‘Things are not always as they seem… what you think is real may be a lie…’
Was she referring to Mac? Did he have more than just a bad temper? Was he amurderer?
Edie stooped down and picked up her sweatshirt, which had fallen off her chair onto the ground. All of a sudden, she was freezing cold, with chattering teeth.
Even once she’d put the sweatshirt on, however, she still couldn’t stop shaking. She pulled her feet up onto the seat and hunched into a small, self-protective ball.
Ralph’s voice sliced through the silence.
‘We’ve all had too much to drink,’ he said, trying to take control of the situation. ‘We should get some sleep.’
He pushed back his chair, ready to rise, but Hannah hadn’t finished yet.
‘So, Mac,’ she said scornfully, ‘how shall… I mean, what do you suggest… hic… how exactly do I tell the kids their daddy’s killed someone?’
Despite feeling weak and exhausted, Edie managed to uncurl her legs, sit up straight and stare hard at Hannah. She was willing her friend to look her in the eye and calm down.
‘Hannah, I?—’
She wanted to say – stop now and go indoors before it’s too late – but Hannah was like a steam train hurtling towards its final destination.
‘You do realise this means our marriage is over?’ Hannah told her husband, lurching to one side as she spoke and only just managing to save herself.
Smiling grimly, she drew her right index finger slowly across her neck, from one side to the other, in a macabre cutting motion.
‘That’s it, we’re finished. Kaput!’
A loud crash made everyone turn and stare. Ralph had risen and accidentally knocked over his wooden chair.
‘I’m going to bed,’ he announced, bending down to pick the chair up. He fixed on Hannah, who stared at him blankly as if she had no idea who he was. ‘I think you should too.’
Edie was about to get up and join her husband when she was distracted by another sound, like someone tearing through thick fabric, followed by a series of rapid inhalations.
On glancing at Mac, her stomach twisted and her hands instinctively fluttered to her chest.
His head was bowed and he was sobbing. Proper, big, hot, salty tears were running down his cheeks and his thin body was shaking uncontrollably. He also seemed to be gasping for breath.
Her instinct was to run over and give him a hug and try to comfort him. But she felt as if someone or something had strapped her down, binding her arms and legs so tightly she could barely move.
She’d only seen Ralph cry once, after he’d admitted to cheating on her, and she’d been profoundly shocked, so rare was it for him to show any vulnerability.
Mac’s tears appeared to have melted away all his anger and sarcasm, and he looked as small and weak as a newborn baby.
‘Hey, Mac—’ Ralph said softly, but Hannah interrupted before he could finish the sentence.
‘Stop it! Stop crying!’
She was gripping the edge of the table so hard, her knuckles had gone white. By contrast, the skin on her face and neck was stained blood red.
Edie held her breath, uncertain now whether to stay or go and dreading what was coming next.
Mac looked up at his wife through wet, swollen eyes. ‘I haven’t hurt anyone, I swear,’ he said in a trembling voice. ‘Please don’t leave me. You’re everything to me. I’d be lost without you.’
He looked so abject and pitiful, Edie thought at any moment he might fall to his knees and beg. She wouldn’t be able to bear it.
Part of her wanted to shake him and tell him to get a grip; the other part wanted to take away his suffering. Whatever he might or might not have done, it was profoundly upsetting to see him in so much pain.
Ralph plonked down on his chair again, looking worn out and defeated. However this was going to play out, it seemed he and Edie were destined to stay till the bitter end.
