The Family Next Door(73)

Essie sucked in a breath.





59


ANGE


“We need to talk,” Ange said.

Lucas looked surprised. That, in itself, was irritating. He was back in the house, so he obviously figured that was the end of it. Erin—and Charlie—had simply been another aberration, like Josie, and now they were going to move on with their lives.

At least that’s what he thought.

Ange thought of the way Ben had looked at Essie at the hospital. It wasn’t a look of infatuation or even affection—it was true, deep concern. He cared about her more than anything else. He put her before everything—and everyone—else.

“What is it?” he said.

They were in their bedroom. With the boys around, it was difficult to find a place to have a private conversation and the boys seemed to be always around—it was almost as though they sensed something was up and were staying close. But having them close did have its upsides. Twice Ange had seen Ollie watching something he shouldn’t on the iPad, and half an hour ago, when she glanced over Will’s shoulder while he was texting, she found out that he had a girlfriend—Candace! Why hadn’t she always kept them close, she wondered. Will and Ollie … and Lucas too. Maybe if she’d kept him close, she might have glanced over Lucas’s shoulder and realized he had a girlfriend too.

Ange sat on the bed. “I can’t be married to you anymore.”

Even as she said the words, a voice inside her head screamed: SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! Every marriage has problems. Isn’t it better to have some of him than none at all? You’ll never find someone else—even someone old and haggard—at your age. For God’s sake SHUT UP!

But she kept talking.

“We will be in a relationship forever, because we have two children. But you also have a child with another woman which means you will always have a relationship with her too. And knowing the kind of man you are, you’ll always have a relationship with Charlie—as you should.” She took a deep breath and forced herself to continue. “But that’s too many relationships for me, I’m afraid. Too much to sweep under the rug.”

“But it’s over with Erin,” Lucas started.

“It’s not just Erin,” Ange said. “It’s the other women. The ones I don’t know about.”

Even as she verbalized the thought, she knew it was true. After all, what were the chances she’d just happened to have discovered the only two women Lucas had been unfaithful with?

Lucas didn’t deny it. When Ange turned to face him again, his head was down and his hands were laced around the back of his neck.

“You say the right things, Lucas, and you even do the right things. At least, you do a lot of things right. But being faithful isn’t an optional extra in a marriage. At least it isn’t for me.”

He looked at her pleadingly. “Please, could you give me one more chance? The last one. If I do this again, I will leave without being asked.”

Ange thought back to the day in the store. The two plaid chairs side by side. The imaginary grandchildren in their laps. Then she thought about the man she wanted to sit next to in those chairs.

“You’re not a bad person, Lucas,” she told him. “But you’re a terrible husband.”

“Ange—” he started.

“The answer’s no,” she said and walked out of the room before she could change her mind.





60


ESSIE


“But will she … be all right?”

The policeman told Essie that Mia had darted into traffic and Barbara had whisked her out of the path of an oncoming car, only to be hit by a tram herself. Apparently Mia was totally unscathed but Barbara had been rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Walker. We don’t have a lot of answers yet.”

Mia was being brought to Summit Oaks by a female police officer and Ben had already left to meet them. Isabelle sat beside Essie with Polly on her lap. Essie had so many questions, but she couldn’t seem to project any. Every word had caught in her throat, tangling with other words.

“What did Mia see?” Essie asked finally.

“We don’t know,” the police officer said. “But she’s aware her grandmother was hit by the tram.”

“And they were back in Melbourne? What were they doing in Albury?”

The policeman’s shrug was clearly well-practiced. “Unfortunately we see this kind of thing regularly. “Often it’s drug related but not always. It can be mental illness—a psychotic break. With some older folks, it’s dementia. Or perhaps just a temporary confusion.”

Essie tried to reconcile what he was saying with her mother. But … Barbara was the most levelheaded person Essie knew. She didn’t have temporary confusions, she certainly wasn’t into drugs. She was her mother.

Except maybe she wasn’t.

Another policeman appeared at the doorway and the policeman in the room stood. “Your daughter will be here any minute,” he said. “And I’ll be right outside.”

Essie felt the room start to sway. Isabelle was looking at her; she could feel her eyes.

“I want my mum,” she said quietly.

“I know,” Isabelle said.