Chapter 36
36
NOVEMBER 2018, SUFFOLK, ENGLAND
‘Oooooh!’ says the crowd as a peony shell of purple sparks rains down over the school field.
‘Ahhhhh!’ says Kate into Jack’s ear as she pulls him tight into her faux-fur trimmed parka. Chloe was too cool to come to the annual fireworks party at her old school, but Izzy is sipping a mug of tomato soup as she curls into her dad’s fleece, and Jack seeks solace from the noise he’s pretending he’s not scared of in the comforting folds of his mother’s waist.
Kate turns to George to savour the moment. Bright lights in the night sky illuminate his eyes and she feels connected. This is the first time in months Kate has felt any real unity with George and total harmony in their family. He keeps looking up, fixated on the fireworks, and doesn’t notice Kate’s contented glance.
It’s the annual Claresham Church of England Primary School family firework night, the first Kate has organised since she became chair of the PTA. Three months of blood, sweat and tears and her gunpowder plot has paid off. Practically the entire village has turned out for a brilliant event, and Kate feels as triumphant as the supernova rocket they’re watching head into orbit.
‘Mum, your phone…’ Jack’s freckled face looks up towards his mother.
‘What was that, poppet?’
Kate can’t hear it under the whizz bang boom, but Jack feels a vibrating hum against his ribs as he hugs his mum’s dimpled thigh.
‘Your phone’s ringing.’
Kate decides to ignore it. It’s probably the same withheld number that has called six times this week, and the person at the other end hung up every time. On the other hand, it could be one of the suppliers at the school tonight, needing to reach Kate because the kitchen has run out of frankfurters or the DJ has locked his Minion costume in the van with his keys.
Please, no, it’s all going so smoothly.
‘Give Daddy and Iz a cuddle, they’ll keep you warm. I need to see who this is…’
Kate walks inside the school building and pulls the bobble hat off her head. She takes her phone out of her jeans pocket as it stops ringing.
Withheld number.
She feels a mixture of annoyance and relief.
Blasted PPI, I bet. Although they never hang up…
Kate wants to get back out for the grand fireworks finale, the crescendo to a backdrop of ‘Carmina Burana’, but ‘Withheld number’ flashes up again and the phone starts to ring. She stops in her tracks.
One last chance.
‘Hello?’ Kate says into the mouthpiece as she walks into a quiet classroom so she can hear the caller. Or not hear the caller, if it’s another crank call .
‘Hello?’
Her mouth sits at an agitated angle.
This is ridiculous.
Suddenly, a mousy voice speaks, just about audible against the sound of ‘I Like to Move It’ coming from the school hall down the corridor. The DJ has put his Minion costume on and is warming up.
‘Hi. Is that Kate Wheeler?’
‘Speaking.’ Kate’s mildly annoyed voice wobbles as she strains to hear the meek voice at the other end of the line.
I’m going to miss the finale. The disco is about to start.
Silence again.
‘Look, who is this? Why do you keep calling?’
‘My name is Bethany. Bethany Henderson. I was your husband’s PA.’
Suddenly, the caller has Kate’s full attention.
‘Oh. Right. Yes, Bethany, I remember you. How are you?’ Even in the strangest of circumstances, Kate’s default setting switches to polite. A pause punctuates the classroom with a thousand possibilities. Kate looks up at the handwriting display on the wall in front of her. Iterations of Goldilocks retold by Year 1 children. Her eyes land on a cartoon of a vacuous blonde. ‘Why are you calling?’
‘It’s your husband. He’s been cheating on you.’