Least Said (69 page)

‘You
have
–
and
you
did,’
he
said
emphatically.

‘And
you,
Jon,
of
course,
are
completely
blameless
in
all
of
this.’
Tina
stood
by
my
side
and
matched
Jon
glare
for
glare
and
I
could
tell
that
she
was
absolutely
fuming.

‘I
have
no
idea
what
it’s
got
to
do
with
you,
Christina,’
he
sneered,
showing
his
absolute
disgust
with
the
use
of
her
full
name,
‘apart
from
the
fact
you’ve
been
in
cahoots
with
my
wife
since
day
one,
apparently.
I’ll
thank
you
to
stay
out
of
this
now.’

Yes,
I
could
stay
out
of
it,
Jonathon
,’
she
came
right
back,
‘but
it
comes
down
to
me
to
remind
you
–
as
I
did
seven
years
ago
–
what
an
absolute
shit
you
were
to
your
wife
when
you
were
having
trouble
conceiving.
Heaping
all
the
blame
on
her
because
she
wasn’t
getting
pregnant
and
blaming
her
non-existent
weight problem
when
you
knew
very
well
there
could
be
another
explanation.

‘Was
it
any
wonder
that
she
misinterpreted
an
apparently
inappropriate
text
and
jumped
to
the
wrong
conclusion?
Was
it
any
wonder
that
a
few
drinks
and
a
few
complimentary
words
went
right
to
her
head?
Wendy
made
one
mistake,
Jon,
one
mistake
but,
if
you’re
honest,
you
don’t
come
out
of
it
very
well
either,
do
you?
Well,
do
you?’
she
repeated
harshly.

For
a
long
moment
it
really
seemed
as
if
Jon
was
going
to
crumble,
and
then
he
said
furiously,
‘You
can
go
to
hell
–
both
of
you,’
and
turning
on
his
heel,
he
walked
out.

Chapter 18

Jon
didn’t
make
an
appearance
until
long
after
Tina
and
Calum
had,
reluctantly,
left
to
go
back
home
to
London,
and
even
then
not
before
urging
me
to
ring
them
–
at
any
time
of
the
day
or
night
–
if
I
needed
them
for any reason
,
they
emphasised,
any reason at all
.

I
guessed
he
was
probably
startled
to
find
me
sitting
up
in
bed
apparently
engrossed
in
a
book,
because
Jon
stood
there
for
a
few
very
long
moments
in
silence.

‘You’re
in
the
spare
room,’
I
said
without
looking
up,
‘along
with
all
of
your
belongings
–
I
thought
it
would
make
it
easier
all
round
-
unless
you’re
intending
to
actually
move
right
out
of
the
house
of
course.’

‘What
about..?’

‘William?’
I
looked
up
then
and
directly
at
him.
‘I’ve
explained
to
him
that
we
wouldn’t
be
sharing
a
bed
for
the
time
being
because
you
have
to
be
very
careful
not
to
get
your
head
wound
knocked.
He
seemed
to
accept
that
without
any
problem.
I
am
sorry
I
hit
you,
Jon,
although
I
swear
I
didn’t
know
it
was
you
creeping
around
the
house.
I’m
sorry
for
everything
else
as
well,
but
you’ve
made
it
clear
that
you
have
decided
you
can
never
forgive
me
and
I
understand
that
I
must
accept
that
decision.
Good
night.’

With
that
I
put
down
my
book,
switched
off
the
bedside
light
and
settled
myself
for
sleep.
Jon
didn’t
move
for
quite
some
time;
I
could
feel
his
presence
in
the
doorway,
and
I
was
grateful
that
the
darkness
hid
the
tears
that
soaked
my
pillow
as
I
acknowledged
that
our
marriage
really
was
over
–
and
it
was
completely
my
fault,
whatever
Tina
had
said.

*

‘You’ll
have
to
let
me
know
whether
or
not
you
still
want
me
to
cook
for
you
and
wash
your
clothes,
etcetera,’
I
said,
when
Jon
walked
into
the
kitchen
the
following
morning.
‘In
fact,
just
let
me
know
how
you
want
to
play
this
and
I
will
go
along
with
that.
The
important
thing
that
I
know
we
both
agree
on,
is
that
William
shouldn’t
be
upset.’

When
I
took
a
quick
glance
in
his
direction,
it
was
immediately
clear
to
see
I
wasn’t
the
only
one
to
have
suffered
from
a
wakeful
night.
He
opened
his
mouth
to
speak.
Then
he
closed
it
quickly
again
as
Will
came
trotting
in,
chattering
happily
about
the
day
ahead,
and
reminding
me
of
his
play-date
with
Tristan
after
school.
I
was
immensely
grateful
for
the
impression
of
normality
he
brought
into
the
room
with
him.

‘I’ll
walk
you
to
school,
then,’
I
told
him,
before
Jon
could
offer,
‘so
that
I
can
check
with
Lucy
that
it’s
still
happening.’

I
left
them
to
their
breakfast
then
and
went
off
to
make
sure
Will
had
everything
he
would
need
for
the
school
day.
Remembering
he
had
PE
that
morning
with
the
man
who
might
well
be
his
biological
father
gave
me
a
bit
of
a
pang,
but
I
did
feel
calmer
about
Gareth
now
that
he’d
made
it
perfectly
clear
that
he
had
no
interest
in
my
son.
However,
I
hoped
he’d
given
serious
thought
to
the
recommendation
I’d
made
that
he
remove
himself
and
his
family
far
away
from
the
link
with
the
past
-
and
me
-
which
otherwise
might
well
come
back
to
haunt
him
in
all
sorts
of
uncomfortable
ways.

Will
skipped
happily
along
beside
me,
talking
nineteen
to
the
dozen,
his
small
hand
tucked
securely
in
mine.
It
was
obvious
he
didn’t
have
a
care
in
the
world,
for
which
I
was
tremendously
grateful.
It
was
obvious
that
–
at
some
point
–
Jon
and
I
were
going
to
have
to
have
a
serious
discussion
about
the
future
of
us
as
a
family,
but
for
now
I
think
we
had
both
accepted
that
we
would
just
have
to
rub
along
somehow.

While
I
was
talking
to
Lucy
I
caught
sight
of
Gareth
Montgomery
over
her
shoulder,
ushering
children
through
the
school
date.
He
glanced
briefly
in
my
direction,
but
didn’t
acknowledge
that
he’d
seen
me
or
even
knew
me
in
any
way.
I
suppose,
as
far
as
he
was
concerned,
we
had
said
everything
there
was
to
say.
I
supposed
that
was
right.
I
could
advise
that
he
move
away
but
I
could
hardly
force
him
to.