‘Ew, don’t remind me. He visited the school this week and told Sonny to say hello to “his beautiful mother”.’
‘He visited theschool?!’ Fiona’s eyes widen.
‘Only as part of a dental-hygiene thing. Nothing sinister. Barton’s a prat, but I don’t think he’d do something as awful as reporting you. Surely not. You think it could be him because he wants your premises?’
She nods and then shrugs. ‘Maybe. But even though the thought of someone reporting me is horrible, that’s not actually why I’m so upset.’
‘So what is it?’
‘I’ve done something stupid…’
I wait for her to go on, but she’s obviously having a hard time getting it off her chest. ‘You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.’
‘No, it’s, well it’s embarrassing and humiliating, and I feel awful admitting it.’
‘No judgement here.’ I hold up my hands.
‘Okay, so…’ Fiona carries on staring at her mug of tea. ‘I used money from the business to buy personal things like clothes, jewellery and home stuff. Things that I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to afford.’
‘I don’t understand, Fi. What’s wrong with that? It’s money you earned, right?’
‘Yes, but the things I bought weren’t strictly things that related to work, I just paid for them as if they were.’
I still don’t understand what the problem is.
She looks up at me and lowers her voice. ‘I treated them like business expenses when they weren’t. What I did is illegal. I could go to prison.’
‘Oh.’ I’m not sure what to say to her. Aside from the fact that I’m in shock we couldbothend up behind bars for completely different reasons. How did our lives start falling apart so quickly? Now I’m really beginning to worry for my friend. ‘Well, I’m sure if you put the money back into the business it’ll be okay.’
‘I’ve spent thousands over the past few years. Too much to pay back.’
‘Really?Look, Fi, I’m sorry if I’m way off the mark, but I thought you and Nathan were well-off. Like, multi-millionaire well-off.’
‘We are. But I haven’t exactly been straight with Nathan. In fact, he’s the main reason I’ve been doing it in the first place.’
My blank expression must show that I’m not following.
‘Nathan thinks I’m some mega-successful interior designer. He thinks I’m this incredible businesswoman. And, yes, I do okay. Salinger’s is holding its own. But I don’t earn as much as he thinks I do. Not enough to afford the clothes I wear and the car I drive. Not enough to buy him his expensive presents and go halves on the luxury holidays. So, when I’m running low on personal funds, I put things through the business.’
‘But surely Nathan wouldn’t expect you to match him in terms of earnings?’
‘Kelly, Nathan expects a lot from me. Our relationship’s always been built on the fact that we’re each self-sufficient. We don’t rely on one another. He’s always liked that about me.’
‘Well, that’s fine. But he can’t expect you to be perfect all the time. You should tell him what’s been happening. He might be shocked at first, but he loves you, so he’ll bail you out of this. He’s your husband, Fi. I bet he’d hate to think of you going through this stress on your own.’
At my advice, Fiona nods. ‘You’re right… I’ll tell him and I’m sure he’ll help me straighten this whole thing out.’ She bites her lip and blinks, trying to smile.
‘Of course he will. Are you sure you’re okay now, Fi?’
‘Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks, Kelly. I’m sorry to have dumped this on you when your own situation is so crappy.’
‘What are we both like?’
She gives me a small smile.
After more hugs and apologies on both sides, Fiona finally leaves. I look around the kitchen and wonder if these are going to be my last few days as a free woman. If this whole Sophie thing is going to ruin my life.
I check the kitchen clock and see that it’ll be supper time soon. No time for that long, soaky bath I was dreaming about. Instead, I check on the kids before taking a brief shower and changing into fresh clothes, which definitely makes me feel less icky.
