Yours Unfaithfully (12 page)

“I don’t doubt for one minute that you and she have been ‘flat out all day’, in fact that is precisely what I was afraid of. I’d like to say I cared Ben, but truthfully, I’m not interested in your position either with Mick or, more often I imagine, with her. I’m going round to Melanie’s tonight and I won’t be cooking for you, so unless you’ve already shared a meal with her, as it seems you’ve shared just about everything else, then you’ll have to eat at the pub. But then as she’ll be there that should suit you fine.”

“Anyone would think you don’t trust me, Nina. Get a job you said, and that’s what I did. You know you’re trouble don’t you ... you’re never satisfied.”

“Not by you, Ben, that’s true, in fact you never spoke a truer word.” With that she flounced out, intending to spend the rest of her evening next door with Melanie. She was disappointed to find that Mel was not alone. Tim was sitting in front of the television holding his cup of tea when Nina walked into the lounge, which made her feel a bit awkward. She wanted to share her problems with Melanie in private. Tim’s presence was disconcerting to say the least, but she could hardly ask him to leave. Sensing her anxiety, Melanie came to her rescue.

“Tim, Neen and I would like to have a quiet evening in with a glass or two of wine, so that we can catch up on all the news, so why don’t you take advantage of your good fortune and spend the evening at the Globe, with my blessing. I’m sure Ben would be happy to keep you company.”

Seeing that protest was futile, Tim drank the last of his tea and picked up his jacket. As he closed the kitchen door he turned and addressed Melanie with a smile, “I won’t be late, Mel.”

“He means it too,” she said. “He’s trying so hard to please me, I feel sure I’ll fall over him each time I turn around, Neen, he’s driving me mad.”

“Mel, I’ve got so much to tell you, I don’t even know where to start”. For the next hour she gave Melanie the sordid details, mostly from her imagination, of Ben’s new job ‘working for that tart Sophie from the Globe.” Melanie did at one point suggest that Ben might have accepted the job in good faith in an effort to please her, but Nina wasn’t prepared to consider that possibility. When Nina had exhausted her disgust with Ben, she remembered the most important news she wanted to share with Melanie. Her face lit up. “Mel, guess what ... I’ve got it, I’ve got the promotion I wanted. I am now officially in the team to support Stellar Haufman plc, and my new boss is none other than your good friend Rattani Naziree. Isn’t that great!”

“That’s brilliant news, Neen, I’m overjoyed for you, honest I am.”

Nina looked at her for a few seconds, “You knew, didn’t you ... you bloody knew, I can tell by your face. I expected you to be surprised, but you already knew. You knew before me. Bloody hell, Mel, was it pillow talk or what...? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that, but I can’t believe he told you first.”

“Neen, it slipped out accidentally when we were sitting together on your sofa that Friday night. He asked me not to say anything and I didn’t. He was saying lovely things about you and how good you are at your job, which, if you remember, you asked him to do.”

“So it was my fault, was it?”

“Of course not, but it was part of the praise he was pouring on you. As soon as he realised what he’d said he was sorry, and of course I had to keep his confidence.”

Nina couldn’t stay cross for long and, anyway, it was too big a triumph to let anything spoil it. Telling Melanie was the most enjoyable part of it in a way. It should have been wonderful sharing the news with her husband, but she hadn’t even bothered to tell him. Mel, I really don’t want him any more. I’m thinking of asking him to move out. After all, it isn’t as if I need his money ... I’ve supported him for the last five years and the kids wouldn’t care that much, and if they did, well ...I wouldn’t stop them seeing him or anything. After all, I don’t want him climbing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in protest.”

“Neen, think carefully before you take such a big step. It would change your life, it would change both your lives. How much thought have you given to it?”

“That’s exactly what I’m hoping, Mel, I’m hoping it will change my life. At the moment my life outside of work is crap, so why shouldn’t I want to change it?”

Melanie pondered over the irony that both people with whom she’d shared a sofa recently had divulged secrets to her. What was it about her that made people tell her things they wouldn’t tell anyone else? Was it her or was it the sofa?

Knowing about Nina’s intentions would sit heavily with her, after all her husband was Ben’s best friend. If she didn’t tell Tim, he would sooner or later accuse her of betraying him and if she did he would tell Ben, and then the shit would hit the fan, big time. For once she was trapped in a dichotomy not of her own making.

“Thanks Neen, I almost wish you hadn’t told me. Tim’ll go mad if he ever finds out I knew about this and said nothing. Anyway he’ll know you talked to me before you told Ben. Oh, well sod Tim, if he gets upset about it too bad. After the shit night out he gave me yesterday, I’m buggered if I care.”

“Last night wasn’t a great success then ... not the highlight of your day?”

“Our meal at The Walnut Tree was a disaster. Tim looked like a bloody reject from Oxfam. He sat there munching overcooked steak like it was haut bloody cuisine. If I hadn’t threatened him beforehand he would have covered it in tomato bloody ketchup. The waiters all looked at us as if we’d taken a wrong turning at McDonalds. The best part was when he got the bill ... you should have seen his face; he knew it wasn’t going to be cheap but I was watching his expression as he picked it up. It was priceless. He was ready to protest, but he choked on the bloody mint. That was the only laugh I had all night.”

“You are so hard on Tim, he’s a great bloke compared to my lazy lump of lard, and don’t forget that up until you met Ratbag, my loose lipped boss, you thought so too. Nina was in full flow now and beginning to slur her words. Melanie knew from evenings past that this would happen around her second or third bottle. They debated the respective qualities and failings of their husbands, but failed to reach agreement on which was the least attractive. As they neared the bottom of the fourth bottle they found it increasingly difficult to articulate clearly, but they reached an agreement. Both Tim and Ben were bastards who needed to be taught a lesson. They, after all, were intelligent, hard working women who had the right to deserve better. Nina made it back to her house with difficulty only to spend the night on the sofa, unable to make it up the stairs.

When Ben found her upon his return from the pub he tried waking her but she refused to co-operate and instead let loose a stream of expletives that were less than complimentary. Eventually he gave up the struggle to raise her and left her to sleep it off where she lay. She was awakened by the first rays of sunlight streaming in through the lounge window. With one hand raised to shield her eyes, she gradually regained consciousness. She tried making coffee but it was impossible in her condition. She dropped the milk saucepan before giving up. Ben came down at the sound of crashing utensils, intending to check on her well being, but he met with more abuse.

“Did you enjoy yourself last night with that slut from the pub? I hope you realise Ben that you’ve gone too far this time. We’re finished, d’you hear me, I said we’re finished....it’s over. I want you out. Out of here, do you understand? You want her, that’s fine.... yes it is, it’s fine with me, but don’t think you can mess about with her and then come creeping back into this house when she’s finished with you. Get your stuff and get out!”

Ben stood staring in disbelief at his dishevelled wife. He had never seen her so angry, nor for that matter so drunk. Nina could hold her drink normally, but this time she had over indulged to a point where she obviously didn’t know what she was saying. He’d give her time to sober up and then try to reason with her. For a start, Sophie wasn’t in the Globe last night... he hadn’t seen her since they left work, which reminded him, he had to be there in an hour. There was no way that Nina would be fit for work today. He’d ring in and explain that she was unwell; after all it wasn’t really a lie. He finished making the coffee that had caused her so much trouble and put a piece of toast alongside it next to where she was sitting, holding her head in both hands at the kitchen table. He looked at her and compared her to when they’d first met, all those years ago. She was still a good looking woman, she’d gained a few pounds, but she dressed well and outside of the bedroom no one would notice her extra weight. Her dark brown curly hair was still one of her best features, along with her strong classical features. Her dark brown eyes had once sparkled with affection, but nowadays they always flashed with anger. Either way they were beautiful, just a shame it couldn’t be like the old days. OK, he admitted to himself, I’ve been a bit of a cad. I should have tried harder to hold down a decent job, but she always knew I was a bit of a lad, that’s what she loved about me.

She lifted her head from her hands and stared at Ben as if she was having difficulty recognising him. This was no time for a sensible discussion about their problems, that would have to wait until tonight. No Globe tonight, he thought, this had to be sorted before it got any worse. Even Ben could see that things had reached an all time low. He got ready for work and slipped out quietly, leaving Nina gazing into space. He hoped she’d see sense.

When he and Sophie arrived mid-morning at Tim’s yard they stopped again for a tea break. He told Tim, in front of Sophie, exactly what had gone on last night and before he’d left home this morning. It seemed necessary to beef up his side of the story, so as not to appear henpecked.

“When she’d finished telling me to get out, I gave her breakfast and told her to sober up. She accused me of having an affair with Sophie. I told her to get her brain examined. I said to her, Sophie and I are good mates for sure but we respect each other too much to take liberties, that’s right isn’t it Soph? There was no way she could drive into work. I phoned up and made excuses for her. She was so drunk she didn’t know what she was saying. I told her I’d have a few things to say to her tonight, if she’s sober by then.”

Ben had hoped that Sophie would be indignant and she was. “Why did she say all those things about me? If she’s jealous, that’s her problem. She wants to look in the bloody mirror and see whose fault it is you don’t want to spend all night with her bending your ear. Perhaps she should get her fat snobby ass down the Globe and try enjoying herself, then maybe she’d have a clue instead of being so bloody self righteous. I feel sorry for you, Ben. I don’t know how you put up with all that nonsense, after all you are the man in the house, you deserve a bit of respect.”

Tim listened in silence. He compared Nina’s outburst to Mel’s ultimatum of the night before. He might be the man in his house, but he knew he wasn’t the head of the house. He’d lost that position somewhere along the way. He wasn’t even confident that he was wanted any more. All this talk of women’s equality was rubbish, women were running the world; certainly his world and poor Ben’s too. Was it too late to stand up to them? He decided it was much too late for that. He went back to his work with a heavy heart.

Sophie refused to give up on the subject as they drove around dropping off parts, and Ben revelled in her sympathy. He gave her every encouragement, until by mid-afternoon they’d reached an understanding in which Sophie would offer sanctuary to Ben if he got chucked out.

“Seriously Ben, I mean it, if that daft cow wife of yours tells you to get out when you go home tonight give her the fright of her life. Say, OK I’m off but don’t think I’m gonna come crawling back when you want. I’ll come back when you say you’re sorry and you start treating me with a bit of respect. Then pack some stuff in an overnight bag and come round to mine. I’m not going out tonight. I’m staying in and washing my hair, saving my money for tomorrow night. I’m going out with the girls in town tomorrow night. Saturday night at the Ramp Club is brilliant, ever been there, Ben?”

“No Soph, a bit too young for me. Don’t forget I’ve got more than ten years on you.”

“You don’t look old, Ben, and remember what they say about being as old as the woman you’re feeling? Once you get in the Ramp and start dancing with some of my mates you’ll feel at least ten years younger, no sweat.”

Ben’s head was filled with conflicting thoughts as the day wore on. He was nearing forty and his wife, who was a bit older than him, was giving him a seriously hard time. He was working with an attractive young woman who seemed to be saying that there was room in her life for him to shed a few years and start living again. He imagined himself as John Travolta dazzling all her mates with his gyrations on the dance floor. He conjured up images of young women asking him to take them out. He was still in this pleasant land of fantasy when he got home just after six. He walked in with a new air of confidence.

“Hi Neen, I hope you’ve sobered up since I left this morning. You were a mess, I think you know that, but I’ll overlook it this time. What I find more difficult to excuse is the accusations you made against me and Sophie, who, for your information, is a decent girl and a damn good friend. I won’t have you or anyone else speak about her the way you did this morning, so we’d better get that understood before we go any further.” Looking into Nina’s icy stare, his confidence began to wane. She didn’t appear to be about to back down. In fact she looked like a bull about to charge. Maybe she could kill him with her bare hands. He stood rooted to the spot, not daring to encroach further into her space for fear of pushing her over the edge.

“How dare you! How dare you speak to me like that? How dare you even mention her name in my house? Your friend is she? Well get out and go to her, because you certainly aren’t spending another night under this roof. Now get out!”

This wasn’t going as well as he’d intended. She was supposed to shrink under the might of his authority; trouble was ... she didn’t recognise his authority. She was running this show and nothing had changed since he’d left this morning, except maybe for the worse. This left him with only one option. He would follow Sophie’s advice, pack a few things and call her bluff. Maybe Nina wouldn’t be quite so cocky when she saw he was actually going. Without another word he went upstairs and put his wash things together with a few pairs of pants and socks in a bag. He dragged a pair of jeans off the hanger and a couple of shirts. As an afterthought, he put in a dressy shirt which would look pretty good if he ended up at the Ramp Club tomorrow night. He was sure he wouldn’t need it because he’d be back here tomorrow enjoying a making up session with Nina, once she came to terms with the fact that he was calling the shots. He left by the kitchen door whistling in an attempt to appear confident as he walked past her. “See you when you’re sober and when you’re ready to say sorry. Call me, OK?” He pulled the door to and left, quite pleased with himself, for Sophie’s place.