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“Tough day,” Henry says.
“I know, it’s awful for all of you. Did you know Maddie very well?”
“I’ve met her a lot socially.”
“Did she and James look alike?”
“Same dark hair. Same turquoise eyes, from their mother. Both smart—Maddie worked in finance, too. They got that from their dad. Both ambitious and driven. But she had a kind of… I don’t know… wistful quality, I guess, that James doesn’t have. She didn’t have a lot of luck romantically, whereas James…” He glances at me, and his lips twist.
“Yeah,” I say wryly. “I know what you’re trying to say.”
“She always seemed sad.” He sighs.
“He implied they were close.”
“Yeah, not in a lovey-dovey way, never heard them say I love you or anything. I guess that’s why it shook him up that she said it last night.”
“It doesn’t mean she killed herself.”
“No, true. But yeah, they supported each other because they didn’t have anyone else around, I suppose. She didn’t like Cassie.”
My eyebrows rise. “Really? Why?”
“Cassie made it very clear that she didn’t want James seeing Maddie so much. He told her it was none of her business how often he saw his sister. Cassie didn’t like coming second. Especially when James asked Maddie to move in with him. Maddie said no. She didn’t want to come between them. I think Maddie felt to blame when they split. Wasn’t her fault, though. Cassie wanted kids and James didn’t. That’s why they broke up.”
“Oh.” That explains a lot.
“Well, Cassie said she wanted kids,” Henry adds. “I think it was more that Cassie wanted the money, and she thought marriage and children would be a way to make sure that happened.”
“Seriously?”
“Oh yeah. She was definitely after his cash. Partly, anyway. And he knew that, I think. It’s the main reason he didn’t ask her to move in with him.”
He goes on to tell me a story about how James brought Maddie as his plus-one to his wedding, and how Maddie got drunk and went off with one of the groomsmen, to James’s chagrin, as he hadn’t managed to pull any of the bridesmaids. I smile, because I’m meant to, but I recognize Henry’s need to reminisce and think about Maddie.
It’s the most I’ve ever heard him say in one go. He’s normally a quiet guy, happy to sit back and let others lead the conversation. Maori men can often be reticent and shy, but I think it’s more that Henry just listens more than he speaks, which is a rare talent in people nowadays. I know he’s Head of HR at their firm, and his easy manner becomes evident the more we talk—he has a way of looking at you that makes you feel as if you’re the most interesting person he’s ever met.
Gaby told me that he and Juliette headed off together after the trivia night, but she also said that neither of them will talk about it, and they’re clearly not together. I think Juliette is still with Cameron, even though he didn’t go to Damon’s wedding with her.
Henry finishes his tale and sighs again. “Of course,” he says, “that was six years ago now.”
“How long has it been since you and Shaz broke up?” I ask. “If you don’t mind talking about it?”
He leans forward with his elbows on his knees, the coffee cup dangling in his fingers. “Our divorce came through just before Christmas.”
I stare at him. I know you have to be separated for two years to get a divorce in New Zealand. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.”
“Nobody did. We kept it quiet. She moved into the west wing of the house two Christmases ago, and the court agreed to make that the start of the two-year period. We tried to rekindle things a couple of times, but it didn’t work out, and in the end she met someone else and moved in with him.”
“Aw. That must have been hard.”
“Yeah, but she’s happy, and I’m glad about that. It wasn’t acrimonious at any point. We sort of had the same problem as James and Cassie, except it wasn’t that I didn’t want kids—I can’t have them.”
“Oh, Henry.” I bump shoulders with him. “You couldn’t have adopted or anything?”
“She really wanted her own children, and she didn’t want to use a sperm donor. I don’t know, I say it’s the reason we broke up, but it’s a symptom, not the cause. If we’d been right for each other, we would’ve been able to work through it, wouldn’t we?”
“I guess.”
