Page 18 of The Girlfriend’s Secret

‘Morning, guys,’ Joel says.

‘Good morning,’ Haven adds and now I’m the only one who hasn’t spoken.

‘Did you both sleep well?’ I ask because that’s the kind of thing a loving parent with nothing to worry about would say.

‘Yeah, it was all right,’ Joel replies. ‘I think we’re both finally over our jetlag.’

‘That’s good,’ I say, noting that my son does look far less exhausted than he has done on previous days. As for Haven, she looks as immaculate as ever, her make-up already applied and her shiny hair smartly tucked into a ponytail. I guess she found the time to wash her hair in the shower, in amongst the other things she was getting up to in there.

‘Do you want some breakfast or are you going somewhere?’ I ask them both. ‘I can make you something if you like.’

I notice Frederik give me a wry smile; it’s not lost on my husband how hard I am trying right now. At least he is getting some amusement out of all this because I’m certainly not.

‘Thanks, but we’re going to go into town,’ Joel tells me as he zips up his coat. It’s the coat he didn’t take to Australia because he didn’t think he would need it and, based on the suntan he has come back with, I guess he was right.

‘Oh, okay,’ I reply. ‘Any particular reason?’

‘We’re going shopping,’ Haven tells me and then she flashes that smile again, the one that I’m sure quickly put my son under her spell, but it doesn’t have quite the same effect on me.

‘What are you shopping for?’ I ask.

‘I don’t know, we’re just going for a look around,’ Joel replies. ‘We can’t buy much yet. Not until Grandma’s money comes through.’

I’m almost relieved that it hasn’t arrived yet because if it had, I’d fear Haven buying herself all sorts of fancy things with that money and I imagine Joel not possessing the strength to say no to her. Not if she kept showing him that smile. Certainly not if she keeps joining him in the shower.

‘Would you like me to drive you into town?’ Frederik offers, and Joel quickly accepts that invitation, so my husband goes to put his coat on too.

I decide this is not the time to broach the subject of the untidy kitchen again, and as the three of them go to leave the house, I realise I’ll be all by myself in just a moment.

‘Have fun,’ I call after them, again trying my best to be friendly.

‘I’m sure we will,’ Haven replies cheerfully and, with that, they are gone.

I watch from the window as Frederik reverses his car off the driveway before it disappears down the street.

‘Well, that could have gone worse, I suppose,’ I say quietly to myself before leaving the window to get started on some of the chores I need to complete today.

I begrudgingly spend the first fifteen minutes tidying up the kitchen that I had previously tidied last night, before I go upstairs to clean the main bathroom. I feel like this shower could do with a scrub. Once that is done, I decide to do some washing, although there’s not too many items of clothing that require a wash in mine and Frederik’s basket. But as I pass Joel’s bedroom, it’s easy to imagine there is a rather big and growing pile of dirty clothing in there, as there has always been ever since he became a fixture in this house. I briefly question whether I should enter his bedroom after recent events, only to shake my head because it’s foolish of me to even debate it.

This is my house and nowhere should be off limits to me.

Entering the bedroom, I see that the wash basket in here is as full as I imagined it to be, so I pick it up and carry it downstairs. Unloading the various clothing items from the basket and putting them into the washing machine, I check the pockets of Joel’s jeans, aware that he often has a habit of leaving things in there that should not come into contact with water. Headphones, bank cards, important documents, things of my son’s that have all been ruined by this washing machine in the past, so I am always careful to check now, just in case he’s as forgetful as ever.

Miraculously, there is nothing valuable or important in my son’s jeans, so I throw them in the machine. Then I come across another pair of jeans, and absent-mindedly check the pockets of these too. When I do, I feel a piece of paper inside and take it out, figuring I’ve just saved it from being ruined by the water when the machine turns on. But when I open it, I find it has come from the pocket of Haven’s jeans, not Joel’s.

I didn’t realise she had put some of her clothing in this wash basket too, which meant I didn’t know I was rummaging around in her belongings. But now I have the piece of paper, I can’t help but read what is written on it.

Be careful and call me if you’re ever in trouble again.

The strange message is followed by a mobile phone number.

As I re-read it all, I have so many questions.

What is she supposed to be careful about?

Who is this person she is supposed to call if she is in trouble?

What kind of trouble are they assuming Haven might get into?