Читать книгу Second To Cry - Carys Jones - Страница 11
ОглавлениеDown Will Come Baby
After putting Meegan down for a nap, Isla lingered near her bedroom window, her gaze fixated on her mailbox. Several days had passed since she’d received the last ominous note. As much as she tried to tell herself that there was nothing in it, that someone was just playing childish games with her, she couldn’t shake the feeling of unease which followed her throughout the day.
As she looked out, she saw a car approaching. There was something peculiar about the car and as Isla watched she realized that it was driving extremely slowly, almost crawling along the street.
She took a sharp intake of breath when the car came completely in to view and that it was a patrol car belonging to the County Sheriff’s Office. Isla quickly moved away from the window and hid by the wall. She listened as the car’s engine grew louder as it crept by her own house and after a few elongated minutes the sound became more distant as the vehicle pulled away.
Isla was satisfied that the car was gone and so she carefully peered back out of the window. Immediately she looked down at the mailbox but the arm was still down.
‘Mommy!’ Meegan’s shrill voice suddenly howled, splitting through the air with the sharp precision of a knife.
‘I’m coming!’ Isla shouted and left her vigil by the window to check on her daughter.
Meegan had been rattled by a spider and so refused to get back in to her crib until a thorough search of her bedroom had been conducted, which would require Aiden’s presence. So instead of sleeping in her crib she fell asleep in Isla’s arms. Struggling slightly beneath the weight of her growing daughter, Isla wandered back into her bedroom and looked back out of the window. She tensed when she realized that the arm of the mailbox was up once again.
‘Shit,’ Isla couldn’t stop herself from cussing but luckily Meegan slept through it. Carefully Isla carried the little girl downstairs and out the front door with her to the mailbox. With one hand she managed to pop open the front door and felt her stomach drop when she spotted the white envelope. She placed it between her teeth as she shut the mailbox back up and headed inside.
Placing Meegan in her travel cot in the lounge, Isla sat down heavily on the sofa and surveyed the white envelope. The front was blank, no addressee. For a moment she didn’t dare to open it but then her curiosity got the better of her and she ripped it open and unfolded the note contained inside.
The same erratic lettering. A different, yet still menacing message.
Get Out While You Can.
Isla’s grip tightened on the note. There was no misinterpreting the author’s intention. Barely daring to breathe, Isla looked over at her sleeping daughter who was so innocent, so small and so painfully vulnerable. Isla knew it was time to make Aiden aware of the notes; they’d gone beyond a joke and escalated into something far more troubling.
*
Isla seemed distracted over dinner. Meegan was upstairs, sleeping soundly, the heat of the day making her more tired than usual, so it was just the two of them sitting down to eat which was a rare occurrence. Usually Isla would take advantage of such a situation and light candles and open a bottle of wine, but there was no ceremony for the meal. Just two plates of meat loaf.
‘So how is the case coming along?’ she asked between mouthfuls, but then looked away as though she didn’t care for the answer.
‘It’s…interesting,’ Aiden admitted, more interested in what was troubling his wife.
‘Mmm,’ Isla gave a non-committal response.
‘I think it has the potential to get a lot messier than I anticipated.’
‘Uh huh.’
Isla would normally jump on such a comment, demanding to know the ‘messier’ details. Something was definitely wrong with her. Aiden put down his cutlery and looked her square in the face.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘What?’ Isla feigned surprised.
‘You’re behaving oddly, what’s the matter now?’
The inclusion of the word now seemed to irritate Isla and her eyes narrowed.
‘I’m fine.’
‘Seriously, what’s wrong?’ Aiden pushed.
‘I’m fine.’
‘Isla, I’m not an idiot. I know that when a woman says she’s fine she means the exact opposite!’
‘I’m really fine.’
‘Can we just skip to the part where you tell me what’s wrong, please?’ Aiden sighed, feeling drained from the argument he’d previously witnessed at Samuel Fern’s mansion and not wanting to enter into one of his own.
‘It’s just,’ Isla picked absently at the remains of her dinner as she tried to find the words.
‘Just what?’
Aiden was tired himself. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with whatever issue his wife currently had. In an ideal world he’d be able to just go up to bed and sleep. But Isla would only be unbearable the following day if he did that. Aiden ran a hand through his hair and wondered if he was heading in the same direction as Samuel Fern, if one day all that would remain in his marriage would be bitterness.
‘I don’t think I can stay here any longer,’ Isla told him, her voice rising slightly from nerves. ‘I know you like it here, and I know you think it’s best for Meegan for us to remain here, but I get a vote too and I’ve given the rural life a try and it’s not for me.’
Isla thought of the note, now torn up with the trash. As much as she wanted to ignore the notes, she couldn’t help but agree with their sentiment; that it was time to leave.
She seemed to relax a little after delivering her statement. Aiden was quiet as he took in what she’d said. He’d felt this moment was coming, ever since they had first arrived in Avalon, but he was too tired to deal with it.
‘You just need to give it time. Once you make friends you’ll feel more settled here.’
‘I’ve given it time!’ Isla shot back angrily. ‘I’ve given it months of my time, of Meegan’s time, but nothing changes. This isn’t where I want to be, Aiden! We don’t have an infinite supply of time; I’m wasting my life being here! Everyone here hates us and wants us gone! I’m completely alone here!’
‘You’re completely alone? So what, you’re saying you don’t have me?’ Aiden asked, his voice cold and tinged with spite. It wasn’t like him to be so hostile, but his increasing fatigue had stolen from him what little reserves of kindness he had left.
‘That’s not what I’m saying,’ Isla stammered out the words, visibly shocked by Aiden’s reaction.
‘Of course I’ve got you. I just don’t want to be here. Don’t you care about my happiness?’ she asked, sounding hurt.
Guilt settled upon Aiden’s shoulders; a heavy, unwanted weight that he wasn’t in any state to carry. Had he been so blind to his wife’s happiness? He always thought that each protest she made, each whinge of despair, was just part of her nature to be overly dramatic and she had a spoilt streak a mile long. He’d hoped that living in Avalon would help curb that, make her more humble. What if he’d been wrong and all he was doing was making her suffer and that she’d never change?
‘I care about your happiness,’ he told her earnestly, reaching across the table so he could hold her hands.
‘Good,’ Isla sniffed tearfully. ‘I want us to be happy.’
‘Me too!’
Without warning the image of Brandy appeared in Aiden’s mind. Reminding him of his heart’s desire which he chose to ignore. He pushed her face away, determined to focus on the moment, on his family.
‘Are you really hating it here so much?’ he asked gently.
As much as Aiden liked Avalon, there was perhaps a time when, if Isla had protested enough, they would have relocated back to Chicago. But not now, the city was no longer an option for them. Because Brandy was now there, which would make life difficult. Which would cause Aiden conflict. He thought of her enough when she was miles away. If she was in the same city, if he risked bumping in to her on his morning commute, he wasn’t sure how he’d cope.
‘It’s just getting unbearable,’ Isla admitted, glad that her husband was finally taking her anguish seriously. ‘Something happened today that made it worse.’
‘What happened?’ Aiden asked, alarmed, instantly fearing that Buck Fern had been around stirring up trouble.
Isla internally groaned and wished she’d not been so hasty in tearing up the note. Without evidence Aiden would be less likely to believe her. She’d have to fob him off with something else for the time being. Besides, she was certain that there would be more notes, no matter how zealously she tried to ignore them.
‘I’d gone to the grocery store,’ Isla began. ‘Meegan was playing up with the heat so I thought it would be nice to get myself a treat, you know, something to cheer me up. So I went to have a look through the magazine section.’
‘And?’
‘And I had a look for a copy of Vogue. You know how it’s always been my favourite.’
‘Right,’ Aiden was unsure where the story was headed.
‘Well, it wasn’t there. No surprise, right? As if anyone in this hick town cares about fashion. All their clothes are from the flea market!’
‘So you’re upset because you couldn’t find a copy of Vogue?’ Aiden asked incredulously.
‘No, not just that. I went to the guy at the register and asked if they ever have a copy in.’
‘Okay…’
‘And he was like, “no, let me ask Ralph”, this other loser working there. So he asks Ralph or whatever his name was and they both started laughing at me. These two spotty high school drop-outs were laughing at me! I’ve never been so outraged in my whole life! I mean, what sort of a shit stain of a place is this that they don’t have Vogue!’
Isla exhaled, her cheeks reddened with fury as she relived the encounter.
Aiden watched her closely, waiting to see if she was joking only to sadly realize that she was being completely serious.
‘You know you can just order Vogue online, right?’
‘That’s not the point.’
‘Then what is the point?’
‘This place! It isn’t me. I care about fashion, about designers, about the latest trends. The people here live in a goddamn bubble and I’m sick of it!’
‘But you can still care about fashion and all that. Just order Vogue online.’
‘You’re not getting it!’ Isla screamed at him in frustration.
‘What exactly aren’t I getting?’ Aiden shouted back. ‘That you are so vacuous that you want to leave somewhere just because they don’t stock an overpriced fashion magazine?’
‘It’s all of it!’ Isla wailed.
‘You are so selfish!’ Aiden seethed. ‘I genuinely thought that your concerns were legitimate. That maybe you were just really struggling here but, actually, you’re getting upset about something so minor, something so insignificant!’
‘It’s significant to me,’ Isla told him coldly. ‘But then you don’t seem to care about what matters to me. You’re too busy either working or taking Meegan out. You don’t take me anywhere.’
‘So now you’re jealous of our daughter?’ he asked in disbelief. ‘You’re crazy, you know that? I’d take you out but you refuse to go anyway around here.’
‘I’m miserable and I want to leave here!’ Isla cried.
Aiden stood up to leave, tired of arguing over something as trivial as a magazine, though he did make a mental note to set up a standing order of Vogue online for Isla, for his own sanity as much as hers.
‘Why can’t we go back to Chicago?’ Isla demanded. Aiden was almost through the door when she added bitterly, ‘it’s because she’s there, isn’t it? God, Aid, you’re just so infatuated with her it’s pathetic!’
He immediately knew she was referring to Brandy. Was he really that transparent with his feelings?
Aiden turned to look at her, his eyes watering. He needed to say something, to reassure her that Brandy wasn’t an issue between them. As he stood, dwelling on what to say, the plaintive sounds of crying came filtering down the stairs. Their shouting had awoken Meegan. Aiden glanced upwards and then back at Isla who was now weeping gently at the table. It made him feel sick to think that he’d upset her like that.
‘I’ll go and see Meegan,’ he told her, his voice soft, the hostility of the argument melting away. Isla didn’t answer.
It took Aiden a while to calm Meegan down.
‘Daddy, why you yell?’ she asked him repeatedly through her floods of tears. He rocked her gently in his arms, reassuring her that everything was okay.
‘Mommy and Daddy are just tired,’ he told her, ‘people shout sometimes when they are tired. You know how grumpy you get when you don’t nap?’
This seemed to make sense to Meegan and she rested her head on Aiden’s chest, feeling sleepy once more.
‘We go to the game?’ she asked before putting a comforting thumb in her mouth.
‘Yes, sweetheart, we’ll go the game tomorrow.’ Since Aiden had become aware of the football scene in Avalon following his involvement with the Brandon White case, he’d tried to attend as many games as possible, soaking up the community spirit and enjoying the jovial atmosphere.
Meegan especially loved it, always insisting on being purchased a foam hand – she now possessed quite the collection, along with popcorn. It was a fun night out for them all. Although Isla only sometimes joined them, she found the games too rowdy.
After putting Meegan back to bed, Aiden walked into his own bedroom to find it in darkness. Isla was already lying beneath the sheet, her back to him.
‘She’s okay now,’ he updated his wife on their daughter but she didn’t answer. ‘Look, I’m sorry,’ Aiden sighed, always trying to heed his mother’s advice and not go to bed on an argument.
‘For what?’ Isla challenged, turning to face him. Even in the dim light he could see that she had been crying, her cheeks were red and puffy.
‘For making you doubt things.’
‘Is she an issue?’
‘No, of course not.’ Aiden leant forward and kissed Isla on the lips. ‘I know you hate it here,’ he whispered to her, ‘but I truly believe that this is the best place of us. Please just give it a bit more time and if you’re still desperately unhappy we can discuss moving again.’
‘Okay.’
‘Why don’t you come with me and Meegan to the game tomorrow? You know how much she loves them.’
‘The thought of her growing up wanting to be a footballer scares me,’ Isla admitted.
‘She can still do beauty pageants to keep you happy,’ Aiden teased. ‘And pageants are big business here. Think how much fun you’ll have when you can put Meegan in for those!’
Isla managed a smile at this.
‘So will you come to the game?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Earlier you were moaning that I don’t take you out enough.’
‘A high school football game wasn’t what I had in mind!’ Isla objected but her voice was warm.
‘It’s better than nothing,’ Aiden laughed.
‘I suppose.’
‘And I will order you Vogue,’ Aiden told her as she nestled into the nook between his arm and chest. ‘I’d hate to deprive you of all the many fascinating things occurring in the world of fashion.’
‘Don’t tease,’ Isla told him. ‘One day you’ll have two women in this house demanding the finest couture.’
‘I didn’t know they made designer football helmets,’ Aiden teased.
*
Avalon was always at its most lively whenever there was a local high school football game. It didn’t matter how significant the game was, everyone would always turn up, wearing the team colours to show their support.
As Aiden parked up near the football field, the revelry was already in full swing as people all around were singing merrily. The air was electric with excitement and it was easy to see the appeal of attending the games.
‘Football! Football!’ Meegan chanted from her car seat, sensing where they were.
‘Yes, sweetheart, we are at the football game.’ Isla turned around and smiled her. ‘I swear she gets more and more excited each time we come here.’
‘Finger!’ Meegan’s chant quickly changed when she spotted someone with a foam finger walk by the car.
‘Finger!’ she demanded again.
‘What do you say?’ Aiden turned to address his daughter.
‘Finger!’
‘No.’
Meegan scrunched her little face up in frustration as she tried to remember what she was supposed to say.
‘What’s the magic word?’ Aiden prompted again.
‘Please!’ Meegan exclaimed gleefully, proud that she had remembered.
‘Okay, good girl, we’ll go get you a foam finger.’
Aiden carried Meegan into the stadium as Isla went to purchase yet another foam finger. They had tried making Meegan take one of her existing foam fingers, but it seemed that part of the draw of them was the fact that they were newly purchased at the game. It seemed that each finger represented a different game and that was what Meegan liked.
It was already busy in the bleachers and Aiden had to sit quite far up to secure a seat. He spotted a few familiar faces around which he found comforting. Not so long ago everyone in Avalon had been a stranger and, whilst he was far from popular, he no longer felt quite so alienated.
A hand waved in his direction from close to the field and Aiden looked down to see Edmond and his brood settling down to watch the game, each of them dressed up and already well equipped with snacks.
Aiden waved back, as did Meegan.
Isla soon joined them with the foam finger and some popcorn, leaving Meegan unsure which she wanted first. She looked at her mother with frightened confusion when she offered her both the finger and the popcorn at once.
‘Too much choice?’ Isla laughed. ‘Why don’t you eat your popcorn first and then you can play with the finger?’
‘Finger!’ Meegan decided.
‘Fine,’ Isla handed it over. ‘She can be a stubborn little madam,’ she leant over and whispered to Aiden.
‘I wonder where she gets that from?’ he smiled.
The cheerleaders came out and commenced their routine, which meant that the game would soon start.
‘Meegan, what do you think of the cheerleaders?’ Isla asked her daughter. ‘Don’t they look pretty in their outfits? Isn’t their dancing fancy?’
Meegan was uninterested in the cheerleaders, preferring to focus on consuming as much of the popcorn as she could before the start of the game.
‘Nice try,’ Aiden joked. ‘I know you’d rather she wanted to be a cheerleader than a football player.’
‘Wouldn’t you?’
‘No,’ Aiden replied immediately. ‘I know what guys do to cheerleaders. At least as a football player she’d be safe from all that!’
‘You’re a creep, you know that?’ Isla told him but she was smiling as she said it.
The announcer told the excited crowd that the game would begin imminently and a Mexican wave began to move back and forth amongst the stands.
Meegan waved her foam finger proudly, knocking what remained of the popcorn on to the floor.
‘Be careful!’ Isla cried.
‘She’s just having fun.’ Aiden wanted Isla to relax, to enter in to the spirit of the game as he and Meegan did.
The game started and though not particularly dramatic, it was still enjoyable to watch. Isla, however, was far less enthused than her husband and daughter. Each time a player was knocked down or tackled harshly she would flinch. For her, the cheerleading routine was always the best part of the game.
Half time came around and without the game to distract her, Meegan suddenly realized she had no popcorn left.
‘Corn!’ she pleaded but Isla shook her head firmly.
‘No more, you should have been more careful with the popcorn I got you.’ This stern approach made Meegan begin wailing uncontrollably.
‘Come on, Meegs, the players don’t want to look up and see you crying, they want to see you supporting them,’ Aiden tried to console her but it did no good. Her cries intensified and she’d only stop to briefly snivel, ‘Corn.’
‘I’m not getting her any more,’ Isla said flatly, folding her arms across her chest.
‘I don’t think she will shut up if we don’t,’ Aiden had to shout to be heard over his daughter’s tantrum.
‘You spoil her, you know that?’
‘I just want a quiet life.’ Aiden sighed.
‘Fine! Let’s go get her some damn popcorn!’
The family climbed down from their seat and headed towards the snack area. The air smelt of hot dogs and candy floss. It reminded Aiden of being at the fair.
‘Corn!’ Meegan choked out the word, her voice now hoarse from all the crying.
‘Only if you start being a good girl,’ Aiden told her sternly. Close enough to smell the popcorn, Meegan promptly stopped crying and did her best to be well behaved for fear of losing out on her beloved treat.
‘She’s going to be so fat when she’s older,’ Isla moaned.
‘Not if she’s playing football,’ Aiden laughed. ‘In fact, she’d need to carb-load then.’
‘You’re not funny.’
It was pretty crowded down by the snack vendors as most people had left their seats to replenish their food stores during half time. As Aiden balanced Meegan on his hip, he accidently knocked into someone behind him. He turned to apologize and was surprised to see Deena Fern.
She looked equally surprised to see him. Or did she seem more horrified? Aiden couldn’t tell.
‘Mrs Fern!’ Aiden greeted her, trying to sound friendly and casual. ‘Sorry if I knocked into you.’
Deena smiled thinly at him. She was wearing skin-tight jeans and a red cashmere sweater which was set off by her red lipstick. Her blonde hair was held up in a tight bun, showing off her high, defined cheekbones.
Jude and Davis were each holding one of her hands and wearing the football team’s jersey. Meegan looked down at them and saw the jerseys and her eyes widened covetously.
‘It’s just very busy here,’ Aiden explained, feeling unnerved by Deena’s steely silence.
‘Don’t worry about it,’ she said, her tone abrupt. Aiden was about to make his excuses and back away when Isla joined him with a fresh batch of popcorn and immediately shot Deena a quizzical glance.
‘Honey, this is Deena Fern.’ Aiden knew it was best to make introductions else face an interrogation from his wife when they returned to their seats.
‘Deena, this is my wife, Isla.’
‘Nice to meet you,’ Isla said politely. Deena gave a thin, unconvincing smile in response.
‘Popcorn!’ Davis cried out suddenly when he noticed Meegan delving into her new pot. She briefly paused to glance down at him and stick her tongue out. He returned the gesture.
‘Yes, we’ll get your popcorn now,’ Deena told her son.
‘Mom, can I get a hotdog?’ Jude asked, glancing warily at Aiden.
‘Yes, we’ll get them now.’ Grasping her sons’ hands, she began to pull them towards the hot dog stand and away from Aiden. Though she turned briefly, as though forgetting something.
‘Enjoy your evening, Mr Connelly,’ she told Aiden, her harsh exterior remaining, her voice cold as though she’d only said it to be polite.
‘Yes, you too, Mrs Fern.’
The glamorous figure of Deena Fern was absorbed by the crowd and quickly gone from sight.
Isla waited until they were seated once more to ask her barrage of questions.
‘Who was that?’ she asked before she’d barely been seated for a second.
‘Deena Fern.’
‘And she is?’
‘A wife of a client.’ Aiden explained.
‘Oh,’ Isla nodded. Then, after a moment, ‘Oh, the paternity case?’ Aiden nodded, not wanting to discuss the case in such a crowded area where anyone could be listening in.
‘Keep your voice down,’ he warned his wife.
‘She’s very glamorous.’ Isla noted.
‘I guess.’ Aiden answered casually.
‘She’s very beautiful. Do you think she’s beautiful?’
‘I think she looks too artificial,’ Aiden told her honestly.
‘She’s definitely had a lot of work done,’ Isla agreed. ‘I thought she was pretty rude to you.’
‘Wouldn’t you be, given the circumstances?’
‘I suppose so.’
The announcer told the fans that the game was about to resume and Meegan, unable to control her excitement, stood up on her father’s lap and accidently scattered her new batch of popcorn on to the floor.
She stared down at the now lost kernels with a look of heart-breaking disappointment. Aiden braced himself for another tantrum but, luckily, the players came running on to the field which distracted her.
‘Football!’ she cooed excitedly.
‘I really need to take her to a ballet class,’ Isla sighed.
The game concluded with a win for the home team and the fans dispersed, returning to their homes to continue with their celebrations.
Win or lose, Meegan always left the game exhausted. She was fast asleep on Aiden’s shoulder as they walked out to the car.
‘If only they had games every day, she’d sleep like a rock each night,’ Isla commented, linking arms with Aiden.
As he settled a sleeping Meegan into her car seat, Aiden spotted an impressive black SUV close by and saw the familiar figure of Deena Fern loading her sons into the car. Jude obediently got in but Davis, now tired, resisted. He kicked and screamed at his mother, ignoring her demands for him to stop.
Isla also looked over, the fracas catching her attention.
Deena Fern maintained her dignity and, after trying to reason with Davis, simply picked him up and placed him in his car seat. He fought against her the whole time, lashing out with his little arms, even biting her at one point.
Even when the car door was slammed shut, you could still hear Davis’ high-pitched screams of rage. It was a painful scene to watch unfold.
‘Poor woman,’ Isla said as Aiden climbed into the driver’s seat beside her. ‘I can’t imagine how tough it would be to be a single mother, especially to two young ones.’
Aiden had to admit that he also pitied Deena Fern. Whilst she had wealth and beauty, it was sad to see her so alone. Yet she’d risk the outbursts and the struggles with her sons rather than deny them the opportunity to see the game.
It didn’t seem fair that Samuel Fern had turned on her quite as maliciously as he had, especially when he had nothing to go on other than the fact that his two sons didn’t look similar.
‘I’m grateful I have you,’ Isla yawned.
‘You are?’
‘Course I am!’
‘Well you don’t seem it sometimes. When you’re moaning about what a hell-hole this place is,’ Aiden said as he drove out of the parking lot. ‘Is it really that bad?’ he asked her. ‘Have we not just had an amazing night out together as a family?’
‘Okay, okay,’ Isla raised her hands in defeat. ‘Tonight has been nice. Avalon can be, at times, not all the time, but sometimes, okay.’
‘Okay?’
‘Yes, it can be okay. That’s all I can stretch to right now.’
‘Can I have that in writing? Isla Connelly thinks Avalon is okay. Then the next time you have a fashion-related breakdown I can show it to you!’ Aiden joked.
‘Do you ever stop thinking like a lawyer?’ Isla said, playfully punching him in the arm. ‘Thank you for convincing me to come tonight,’ she told her husband sincerely.
‘I’m glad you had fun,’ Aiden smiled.
*
‘Good game last night, wasn’t it?’ Edmond asked from across the room at his desk.
‘Yeah, it was a decent win,’ Aiden agreed.
Edmond approved of his young colleague’s developing enthusiasm for the local team and did his best to nurture his interest.
‘They’ve had a good season so far.’
‘Yeah, definitely.’ Aiden nodded.
‘I’ve always enjoyed high school football,’ Edmond continued. ‘Not that I’ve ever played myself.’ He chuckled to himself at this.
‘Sometimes being a spectator is just as much fun.’
‘Yes, yes.’
‘Although my wife is worried that our daughter is getting a little bit too much into football. I think she fears that she is going to grow up wanting to play on the field rather than cheer at the side of it.’ Aiden admitted to Edmond.
‘It’s not ladylike to play ball,’ the older man told him gravely. ‘Just keep her enjoyment of the sport on the side lines.’
Aiden was a bit bemused by Edmond’s response. But then it was very forward thinking to let women play football and Avalon wasn’t exactly modern in its mind set. A horrible thought suddenly occurred to Aiden which pinched at his brain like a mean-spirited bug – what if Avalon would actually stifle Meegan rather than enhance her life as he’d hoped? What if she grew up with dreams of playing football but due to social pressures only ever cheered the team on when really she dreamt of joining them? Had he set his daughter up for a lifetime of disappointment?
He told himself he was being overly dramatic. Meegan was still very young, there was no telling what she wanted to do with her life and by the time she did know, Avalon may well have caught up with the modern world or they may not even be in Avalon. Life, Aiden knew too well, was anything but predictable.
‘It’s good that she enjoys the game though,’ Edmond added, worried by Aiden’s prolonged silence. ‘A bit of team spirit never hurt anyone.’
‘Exactly.’ Aiden smiled, though he was still lost in his own concerns.
‘What are your plans for today?’ Edmond asked, deciding it best to change the subject of their conversation.
‘Today? I’m catching up on some paperwork so will just be in the office.’
‘Good, good.’ Edmond nodded. ‘Paperwork is a pain but important. Glad you’re staying on top of it all.’
‘What about you?’
‘I’m due in court this afternoon,’ Edmond sighed. ‘Another DUI for one of the Lambeth boys.’
‘You don’t think it will go well for him?’
‘Not this time, no.’ Edmond shook his head sadly. ‘He was extremely careless after a night out and his passenger broke both hips. They will make an example of him, I reckon. I just won’t savour being there when his family self-implodes, as they always do.’
‘Sounds like a tough afternoon,’ Aiden sympathized.
‘But on the bright side, tomorrow is Friday,’ Edmond grinned. ‘And after Friday comes the weekend and I severely need to work on my handicap.’
Aiden almost missed the golf reference, but caught it just as he was about to question what Edmond meant.
‘You should really think about joining me,’ Edmond added. He was always trying to get Aiden to join him on the golf course.
‘I’m not much of a golfer.’
‘But it’s a great networking opportunity.’
‘I will come at some point,’ Aiden conceded and, satisfied with his answer, Edmond checked his watch and began to gather together his belongings.
‘I’d best be off,’ he told his colleague. ‘Whilst the Lambeths don’t adhere to driving laws, they are sticklers for timekeeping!’
‘Good luck.’
‘I’ll need it!’ Edmond waved as he hurried out the door.
Alone in the office, Aiden endeavoured to plough through his mounting pile of paperwork. With Edmond gone, he should be able to power through it relatively quickly.
Barely a half hour had passed when Betty’s voice came crackling into the office through the intercom.
‘Mr Connelly?’
Aiden groaned to himself. He didn’t need a coffee; he just needed some peace to get his work done. Betty was always well intentioned though, so he tried to quell his annoyance at being disturbed.
‘Yes, Betty?’
‘I’m sorry to disturb you, but there is a lady here to see you.’
A lady? Aiden assumed it was Isla, but wouldn’t Betty just say it was his wife? Betty could be odd at the best of times.
‘Send her in.’
Moments later and the door to the office opened. Aiden looked up, expecting to see his wife either dropping something off or wanting some money, and was shocked to see the statuesque figure of Deena Fern standing in the doorway.
She wore a long turquoise maxi dress which just skimmed the floor, with her hair partly tied back so there were still some blonde ringlets cascading down her back. Her aviators were perched on her head and her blue eyes regarded Aiden nervously as she hovered by the door.
