17
POPPY
Poppy pushed her way blindly through everyone and stumbled out of the front door of the pub.
She was crying so hard that it felt as though she was going to be sick. She could barely breathe.
Thepainof it.
She now realised that the whole time she’d suspected Declan of having an affair she’d never fully, fully believed it, she’d always felt some hope, because she’d never felt like this: hurt,injuredright the way through, body and soul.
‘Poppy.’ Someone was calling her name from the pub doorway. Declan.
She turned in his direction. ‘Fuck off.’
‘Sorry, what?’ He was staring at her as though she had no reason to be angry, as though she’d lost her mind.
She hadn’t lost her mind, though; she’d lost her fucking husband. And best friend. All in one go.
‘I said,fuck off,’ she stated very clearly.
Declan shook his head. ‘Why?’
‘Because I know. I read Georgie’s secret.’
‘You…’ He took a step closer to her. ‘What did the secret say?’
‘What, like you don’t know?’
‘No.’
‘Really? You really don’t know? Don’t be so ridiculous. How could you not know?’
‘What did it say?’
‘Really? We’re doing this? You’re going to make me say it?’
‘Please?’
‘Fine,’ she said. ‘Fine. It said “Declan is probably Max’s father”.’ Poppy didn’t think she’d ever forget the sight of that piece of paper for as long as she lived.
‘What? No. Oh my God. Oh my God. It must be true then. It must be her. I mean, there can’t be any reason for her to suspect I’m the person if she isn’t the person. But oh my God, Max. Poppy, I’m so sorry that you had to find out like this.’ Declan moved right next to her and tried to put his arms round her. ‘Poppy. Poppy, I’m so sorry. Poppy, I didn’t know.’
She pulled herself out of his arms and stepped away from him.
‘You didn’tknow? You didn’tknowthat you impregnated my best friend? You didn’t know that? How could you not know that?’ She could hear herself shrieking like a banshee.
‘Oh no, Poppy, Poppy, I love you. Poppy, it wasonce. Poppy, you have to listen. It wasonce. We were strangers. We didn’t know each other. We had sex once. And then we never saw each other again until that night just before Christmas when you introduced us. And I wasn’t sure whether it was her or not. Iwondered. That’s why I was so distracted. I’ve been trying to find out, ask around, people who were there, find out.’
Poppy’s mind wasn’t working. It was like someone had punched her in the head and she was too stunned to think. Deeply painful realisations were filtering very slowly through to her.
‘This was the thing that you were trying to confirm and you were going to tell me about? Not something about work or your mum and dad or holidays or anything nice or just okay? But the fact that you were sleeping with Georgie?’
‘Slept with. Once.’
‘You liedsomuch. You should have saidthen. After go-karting.’
‘I wasn’t sure, though.’
