The Book Club by C. J. Cooper

Author:C. J. Cooper [Cooper, C. J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472129666
Published: 2019-05-29T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

I’d volunteered to hold the next meeting of the book club at my place before Liz had said she’d visit, but it seemed rude to make her spend an evening with people she didn’t know talking about a play she’d probably never seen. I’d thought about postponing, but when I’d mentioned the idea to Tom, he’d pulled a face and told me to prepare myself for Rebecca’s wrath.

‘Rather you than me. She’ll have agreed child-minding detail with Sam – you know what they’re like.’

I did. I’d heard Rebecca and Sam discussing arrangements before: Sam playing five-a-side on Saturday afternoon in return for Rebecca going to the hairdresser on Thursday evening; a golf trip with the boys balanced by a weekend seminar on marketing; pub quiz matched with school reunion, paintballing with tennis. Every activity was recorded, weighted, marked up on the marital tally sheet. Just thinking about it exhausted me.

I’d bottled it, of course; but now the day of the book club had arrived and my friends would be turning up at seven expecting food, drink and an evening moralising over An Inspector Calls. Not, I reminded myself, that Rebecca was in any position to moralise: that expensively highlighted hair ducking into the Mercedes had been hers, I was sure of it. I wondered who she’d been with, but perhaps it was better not to know. Maybe I should drop her a hint to be more careful, but there was unlikely to be a chance to get her alone at the book club. Besides, if I confronted her, I was sure she’d deny it.

Right now, I had more pressing problems. I had to come clean to Liz.

‘I wondered why you’d been revisiting GCSE English.’

We were sitting in the living room and she nodded at the book on the shelf in the alcove. It had been there since the previous evening, when I’d given up on the romcom Liz had chosen to reread the opening and final few pages while Jennifer Aniston interrupted someone else’s wedding to confess what a horrible, selfish person she’d been.

‘I can put it off. Honestly, it’s not a problem.’ I heard the lack of conviction in my voice.

Liz shrugged. ‘Don’t worry about it. It’ll be nice to meet your friends.’ She unfolded herself from the sofa and crossed the room to the bookshelves. ‘Even that neighbour of yours you don’t like.’

I gaped at her. I thought I’d barely mentioned Alice, replying to Liz’s questions about who lived next door as briefly as possible before steering the conversation on to other topics. I’d been sure I’d given nothing away. Evidently I was wrong.

‘Alice?’ I said, trying for nonchalance. ‘I do like her.’

Liz gave one of her snorts. ‘Yeah, course you do.’

I didn’t want this conversation now, not when in a few hours Alice would be sitting in this very room. Here in my home for the first time since she’d stripped me of my clothes and left me sick and unconscious while she’d – what? I stopped myself.

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