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Simon looked up at her, his eyes pleading. ‘Do we really have to?’
Stella was determined not to back down like she had the last time she’d tabled the idea. ‘Yes, we really do. I know you find it boring, but she’s my sister…’
‘It’s not her that’s boring. She’s just bossy. It’s that insufferable husband of hers I really can’t bear.’
‘Come on, Philip’s not that bad.’ Stella laughed a little.
‘He’s the most boring man I’ve ever met. Always droning on about fiscal policy, and if it’s not that, it’s his bloody cricket club.’
‘OK, so he’s not the most exciting man in the world, but he’s part saint to still be married to my sister, as far as I’m concerned.’ Stella deployed humour to try to get Simon to agree. ‘Come on, I’ve not seen her for months. I’ll drive, so you can have a few drinks if that’ll help you get through it. And we really won’t stay for long, I promise.’
Simon sighed. ‘Fine, if that’s what you want to do, that’s what we’ll do.’
‘Please don’t make me feel guilty about it.’ Stella reached across for his hand. ‘The cousins love getting together, anyway.’
Simon stood up, taking his plate over to the dishwasher. ‘I’ve said fine. But for the record, we’re leaving straight after pudding, otherwise we’ll be there all bloody afternoon.’
‘Coffee.’
‘What?’
‘We’ll leave after coffee. It’s rude to leave before then.’
He sighed. ‘Whatever. Anyway, I’m going to have a shower.’
‘Now?’
‘Yes, now. Is that all right?’ There was an edge to his voice. She was clearly irritating him.
‘Yes, of course. Sorry. I’m just tired.’ She sighed. ‘You go up, I’ll finish here.’
Simon left the kitchen, calling for the children to turn the television off and go and get ready for bed as he passed them.
Stella loaded the plates into the dishwasher, telling herself that she didn’t need to start questioning everything he did just because she didn’t recognise an item of his clothing.
She herded Max and the twins up the stairs, reminding them to pick up their various piles of clean clothes as they passed rather than just step over them.
Hearing the water running in their bathroom, Stella crept into her and Simon’s bedroom and crossed the floor to the pile of clothes on Simon’s side of the bed. There, on top of his shirt, lay the tie. Stella picked it up and slowly turned it over. In capital letters, she saw the words HERMÈS and PARIS stitched onto the square white label. She looked at it for a moment before placing it carefully back just as she’d found it, making her way across the bedroom to the door. Just then, the water in the shower stopped. She turned and slipped quietly back down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Stella picked up her wine glass from the table where she’d left it and took a last sip before rinsing it and putting it by the sink. Perhaps it had been a present, or a treat to himself? But she knew, deep down, Simon wouldn’t buy himself anything like that. Expensive ties just weren’t his thing. He’d spend a fortune on season tickets for his beloved football team, but not ties. She tried to calm her mind, not let it race to places she didn’t want it to go.
Grabbing her laptop, she perched on a stool at the kitchen island. ‘Hey, Percy,’ she said softly as the dog came and lay at her feet. He sighed heavily, as if he knew how she was feeling. Determined to take her mind off it, Stella flipped open the laptop and glanced down the long list of unread emails in her inbox, then started clearing it.
At first she didn’t notice Simon come into the kitchen. He was dressed in shorts and T-shirt, his hair was wet, his skin flushed pink from the hot water. ‘I’m going to take the dog out for a walk.’ He gestured to Percy, who didn’t seem to be on the same page with the idea. ‘Come on, boy.’
‘But you’ve just had a shower.’ Stella looked up, trying to read his face. She glanced towards the window at the darkness outside. ‘And it’s a bit late for that, isn’t it?’
‘I won’t be long.’
‘Simon, did I do something wrong?’ Stella felt her stomach drop. She couldn’t work out what she’d said, but his face told her he didn’t want to be here. At least, not with her.
‘I don’t know what you mean. Really, I just want some fresh air, it’s been a long day and I’ve been stuck with people I didn’t want to be with for most of it. Anyway, he could do with the exercise, look at the size of him.’ Simon waved the lead at the dog, making Percy finally shift from his resting position.
Stella could sense there was more to it, but she decided not to push him any further or he’d simply stop talking. Stella had grown up in a house where arguments were forgotten as quickly as they happened. Simon, on the other hand, hated confrontation. Silence was his preferred position, but over their years together, Stella had persuaded him that talking about things, anything, was far better than burying problems. At least, she thought she had. But there was something not right here and there didn’t seem to be anything she could do about it right now.
‘I’ll see you in a bit,’ Simon called as he left, closing the front door behind him.
Upstairs, Stella could hear footsteps on the landing.
