Downsizing (21 page)

Although none of the residents in Colebrook
were likely to recognize her, Maxine accepted that her presence
here couldn’t remain a secret for long. She was anxious to see
Rachel but equally determined that no one should warn Cassie of her
arrival. Until she’d faced that particular demon, she couldn’t
begin to decide if Graham’s offer was tenable.

Maxine unpacked her bags and put away the few
items she’d brought with her. Nowadays her wardrobe was expensive
yet simple. Mix and match separates, tailored trousers, and jeans.
Finally, she extracted Noah’s picture, gave the frame a quick
polish with an old shirt, and placed it by her bed. Satisfied with
her efforts, Maxine took a long soak in the bath, washed her hair,
and pulled on her newest jeans, matching them with a pale pink
sleeveless top. Just a little light mascara and lip gloss was all
the makeup she ever wore. The gold studs which had adorned her ears
for many years had been replaced by small diamonds studs, her
student Swatch exchanged for a discreet gold Beaumont-Mercier
watch. She wore no other jewelry.

She didn’t know if it was a school day or not,
but being early July thought it probably would be. She’d walk to
Noah’s house in time to catch Cassie when she returned from the
school run. That way she could reacquaint herself with her old
friend
without the risk of bumping into Noah. Whether or not
she remained in Colebrook depended in large upon how her reunion
with Cassie went, and if she decided not to hang about, then she
could avoid seeing him altogether.

After stopping at a florist’s that had been a
newsagent’s in her day, Maxine stood outside Noah’s house, looking
up at it in surprise. This road hadn’t even existed when she’d
lived in Colebrook. It had been an open field then. Now it was full
of up-market, modern detached houses, all slightly different, all
more or less the same. Noah had often talked about the Edwardian
houses in the older part of town, and how much he’d like to restore
one for himself one day. So what was he doing in this modern box?
It didn’t seem at all like the sort of place that the Noah she’d
once known would care for, an unnecessary reminder that she didn’t
know him at all anymore.

Taking a deep breath, she rang the bell. And
then rang it again. She was on the point of giving up when the door
was wrenched open by a woman. Looking unkempt and fractious, she
balanced a baby of her hip.

Even though she’d been expecting to see her,
it took Maxine a moment to realize that the woman was actually
Cassie. During her darkest hours she’d often visualized Cassie
letting herself go, and it would take a better person that she’d
ever be to suppress a bubble of satisfaction at having her wildest
fantasy realized. Her lips curved upward as she thrust the flowers
at her nemesis.

“
Hello, Cassie, how are you? It’s
been a long time.”

Cassie’s brow wrinkled. “Do I know
you?

Maxine laughed. “It’s been twelve years, but
surely you recognize your old school chum?”

“
Maxine?”

Maxine’s baser side reveled in Cassie’s
discomfort. She allowed a moment or two for the truth to strike
home before speaking again.

“
In the flesh,” she said. “Not
that there’s quite so much flesh about me nowadays. Still, what’s
left of me is back. Can I come in?”

Cassie, speechless, almost tumbled over
discarded toys in the untidy hallway as she stepped back and
allowed Maxine in. Crossing the threshold, Maxine, who ought to be
a mass of nerves, felt inexplicably calm. She’s visualized this
moment a thousand times and, with the advantage of surprise on her
side, felt elegant and in control.

To her astonishment, she found that her
long-held determination to seek revenge no longer seemed important.
Instead, still gripped by an enveloping calm, she took control of
the situation with detached civility. She followed Cassie into a
living room where a young boy was sprawled on the carpet watching
pop videos that were turned to full volume. Another boy, who looked
so much like a miniature version of Noah that her heart thwacked
uncomfortably in her chest, stared at her with unrestrained
curiosity.

“
Hello,” Maxine said, bending down
to speak to him. “What’s your name?”

“
Billy. What’s yours?”

“
Maxine, but everyone calls me
Max.”

“
Max? That’s a boy’s
name.”

Maxine rolled her eyes. “Yes, it is. Your
mummy and I used to go to school together, and everyone teased me
about my name.”

The other boy took his eyes off the television
to join in the exchange. “I’m Josh,” he said, offering her his hand
in a very adult manner. “I go to school with a girl called Willow,
and everyone teases her about that.”

“
I’m sure they do.”

“
Why haven’t you been here before,
if you’re a friend of Mum’s?”

“
Because I work in
London.”

“
So does Grandpa,” said
Billy.

“
I know.”

“
I’m going to work in London when
I grow up,” said Josh. “I’m going to be a doctor like Grandpa
because he earns lots of money and has a swimming pool. I’m a
really good swimmer and can swim a whole length under water. Except
that I can’t at the moment,” he added, frowning, “because I’ve lost
my goggles.”

“
I’m going to work here with Dad,
and he earns lots of money, too,” boasted Billy.

“
I know your Daddy as well, or I
used to,” Maxine said, keeping half an eye on Cassie who was
watching the exchange closely. “But I expect he’s forgotten all
about me by now.”

“
Probably,” Josh, agreed. “Dad
knows lots of people, but I’ve never heard him say your name. Did
he tease you about it?”

“
No, he didn’t, strangely enough.”
Turning to Cassie she smiled and asked if she could hold the baby.
“She’s adorable,” she said, cooing over the sleepy
bundle.

“
I was just in the process of
feeding her. The boys had the day off today. Something about
teacher training, I think the note said, and they’ve put me out of
my routine.”

“
And now I’ve turned up and made
things worse. Don’t let me stop you. I won’t stay for long. I just
wanted to let you know that I’m back for a while.”

“
Well, I’d better just see to her.
Josh, turn that noise off and make Maxine a cup of tea. Sit out on
the deck, Max, and I’ll join you in a moment. I want to hear all
your news.”

Cassie was gone for half an hour, most of
which she obviously devoted to herself. She joined Maxine in the
garden, the baby asleep in a carry-cot that she placed in the
shade. She was dressed in a tailored beige dress, the expensive cut
disguising the extra weight round her middle, and heeled formal
shoes. Her hair was pulled back with a clip, and she’d applied too
much makeup that didn’t disguise the heightened color in her
cheeks.

“
Well, Maxine,” she said as the
boys, who’d been besieging Maxine with a barrage of questions, ran
off down the garden kicking a football. “This is an unexpected
surprise.”

“
But not an unpleasant one, I
hope.”

“
Not at all, but all those years
and never a word. I thought you’d grown too grand for
us.”

Maxine contemplated Cassie over the rim of her
cup, not responding immediately, nor attempting to justify herself
as she would once have done.

“
I’ve been insanely busy,” she
said eventually.

“
But why come home now? Your
mother’s away, isn’t she?”

“
Yes, but I had to arrange my
leave in advance.” Maxine had no intention of enlightening Cassie
as to the true purpose of her visit just yet. “She hopes to be back
soon, so I guess I’ll just have to wait her out.”

“
How long are you
staying?”

“
Oh, it’s hard to say. A week or
two, perhaps.”

“
I should have thought that you’d
want to holiday abroad.”

“
I spend a lot of time abroad on
business, so when I want to really relax I stay at home. Besides,
I’ve never been a great one for the sun, not like you, and I’ve had
quite enough of airports recently.”

“
Yes, I suppose I do tan easily.”
Cassie examined her brown arms with a self-satisfied
smile.

They struggled through another quarter of an
hour’s small talk. Cassie hadn’t once mentioned Noah’s name, so
Maxine, thinking it would be unnatural not to, eventually brought
it up herself.

“
How’s Noah?”

“
As busy as ever. The poor darling
never stops working. He’s determined to provide the best he
possibly can for his family. Just imagine, he bought this house for
us two years ago from the fruits of his labor, and he was only
twenty-eight at the time.”

“
It’s very nice,” said Maxine
diplomatically.

“
Yes, isn’t it? But then,
nothing’s too good for us, so he’s always saying.”

“
I’m sure he means it.”

“
I just had to have it! I fell in
love with it the moment Mummy pointed it out. I know Noah prefers
those old places, but they’re so hard to keep clean, and there’s
always something going wrong with them. I thought this would be
better for our growing family, and he can never bring himself to
deny me anything when I have my heart set on it.”

“
I dare say.”

Maxine didn’t know why Cassie was so desperate
to convince her of her husband’s devotion, but two minutes of
conversation centering upon Noah was fast teaching her that she
wasn’t quite as resigned to their marriage as she’d
supposed.

“
Heavens, is that the time?” she
said, consulting her watch. “Five o’clock already and I’m sure
you’ve got a million things to do. I’d better get out of your hair.
Say hi to Noah for me.”

Cassie looked surprised, and gratified, by her
sudden desire to leave but before either of them could move both
boys screeched and rushed to the side gate.

“
Dad!”

Maxine froze as she heard a voice that hadn’t
changed in twelve years.

“
Hi, champs. What’s going
on?”

“
Mum’s got a friend
here.”

“
She’s nice!”

Maxine turned toward him as casually as her
thundering heart would permit. Aware of the heat invading her face,
she could only hope that her anxiety wasn’t apparent in the
expression she struggled to keep neutral. Within seconds of her
gaze resting upon Noah she gave up all pretense at friendly
indifference, fighting instead to draw breath as the years fell
away.

Noah, dressed in a lightweight blue suit, had
his jacket thrown over one shoulder, the sleeves to his white shirt
rolled back, and his tie loosened. He held a leather briefcase in
his opposite hand and looked simply devastating as he regarded her
with an expression of polite enquiry. Then his brows rose, almost
as though he was afraid to believe what he thought he saw. For what
seemed like an eternity he just stared at her, rooted to the spot,
either unable or unwilling to speak.

“
Max?” he said
tentatively.

A disbelieving smile slowly spread across his
face, causing a vortex of desire to surge through her. She should
have known that he’d be one of the few people who would still
recognize her.

“
Hello, Noah,” she said, surprised
at how calm she sounded as she stood up and walked toward
him.

He dropped his briefcase and jacket without
seeming to be aware of it, held out both arms and when she was
within range of them swept her from her feet, swinging her in
circles. Placing her back on the ground he kissed both her cheeks
and then her lips, pulling her close against him and holding her as
though he never wanted to let her go.

“
My God, Max, it’s really you!” He
held her face in both of his hands and gazed at it. “I’d have known
those eyes anywhere. You look amazing!”

“
You don’t look so shabby
yourself,” she told him with a smile, her carefully controlled
emotions now hopelessly out of kilter. “How are you?”

“
Much better for seeing you,
sweetheart. Why did you stay away for so long?”

“
Dad kissed Max on the lips!”
chanted Billy, giggling.

“
I wasn’t expecting you this
early, darling,” Cassie said.

“
My meeting with the investors
finished earlier than I thought. I knew the boys weren’t at school
today, so I thought I’d come and take them off your
hands.”

“
You see how thoughtful he is.”
Cassie beamed triumphantly at Maxine. “Doesn’t she look amazing,
darling? We’ve been so busy catching up that she hasn’t told me yet
how she lost all that fat.”

“
Max always looked amazing to me.”
More giggling from the boys as they hovered round their father,
fascinated by his reaction to Maxine. “But I’m not complaining
about the way she looks now, either.”

“
So how did you lose it, Max?”
Cassie asked.

“
Someone once told me that all I
needed was a little exercise,” she said, deliberately avoiding eye
contact with Noah. “And that proved to be the case.”