Читать книгу The Morning After the Wedding Before - Laura Ziepe - Страница 11

Kim woke up and immediately sat up in a panic. Why weren’t the children awake yet? It took her a few seconds to realize everything was okay. She wasn’t at home. There were no children here. She was in Vegas, with Holly lying in the bed beside her.

She took a deep breath, stretching out in bed as she noticed the time on the clock by the television. She’d slept for over thirteen hours, only waking once in the night to notice that Holly wasn’t yet back. Thirteen hours of pure, uninterrupted peace; she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been able to do that. One of her children always woke her. If not in the middle of the night, then at the crack of dawn. They were such early risers and Kim found it difficult to think of the last time she’d slept past seven o’clock. Seven was late for her nowadays. If one of the kids woke and she saw seven anything on her clock she felt like it was an achievement, that she was winning at life and she would give herself a pat on the back in triumph.

Kim glanced over at Holly’s bed, pleased to see her friend was now sleeping soundly. She hadn’t heard Holly come in, but she knew it must have been very late because when Kim had woken at three, Holly still wasn’t back. She honestly didn’t know how Holly did it. Kim had been really looking forward to their summer trip away, but she had to admit she planned on relaxing as much as possible. She needed to relax a lot more than she needed to party. She completely understood that Holly was single and probably more interested in going out drinking than nice dinners and shows; luckily there were other people Holly could go out with if Kim felt like having a chilled one.

Kim reached across the side of the bed for her Kindle. She would have a nice few hours in bed reading before Holly woke up; this was what holidays were all about.

‘Morning,’ Holly stretched out, yawning loudly an hour and fifteen minutes later.

‘Hey,’ Kim smiled. ‘How was your evening?’

‘I met up with Emma and the others,’ Holly told her. ‘We went to a bar and then onto a club; it was such a good night, Kim. You should have come.’

‘And miss out on the best night sleep I’ve had in years?’ Kim gave a little laugh. ‘No chance. Were there a big group of you?’

‘In the bar there was, but only a small group of us went on to the club. There’s a few people here we know. Danni and Fran from college are out here and do you remember me trying to set you up with someone called Max from the year above us when you were with that guy called Lee who cheated on you?’

‘Vaguely,’ Kim said frowning as she racked her brains. She didn’t have the best memory. She was forever forgetting people’s names and events that happened years ago. She wasn’t even great at remembering to pack important things when she went out, like baby wipes and Willow’s dummy. It was well known that Kim was a bit of a nightmare. Luckily she always had someone else around her that had the particular thing she needed on them. Someone super-organized and on the ball like Holly.

‘Well they’re here too. They’re really nice guys. It was amazing,’ Holly said, shutting her eyes briefly. ‘Honestly Kim. The clubs here are so good. It’s so much fun; you’re going to love it. I had so much to drink; I’m so glad I feel okay today. God knows what time I came back.’

‘Did you have to come back alone?’ Kim asked, feeling guilty she’d left her friend to fend for herself in a foreign place.

Holly bit her lip, trying not to smile. ‘Actually I didn’t. Max and Callum brought me back. They just wanted to check I got home safely, which was nice of them.’

‘What’s that smile for?’ Kim asked her quickly, knowing her friend well enough to know she was hiding something. ‘Which one of them do you like?’ She asked wisely with a smile.

Holly laughed gaily. ‘Is it that obvious?’ There was a pause. ‘I had a little kiss with Max, that’s all.’

‘Oh my goodness. I can’t believe I’ve missed only one night and you’ve already been kissing people!’ Kim clicked her tongue in mock-outrage. It was most unlike Holly to meet people she liked enough to kiss. She’d never really been the kind to kiss in a club, even when they were younger. That was usually Kim’s job. She was the one who kissed people and then woke up the next morning with absolutely no memory of doing it. Holly would have been mortified if it had been her, but Kim couldn’t have cared less. It was only a kiss. It seemed so bizarre that Holly was still single, stealing kisses in nightclubs with someone who was practically a stranger. The thought of doing anything like that seemed like a lifetime ago to Kim. She was married with two children. She only ever kissed Andy, and she was glad about that. It had been fun when she was younger, dating various men and not knowing what was going to happen, but Kim realized she was actually far happier now she was grown up, in a loving relationship with a family of her own. She’d had her fun and hung up her boots. Since becoming a mother she had transformed into the person she’d always swore she didn’t want to be. She used to think being a housewife and taking care of children would be so boring and dull, so nothing stunned her more than when she got pregnant by accident, enjoying every second of being a mother when Mylo was born.

It had been extremely worrying at the start; Mylo had been born prematurely at thirty-three weeks weighing only three pound ten. She remembered staring at this delicate little baby in the incubator, terrified of taking him home in case she did something wrong. Seeing him so vulnerable and fragile made Kim promise herself she would be the best mother she possibly could. She didn’t expect to love taking care of little people and protecting them, catering for their every need, but she discovered it wasn’t boring at all. In fact, she loved it. She needed it. She loved feeling essential, with two tiny little people constantly climbing all over her, lying on her lap and resting their heads on her chest.

She couldn’t believe how quickly Mylo and Willow had already grown; time seemed to be flying past and Kim wanted to relish every moment with her babies. The thought of going out like she used to just didn’t appeal to her any more. She didn’t mind the odd dinner here and there, it was always nice to catch up with people, but generally speaking, she didn’t want to go out and get drunk, feeling ill all the next day. She had a family to look after and it just wasn’t worth it. She had grown up. She was happy with her life now. When they’d first got the invitation to go Vegas, Kim had immediately thought there was no way she was travelling over ten hours away without her family. She knew how happy Holly would be if she went; Holly’s excitement had been obvious the minute she’d seen the invite, but she’d wanted Kim to go too, and Kim just wasn’t sure if she could just up and leave being a mother to two young children. They came first.

Kim thought back to how Andy had come home that evening, Mylo and Willow fast asleep upstairs, Kim just dishing up dinner.

‘Good day at work?’ she’d asked, like she did every day.

Andy was a PE teacher at their local secondary school. Rugby was his thing, and he also did rugby coaching on Sundays. He lived and breathed it, though Kim still didn’t have the foggiest ideas what the rules were.

‘Yeah, it was good thanks. Lily and I were just trying to organize sports day for most of the day. She’s got some great ideas, I’ll give her that.’

Kim’s brow creased. ‘Lily? Remind me who that is?’ she asked. She thought she’d heard something about a Lily the week before, but Mylo had come downstairs saying he wanted a drink and Kim had been distracted.

‘She’s just a new PE teacher at the school,’ Andy had told her vaguely, pouring them both a glass of orange juice.

‘Oh right. What’s she like? Young? Old?’

‘She’s twenty-eight, slim, long dark hair,’ Andy said nonchalantly as he reached for two coasters before placing the drinks on the table.

‘What about your day? Did you see Holly like you planned?’ Andy asked as she sat in front of him, handing over his plate.

‘Yes,’ Kim had replied. ‘We just took the kids to the park, that’s all.’

‘The one near the newsagents? I think Lily lives near there. She was telling me earlier today that they do a great summer fair in that park; perhaps we should check it out? Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask if you fancied a night out soon? Tony and Leah have asked if we wanted to go to their house for dinner. My mum said she’d babysit.’

Tony was Andy’s oldest friend from school. He’d been best man at their wedding and Andy had been his when he’d married Leah. Though Kim knew they hadn’t met up in quite some time, the prospect of spending an evening with them didn’t exactly sound enthralling. Tony and Leah didn’t have any children and Kim knew they would constantly be topping up their wine glasses, convincing them to stay for ‘just one more’. They would most likely end up getting home in the early hours, and with Mylo and Willow being such early risers, Kim couldn’t think of anything worse. She knew Andy would be keen to stay late and it would be Kim appearing like the boring one, battling to get him to leave.

‘I’d rather not if I’m honest,’ Kim told him.

‘Why?’ Andy turned to her, his brow knitted.

Kim sighed reluctantly. ‘It will end up a late one, Andy. I don’t want to feel rough the next day when we have such young kids. Maybe another time, eh?’

He sighed heavily and nodded, looking disappointed, knowing there was no point in pushing things further. When Kim made her mind up, she rarely changed it.

Kim was keen to change the subject. ‘We’ve been invited to Emma Langford’s wedding in Vegas. Shame it’s so far away or we could have gone, but there’s no way we could ask either of our mums to have the kids for so long, is there? I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving them either. I know Holly is really eager to go though.’

‘Why don’t you just go, Kim?’ Andy suggested, running his hand through his beard, which needed a trim. ‘Go and have fun with Holly. Just because we have kids doesn’t mean we have to miss out on everything, does it? One of our mums can have the kids for a few days when I’m working and then I’ll take care of them over the weekend. Come on, treat yourself. Once upon a time you would have jumped at the chance of going to Vegas.’

Kim shook her head, not feeling entirely comfortable with the idea. Kim was their mother. As much as Andy was a great father, he didn’t do things like Kim did. He didn’t know that Kim had to pretend to sprinkle sugar on Mylo’s cornflakes to keep him happy in the morning or the way Willow had to be rocked to sleep if she woke up in the night. ‘Yes, but things are different now, aren’t they? I have responsibilities. No, honestly. Thanks Andy, but I don’t think I should be leaving them.’

Andy shrugged with an unreadable expression before sitting at the dinner table and gazing out into the garden. ‘I’m going to mow the lawn after dinner,’ he said.

Half an hour later Kim was watching him roam up and down the lawn with a determined look on his face. Andy saw their garden as a serious business. He was often asking her opinions on the flowerbeds or if she liked the lines he’d made in the grass.

She’d always thought of Andy as her rugged bear: he was tall at six foot two, and being a rugby player, he was solid and brawny, but with kind, gentle features.

Andy’s phone vibrated, which he’d left on the table and Kim picked it up, about to pass it to him before she noticed it was a message from Lily.

Hey hot stuff. What you up to?

Kim swallowed hard as she read the message again, an unsettled feeling washing over her immediately. Hot stuff? What on earth was all that about? It wasn’t exactly the appropriate thing to write to a married man, was it? But perhaps it was just in a friendly way, Kim told herself. Harmless banter between two work colleagues. Kim didn’t want to be suspicious and she knew she should just put the phone down, but her eyes flicked up at Andy who was in a world of his own in the garden, and she clicked on the message so she could see the rest of the thread.

The blood rushed to Kim’s ears and she felt she had something lodged in her throat as she looked through their other messages, which had been going on over the past few weeks.

Lily: Where are you eating lunch today? Want some company?

Andy: Sure! I’ll come find you now.

Lily: Can’t stop thinking about what you said earlier. I keep laughing!

Andy: Yep. Funny as well as good looking. Told you I was perfect!

Lily: Maybe you’re right :)

Lily: Fancy a drink after work Friday night? I want to prove that I can drink you under the table ;)

Andy: Maybe. I’ll see if I can make it.

Lily: Been thinking of you today. Missing me?

Andy: Like a hole in the head!

Lily: Ha. I know that’s a lie. Of course you are 

Andy: Maybe a little bit. Could do with an extra set of hands here. How’s the sickness bug?x

Lily: Getting better, but still a bit fragile so you’ll need to look after me when I’m back. Wait on me hand and foot, that kind of thing ha. Hopefully I’ll be back with you tomorrow xxx

Andy: Fingers crossed! Hope you feel better asap. It’s not the same without you x

Kim felt as though her heart was thumping at a million miles per hour. Was she overreacting to this? Kim couldn’t help but notice that their messages were very flirtatious. Why was Andy entertaining this? She racked her brains looking at the date Lily had texted him about going out on the Friday night. They’d had her parents over that Friday evening she was talking about because it had been the day before Kim’s dad’s birthday. Andy had been home with her. She breathed a sigh of relief. Had he asked what their plans were that week to check if he was free? Kim couldn’t recall it now. She was always bathing the kids when he arrived home or attempting to get Mylo to stop coming downstairs and reading him his fifth bedtime story of the night to make him go to sleep. There were always so many other things to think about that she rarely took much notice of Andy any more. Her hands were trembling as she nibbled the nail of her index finger. The thought of not taking much notice of her husband any more troubled her.

She looked up to see Andy strolling in looking pleased with himself. ‘Grass looks nice, doesn’t it?’ He turned back round to view his masterpiece.

‘Yes, well done,’ Kim said, after waiting a moment to compose herself. She should say something. Kim knew she ought to bring it up, right there and then. She had to tell Andy she wasn’t too happy with these messages and they had to stop. But she hadn’t said a thing. It was as though the words were just stuck in her throat. Andy was right, she had changed. Kim used to be a bit of a wild child, always up for going out and getting into mischief. It was one of the things Andy had always told her he loved about her. As soon as she’d had Mylo, that had all changed. But didn’t that happen to the majority of mothers? Was Andy getting bored of her? Was she pushing him into the arms of Lily, the twenty-eight-year-old, child-free colleague who thought her husband was ‘hot stuff’? Kim took a deep breath. She needed time to process all of this.

‘Andy, I’ve been thinking,’ she managed. ‘Maybe I’ll take you up on that offer to Vegas after all.’

The memories of that evening disappeared as Kim heard Holly’s soft giggle. ‘I wouldn’t have called it a proper kiss,’ she pointed out, ‘more like a little peck. I shouldn’t have even told you. Now come on, shall we get ready and go get some breakfast? I’m starving,’ she said as she jumped out of bed.

‘Are we just going to a pool today? I can’t wait to sunbathe without a single interruption.’ Hopefully it would also give her time to think about her marriage too. She had wanted this time to come away and escape, forgetting about her troubles back home, but Kim couldn’t help but feel she’d only brought them with her. Even last night she’d struggled to get asleep due to the worry, despite being exhausted.

‘Yes. I said we’d meet the others there at oneish. It’s somewhere called Encore; I can’t remember the hotel though,’ she said, before disappearing to have a shower.

After a delicious breakfast of pancakes drenched in maple syrup, the girls were making their way to the swimming pool.

‘We must be the first to arrive,’ Holly noted, looking round for the others. It was a huge place but was fairly quiet so far, with just the odd few sunbathers. Holly imagined it would get busier later on. She glanced at her watch. ‘It’s only twelve though, so I’m sure they’ll be here soon enough.’

‘Is lover boy coming?’ Kim teased.

Holly rolled her eyes. ‘Hey enough of that,’ she laughed. ‘I told you it was only one quick kiss and yes, I think he said he was.’

‘Peace, quiet, sunshine and my Kindle,’ Kim sighed loudly. ‘This is the life. It’s absolute bliss; I’m so pleased that I came away. I really do appreciate the break. I can’t believe we once got to do this whenever we felt like it.’

The sunshine was blazing and Kim couldn’t wait to try to relax. As she took a deep breath, she smiled as she realized it smelt like holiday: a mixture of coconut, chlorine and sun lotion.

Feeling a sudden wave of guilt that she was enjoying herself so much, she pulled her mobile out to call Andy, just to check everything at home was okay with the children. She’d never been away from them before, and despite telling herself she needed to switch off, she was struggling. It went straight through to voicemail and Kim frowned.

‘Calling Andy?’ Holly asked, squinting at Kim in the bright sunshine.

‘Yes. Just got his voicemail,’ Kim said, an uneasy feeling creeping up on her.

‘Perhaps he’s working late.’

‘It’s about nine o’clock. at home. He wouldn’t be working now,’ Kim replied sighing heavily.

‘I wouldn’t worry; he’s just probably a bit busy. He’ll call back.’

Kim nodded. She knew she was overreacting, worrying for absolutely no reason at all. He could be in the shower or he could have left his phone upstairs; there were a million reasons why he may not be able to answer her phone call straight away. Her mum was watching the children until he got home from work, but Kim assumed she would be home by now, but she tried her phone anyway, anxious when she didn’t answer either. Kim’s mum was terrible with her mobile. Half of the time it was on silent and the other half of the time she left it at home. She couldn’t stand not knowing what was going on. A thought dawned on her then and it was one she didn’t like at all.

Had Andy wanted her to go to Vegas so he could spend time with Lily?