As Sure As the Sun by Anna McPartlin

Author:Anna McPartlin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2009-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Aidan, Susan and Harri were waiting for Melissa patiently while indulging in a bottle of wine accompanied by a basket of bread-sticks.

“So, missus, what’s going on?” Aidan asked Harri as if he didn’t know.

“Apart from the dissolution of my relationship with the love of my life, the discovery that I’m the living twin baby of a dead teenage stranger and swapped for a dead baby, not much, thanks for asking.”

Aidan grinned. “How about you, Sue, any chance you can beat that?”

“Well, my marriage is in the toilet but then that’s not news, Beth is in exam frenzy and in such a bloody mood that it’s like living with Barbra Streisand.”

“I’d love to live with Barbra Streisand,” Aidan said, grinning and winking at a smiling Harri. Nice to see you smile.

“Homo,” Susan sighed.

“Breeder!” Aidan responded, holding his smile at Harri.

“And two nights ago I bumped into Keith,” Susan said, pretending to be nonchalant while reading an upside-down menu.

“Keith the builder?” Harri said after removing the glass from her lips.

“Keith the builder,” Susan confirmed. “He was in Tesco with his wife.”

“Oh,” Harri said.

Aidan was too rapt to talk.

“What did you do?” Harri queried.

“I smiled and walked past them.”

“Good for you,” Harri said helpfully.

Aidan was still rapt, knowing deep down there was more. Come on, you dirty bitch, tell us something filthy.

“Then five minutes later he called me, asked if I’d meet him. I did. We had sex in his car. It was great. I’ve no plans to see him again.”

Aidan made a kind of yelping sound. Harri’s mouth fell open.

“I thought I’d feel terrible, but aside from slight backache, I actually feel good,” Susan said, nodding to herself. “My husband hates me so why not?”

“Why not indeed?” Aidan agreed, raising his glass. “I’m so glad I’m not the only one going to hell! I’ll save you a seat.” He patted the empty chair beside him. Harri laughed and that reminded him that if she didn’t commit some sort of Vatican-certified hell-bound sin soon she might end up in the clouds alone. “We’ve got two homos, an adulterer, and let’s face it, sooner or later Melissa will be a murderer, so what about you, Har? What can you do to hitch a ride on the highway to hell?”

“I’ll get back to you,” she said, smiling while wondering whether or not the serious diseases, pain and torment she had recently wished upon her substitute parents would be enough. She was trying to forgive them, she was pretending as best she could, but deep down their deceit was eating away at her slowly and little by little so that one day in the future, she wondered, would the Harri sitting at that table be gone and no more. Good riddance, you didn’t exist anyway. She knew George too was pretending. He had danced with his mother and made nice over dinner. He’d toasted their family and smiled and was charming and forgiving and deceiving. She could see it in his eyes, the eyes that refused to meet the eyes of either parent.

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