A Slippery Slope (2 page)

‘Sorry
darling,’ Verity said, pushing the key into the lock. ‘But if you think this is
cold, spending almost five months in the snowy Alps may not be such a good idea
after all.’

She
eased the door open and stepped inside but instantly stopped in her tracks as a
shrill voice cried out from above:

‘God!
Oh God!’

Verity
and Lucy exchanged startled looks. They both knew they should be the only ones
in the house at five o’clock on a Thursday afternoon.

Recognising
her husband’s voice and fearing something dreadful had happened, Verity dropped
her belongings to the floor and the pair of them raced up the stairs, their
footfalls silenced by the deep-pile stair carpet. Verity reached the guest
bedroom – where the voice was coming from – in just a few seconds and although
the door was open, she felt as if she had charged headlong into a brick wall.

Her
jaw dropped open and her lips formed the word ‘Oh!’ but she was too stunned to
speak and she wasn’t sure which thought crossed her mind first.

That
she was staring at her husband’s naked bottom – and it wasn’t her panting and
sighing beneath him as he called out repeatedly, ‘God! Oh God!’

Or
… that this wasn’t quite the big surprise she’d been expecting for her upcoming
fortieth birthday.

CHAPTER
TWO

Lucy reached the
bedroom door just a second after her mother. 

‘Dad!’
she shrieked over Verity’s shoulder.

Tony’s
head shot up. ‘Shit!’ he exclaimed tearing himself from his partner’s embrace
and yanking at the duvet in a lame attempt to cover them both.

‘It’s
a bit bloody late for that, Dad!’ 

Verity
swayed and grabbed the door frame for support. She took a deep breath and tried
to focus on the face of the woman in her guest bed. It was Daniella: a waitress
at the restaurant. Verity had only met her a few times but she recognised her
instantly. You don’t forget someone that beautiful – or that young. Daniella
was only eighteen.

‘I
... we ...’ Tony began, guilt written all over his face.

Daniella
didn’t say a word but the expression on her face certainly wasn’t guilt. If
anything, it was triumph.

‘How
could you?’ Lucy hissed.

‘This
explains a great deal,’ Verity said calmly, although she felt far from calm.
She felt she wanted to do to her husband what she’d done to her ex-boss, Alfie,
several hours earlier. ‘I need a drink,’ she added, turning and heading back
towards the stairs.

‘Verity!’
Tony called after her. ‘We need to talk.’

‘Shut
up, Dad!’ Lucy snapped, and slammed the bedroom door so hard that the brass
doorknob came off in her hand.

Verity
glanced back and saw Lucy staring at it. ‘Your father will fix that,’ she said,
before realising the absurdity of such a comment after what she had just
witnessed.

Lucy
cast tearful eyes to Verity’s face. ‘How can you be so calm, Mum?’

‘I
don’t feel calm, believe me,’ Verity said, making her way downstairs, ‘but I
can’t do this now.’ She could hear Tony calling her name, and Daniella’s raised
voice garbling something in Italian. ‘I need to get out of here. I ... I’m
going to my mum’s. Do you want to come with me?’

Without
waiting for an answer, she headed towards the half-open front door. She almost
tripped over her discarded handbag in the hall and picked it up, hesitating for
just a second over her shopping bags before shoving them into the corner
beneath the coat rack.

Lucy
grabbed the keys that Verity had left in the lock and followed her mother out,
slamming the door behind her. ‘I’ll drive. You’re in no fit state to. Mind you,
I’m not sure I am.’

‘We’ll
get a cab,’ Verity said. ‘We can afford to take a cab to your grandma’s, now.’
She glanced across at Lucy before bursting into a fit of manic laughter.

Lucy
quickly dialled the number of the local minicab firm. Seconds after ending the
call, her phone rang, and seeing that it was her best friend, Joanna, she gave
her mother an apologetic look, linked her arm through hers, and answered the
call.

‘This
isn’t a good time, Jo,’ Lucy said into her phone. ‘Can it wait until later?’

‘Not
really,’ Joanna said so loudly that even Verity could hear her. ‘I’m afraid
I’ve got some bad news. I’ve bloody well broken my ankle! Can you believe it?’

‘What?
How on earth did you do that?’

‘It’s
those new shoes I bought last week. The bloody heel snapped and over I went.
Flat on my arse! It was
so
humiliating. Although a hunky builder did
come to my rescue – and yes, I got his number. Anyway babe, I won’t be going to
Meribel next week, and unless we can find someone to step in pretty bloody
sharpish, you’ll be going on your lonesome.’

‘Shit!
You are kidding me? I can’t do that! What will your uncle say? This’ll be my
first season. I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. You told me yourself he
has high expectations of his staff. And we’ve never even met. I only got the
job because of you!’

‘Calm
down and don’t talk crap. You’ll be fine. You’ve done the chalet hosting
course. You just do what they taught us. You cook, clean, keep the punters
happy, don’t blow the food budget – and have a good time. That’s it. It’s not
rocket science, babe.’

‘No
but–’

‘Please
don’t back out! Mum’s already had a go at me for being ... irresponsible. As if
I had any control over my bloody heel snapping! I’m going to sue that sodding
shop. And the manufacturers. I could have killed myself! Although I did meet
Rich, the hunky builder because of it, so it’s not all bad. He’s gorgeous.
Anyway, you’ve got to go. Uncle Josh will kill me if no one turns up. He can be
a bit of a miserable git sometimes.’

Lucy
had a bewildered expression on her face as though she wasn’t quite sure exactly
what was going on. ‘Great!’ She glanced at Verity. ‘Actually, Jo ... I’m not
sure I can. We ... we’ve just had a nasty shock. And Mum’s lost her job too.
Well, not lost exactly but she’s not working at the bank any more and–’

‘I’ve
just found my husband shagging one of his waitresses, Jo!’ Verity shouted at
Lucy’s phone.

Lucy
gave her mother a startled look. She obviously hadn’t expected her to share
that piece of news.

‘And
she may need me around for a while, as you can imagine,’ Lucy told Jo,
anxiously eyeing her mother.

‘Shit!’
Jo said. ‘Er ... which one? I bet it was that tart, Daniella.’

‘It
was,’ Lucy confirmed.

‘I
knew it! I didn’t like the look of her from the start. Far too pretty for my
liking. And tits the size of China. No wonder she’s a waitress. She could
balance plates on those things.’

‘Jo!
That’s not funny. Mum and I are devastated and–’

‘Sorry!
Of course you are. What a bastard! Is your Mum leaving him? Or is she chucking
him out?’

‘I
don’t know what’s going to happen. We’ve only just ... found out. We need time
to get our heads around it. Mum needs time to think. We’re going to Grandma’s
now but ... I suppose we’ll come back here later. After that, who knows? We
both just want to be as far away from Dad as possible right now.’

Verity
nodded in silent agreement.

‘I
understand,’ Jo said. ‘Well, this is a right turn up for the books, isn’t it?
Me with a broken ankle and you – and your mum – with broken hearts. I’ll get
Mum to call Uncle Josh and tell him he’s stuffed. He’ll have to make other
arrangements and ... wait a minute! I’ve just had a brilliant idea. You said
your mum needs time to think and that you both want to be as far away from your
dad as possible. Well, Meribel is pretty far away. And it’s the ideal place to
sit and think. It’s so pretty, and what could be better than sitting in front
of a roaring fire with a bottle of wine, watching snow fall as you ponder your
future? It’s perfect. Why doesn’t your mum take my place and you can go
together? Uncle Josh won’t mind. He’s a really great guy and–’

‘Hold
on a minute, Jo. You’re getting a bit ahead of yourself, aren’t you? And I
thought you just said that he’s a bit of a miserable git.’

‘Sometimes.
I said he’s a bit of a miserable git, sometimes. Most of the time he’s really
lovely ... and cool ... and understanding.’

‘I
think the last thing Mum wants at a time like this is a man around –
understanding or not.’

‘What
was that?’ Verity asked. ‘I didn’t quite catch that bit.’

Lucy
shook her head. ‘Nothing. Don’t worry, Mum. Just one of Jo’s dumb ideas.’

‘It’s
not a dumb idea! It’s a brilliant idea,’ Jo said defensively. ‘And you’ll
hardly ever see him. He keeps himself very much to himself plus he has loads of
other chalets in the Alps that he has to go and check on.’

‘Whatever.
Oh, the cab’s here, Jo.’

The
cab pulled up and Verity and Lucy hurried towards it as Tony came running down
the path after them, still zipping up his hastily thrown-on jeans.

‘Verity!
Lucy! Wait. We need to talk.’

‘Jo,’
Lucy said into her phone. ‘I’ll call you later. Dad’s about to cause a scene.’
She ended the call and opened the cab door so that Verity could get in.
‘Wilderness Road in Chislehurst,’ Lucy instructed the driver as she climbed in
beside her mother. ‘As fast you can, please!’

Tony
reached the cab and grabbed at the door handle.

‘Go!’
Lucy yelled at the driver.

With
a wheel spin any Formula One racing driver would be proud of, the cab sped
away, yanking Tony forward before he could let go of the handle. He lost his
balance and ended up on his knees in the gutter.

Verity
twisted round on the back seat of the cab. ‘Best place for him,’ she muttered,
staring at her husband until the cab turned the corner and Tony was out of
sight.

Then
she burst into tears. And so did Lucy.

CHAPTER
THREE

‘What
in God’s name has happened?’ Laura Tennent asked, seeing her daughter and
granddaughter in tears, on her front doorstep. ‘Come in! Tell me what’s wrong!’

‘It’s
Dad!’ Lucy cried.

‘Has
he had an accident? Is ... is he dead?’

Lucy
and Verity stared aghast at Laura.

‘You’d
... like that, wouldn’t ... you?’ Verity said between her sobs.

‘No!
Of course I wouldn’t. How can you think such a thing?’

Verity
wiped her nose with a sodden tissue. ‘Well. I think I’d rather like that right
now. In fact, I may very well kill him myself!’

‘Let
me guess,’ Laura said, ushering the pair into the sitting room. ‘He’s having an
affair and you’ve only just found out.’

‘How
do you know that?’ Verity snapped, rummaging in her handbag. ‘Did you suspect
something? Why didn’t you tell me? I need a tissue. Have you got any tissues?’

‘Boxes
of them, darling,’ Laura replied, grabbing two boxes from a drawer and handing
one to Verity and one to Lucy. ‘I’ll pour us some drinks and you can tell me
about it, but no, I didn’t know. He’s a man though, and that’s what men do.’

‘Not
all men, Grandma!’ Lucy protested.

Laura
shrugged. ‘Perhaps not all, sweetheart, but the vast majority.’

Verity
blew her nose rather loudly. ‘Well, that’s the pot calling the kettle black! At
least two of your divorces were due to
you
having affairs behind
your
husbands’ backs.’

‘That’s
true,’ Laura admitted. ‘And possibly another, although we won’t go into that
now. But that’s because I wasn’t getting what I needed from those husbands.’

Verity
glowered at her mother. ‘Is that a roundabout way of telling me that
I’m
not giving Tony what
he
needs?’

‘No!
Women only have affairs if they’re unhappy at home. Men have affairs because it
stokes their egos. It’s a completely different mindset.’ Laura handed Verity
and Lucy large glasses of wine and poured herself an even larger one.

‘That’s
a rather sweeping statement, Mother,’ Verity said, a little calmer now. ‘So
you’re saying that Tony’s having an affair even though he’s happy with me!
Humph! In the end it all comes down to sex in your opinion though, doesn’t it?’
She gulped down the contents of her glass and held it out for a refill.

‘Yes,
sweetheart it does. Help yourself,’ Laura said, passing the bottle to her
daughter. ‘So have you just found out about it then? How? Did he tell you?’

‘We
just found him and ... Daniella having sex in the guest bedroom,’ Verity said,
refilling her glass and knocking that back too.

‘Good
heavens! Er ... who’s Daniella? Do I know her? She’s not a friend of yours, is
she? Or yours, Lucy?’

‘No!
She’s a waitress at Dad’s restaurant.’

‘And
she’s younger than Lucy,’ Verity added.

‘The
dirty old sod.’ Laura dropped down onto the sofa. After a few moments of
silence, she asked. ‘But ... why were you home so early today? Did you suspect
something and left work early hoping to find him in the act?’

‘No!’
Verity said, pouring a third glass of wine. ‘I had the afternoon off to have
lunch with Lucy and go shopping.’ She wasn’t in the mood to explain to her
mother that she’d also lost her job. She’d tell her about that later.

‘So
Tony thought he’d be safe then? He expected you to be out until late?’

Verity
shook her head. ‘No. He thought I was at work and he knows I usually get home
around seven. I didn’t tell him about our plans. We were shopping for Lucy’s
trip and ... we still haven’t told him about that, either.’

‘I
don’t blame you,’ Laura said. ‘He’ll have one of his hissy fits when he finds
out. Sometimes I wish the man would just smash something and have done with it.
Instead, we get weeks of sulking, snarling, shouting and weeping. Well, perhaps
not quite weeping but as good as damn it. Were you trying to postpone telling
him until after the party on Saturday?’

‘We
were but ... Oh! The party! I’d completely forgotten about it after finding
...’ Verity’s voice trailed off. She couldn’t say it again.

‘Good
heavens! Yes of course. Well it can still go ahead – if you want it to, that
is,’ Laura said. ‘What would you do about Tony though? I suppose you can tell
him to stay away. Or are you considering adopting a ‘stiff upper lip’ approach
and pretending this hasn’t happened, until after the weekend?’

‘No
way!’ Verity said. ‘And I can’t go through with the party after this. I
couldn’t bear it.’ She raised tearful eyes to Lucy and Laura. ‘I’m really
sorry. I know how much work you’ve done to organise it but I can’t pretend to
be happy and excited when I feel so ... so bloody miserable!’

‘We
can cancel it, darling ... can’t we?’ Laura glanced across at Lucy to check,
and when Lucy nodded she continued, ‘Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll get a
couple of my pals on to it.’

Verity
heard her phone beep, announcing an incoming text and she automatically
rummaged in her handbag to find it. It took her some time and when she
eventually retrieved it and looked up, she saw both Laura and Lucy frowning at
her.

‘You
really need a smaller handbag, darling,’ Laura advised.

Verity
shrugged and read the text. It was from Tony. It read:

I’m
in love with Daniella. Sorry.

‘Is
it from Dad?’ Lucy asked angrily.

Verity
nodded. She couldn’t believe her eyes and as she struggled for words, it felt
as if they were barbed wire ripping at her throat and strangling her at the
same time. ‘He ... he says that he’s ... in love with her!’

‘What!’
Lucy clearly couldn’t believe it either.

Verity
stared at the phone as it beeped again and another text from Tony appeared.

And
I’m leaving you. I’ll stay until after your party.

Verity
blinked several times. ‘He ... he says that he’s leaving me! After the party.’

‘We’ll
see about that!’ Laura said, her pale blue eyes flashing with anger.

A
third beep heralded a third message.

But
we need to talk.

Verity
repeated the texts over and over in her head as Lucy and Laura berated Tony.
What was there to talk about? He’d told her everything she needed to know, and
far more brusquely than she could ever have imagined possible.

Not
that she had ever imagined this scenario. She knew they had been drifting apart
over the years – married couples often did that – but it never occurred to her
that she and Tony would split up, in spite of her mother’s opinion on the
subject.

Verity
had intended to talk to him to see what they could do to regain the magic they
once shared. But she couldn’t actually remember the magic, or when they had
lost it, and she wasn’t really sure what to say or do about it.

It
never crossed her mind that one of them would fall in love with someone else.
Although perhaps it should have; her mother did it all the time. But Verity
wasn’t her mother – and neither was she the one who was having an affair.

Another
beep and this time a longer text.

I’m
sorry. I was going to tell you after the weekend. We have to decide about the
house and stuff. Text me. We really need to talk. And soon.

At
least he hadn’t used abbreviated text, she thought, somewhat ludicrously, but
she wasn’t sure she understood. “Decide about the house and stuff.” What did
that mean? She thought about it for a second.

‘Oh
shit!’ she said, suddenly realising that her life would never be the same
again. She glared at the text and took a deep breath. ‘No we bloody well do
not
!’

She
threw her phone across the room with such force that it hit the wall and
smashed in two – a bit like her marriage just had.