AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well, you obviously didn’t try hard enough, did you?” I yell, my voice bubbling with fury. “What kind of people are you?” Francesca gives a little snort as she twirls a strand of dry, peroxide hair around her finger. I look at her, baby on her lap, Sunday supplements strewn over the table, and for a moment I imagine walking over, tearing that sheet of paper from her clasp, scrunching it up into a tight ball and shoving it down her throat.
“Audrey!” Louise actually seems horrified by my outburst.
“What?” I cry. “Harbouring my ex-fiancé’s…” I glance at Francesca in disgust, “…slut and love-child.” Footsteps thunder down the stairs. Hot, bitter tears are rolling down my face. Why would Louise lie to me like this? Why? Why is she being loyal to Francesca, a woman she’s never liked? How could she choose her over me? Her best friend.
“Oi,” Francesca says, standing up, bobbing the child in her arms, “watch it!”
“Or what?” I say challengingly, taking a step towards her.
“I won’t be spoken to like that,” Francesca spits, bobbing the child faster. “Tell her, Gerry.” My eyes flit from Francesca to Gerry. I can see the resemblance now. Their profile is similar only Gerry’s features are slightly larger. Their lips have the same fullness. Their blue eyes the same blank stare. The baby is wailing now, face red, eyes screwed tightly shut. The puppy has freed herself from Gerry’s arms and is barking the house down.
“Just shut it, Fran.” He looks at Louise in exasperation, “Didn’t I tell you this would happen. Didn’t I? But, oh no, you’d handle it you said.” He throws his hands up in the air, “Well? Go on then.” His face is bright red, his eyes wild with rage, “Sort it!”
“What’s going on?” Jess is at my side looking worried. “You okay, Audrey?”
“No, Jess, I’m not. It’s your mum…I…” I falter. “Something terrible has happened.” Jess scowls at Louise and pulls me into her arms, handing me a tissue which she salvaged from her rolled-up sleeve. “How could you, Louise?” I say between loud, noisy sobs, “How could you keep this from me when you knew what I was going through? You knew how much I loved him. How? We’ve been friends since school, for fuck’s sake.”
“I knoooow.” She stretches her arms out to me. Does she seriously think that I’m going to run to her? “That’s why I didn’t tell you. I was trying to protect you.”
“You let him go, luvvie.” Our heads swivel towards Francesca. “He was a free agent when I met him,” she says in frosty tones, trying to calm the baby with a dummy. “It’s not my fault if you don’t know how to keep a bloke.” Right, that’s it. I shrug out of Jess’s embrace and march up to her.
“You count yourself lucky that you’re holding that baby in your arms.” I’m inches from her face. I can smell the coffee on her breath and the faint whiff of stale perfume. She winces and jerks back. Jess pulls me away, tells me she’s not worth it. Then suddenly I’m face to face with Nick’s baby. He’s looking at me, giggling, little legs kicking, almost dropping the blue dummy from his mouth. Without warning, I feel an instant pang of affection and my face softens. He has Nick’s smile and warm grey eyes. Poor little mite, it’s not his fault, is it? But his jovial demeanour doesn’t last long; he’s now red, hot and tense – clearly having a poo in Francesca’s arms. Thank you, karma.
“Shut the fuck up, Francesca!” The shrill of Gerry’s voice sets the baby off again. The dog starts howling, everyone’s talking at once. The house is in turmoil. What began as a gentle, lazy Sunday has practically turned into a riot. Any moment now the neighbours will call the police, sirens will blare down this quiet residential road in Crouch End and we’ll all be carted off, handcuffed, in the back of a van. I bend down languidly and pick up my bag.
“I need some air.” I stagger towards the door.
“Audrey, are you okay? I’ll come with you,” Jess offers, hand on my shoulder.
“No, please…wait. I can explain,” Louise cries, grabbing me by the sleeve of my trench coat, “please give me a chance. This isn’t my fault.” We scuffle noisily as Gerry tries to peel her off me, and in her haste, she scratches my hand, it stings. “You’ve got to remember that it’s Nick and her that have caused all this,” she yells over Gerry’s shoulder, “not us!”
“Er, hello?” Francesca’s voice is piercing. “Do you or do you not want to adopt this baby?” Silence thumps through the air.
I turn around slowly, face red, hair wild from the brawl, hand stinging. “You’re going to adopt Nick’s baby?” I gasp, rubbing my hand. She doesn’t answer. “Oh my God.” I cover my mouth and bolt to the sink.
“Are you okay, Audrey?” Gerry asks as I heave over the ceramic basin. “Come on,” he says kindly, pushing my hair back off my face, “come and sit down.”
“Does Nick know about this adoption?” I ask as Gerry shepherds me away from the stinking vomit in the sink.
He shakes his head. “We haven’t told him yet. We just wanted to keep it between us for now…until we sorted things out.”
“Jesus Christ,” I say, wiping the back of my mouth with my sleeve. “You couldn’t make this up.”
“Nick’s the father of your baby?” Jess says to Francesca, appalled. “OMG. Mum!” Clearly, Jess has been kept in the dark about all this too. They start to squabble but I’m not listening. All I can think about is how this could’ve happened right under my nose. And then the penny drops.
“That’s why you didn’t want me to see Nick.” I point a finger at Louise. “Why you kept on telling me to stay away from him. You were afraid I’d find out, that he’d finally crack and tell me and mess things up for you.”
“No.” Louise shakes her head to and fro, to and fro, everyone’s still talking, baby crying, dog barking. “That’s not how it was.”
All this time I thought she was protecting me from Nick but all the while she was just looking after her own interests. “You selfish bloody cow,” I scream. A sharp hush stills the room. I’ve even silenced the baby and the puppy. All I can hear is the hum of a lawnmower in the distance, then the ticking of the clock above the door. I stare up at it. A fly buzzes around the doorframe before landing on the long hand. It’s still only twelve-thirty. Half an hour ago I was happy. I’d made my peace with Nick. I’d salvaged my relationship with Daniel. I was looking forward to Paris, could barely wait to share my good news with my best friends and now…
Francesca sniffs the baby’s bottom, pulls a face, and then announces that she’s going up to change his nappy and settle him down for a nap. She shoves past me gaily, a smug grin on her face, that stale scent of perfume in the air.
“Come on, Audrey.” I feel Gerry’s hand on my back, “Let’s go into the living room. I’ll explain everything. Keep Roxy in here with you please, Jess.” A tearful Jess nods as she takes Roxy from his hands. Louise makes to come with us.
“Not you, Louise,” he says darkly.
“But…I…”
