Chapter 40
40
‘You’re what?’ I knew that I was raising my voice but I couldn’t help myself.
‘I said, we’re having a baby.’
‘At your age? At her age? You can’t be serious.’ I could feel my nostrils flaring and my pulse beginning to pound, heat soaring through my body, this time nothing to do with my age. ‘She’s drinking too. I saw her earlier.’
‘She’s not drinking alcohol, Jo. Have you not heard of mocktails and alcohol-free drinks?’
‘Bloody hell, Michael. What on earth are you two thinking? You can’t possibly think this is a good idea.’
‘Calm down, Jo. You’re making a scene.’ He held me by the shoulders.
There was nothing worse when you were mightily shocked or pissed off than someone telling you to calm down.
‘You were a terrible father, Michael. You were never around for our girls when they were babies or toddlers, come to think of it.’
‘Yeah, maybe I wasn’t. I never found them very entertaining and to be honest you kind of took over anyway. I felt like an outsider in our family.’
‘That was because you were barely there. The business was more important to you than they, or we , your family, were. I don’t think you’ve ever changed a nappy in your life.’ I wasn’t sure why this thought jumped into my mind at that moment.
The dance floor had filled and there were more people dancing now; laughing; having fun all around us. It was bizarre. Their world was continuing like nothing had happened, yet in mine it felt like a massive bomb had detonated and I was now having to deal with the aftermath.
‘Well, maybe I’ve got a chance to do it the way I should have done now. Maybe with Claudia, things will be different. She’s ten years younger than you and even though she’s classed as an older mum, this feels right. I will be marrying her obviously. As soon as we can. I didn’t want to take the shine off Lucy’s wedding by announcing ours just yet.’
Marrying her. The ink was hardly dry on our divorce papers and he was getting married again. This man was incorrigible.
‘What about the girls? What on earth do you think they’re going to say?’
I looked over at Lucy and Melissa, who were watching us from the side of the dance floor. Melissa was biting her nails and Lucy was twiddling her hair. They both looked really shifty and it then dawned on me that I was the last to know. Could this day get any worse? Apparently it could.
‘While we’re chatting, and you’re already pissed off with me, I may as well let you know that you’ll also be hearing from my solicitor, Jo. I’m contesting Aunty June’s will. She was my aunty and not yours and with us having a baby on the way, we’re going to need all the money we can get. That house is rightfully mine. She wasn’t even related to you.’
My jaw dropped open. I was honestly staggered by what he was saying.
I looked over to the table where Mum was sitting and caught her eye. She looked completely flummoxed, clearly she hadn’t been in on the family gossip. Michelle and Emma were beside her and I noticed Emma mouth something at me which I couldn’t make out. I shrugged my shoulders. She held up three fingers and then made a T shape with her pointed hands. I nodded and smiled, remembering Aggie’s three t’s rule of tummy, tits, teeth, and slowly pushed out my chest and held in my tummy. I raised my head and looked him straight in the eye.
‘In that case, Michael, I wish you all the best. I hope it all works out well for you.’
I turned on my heel and walked away, my head held high as a tear trickled down my left cheek, followed swiftly by another on the right.