‘The house is all ours.’ I hold up the keys and jangle them. ‘Congratulations,’ says Debbie, but her smile doesn’t
reach her eyes.
She hugs her son and I get a pat on the arm. This level of intimacy suits me just fine. ‘You didn’t mention the auction was today,’ she says.
‘We didn’t want to say anything and jinx it,’ Finn replies. ‘You know how many times we’ve been let down before.’
‘And we’ve wasted enough time living here,’ I add. ‘We are grateful for everything you’ve done for us but we need to get on with our lives.’ I look only at Debbie. ‘Just Finn and I.’
I swear there’s a part of her that shrivels up like a slug doused in salt each time she is reminded that Finn married me. But only I ever pick up on it. From the moment I met her and she spotted the tattoos on my wrist, ankle and back, my card was marked, even though her son has a sleeve of inkings, including one with his ex-girlfriend Emma’s face that he has yet to have lasered despite my nagging.
There’s a small, silly, insecure part of me that wonders if he’s still not let go of her completely, which is why he’s kept it. Debbie certainly isn’t willing to wave farewell to Saint Emma. She keeps a framed photograph in the dining room of them at their high school prom. Emma’s wearing a silver gown and Finn’s dressed in a smart suit and tie. I
assumed she’d eventually replace the photo with one of our wedding pictures, but no. Every time I’m in there, I swear to God that girl’s eyes follow me around.
‘There’s a lot that needs to be done but we’re willing to put in the hours,’ I say.
Debbie lets out a half-laugh, half-pig-snort. ‘Oh Mia, wandering around John Lewis picking out bedding and matching curtains isn’t “putting in the hours”. It’ll be Finn and his dad doing most of the work, won’t it?’
I love my husband and I accept that sometimes he’s caught between us, but there are times like this when I need him to grow a pair and stand up for me. I bite my tongue and wonder how I’ve managed to put up with living under her roof for the last fourteen months. I am sure I’d have gone mad had we not had the Annexe to ourselves. It’s compact but comes with its own bedroom, living area, kitchenette and bathroom. It’s served us well, except it doesn’t stop the out-laws from entering whenever they feel like it.
I divert my attention away from her and towards Dave. I can’t help thinking how much he has aged over the last year. He remains broad but is less muscular than he was even a few months ago. The grey in his hair is now the most dominant colour and it’s receding, so he can no longer hide with a fringe the deep-red port stain that covers half his forehead and part of his eyelid.
‘It’s certainly a good-sized place,’ Dave says. ‘There’s a lot of scope to put your stamp on it.’
‘It’s just a shame you won’t be able to fill all those bedrooms—’
‘Debbie,’ interrupts Dave, and he’s not the only who can’t believe what his wife has just said.
‘Oh, I’m sorry . . .’ she begins, but her face says something different. And now I’m exiting the room and making my way back to the Annexe. She knows the exact place to punch me for it to hurt the most. As I leave, I want
to hear Finn giving her both barrels, telling her how thoughtless that was. But he simply follows me.
I slam the Annexe door behind me but it reopens just as quickly. ‘Babe,’ he begins, but I don’t want to hear it.
‘Don’t you dare make excuses for what she said.’
‘She said it without thinking.’ I brush off the hand he has placed on my shoulder. ‘You know what she’s like.’
‘I certainly do. She can’t stop herself from trying to make me feel worthless. I see how she looks at her defective daughter-in-law. Well I’m glad I’ve got broken bloody ovaries because that means she’ll never get to sink her claws into a grandchild.’
‘You don’t mean that. I’ll talk to her.’
‘Don’t bother because she won’t listen,’ I say. ‘She’s being a spoiled brat because she knows we deserve that house and she doesn’t.’ Even as I slide a suitcase out from beneath the bed I know I’m being completely unreasonable, but I can do nothing but roll on. ‘Let’s just pack our clothes and some toiletries and get a room at the Travelodge. We can collect the rest of our things tomorrow. I’ll call the storage company to give notice and arrange to have it delivered to the new house.’
‘It’s uninhabitable, Mia. You know that. Let’s sleep on it and then we’ll talk about it in the morning. And if you are still dead set on us leaving, then we’ll find somewhere to go.’
I know he’s only pacifying me, just telling me what I need to hear. I allow him to pull me to his chest. We both know that when morning arrives, this foul mood will have passed. But for tonight, I intend to have loud, passionate sex with Debbie’s son and scream the sodding roof down if I have to, and I don’t care who hears. If I can’t give him a baby, I’ll at least give him the time of his life.
