you going to let me in? Aren’t you the least bit curious as to why I’ve come all this way?”
He took a step forward and I barred his way. “You can say anything you want to say to me on the doorstep, and then you can leave. I told you last time. I never want to see or hear from you ever again.”
His expression changed and he wore that hang-dog puppy look that used to work with me years ago. Waves of anger were about to breach the flood barriers in my mind. “And you can cut that out as well.”
Predictably, he turned on the wide-eyed innocence that generally preceded a lie. “Cut what out?”
I sighed and folded my arms. “What do you want, Neil?”
“I want to talk to you. That’s all. I have something to tell you that I can’t say over the phone. I promise I won’t outstay my welcome.”
“You already have.”
Were those actually tears in his eyes? I didn’t expect that.
“Maddie, I really need to talk to you. It’s important. Do you honestly think I’d put myself through this if it wasn’t? I knew what reaction I’d get coming here after what I did to you.”
The nerve of the man! “You betrayed me. Liz was my best friend. At least, I thought she was. No one could be anyone’s best friend and do what she did, for ten years.”
“I know. I know. You have every right to hate me. Us. But please, Maddie, give me ten minutes and I’ll be gone.”
I hesitated. He did seem genuine. But he had always been a consummate liar. The problem was I hadn’t realized that for the first seventeen years of our marriage.
Oh, what the hell? We’d both moved on. I’d achieved the ultimate revenge after all. I had all this. I could give him ten minutes of my life. For old times’ sake. I stepped back and let him in.
“Thank you, Maddie. I appreciate this. I can’t tell you how much.”
I showed him into the living room and went over to the drinks cabinet where I selected a bottle of brandy and two glasses. I unscrewed the bottle and poured two generous measures.
Neil sat down on the settee. He patted the cushion next to him. “I remember this suite from our old house.”
“It’s about the only thing I brought. You had the rest of the good stuff.”
“Only half, Maddie. As we agreed.”
“Yes, but I don’t remember agreeing to you coming into the house when I wasn’t there and cherry picking all the best furniture. No doubt with a little help from Liz. I came home from work to find the place ransacked. I thought at first I’d had burglars. Then I found your note. Cryptic, wasn’t it? ‘Sorry to have missed you. Regards, Neil.’ You knew bloody well which days I worked. You knew the telephone number. You could have called and made an appointment, but if you’d done that, Liz wouldn’t have had the pick of the place, would she? That wouldn’t have suited her at all. I noticed all the things of mine she had admired over the years somehow managed to make their way into your new flat. I saw them all in those cheesy photos of the pair of you that you kept putting up on Facebook for all the world to see. How is the dear girl anyway?” I took a gulp of brandy, refilled my glass and handed the other to my ex-husband. I knew my sarcasm wouldn’t be wasted on him.
He took the glass without a word and drained it in one. “Any more where that came from?”
That took me aback. “You don’t usually drink when you drive, and I assume you didn’t walk all the way from Chester.”
He didn’t respond. I didn’t refill his glass and sat down on my usual chair.
He took a deep breath. “Liz and I split up six months ago.” He was certainly full of surprises this evening. “I guess the relationship had run its course. We were arguing all the time and she found someone else…” His voice tailed off. “It was an amicable split.”
I didn’t ask how much of my furniture she now possessed. “So where are you living then? Still in the same place?”
He shook his head. “I moved. She’s
He took a step forward and I barred his way. “You can say anything you want to say to me on the doorstep, and then you can leave. I told you last time. I never want to see or hear from you ever again.”
His expression changed and he wore that hang-dog puppy look that used to work with me years ago. Waves of anger were about to breach the flood barriers in my mind. “And you can cut that out as well.”
Predictably, he turned on the wide-eyed innocence that generally preceded a lie. “Cut what out?”
I sighed and folded my arms. “What do you want, Neil?”
“I want to talk to you. That’s all. I have something to tell you that I can’t say over the phone. I promise I won’t outstay my welcome.”
“You already have.”
Were those actually tears in his eyes? I didn’t expect that.
“Maddie, I really need to talk to you. It’s important. Do you honestly think I’d put myself through this if it wasn’t? I knew what reaction I’d get coming here after what I did to you.”
The nerve of the man! “You betrayed me. Liz was my best friend. At least, I thought she was. No one could be anyone’s best friend and do what she did, for ten years.”
“I know. I know. You have every right to hate me. Us. But please, Maddie, give me ten minutes and I’ll be gone.”
I hesitated. He did seem genuine. But he had always been a consummate liar. The problem was I hadn’t realized that for the first seventeen years of our marriage.
Oh, what the hell? We’d both moved on. I’d achieved the ultimate revenge after all. I had all this. I could give him ten minutes of my life. For old times’ sake. I stepped back and let him in.
“Thank you, Maddie. I appreciate this. I can’t tell you how much.”
I showed him into the living room and went over to the drinks cabinet where I selected a bottle of brandy and two glasses. I unscrewed the bottle and poured two generous measures.
Neil sat down on the settee. He patted the cushion next to him. “I remember this suite from our old house.”
“It’s about the only thing I brought. You had the rest of the good stuff.”
“Only half, Maddie. As we agreed.”
“Yes, but I don’t remember agreeing to you coming into the house when I wasn’t there and cherry picking all the best furniture. No doubt with a little help from Liz. I came home from work to find the place ransacked. I thought at first I’d had burglars. Then I found your note. Cryptic, wasn’t it? ‘Sorry to have missed you. Regards, Neil.’ You knew bloody well which days I worked. You knew the telephone number. You could have called and made an appointment, but if you’d done that, Liz wouldn’t have had the pick of the place, would she? That wouldn’t have suited her at all. I noticed all the things of mine she had admired over the years somehow managed to make their way into your new flat. I saw them all in those cheesy photos of the pair of you that you kept putting up on Facebook for all the world to see. How is the dear girl anyway?” I took a gulp of brandy, refilled my glass and handed the other to my ex-husband. I knew my sarcasm wouldn’t be wasted on him.
He took the glass without a word and drained it in one. “Any more where that came from?”
That took me aback. “You don’t usually drink when you drive, and I assume you didn’t walk all the way from Chester.”
He didn’t respond. I didn’t refill his glass and sat down on my usual chair.
He took a deep breath. “Liz and I split up six months ago.” He was certainly full of surprises this evening. “I guess the relationship had run its course. We were arguing all the time and she found someone else…” His voice tailed off. “It was an amicable split.”
I didn’t ask how much of my furniture she now possessed. “So where are you living then? Still in the same place?”
He shook his head. “I moved. She’s
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