Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered by Kerry Barrett

three bowls of ice cream precariously. He handed one each to Chloé and me, then sat down on the chair next to us. I looked at him suspiciously. I’d liked Rob immediately. He was a big, blond man with the broad build and crooked nose of a rugby player. Over dinner he’d made me laugh with stories about his work as a police officer in Inverness and I’d warmed to him as I watched him play with the children. Most importantly for me I could see he adored Chloé. He definitely had my approval but even so, I hadn’t expected him to be part of our girly catch-up.
    ‘What stuff?’ Chloé asked me digging into her ice cream. ‘What do you need distance from? Is it a man? You never mention men in your emails.’
    I glanced at Rob. He seemed as eager as Chloé to hear my news and didn’t appear to have any plans to leave. I licked the sweet ice cream off the back of my spoon –it was literally years since I’d eaten anything so indulgent – and smiled ruefully at Chloé.
    ‘I do have a sort-of boyfriend,’ I admitted. ‘He’s called Dom.’
    Chloé squealed. ‘I knew you were being cagey about something,’ she said joyfully. ‘So come on, what’s he like? Where did you meet him?’
    I shifted on the sofa, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.
    ‘I met him at work,’ I began. ‘He’s gorgeous. Tall, well-dressed, really handsome.’ I smiled to myself as I thought of Dom, slick in his grey suit, winking sneakily at me in a meeting. Then I thought of him rushing home to meet Rebecca and frowned.
    ‘He sounds fab,’ Chloé said eagerly. ‘Will he be coming up?’
    ‘Erm,’ I said. ‘It’s difficult…’
    I trailed off. Rob sat forward in his chair.
    ‘He’s married isn’t he?’
    I gasped. ‘How do you know?’
    Rob grinned. ‘I’ve interviewed loads of suspects,’ he said, relaxing back into the cushions. ‘You’re rubbish at covering things up.’
    I bristled. ‘I am not covering anything up,’ I said haughtily. ‘And I am not a suspect.’ I drained my wine and held my empty glass out for Chloé to refill.
    She glugged the remains of the bottle into my glass and scowled at me.
    ‘How could you, Esme?’ she said. ‘His poor wife. Have you met her?’
    ‘Never. I don’t really know anything about her. Dom says they got married too young. He says…’
    ‘She doesn’t understand him,’ Chloé and Rob chorused.
    Embarrassed, I averted my eyes from Chloé’s disappointed expression and studied my feet instead. I felt ashamed. Unbelievable as it sounded, I’d never really considered Rebecca’s side of things before. I’d always seen myself as the victim – the person unlucky enough to have fallen for a married man. Suddenly I realised it was Rebecca who was the unlucky one to be married to a man who was cheating.
    Chloé put her hand on my arm.
    ‘Is he going to leave his wife?’ she asked gently.
    I shook my head. Suddenly I felt close to tears although I couldn’t understand why.
    ‘I don’t think so,’ I said. ‘He says he loves me, but he’s never talked about leaving her.’ I sniffed loudly. ‘I don’t want him to actually. I’m happy with things as they are.’
    ‘I don’t believe you,’ Rob said. I was definitely starting to dislike him.
    ‘Rob, be nice.’ Chloé warned.
    I smiled at her gratefully.
    ‘I don’t want Dom to leave Rebecca,’ I said firmly.
    ‘Are you trying to convince us or yourself?’ Chloé asked. I winced and shrank back into the sofa cushions under her glare.
    ‘Do you love him?’ asked Rob.
    I looked at him, startled.
    ‘Do you?’ Chloé repeated.
    I looked into my glass and swirled the wine up its edges.
    ‘I don’t know,’ I said quietly. ‘I just don’t know.’
    I felt unsettled as I walked back up the hill from Chloé’s. Talking about Dom was so unusual – I’d kept him secret from all my few friends in London and never mentioned him to Mum – that it had felt odd to discuss our relationship. Plus, Chloé and Rob had asked