Abigail: Chapter 27

After a restless night’s sleep, Sunday was spent sorting through paperwork and organising my trip. I knew the girls wouldn’t be home until later that evening so I had another empty day to fill but this time I spent it worrying about how I was going to persuade them that leaving them alone again for two nights wasn’t abandonment. It wasn’t really them I was worried about. At sixteen they were perfectly capable of keeping each other out of mischief for a couple of days, especially during term time when there was the routine of school to keep them entertained. No, what I was really anxious about was telling Jonathan, not that it was really any of his business, but I felt compelled to mention it and I was afraid he might suggest they stay with him for even longer. The last thing I wanted was that bitch Tricia getting her claws into my precious babies and turning them into clones of her.

I knew what they’d say if I voiced these worries out loud. Louise would remind me that she’s allergic to scented beauty products and thus the chances of her wearing Tricia’s slap were less than zero and Grace would tell me to stop being such a bloody idiot. Taking the latter advice to heart, with the paperwork neatly filed, I decided it was time to get dressed and face the outside world. Missy needed a walk and the fresh air would do me good.

Half an hour later and I was walking down the hill towards the centre of the village, Missy happily running ahead of me on her extendable lead. She paused every now and then to make her mark on some poor unsuspecting wall or lamp post but otherwise the walk was brisk. As I walked I thought about the events of the last few days. Getting all the pieces laid out on the white board had helped but I was still struggling to imagine Toby attacking someone, least of all the one person who’d put a roof over his head. It made no sense at all and I was itching to get over there to find out if it was really him.

As I came over the other side of the hill I became aware of someone calling my name. I looked round and saw Louise waving at me like a mad thing. I waved back then started in her direction.

“Look who’s there Missy. It’s Lou. Have you missed her?”

I took the dog’s silence for agreement and hurried her in Louise’s direction. Just as I reached her, Grace came into view so I gave her a wave and hugged Louise. “What are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting you back for ages yet.”

Louise leaned in and whispered in my ear. “Tricia’s doing our heads in.”

I couldn’t help but smile and silently whisper a prayer of thanks. Not wanting to appear smug though, I feigned innocence. “Oh, why’s that?”

“She’s just so fussy. Wash your hands. Wipe your feet. Knife and fork together. Elbows off the table. It’s impossible.”

I decided not to mention that those were actually pretty reasonable requests and instead just nodded my sympathy.

“Did you tell her about Tricia?” Grace had finally caught up to us.

“She did. Sorry you’ve not had a nice time love.”

“Oh it wasn’t all bad. Our room’s pretty decent.”

Louise nodded. “It’s just a shame it’s in the same house as her.”

“So where are they now?” I had a sudden thought that made me panic. “You didn’t leave them in the house did you? I have my white board out.” I hated the thought of him nosing through my stuff.

“We’re not amateurs Mum.” Louise rolled her eyes at me. “They’re in the pub.”

“Come on then, time to face the enemy.”

Amidst cries of ‘do we have to?’ and ‘but mum’, we walked to The Bont. I tied Missy to a post outside next to a bowl of water. “Sorry Missy, not for dogs. We won’t be long.”

“Can I stay with Missy?” Grace asked.

“No!” I steered her gently but firmly into the pub where we could see Jonathan and his soon to be Mrs Me standing at the bar doing their best not to look uncomfortable. Although Jonathan had lived here for many years while we married, there wasn’t a soul who hadn’t heard the story about the day I caught him inflagrante on the sofa. As such, he elicited none of the warmth you might usually expect from a village you once called home. Instead he was treated as an outsider, held at a distance and mocked, just a little too loudly. I couldn’t condone such behaviour but, after all that he’d put us through, it made me smile far more than was decent to see him treated so.

For the second time that week I plastered a smile on my face and made an effort to play the affable ex-wife. I was determined to see the back of the pair of them as soon as humanly possible though and when Rhys behind the bar offered Jonathan a top up, I shook my head at the former and he quickly withdrew. It took them less than ten minutes to take the hint and with promises to the girls to see them again soon, Jonathan and Tricia were on their way. I resisted the impulse to do a little happy dance and instead told the girls to find us some menus while I took Missy back to our house. I was hungry and could think of no better way to welcome them home than dinner in The Bont.

“Glass of red please Rhys. And make it a large one.”

“You sure that’s wise Charlie love? You know what you’re like.”

“Ah but it’s Sunday, day of rest, and I intend to spend what’s left of it resting under the weight of a very large wine glass.”

“Right you are,” said Rhys. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

By the time our food arrived I was on my second glass but it was doing wonders for my nerves around the trip to Barnstaple and before we’d even got to dessert, the girls were fully briefed and completely on board with my plans.

“You won’t tell your dad will you?” I looked from Louise to Grace, determined to impress upon them the seriousness of the situation.

“Course not. He might make us stay with him.”

“Ugh! My lips are sealed!”

I pulled them into a slightly soggy hug and took it in turns to plant a kiss on their heads. “What did I ever do to deserve such good kids?”

“Just got lucky I guess Mum,” said Grace with a wink.

“Oi!”

She was right though, I did feel incredibly lucky. I just had to hope lady luck would follow me to Barnstaple.