Page 53 of One Day at a Time

Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. Had she slept with a married man?Was this some kind of game? Had she been catfished, or whatever the ‘Pretend to be single’ equivalent of that was? Was she about to be the topic of a Netflix exposure on the sinister world of mendacious men? No, not Dylan. He wouldn’t…

Maybe he also had a cousin called Rachel. Yes, maybe this was his cousin, not his ex-wife.

Some dying, flailing remnant of hope that she had it wrong made her ask the question.

‘How do you know Dylan?’

‘He’s actually my husband.’ Rachel waved her hand as if dismissing the question. ‘Technically, ex-husband. But perhaps not for much longer. We’ve been talking about getting back together.’

This time, Maddie dropped her comb.

Breathe. Just breathe.

Jessie crossed the room like an Exocet missile. ‘Maddie, I can take over here if you want to go and rest.’

Maddie really didn’t want to do that, but she wasn’t sure her legs would hold her up anymore. Dylan was talking to his ex-wife about getting back together. Why had she never even considered that could be a possibility? He’d told her that he’d been heartbroken when Rachel had cheated on him, but then he’d said it had worked out for the best because it gave him the freedom to chase his dreams. Was getting Rachel back part of that dream too?

Somehow, she managed to keep her cool. This was why she’d sensed something was amiss. This woman obviously had an agenda. She was here for a reason. To warn Maddie off? To find out if there was something between her and Dylan? Maddie wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of disclosing any information that she wasn’t ready to give.

‘Thank you, Jessie. Rachel, I’m sorry, but I’m not feeling greatright now. I’m just going to go call my boyfriend and ask him to come and collect me.’

Rachel’s eyebrows rose. ‘Your boyfriend?’

Maddie saw what could only be relief consume Rachel. Her jaw relaxed, her shoulders dropped a couple of inches and for the first time since she came in, her smile looked genuine.

‘Yes. Percy. My boyfriend.’ Percy? Where the frick had that come from? As realisation dawned, Maddie just hoped that Rachel didn’t spot the huge packet of Christmas Percy Pigs that were on the counter by the cash register. Nancy from Next Door had brought them in for Jessie and Maddie on her way back from picking up her Christmas food order at Marks and Spencer yesterday.

Meanwhile, beside her, Jessie was sharp enough to suss out that something was going on and immediately become a co-conspirator. ‘Yes, you go and call Percy, pet, and I’ll finish off here,’ she said, picking up the scissors and the comb and popping them into the counter-top steriliser.

‘Thanks, Jessie. By the way, this is Dylan’s…’

‘Wife,’ Rachel finished the sentence for her.

If anyone wondered why Val, a few feet across the room, was now choking, they didn’t say.

Jessie, who Maddie now decided could be an undercover spy in any other life, acted like this was absolutely normal news. ‘Och, he’s a lovely man. Anyway, off you go, Maddie, I’ve got this.’ The message in her steely gaze was clear, as their eyes met.On you go. Don’t worry. We’ve got you.‘Val, you dry your own hair, love – you always complain about how I do it anyway. Mrs Dawson, you enjoy that mulled wine and I’ll be back with you shortly. Right, Rachel, where do you stand on the Mariah versus Leona argument?’

Maddie managed to hold it together all the way into thestaffroom, where she picked up her jacket and her bag, pulled them on and then somehow managed a cheery wave as she passed back through the salon, looking straight ahead, not left, not right. Thankfully, Alyssa was in deep conversation with the vicar, or she knew her friend would be chasing her down the street.

Hours later, she had no memory of getting home. No recollection of showering, or climbing into her cream fleecy trouser and sweatshirt lounge set. All she knew was that by the time Jessie, Val and Alyssa came through the door at six o’clock, she was on the sofa, under a blanket, and neither Mariah nor Leona could have provided a single ounce of festive cheer.

Alyssa plonked herself down on the floor in front of the couch, on account of the fact that Jessie and Val didn’t have the knees for that. They opted for the two armchairs opposite her.

‘I know the answer’s obvious, but how are you doing there?’ Alyssa asked, as she reached over and pushed Maddie’s hair back off her face.

Maddie wasn’t sure which of her mixed emotions to go with first, so she just blurted them all out one after the other.

‘I feel like a complete tit because I had no idea that he still had a thing going with his ex-wife. He hasn’t mentioned her to me in all the time he’s been away. I also feel like a complete tit because I think I was developing real feelings for him and now I’m just, you know, the pregnant one-night stand. And also in titdom, I feel stupid because I’ve been protecting his dreams this whole time, when I had no idea that his dreams included someone else.’

‘Lots of tits there, pet. And none of them are justified,’ Val countered. ‘You had good intentions from the start and if Dylan is going back to his ex, well hell mend him. She cheated on him and her eyes are too close together. Always a red flag.’

‘Thanks, Val. I think you might be biased, but thanks anyway.’ She took a breath, because in among the negatives, she’d landed on one glaring positive. ‘The only silver lining to the whole thing is that at least I’m no longer conflicted and feeling awful about the fact that I haven’t told him that I’m pregnant yet. I know I promised I’d tell him before the baby was born, so we’ve planned a FaceTime for tomorrow, and I was going to share the news then. It was either going to be the best Christmas present ever, or the worst, depending on how he takes the news. But I’m not doing that now. He wants a different life and I’m choosing to accept that. I’ll never let anyone accuse me of holding him back or tying him down, so this is it. Just me and the baby. Maybe I’ll tell him at some point in the future, but not now. I’ll do it when I’m ready. Me and the baby… we can do this. I’ll figure it all out on my own. I don’t need him.’

She could see by the glances that shot between them all that they probably didn’t agree with that decision, but they were obviously choosing not to argue in this moment.

‘Look, today’s been a day of shocks, pet…’ Val began.

Maddie nodded. ‘It has, but I’ll be fine. I just need to… figure it all out.’ The words got caught in the huge boulder of a lump in her throat. As she fought to hold it together, she saw another glance pass between them, then a silent nod as some kind of telepathic decision was made.