Page 79 of Insidious

When Chloe called out, it seemed like that brief moment was over as I felt him withdraw into himself. Unsettling that I can read him so well.

I watched the exchange like a spectator. Her predictable, wide-eyed tricks. A leaky sink? Couldn’t she find something less cliché?

I huff and pout as I hug my pillow. I miss hogging the duvet and edging him to the end of the bed. I miss waking up draped over him like a spider monkey.

The ugly, honest part of me wanted him to call her out for the fake little bitch she is. To put Chloe in her place.

So disappointing that he didn’t.

So polite. Such a good boy. I hate that a little … Maybe a lot.

Later, much later, when we were home, and Amelie had produced one of her truly impressive nappies, I said it. I had been debating on whether I wanted to speak to him. But anger is exhausting and I finally gave in

He was bent over the changing table, making a scrunchy face.

“How does someone so cute make something this awful?” he muttered to Amelie, who was masterfully sucking on her fist while watching him.

I leaned against the doorframe, drinking the bottle of water he had handed me almost as soon as we cleared the door. It had been hard, denying myself those moments.

“She’s gifted,” I said drily. “Wonder where she gets it.”

He snorted but didn’t look away from our precious daughter.

“I’m calling you Stink Bomb when you grow up,” he told Amelie, wiping her carefully. “In front of your boyfriend.”

I couldn’t stop the smile. “Boyfriend, huh?”

“When you’re allowed to date at fifty,” he added with a grumpy smile.

I snorted water through my nose before I could stop myself. The sound surprised both of us. He always called me his little piggie when I did that. His eyes dropped to my lips for a long moment before turning back to Amelie. It had been a while since we had laughed together.

Then I said it because I couldn’t keep it in.

“That thing with Chloe at your mum’s place … was odd.”

He paused for a second, then blew a raspberry on Amelie’s belly.

“I know,” he said.

I waited for more. Ever since that showdown, I had been greedy for more.

“I was afraid,” he added, as if carefully measuring his words, “that if I spoke to her any longer than was polite, you’d think there was something there.”

I couldn’t answer immediately because I was watching them like an eagle.

“I still wish you could have torn her a brand-new arsehole,” I admitted after a gulp of water. “It’s what I would have done.”

He huffed out a breath, almost a laugh.

“Believe me,” he said, fastening Amelie’s fresh nappy. “I am not so stupid. Chloe … She is very good at manipulating the situation. I just wanted to get out of there. She already knows I don’t want her anywhere near us. And that is not going to change even if you decide not to give us a chance …”

I watched him for a second longer before pushing myself off the doorframe.

We didn’t say anything else.

But something between us felt … different. Like we had turned a corner.

***