Between You and Me (4 page)

We finish the second bottle of wine, and before long you’re snoring softly on the couch. Every day is a long day for you, and by Friday the hours seem to catch up with you. I think back to our uni days, to when we first met, and we would stay up until all hours, just talking about nothing and enjoying being together.

After that first meeting in the Student Union bar, we are inseparable. You call me the next day, to see if I want to meet for lunch, and of course I say yes, despite feeling terribly nervous. I hadn’t had a lot of luck in relationships, and although I come from a large, vibrant family, it is easy to hide the fact that you are the shy one when everyone around you is so noisy. I can’t quite believe my luck that I have managed to pluck up the courage to speak to you in the first place, and that now, after spending an evening in my company, you want to see me again. We meet outside the local coffee shop, on a day not unlike today. It is hot, the air thick and muggy, making every action an effort, but it doesn’t stop me from looking forward to our date. There are butterflies in the pit of my stomach as I walk towards the coffee shop, worrying that you will have changed your mind, but as I round the corner you are already there, sunlight bouncing off your fair hair, a huge picnic basket slung over one arm.

‘It’s too hot for lunch inside.’ You greet me with a kiss, with no sign of the nerves that I am suffering. ‘I’ve brought us a picnic. We can go to the park, eat outside, get to know each other a bit better.’ You wink at me, and take my hand with your free one. As we walk towards the park, the butterflies in my stomach calm to a mere flutter and I know, just know, this is going to be the start of something big.

We spend an incredible, long, hot summer together and by the time September rolls around and it is time to head back to university life you have persuaded me it makes more sense for me to move in with you than to go back to my shared house with three other flatmates, despite us only knowing each other for a matter of months. You share a house with only two others; your room is a huge, light, airy double room as opposed to the tiny box room that I inhabit in our grungy student house, and your place is nearer to the university than mine. Your final convincing argument is the car. I have a car, and you don’t, although you have your licence. I am one of those lucky ones whose parents have splashed out on a car prior to my starting university in the hope that I will use it to come home every holiday. I say ‘splashed out’, but it is a 1988 Ford Escort, never one hundred per cent reliable, and the exhaust fell off within three weeks of them buying it.

‘Just think, Sal, if you live with me you won’t have to use the car half as much – we’ll be together in the evenings anyway, and you’ll be able to walk to lectures from here. You know it makes sense.’

You have it all planned out and, after a few weeks of you presenting your arguments like a typical lawyer, it just seems easier to go along with it. So I do just go along with it, despite the fact that I’m going to miss the friends I’ve house-shared with since my second year at uni. That summer I don’t get back to see my parents even once. I am flattered that I have become such an important part of your life so quickly. But nothing stays the same for ever; things change and, while I am pretty sure I am still the most important person in your life, I’m not sure how it went from being a good thing to being something that, to be honest, I sometimes find quite frightening.

Chapter Eight

CHARLIE

I wake up with a start on the couch, after snoozing for an hour. The wine we drank after our meal was enough, coupled with the early starts and late nights that go alongside working on a case as huge as the Otex acquisition, to send me over into oblivion for a little while. Sal is smiling down at me when I wake; dark curls falling over one eye.

‘God, sorry, Sal, did I snore? Jesus, I’m shattered.’ I yawn, a huge jaw-stretching yawn.

‘Ha, no. You’re OK. I know you’re tired – the case must be taking its toll on you. No, I was just thinking about when we met. Remember that summer?’

‘How could I forget?’ I pull Sal in for a hug and squeeze tight, last night’s row completely erased from my mind. ‘Picnics in the park, your crappy old car that could barely get us from A to B without something dropping off it, drinking cider in the sun – those were the days!’ I laugh. Those
were
the days, once I persuaded Sal that moving into my place was the right idea. Those flatmates Sal shared with were a nightmare – all they wanted to do was take Sal away from me, with their promises of gigs to see obscure bands that no one except them (and Sal) had ever heard of, and wild house parties, full of dodgy punch and people being sick on the stairs. An actual nightmare. One of them actually had the nerve to tell me that he thought I was ‘too controlling’ of Sal – he soon shut up once I told him I knew he had slept with his lecturer and did he want me to let the head of department at the uni know? It’s amazing what information you can pick up when everyone else around you has had too much to drink, while you stay sober – that and the fact that the lock on his bedroom door was incredibly easy to pick. Once I had Sal moved into my place, I could decide who Sal saw, where Sal went, everything. I could keep Sal with me, all night, every night. There’s nothing controlling about it – it’s just keeping an eye on your other half.

‘It seems like a long time ago now.’ I smile at Sal, ‘And here we are still, together, despite it all. Together through thick and thin, that’s us, Sal. We don’t need anyone else, you know that. I love you more than anyone. More than anyone ever has or ever will. Remember that, Sal. I’d die if you left me.’ A tiny frown drifts across Sal’s brow before Sal stands and, disentangling our arms and legs from each other, holds a hand out to me.

‘Enough of that. Come on, sleepy head. Let’s go up to bed.’

Chapter Nine

SAL

The weekend passes without any incidents, and the calm and tranquillity carry on into the following week. Things always seem to follow the same pattern – I do something you are not happy with, you go crazy, and punish me in various ways, depending on how you feel – sometimes you’ll get physical, other times I will just be cold-shouldered for days at a time – then, when you decide that I’ve been punished enough, that’s it. It’s over. You remind me of how I am nothing without you and how you will die without me – you love me that much; and then I am expected to behave as if nothing has happened. Sometimes I wish I were strong enough to stand up to you, to tell you that things aren’t over when you decide – that maybe I’m not ready to forgive you just yet. Maybe I want to cold-shoulder you and sulk until I feel I am ready to resolve things. The one time I did try to walk away, the one time I told you that enough was enough, you locked yourself away in the bathroom, hysterical and ranting, with a packet of razor blades and a bottle of whisky. Needless to say, after that I’ve never been brave enough to try again – I let you get away with it time and again, in the hope that this will be the last time. Hoping against all hope that the next part of the cycle, the perfect part where everything is OK and you’re happy and it really feels as though we’re a proper family, will continue and become normal for us, instead of this never-ending roller coaster.

This time, the exhausting cycle continues as it usually does; you go to work in a good mood every day, and come home in much the same vein. You spend time with Maggie in the evenings, and during the day Maggie and I work in our little vegetable garden, weeding and hoeing and picking treats to add to our dinner every night. I start to feel like I can breathe again, like I can relax and start to enjoy spending time with you, until the next time. Hoping with all my heart that there isn’t going to be a next time. On Friday evening you make an announcement.

‘I’ve got a big client day tomorrow. I have to take the Otex guys on a corporate golf day; things are not moving along on that case as quickly as they would like and Pavlenco isn’t happy. I need to keep them sweet, so I’ll be leaving early tomorrow morning.’

‘OK,’ I say. ‘Maggie and I will miss you. Do you know what time you’ll be back? Maybe if you’re back early enough we could all do something together?’ I am secretly a little bit relieved that you won’t be around – things are so much easier when I don’t have to worry about tiptoeing around you, although Maggie will be upset that you’re not there. With a bit of luck you’ll have a good day and this relaxed, contented part of the cycle can continue unbroken.

‘Late. It’s breakfast, eighteen holes and drinks afterwards. I’m not sure what time we’ll finish, but I’ll call you when I’m leaving. You’ll be home all day anyway, won’t you? You don’t have anything planned.’ It’s a statement, not a question, and I don’t want to risk riling you, so I agree.

‘No. No, nothing planned. I’ll just do some tidying up, potter round after Maggie. The vegetable patch will need weeding so we can sort that out. Hopefully this weather will keep up and Mags can play out in the paddling pool.’ The heatwave still hasn’t broken and, although I am happy to wear shorts around the house, my legs still haven’t quite healed enough for me to brave wearing shorts outside yet.

‘Well, good. You two can have a lovely day in the garden again, can’t you? And I’ll need my work shirts ironing before Monday.’

‘Of course, don’t worry, it’ll all be done. You go and have a good time.’

‘It’s not about a good time, Sal. It’s work. You’d understand that if you actually still went to work. It’s about keeping the client sweet, making sure this merger goes through, so that I still have a job and can keep supporting you. I don’t think you quite understand the pressure I’m actually under, trying to make sure this deal goes through smoothly.’

I swallow and nod, your prickly mood meaning I am on edge again. I should have known it wouldn’t last, that the cycle would continue.

‘I do, Charlie, I do understand. And we really appreciate everything you do, Maggie and I; we do appreciate it, I promise, all the long hours and hard work, and we love you for it.’ Placated, you nod and I breathe a sigh of relief. For a moment there I wasn’t too sure which way things would go, and I realise that I am constantly living on a knife-edge, where even one sentence taken in slightly the wrong manner can mean the difference between war and peace.

Saturday morning dawns bright and sunny, the heatwave persisting for another day, it seems. You are back to being in a good mood, thankfully, after last night’s tense exchange between us, and when the Otex guys turn up to pick you up in a huge black car with tinted windows, I help you out with your golf clubs. Before you get in the car you turn to me, a frown wrinkling your brow as you clasp my forearm.

‘See you later. Don’t call because I’ll be on the golf course most of the day, I’ll call you when I’m done. And don’t worry about dinner. I’m taking these guys to Gaucho for a meal after.’

‘OK.’ I kiss your cheek and smile into the car. ‘Have a good time. I’ll see you later.’

As I wave you off, Laura appears in her front garden. ‘Morning,’ she calls, waving me over despite obviously having only just woken up. She’s standing in her pyjamas with flip-flops on her feet, red hair tangled around her shoulders.

‘Where’s Charlie off to today? ‘

‘Golf. Some corporate thing with the Otex lot – you know, the big merger case? They’re playing all day, and Charlie said not to do dinner, so I’m alone all day.’

‘
Free
all day, you mean.’ Laura gives me a wicked smile. She doesn’t particularly like you, saying that you are too controlling and need to learn to lighten up a little. You, on the other hand, think Laura is ‘rough’, and don’t particularly like her either. The thing with you, though, is that it’s never made obvious if you don’t like somebody – you are charm personified to his or her face. Your ability to put on a completely different persona for other people is quite unsettling at times; it’s like you’re completely changed, not at all the Charlie I know. You can easily hide the fact that we’ve just had a row if someone turns up unexpectedly, while I have every emotion written all over my face. While I do agree with Laura’s opinion to a certain extent, as the other half in our relationship I have to defend you when Laura starts picking at things. Another reason, among others, why I can never tell Laura quite how bad things can get between us.

‘So? You’re not just going to stay in, are you? It’s another beautiful day and I’ve hardly seen you all week! You can’t just hide away in doors waiting for big, bad Charlie to get home. Let’s go to the beach – the kids can play and have a splash, we can get some chips, ice cream, maybe take them for a walk along the pier? What do you say?’ Laura looks at me expectantly, her hands tying her pyjama cord into knots. I pause and think for a moment. You said not to call, because you would be on the golf course all day, so surely that means you won’t be able to call me until after you’ve all finished? If I take my mobile with me, I can always say I’ve taken Maggie to the park for a play on the swings, but chances are, if you’re going for dinner with the Otex guys, I’ll have until at least early evening before I hear from you at all. The sun is beating down on me already, despite the early hour, and I realise I just can’t face the thought of another day at home, trying to keep Maggie occupied. At the thought of Maggie, stuck indoors for yet another day because you don’t trust me when we go out, my decision is made.

‘OK, sod it. Let’s do it. Beach, here we come!’ I grin as Laura squeals and bursts out laughing, making me laugh in the process.

‘Excellent! Give me an hour. I have to go and shower and make myself beautiful. I’ll knock when I’m ready.’

Sure enough, an hour later Laura is tapping at the front door, a huge bag slung over her shoulder, Fred crooked in one arm and Lucy bouncing around by her feet. Maggie runs out the front door and squeezes Lucy in a bear hug.

‘We’re going to the
beach
, Lucy! And there’s going to be chips and ice cream and we can make a sandcastle and go paddling and …’ Fizzing with excitement, Maggie pauses to take a breath to carry on her epic speech.