Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
REID
What day is it? The fact that it takes me several seconds to figure that out tells me that I am very much back in the trenches of parenthood.
I remember this feeling from before. The feeling of waking up and having no idea whether it was a Monday or a Thursday, a Saturday or a Sunday.
That feeling comes when every day is the same and that’s how it’s mostly been lately.
Bottles, nappies, crying and cuddling. Jude is keeping me busy, as he is Luna, so much so that I can scarcely believe it when I realise that my parental leave has come to an end and I am due back in the office.
‘I feel bad leaving you,’ I say to Luna, getting guilty about the fact that I am now about to swap milk-stained bibs and bathtimes for my shirt and tie and adult conversations. ‘Two weeks isn’t enough time.’
‘I’ll be fine,’ Luna replies, and while I don’t doubt it because she has been an excellent mother so far, I still wish I could stay and help. But to work I must go, so I make sure the kids are ready for school and then get us all out of the door.
Arthur chatters away about something from the front passenger seat beside me while Ruby sits silently in the back, no doubt thinking about her mother again.
A child psychiatrist would find it interesting how my two children are handling their misery over their mother in totally different ways, but I just find it upsetting and yet another challenge thrown my way by life lately.
‘Have a good day,’ I say to them both as I park outside the school, the new one that they have seemingly settled into well enough, although possibly only because the upheaval of their mum’s hospitalisation and Jude’s arrival has meant they’ve got used to lots of change.
I watch as Arthur and Ruby walk away from my car, wishing like I do every time I drop them here that when I see them again, I could give them the good news that their mother has come out of her coma and there is no longer any reason to feel sad.
But I don’t expect that will happen, so I set off to work feeling far more despondent than a new dad should be feeling at what is supposed to be an exciting time in my life.
After parking my car, I start walking towards my new office, aware that even though I’m much older than my children, trying to settle into a new environment can be just as daunting for adults as it can be for kids.
‘Excuse me. Reid Hunt?’
I turn to see a man in a grey hoody walking towards me across the car park and, at first sight, he doesn’t look like he belongs here, at this office for well-heeled solicitors.
But I shouldn’t judge people by their appearance.
This guy could be the multi-millionaire owner of the company I am newly employed by, for all I know.
‘Yes?’ I reply.
‘I have a message for you,’ the mysterious man says.
‘Sorry, who are you?’
‘I better not give you my name for now. But I can give you the name of the person who has sent me here. It’s Gemma.’
The name of the woman I was once involved with brings all sorts of memories flooding back.
Memories like how she was once a work colleague of mine in my previous job.
Memories like how I found myself attracted to her and foolishly began swapping messages with her that weren’t appropriate for me to send.
And memories like Sadie discovering this, and the whole thing putting a dagger through the heart of our marriage.
My most recent memory of Gemma is seeing her go to prison after being found guilty of starting the fire at Sadie’s parents’ house, the one that could have killed them and my children if they hadn’t got out in time.
That’s why hearing her name now is not very welcome.
‘Gemma sent you here?’
‘Yes.’
‘I don’t know what she wants but I don’t want to hear it,’ I say before starting to walk away.
‘I think you should,’ the man tells me and, against my better judgement, I stop.
‘Gemma is trying to help you and I guess that’s what I’m trying to do too,’ the man says.
‘Help me how?’
‘By letting you know that you are in danger.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘Your ex-wife, Sadie, is in a coma in hospital, correct?’
That information has been in the local news, so there’s no point asking how he knows that.
‘Yes.’
‘After an altercation with your current partner, Luna.’
‘Sadie broke in and attacked her with a knife,’ I say, unsure where the man is going with this.
‘Did you know that Gemma had sent a message to Sadie shortly before that incident, telling her that she believed Luna was the one responsible for framing her?’
I did not know that and I can’t disguise the surprise on my face.
‘What are you talking about?’ I ask.
‘I’m talking about how, on your previous visit to see Gemma in prison after she asked to speak to you, you revealed that you had a new girlfriend. At that moment, Gemma told you that she suspected her of being behind everything that has happened to you and your family.’
‘I remember that and I ignored it at the time because it was utter nonsense.’
‘You might have thought that, but Gemma believed Luna was behind everything, so she informed Sadie. After receiving that message, Sadie must have gone to your home to confront Luna or perhaps try to warn you and the children that she may be dangerous. Now she is in a coma and Luna appears to have got away with it scot-free.’
‘Luna has done nothing wrong. Sadie is the one who attacked her with a knife. And Sadie is only in a coma because she slipped while running. Luna did not physically hurt her.’
‘Why was she running?’ the man asks me before answering his own question. ‘Because she was the one who was afraid. Not Luna.’
I shake my head in disbelief. Can my life get any more complicated?
‘How did you find me?’ I have to ask.
‘Gemma sent me to your previous workplace and when you weren’t there, I asked for a new address for you. They passed it on.’
I’ll be sure not to thank my previous employer for that.
‘I need to get to work and you need to leave me alone,’ I say, turning to go again, but the man has more to say.
‘I understand that this might sound hard to believe, but please, you’re the only one in a position to find out for sure. Gemma is behind bars and Sadie is unconscious. That leaves you who can get close enough to Luna to find out if she is hiding something.’
‘She is not hiding anything,’ I say before I storm away.
Despite going into my office building, taking the elevator up to my floor and settling down into my chair, there is no chance of me getting any work done.
Not now I’m worrying that there might be something to what that man just said.
It would be easy to dismiss Gemma’s conspiracy theory that Luna framed her for the fire because she is a desperate woman who has to blame somebody.
That’s why I dismissed it when I first heard it back at the prison many months ago.
Now I think about what the man said. Specifically, about how both Gemma and Sadie are now in positions where they are unable to pursue their suspicions of Luna.
Is that a coincidence?
Or by design?
I wish I could focus on work. If I could, I wouldn’t be thinking a troubling thought.
I wouldn’t be thinking about how I might have to look at Luna a little closer than I have done so far.
That’s what Gemma wants me to do.
But can I do it?