The Other Woman(35)

‘Mine never won,’ he said.

‘Wasn’t there an almighty rumpus over something?’ asked Pammie. ‘I remember James crying all the way home.’

Adam rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t you remember? He got all stressed because we went to fill our buckets up from the sea, only to come back and find his crab all smashed up.’

Pammie nodded slowly. ‘I remember. I still don’t know how that could have happened.’

Adam laughed. ‘A rock must have come in with the tide and given it a proper bashing. Or else it was the perfect murder . . .’

He looked at me. ‘And I’ve never eaten crab since.’

I forced a smile.

I tried to reassure myself that he was just putting on a show, to get their relationship back on track, but what about our relationship? Isn’t that the one that needed saving? We had barely spoken since she’d walked in on us, let alone been intimate, and it was all beginning to gnaw away at me . . . nibbling, nibbling. Everything between us would be perfect if she just behaved normally, like a mother is supposed to.

By glass four, just around the time she was asking Adam what they could buy Linda’s son Ewan for his twenty-first, I could feel an unpleasant sensation rising up within me.

‘So, you think a nice wallet would be well received?’ She was asking Adam, not me. She’d not looked at me since her comment about my weight, and even then, I don’t think she actually saw me. If she had, she might have noticed that I’d actually lost weight, but what would be the fun in that?

‘I think he’d be chuffed with that. If we all chip in fifty quid I reckon we can get him something decent, perhaps a Paul Smith,’ said Adam.

‘Okay,’ Pammie wheezed, all excited. ‘I’ll put in fifty pounds, you put in fifty pounds and James we’ll have to see about, as you know he doesn’t earn as much as you.’

She was speaking directly to Adam.

‘I’ll obviously put in twenty-five,’ I butted in. ‘Half of Adam’s share, just so, you know, it’s from the both of us.’

She looked at me with real disdain. ‘Thank you, dear, but that really won’t be necessary. It’s a present from the family.’ She gave a light laugh and turned back to Adam.

‘But I am family,’ I hissed. I knew I’d had too much to drink because my mouth didn’t feel like it was a part of me. My lips were moving, but I couldn’t control what was coming out of them.

‘That’s all right, Em. I’ll put in for us,’ said Adam.

‘I don’t want you to put in for me,’ I said, emphasizing ‘put in’. ‘If my name’s going to be on the gift tag, then I’d like to contribute.’

Pammie tutted and looked at me patronizingly. Her rimless glasses were perched on the end of her nose, making her look like a headmistress.

‘Okay.’ Adam sighed. ‘Do what you want to do.’

‘Well, it seems ridiculous to me,’ laughed Pammie. ‘You hardly know him, so you shouldn’t have to dig into your pocket when it’s not even your family.’

‘But Adam’s family is my family.’ I didn’t seem to have any control over the volume of my voice. ‘We’re getting married in two months, and I will become Mrs Banks.’ I saw her visibly flinch. ‘And as such, we’ll all be family.’

‘If that’s what she wants to do Mum, then that’s fine,’ said Adam.

Yes! Thank you, Adam.

‘Well, I just think . . .’ started Pammie, but I held my hand up, signalling for her to stop.

‘And whilst we’re at it,’ I said, ‘are none of us going to be brave enough to address the elephant in the room?’

‘That’s enough, Emily,’ said Adam, a hardness to his voice.

‘That’s enough of what, Adam?’ I’d wanted to stay so composed, be in control, but it felt as if weeks of pent-up frustration were bursting to get out. ‘Does your mother have any idea what our relationship has been like these past few weeks? Since she “discovered” us, doing what most normal couples do?’ I used to hate people who put words in speech marks with their hands, but with her I couldn’t help myself.

Pammie tutted in disgust, and Adam took hold of my elbow. ‘Sorry, Mum,’ he said, as he guided me up and out of my chair. ‘I don’t know what’s come over her. I’m really sorry.’

‘It’s what couples in love do,’ I sneered, shrugging off Adam’s grip. ‘You must remember that—’

‘Emily!’ shouted Adam. ‘Enough.’

He tightened his grip on my arm. ‘I’m so sorry, Mum,’ I heard him gush, forever trying to placate her. ‘Will you be okay getting home?’

‘Of course,’ she replied, shooing us away from the table. ‘I’ll be fine, you’ve got enough on your plate. Don’t worry about me, just see that you get her home safely.’

Adam offered her a tight smile as he pushed me towards the door. ‘I’ll call you once we’re home,’ he said. I pulled a face, as if mimicking him, and turned my head back to where she was sitting, expecting to see her pitiful face, the one she reserved for Adam, to let him know how hurt and vulnerable she was. Except he wasn’t looking, I was. So instead, she smiled slowly and raised a half-full glass of red wine.