Just My Luck(99)

I’m relieved to have the phone in my hand. It feels like a lifeline out of the blackness and silence. I could call an engineer, or Jake. Maybe even the police. I don’t think there’s anyone here, but perhaps it’s better to be safe than sorry. I call Toma.

‘Lexi!’

‘Toma.’

‘How good to hear from you!’ The joy in his voice floats across the miles that separate us, it fills my room, even lights up the room and, I can’t deny it, my heart too. ‘What are you doing with yourself?’

‘Well, right now, I’m sat in the pitch-black.’

‘What?’

‘We’ve had a power cut.’ Suddenly, I’m certain that’s all it is. Hearing his voice has made me feel more secure and rational. The fear that was causing my shoulders to hunch, my pulse to race, ebbs away. Although my pulse remains speedy. I sigh. ‘Oh Toma, I have so much to tell you.’

‘Then tell me, Lexi.’

‘You have time?’

‘For you, always.’



Jake doesn’t come home until after midnight. By the time he does I have already called the mother of one of Logan’s Scout friends to explain about the power cut and make arrangements for him to have a sleepover. I have also called Emily; unsurprisingly she didn’t want to return to a pitch-black house. She’s staying at Scarlett’s. The power cut is an inconvenience, but the silver lining is that both the kids will enjoy their impromptu sleepovers. Jake strides into the house, using the torch on his phone to light his way. I heard a taxi drop him off and the slight heaviness in his step suggests he’s had a fair bit to drink. I wonder who with.

‘I pressed the buzzer, why didn’t you let me in? I had to climb over the fence. I ripped my trousers.’ Then, almost an afterthought, ‘Why are you sitting here in the dark?’ he demands.

‘Because we’ve had a power cut.’

‘A power cut or has a fuse flipped?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘You didn’t check?’

‘I don’t know where the fuse box is,’ I mutter. Jake laughs at this, as though it’s amusing rather than what it is: humiliating or frustrating. I should know where the fuse box is in my own house. ‘Anyway, I think it’s bigger than a fuse because everything is out,’ I mutter defensively.

‘Why didn’t you call me?’

I hesitate. ‘My phone was dead.’ How do I explain that I called Toma first and that we chatted all evening, until the battery of my phone drained to almost nothing and I could only make the two calls pertinent to the kids’ arrangements. I told Toma about the kidnapping, walked through every moment of horror; it felt good to talk about it, almost like therapy.

‘Why did you let your friends bully you?’ Toma asked. ‘You should have called the police. You know it was the right thing to do.’

‘I was weak. I regret it. I let Emily down. I just thought, as they all believed one thing and I was the only one to believe another, then I had to be wrong. I was scared I’d make things worse.’

‘I would think this Jennifer, she is your friend, yes? I would think she would support you, not your husband’s decision.’ And so I told him about the fact Jake is having an affair with Jennifer.

‘Or at least, he was. I don’t know if it’s still going on but maybe that complicated things on the night. Maybe that’s why Jennifer agreed with Jake. I can’t quite explain it.’

Toma went silent. I could almost hear his brain ticking over through the telephone.

‘You don’t have to stay with him, Lexi.’

I felt suddenly ashamed. As though I had betrayed someone. Jake, perhaps, for telling Toma about his torrid affair. ‘People have affairs, Toma, they make mistakes. We’ve been together for so long. I’m not throwing in the towel on my marriage after just one mistake.’

I do believe that, so I’m not sure why – now Jake is finally home – I seem to be picking a fight with him. ‘It was really scary. At first, I thought it was an intruder and then I felt trapped. I couldn’t get the car out of the garage because the garage has an electric door and our gate is an electric gate. You know we are overly dependent on our gadgets, I didn’t know what to do with myself without the computer or TV.’

‘You could have had a swim,’ points out Jake. ‘Our pool is not electricity-dependent.’ This is not actually correct – the heater and filter are both dependent on electricity – but I know what he means. The truth is it hadn’t crossed my mind to have a swim. I haven’t quite taken on board the fact we have a pool, or a gym, or a cinema room, come to think of it.

‘So what did you do all night?’

‘I read a book,’ I mutter sulkily. The truth is, I didn’t miss the computer or TV – I had Toma. I feel guilty lying to my husband. I almost ask him what he’s been doing all night, but I guess he’ll just deliver up a lie too.

Jake picks up his phone and calls the electrician, or at least, he calls the property manager who I assume will call the electrician. It only takes fifteen minutes before the electricity is restored; it’s managed remotely. I feel like an idiot for sitting shivering in the dark for so long.

‘The police have a lead,’ Jake announces.