time, maybe. And, you know, one of these days Stephanie will say it's OK for me to introduce you to Finn and then you can come down every weekend.’
‘OK,’ she said quietly. ‘Whatever you want.’
Katie put the phone down. She felt sick. She knew what she had to do.
11
When her phone rang Stephanie was in the middle of a rant to Natasha about James and the fact that he had seemed blithely happy when he got home last night, blissfully unaware as he was that Stephanie had finally unearthed the scale of his deception.
‘And as for Katie,’ she was saying for, perhaps, the twelfth time in the past two days. She hardly noticed that Natasha rolled her eyes, and was about to launch into another retelling of her bizarre exchange with her husband's mistress when she checked the caller ID and saw that it was, in fact, that very husband's mistress who was calling her now.
‘It's her,’ she said, in a pointless stage-whisper.
‘Well, answer it, then,’ Natasha said impatiently.
Stephanie did as she was told. ‘Hello,’ she said, in as neutral a way as she could manage.
‘Stephanie,’ Katie's now familiar voice said, ‘it's Katie.’
‘Mmm-hmm.’ Stephanie couldn't trust herself with any actual words until she had heard what Katie had to say.
‘I'm… I think we got off on the wrong foot and that maybe it was my fault.’
‘Well, yes, screwing someone's husband will sometimes do that,’ Stephanie said, before she could stop herself.
She heard Katie inhale sharply as if she was composing herself before she spoke.
‘I know this must have been a shock to you,’ Katie said, ‘but you have to believe it was as much of a shock to me. When James told me you were divorced I had no reason not to believe him. And now… now I don't know what to believe.’
‘So you thought you'd ring up and accuse me of being a fantasist again?’ Stop it, Stephanie, she thought.
Katie didn't seem to be responding to Stephanie's offers of a fight. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I wanted to say sorry for not listening to you. And that I know he's been lying to me now. I think. To be absolutely honest, Stephanie, I don't know what I think.’ Katie's voice cracked and Stephanie realized she was trying not to cry.
‘OK,’ she said, more kindly, waving a hand at Natasha, who was leaving. ‘Let's pretend we're starting again. I've rung you to tell you the man you're having a relationship with is my husband and you believe me. I accept that you thought he was unattached. What do we do now?’
Nearly an hour later Stephanie and Katie were still talking. Katie, Stephanie had discovered, had been seeing her husband for a year. It wasn't as if she and James had hidden their relationship from anyone: she had never seen the necessity because she had had no idea that they might be doing anything worthy of being hidden.
Katie, meanwhile, had discovered that her boyfriend still very much lived with his wife, and that although the past few years since the move to London had been fraught sometimes, they were still very definitely married. She had learned that Finn had been happily spared the traumas caused by warring parents, and that rather than just seeinghis father for a few hours on Saturdays he spent half of every week with him and the other half looking forward to seeing him again. She had learned that, just as she had trusted that James was buried in his work and sacrificing comfort and home life on the days when he was in London, so Stephanie had believed he was doing the same when he was in Lincolnshire.
Both had had to acknowledge to themselves that he had been living a lie. Stephanie, who had had a few days to get used to the idea, was trying to reprogramme her anger so that
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