Chapter 12
TWELVE
JUSTINE
‘You know what, whoever sent that message is probably just jealous of your lovely life, hun. Don’t let them get you down.
’ Pia passed Justine a steaming cup of chamomile tea.
‘Drink that. It’ll make you feel better and you’ll probably sleep well when you get home.
Who needs nasties like sleeping tablets when nature provides? ’
Justine wiped her red-raw nose and spotted Pia checking the time on her phone. ‘I don’t know if someone would do that. I don’t think I’ve upset anyone. It’s him. I don’t trust him.’
‘Look, people do horrible things all the time. I was reading this thing on Facebook earlier – anonymous, obviously.’
‘Or made up?’ Justine raised her brows.
‘Maybe but the point is still there. It could happen. This person, made up or real, was asking if they were in the wrong as they were sending similar messages to a woman they hated, just to upset her and come between the woman and her husband. Have you upset anyone lately? Think hard. It could be something and nothing. You know how stupidly tetchy people get over nothing.’
‘No, I don’t think so. I argued with the woman living at number five because she took my bin instead of hers again, and she always throws things in it without bagging first. I think she does it on purpose so that she doesn’t have to clean hers and we get ours cleaned every month.
’ Justine frowned at the absurdity of what Pia was suggesting.
‘I don’t think she’d send me that message. ’
‘But she might. People do petty things all the time. There you go, it’s probably the result of some silly neighbourly vendetta. She’s probably regretting sending the stupid message as we speak. Does she have your number?’
‘Yes, I’m in the community hub group.’
‘You know what, Craig will be home soon and if you really don’t trust him, you’ll be able to ask him about the message but don’t go in all guns blazing. No need to ruin your marriage over a stupid text.’
Justine bit her bottom lip. ‘You know him. Would you trust him? Be honest.’
Pia sat next to Justine, her reflection in every window of the orangery. The faint flickering of the candle’s light caught her sparkling blue eyes. ‘Look, hun. You and Craig are good friends of ours. How long have we known each other? I make it five years.’
Justine nodded, wishing that Pia would simply get to the point. She wanted to know if her husband was cheating on her and there was Pia stringing the point along. ‘Wow. Where has the time gone?’
‘Yes, wow. I only have one incident to report here but remember that garden party over on Greenfields.’
An incident. Justine couldn’t help clenching her fists that Pia hadn’t mentioned whatever happened, earlier. ‘Oh, Leanna Jacobson’s.’
‘Yes.’
‘What’s she got to do with this?’ Justine remembered their stunning model-like host who seemed to captivate everyone at the party.
Craig, like all the other men, had noticed her too.
The only man who hadn’t eyed her up was Simeon, Pia’s husband.
Justine also recalled telling Craig to close his mouth when Leanna walked by in her tiny lace shorts.
‘That woman tried so hard to cosy up to Craig, constantly touching his arm when she laughed. I came out of the toilet and Craig was standing alone outside the front door and Leanna joined him. I saw her drunkenly flinging her arms around him and then she went to kiss him.’
‘You never told me any of this.’ Justine slammed her cup down, chamomile tea sloshing over the edge onto the glass table.
‘It was years ago and I didn’t want to upset you.’
‘So, it’s her. It’s been going on all these years under my nose.’
Pia shook her head. ‘No, that’s where you are wrong.
He grabbed her hands, gently removing them, and told her he was happily married.
Then, I scarpered back into the party, hoping I hadn’t been caught watching them.
He followed seconds later. He didn’t do it.
Nothing happened, so I’m sure you’ve got the wrong end of the stick. Craig is not cheating on you.’
Justine let out a long slow breath and leaned back on the couch.
Simeon barged in, bags over his arms and a box in his hands. ‘Hello, hello. Can you take this off me?’ He moaned under the strain of the boxes. ‘Hi, Justine.’
Justine forced a smile.
Pia stood and took the box while Simeon placed his bags down against the wall. Sweat had gathered on his forehead from carrying the boxes, pasting his light-brown hair to his forehead. ‘Do you have what I think you have in that box?’ Pia asked with a smile.
Simeon leaned in for a kiss. ‘Version three. Taste it and tell me what you think.’
Justine looked away, envy gnawing away at her and also hoping she wouldn’t have to try another can of kombucha.
If only Craig adored her as much as Simeon adored Pia.
Justine glanced at the sideboard where a fresh bunch of lilies had been arranged in a vase.
He still bought her flowers. Maybe the spark had just gone with her and Craig.
Simeon started the kombucha business for Pia.
He idolised her and took her away to gorgeous hotels and out for fancy meals.
They’d been together forever but he never stopped making an effort.
Yuck, she hated how she was jealous of everyone who was remotely happy.
Simeon stood up straight and went to speak to Justine but her puffy eyes were just the cue he needed to leave them to talk.
‘Okay, I’m going to unload more cans of this stuff into the garage to package up for the farm shop delivery, then I’m going to have to do some invoicing. Did the gym pay us for the big order?’
‘No, I checked,’ Pia replied.
‘I’ll chase them up. Sorry for interrupting.’
‘He got the hint,’ Pia said, jokingly.
‘You’re so lucky.’ Justine couldn’t help letting that thought slip out.
‘Well so are you. You have a gorgeous family.’
‘Craig never looks at me the way Simeon looks at you.’
‘We have our moments like anyone else and let’s not also forget that Danny adores you. You’re amazing. Besides, we all bicker and get irritated by our partners sometimes. I won’t lie, Simeon and I have been bickering because he’s stressed with the business.’
‘But Simeon would never cheat on you.’
‘And Craig isn’t cheating on you. He wouldn’t.’
Justine picked her tea up to take a sip.
Maybe Pia was right. Maybe the message was from her neighbour or some other horrible person who had it in for her.
That didn’t explain Craig’s behaviour though, but that was a conversation for another day.
The chamomile was working its magic. She needed her bed.
As she stood to leave, Simeon popped back into the room and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl.
As he held his hand up to take a bite, she saw the leather-plaited bracelet around his wrist. Justine couldn’t help the unease that was building up inside her, from her dry mouth to the nausea in her throat.
Craig had spent a lot of time helping Simeon set up the accounting system for the kombucha business, maybe too much time.
‘I have to go.’ She grabbed her bag and fled for the front door.
‘Wait.’
She ignored Pia and ran towards her car. ‘Sorry, I’ll call you tomorrow. Emergency.’
‘Anything I can help with?’
‘No.’
No, no, no, no, no… She punched a message to Craig into her phone as soon as she’d driven away and pulled over down the road.
How could he? All this time she’d been wondering who Craig could have been seeing but it was right under her nose.
Back when they met, Craig had just come out of a relationship with a man.
It had never worried her that he liked men and women, as long as he chose her to be his forever partner.
Pia was going to be so hurt. Craig had to be having an affair with Simeon.
Why else would Simeon be wearing the bracelet she’d bought Craig for his birthday? She hit send.
You bastard. How could you?