The Adultery Club by Tess Stimson

Author:Tess Stimson [Stimson, Tess]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-43259-9
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2008-09-25T04:00:00+00:00

I’m not quite sure why Nicholas is being so strange. First yesterday, when I called to ask him what time to get Kit over to babysit for Valentine’s Day—

“I don’t know what time,” he said tightly, “I might be working, anyway.”

“But it’s all organized! I’ve booked The Lemon Tree!” I exclaimed.

“Yes, I realize that, but it can’t be helped.”

“Nicholas, we’re talking about Valentine’s Day,” I said, disappointment sharpening my tone. “I’ve barely seen you for weeks, you’re working the most ridiculous hours these days, ever since you made partner—well, ever since Will Fisher retired, really—and I’m sorry to call you on your mobile when you’re clearly in the middle of an important meeting, but frankly, what else am I supposed to do? You miss the children’s special events, you’re shut in your office at weekends, some nights you’re barely home before it’s time to go back to work again; if I didn’t see the sheets crumpled in the spare room I wouldn’t even know you’d been here. I think the least you can do is spend one day—Valentine’s Day—with your wife.”

“Look—”

“I really don’t think it’s too much to ask, do you?”

“Look, Malinche. I said I’m sorry, but the Court doesn’t see February the fourteenth as anything other than the day that happens to fall between February the thirteenth and February the fifteenth—”

It was his tone, really, rather than anything he’d actually said. As if I was a tiresome child, a nagging wife; so unfair, when that isn’t me, has never been me.

“I’ve been so looking forward to it,” I said quietly.

“I know; I know you have, but—”

“Nicholas. Please don’t sigh,” I interrupted, really hurt and angry now. “If you think your work is more important than—”

“Look, we’ll talk about it when I get home.”

“When?” I demanded. “When would that be? Precisely, Nicholas? Because I can’t see exactly how you’re going to fit us into your very busy schedule. Actually.”

When he hung up on me, I couldn’t quite believe it. He’s never hung up on me in all the years we’ve been married. We’ve always talked things through, however difficult and painful that has been—and we’ve been married ten years, of course it’s been difficult and painful at times.

And then after that row, that rather horrid row, when I phoned the office this morning, Emma said he wasn’t working tonight after all, at least there was nothing in his diary—that tricky case must’ve settled. So I thought I’d surprise him by coming up to London and taking him out to his favorite sushi restaurant in Covent Garden (so funny, that Nicholas loves sushi; to people who don’t know him, he always seems more of a school-dinners treacle-pudding kind of man); we haven’t been there for ages.

I’d meant it as an olive branch, my way of saying sorry that we’d argued. But somehow, it’s not going quite as I hoped.

The orange glow from the streetlamps casts strange shadows across his face as he leans against the side of the black cab next to me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.