Knowing Me Knowing You (37 page)

‘
He isn’t a thug,
’
Kate snapped back.

‘
I still have bruises on my neck from what he did at the bowling alley. Where did you meet someone like that?
’

‘
I want you to go,
’
Kate said and she opened the front door.

‘
Come on Kate, please
.
I’ve got so much I
want to say to you.
I told you, I want to make things right between
us,
I want to try again and be a proper family. I want to be the husband you deserve,
’
Matthew spoke.

‘
No.
’

‘
Why not?
’

‘
Because I can’t forgive you -
the things you said, what you did, it’s all completely unforgivable.
’

‘
People deserve second chances don’t they?
’

‘
Sometimes, but Matthew, this has come so out of the blue. You stopped paying for
Bethan
, you had a new girlfriend who came round here and thumped me, you refused to pay the CSA,
then
there was the DNA, now you want to try again. I just don’t believe you,
’
Kate spoke with a sigh.

‘
I saw you, on the TV last night, in that ridiculous game show
-
with him,
’
Matthew admitted through gritted teeth.

Kate didn’t reply but just looked at
her ex-husband
, seeing his angry expression. It was then that realisation hit her.

‘
Oh my God!
’
she exclaimed, putting her hands to her mouth.

‘
What? I saw you with him, I saw you smiling and laughing with him and I was jealous
-
there I admit it
-
I wanted it to be us together again.
’

‘
This isn’t about me or
Bethan
, this is about the money! Oh my God, how stupid am I? You want to get back in my affections because you think
I might get my hands on a hundred thousand pounds
,
’
Kate spoke hysterically.

‘
What?
’

‘
Oh very good, act surprised when I mention the prize money, nice touch. And this is typical of you, you always were selfish and self-centred, I just ignored it before, tried to pretend it was end
earing. But it wasn’t, it isn’t.
A
ll you’ve ever been interested in is things. It was you who wanted the John Lewis wedding list not me, you wanted the Caribbean honeymoon, I would have been happy with France and you wanted that stupid bloody double shower upstairs which mo
cks me every time I get into it
on my own,
’
Kate blasted.

‘
I don’t know what you’re talking
about,
this has not
hing to do with any prize money.
T
his has to do with me realising what an idiot I’ve been throwing away what we had together. And I couldn’t stand him touching you on that stage, in front of everyone,
’
Matthew tried to explain.

‘
I don’t believe you Matthew. And how dare you come round here and let yourself into my house. Get out! Go on, get out now!
’
Kate screamed and
she
pushed Matthew towards the front door.

‘
You loved me
Kate,
I was the centre of your life
. T
here must be a way to turn back the clock,
’
Matthew pleaded.

‘
Have you no idea how contrived this all sounds. Get out and don’t come back and I’ll have the key please,
’
Kate demanded, opening the front door and pushing him out onto the step.

‘
Kate, this isn’t you
talking.
G
ive me another chance, I’m begging you.
’

‘
I don’t want to see you again and you
can forget about seeing
Bethan
.
S
he’s better off without you,
’
Kate spat angrily.

Matthew just looked at her, dumbfounded by her words. She slammed the door in his face and then leant back against it, closing her eyes. She had never felt more
confused. All the walls of her life felt like they were closing in.

‘
Can I borrow your phone?
’
Kate asked, handing
Bethan
to Hermione and entering her house the next morning.

‘
Morning Kate, hello Hermione, did you enjoy the stew you made yesterday? Yes thank you I did,
’
Hermione spoke as Kate brushed past her and headed to the kitchen.

‘
Joel isn’t answering his phone
.
I thought if I
rang
from here he might think it was you and he’d pick up,
’
Kate attempted to explain as she picked up Hermione’s phone and tapped in the number.

‘
What’s happened?
’
Hermione asked, bringing
Bethan
into the kitchen.

‘
Matthew’s happened.
’

‘
Daddy, Daddy,
’
Bethan
spoke on cue.

‘
What
d’you
mean?
’

‘
He turned up, let himself in to my house,
was
t
here when we got back from here.
S
aid he was sorry, said he wanted me back, wanted to try and be a family again,
’
Kate explained quickly.

‘
Oh good God, you’re kidding,
’
Hermione exclaimed.

‘
And Joel just left.
I asked him to stay but he said Matthew and I needed to talk, which we didn’t really
.
Joel was just being nice and staying out of it and he went and told me to call him but he isn’t answering and I just need to, hear his voice,
’
Kate said
tears forming in her eyes.

‘
Is it ringing yet?
’

‘
Yes that’s all it does do and then it goes to voicemail and I’ve left at least five messages. I don’t know where he lives
Mione
.
’

‘
No, but you know where he works,
’
she reminded.

‘
But I can’t go there until lunchtime; I’ve got a stack of work to do this morning. And what with all the confusion with sleeping together I didn’t tell you the other bit of news from the show on Saturday.
’

‘
Go on,
’
Hermione urged, handing
Bethan
a saucepan and wooden spoon to play with.

‘
The Lady Dragon has somehow found out that Joel’s an escort and is threatening to blow our cover unless I turn down Colin Sykes’ offer to do the solicitor’s exam,
’
Kate babbled.

‘
Oh God.
’

‘
What am I going to do?
’
Kate
asked
.

‘
My advice would be to sit down and have a cup of peppermint tea before you go anywhere or do anything and put the phone down,
’
Hermione ordered.

‘
I care for him
Mione
, I care for Joel. Maybe I’m not ready for a relationship but I care for him and I don’t want to lose him yet. Why did Matthew have to do that? I was coping with him being a bastard, I had almost got used to it and now he’s thrown a spanner in the works,
’
Kate said
, emotion threatening to bubble over.

‘
I don’t want you wasting another second of thought on Matthew.
’

‘
And the Lady Dragon?
’

‘
I would like five minutes in a room with her. I could always make a voodoo doll
!
H
aven’t made one for a while but the results can be really effective,
’
Hermione responded.

‘
I’m not sure I can do t
he whole solicitor thing anyway.
L
ook at me I’m a wreck and if I’m honest I’m finding the work totally boring. Maybe I should just leave
Randall’s
and take up something else that doesn’t numb my brain.
’

‘
Any ideas?
’

‘
I don’t know, burlesque? It seemed to go down well at the contest.
’

‘
Dance, dance,
’
Bethan
said, twirling around with Mr Crisps.

‘
Can-I-play-with-jigsaw?
’
Cyrus spoke, tapping his feet to the syllables of the words.

‘
Of-course-you-can-Cyrus, in-the-bottom-drawer,
’
Hermione spoke, copying the pattern in her steps.

‘
Joel taught him to do that,
’
Kate said her eyes misting over.

‘
Yes, he’s a marvel; Cyrus’ mother just broke down when he greeted her with ‘Hello-Mummy-I’ve-had-fun’,
’

‘
And he’s funny and cleve
r and gorgeous and kind and...
’

‘
Perhaps he’s just giving you a bit of space; I mean the weekend must have been an intense experience, all that time together doing the show and whatever happened in the romance lodge. Perhaps he’s just giving you a wide berth to think about things.
’

‘
We talked through things though, we agreed we would be honest with each other and he said he would give me time,
time
not space. I don’t want space,
’
Kate explained.

‘
Maybe that’s what you need to tell him.
’

‘
And I will but he isn’t answering the phone. Shit, is that the time? I’ve got to get to work; I don’t want to give the Lady Dragon another excuse to give me a black mark. Bye
,
bye
Bethan
,
have
fun with Auntie
Mione
, Mummy will see you later,
’
Kate spoke, kissing
Bethan
on the cheek and standing up.

‘
Joel, Joel,
’
Bethan
said excitedly, turning around and around in circles.

When she got into the car park she dragged a brush through her hair. She hadn’t had the time or energy to put make-up on even though she knew she looked terrible. She hadn’t slept properly the night before; all she
had done was dream, about Matthew, about Joel, about Larry Rawlins and the st
upid Love Dove. She had a five thousand pound
cheque in her handbag and she hadn’t even given that a second thought.

She took the lift to her floor and when she got into the Probate room she couldn’t see her desk for the bouquets of flowers all over it.

‘
Morning Kate, I take it the romance lodge worked its magic then! I’ve never seen so many flowers,
’
Lynn
remarked as she put down the contents of Kate’s filing tray and turned to greet her.

‘
Oh, they’re lovely aren’t they?
’
Kate remarked, looking at a bunch of roses and taking out the card.

‘
You don’t need to look to see who they’re from
do
you?
Dur
!
’
Lynn
said.

Kate read the card.

I’ll never give up until we’re a family again. All my love Matthew x

‘
Apparently I do. Could you get rid of them please Lynn
, every bouquet.
G
et one of the runners to arrange to distribute them at the hospital,
’
Kate said, starting to push the flowers to one side.