Chapter 47
LIV
As people took their seats at the table, I waved over to Jay to show him where we were sitting. I watched his expression darken as he approached when he realised we were at the same table as the Laurences.
‘You promised,’ he hissed as he came up alongside me.
‘Shh,’ I whispered. ‘I know… I’m sorry… I’ll explain everything later.’
Before he could say anything else, a woman began speaking over the microphone.
‘You are all very welcome here this evening. My name is Hilda Keogh and I am the chairperson of the Parents’ Association.
For those of you who are new to our school this year, we are the link between the parents and the school.
As well as representing the views of parents, we foster cooperation between the school management and parents.
As I’m sure you can imagine, it is a valuable and vital resource for our school.
We also look after fundraising for extra resources and anything that might crop up so don’t be afraid to get in touch with any of our members if you have new ideas or suggestions.
We are always looking for fresh blood to contribute to our ongoing work, especially parents with different skill sets to enrich our offering so please don’t be shy about putting your hand up; we would love new members.
We’ve put a lot of work into organising this evening and I hope you will all dig deep but most importantly have fun.
So without further ado, I’m going to hand you over to our principal, Ms Fadden. ’
People clapped as the principal took to the stage and began to talk about the school’s ethos.
As Ms Fadden spoke, I saw Hugo was reading something on his phone.
He had barely said two words to Maya all evening.
The man beside him had tried to start a conversation with him about the rugby match at the weekend but Hugo had got distracted by his phone and eventually, the man had given up and turned back to his wife.
‘So what class are your kids in?’ another woman on the table asked Maya and me.
‘Our sons have just started in Junior Infants together,’ Maya replied.
‘Aw, how cute. My guys are in fifth and third class. It just flies by so enjoy it.’ She smiled and then got into a conversation with her husband.
‘I don’t know about you two,’ Maya said, turning to me and Jay, ‘but I already feel they’re getting so big even after just a few weeks in school. I wish they would stop growing and stay babies forever. We’ll be empty nesters before we know it.’
‘Liv and I say the same thing all the time,’ Jay agreed, shooting a wistful look in my direction. I smiled sadly back. ‘Would you like another baby, Maya?’
‘Well, you would need your husband to sleep with you for that to happen,’ she quipped, taking a sip from her wine glass.
Hugo placed his phone down on the table, suddenly giving Maya his full attention for the first time this evening. ‘So you just find other men to do it with instead!’ he sneered.
Jay turned puce and neither of us knew where to look or what to say. I wanted to hide beneath the table. Jay and I weren’t fighters and we both found this whole thing excruciating.
Then Hugo stood up, tossed his napkin on the table and left the room.
‘Are you okay?’ I asked, shocked by the whole thing.
‘I’m used to it,’ she said with a breezy wave of her hand as she sat there glugging her champagne, seemingly unfazed by this diatribe between the two of them.
If Jay ever said something horrible like that, I’d divorce him, but it appeared to be water off a duck’s back for her.
They were obviously well used to this toxic roleplay.
When the main course was served, Hugo still hadn’t returned to the table.
I looked around to see if I could spot him anywhere but there was no sign.
There was a raffle before the dessert and when he still hadn’t reappeared, I assumed he had gone home.
The band started playing and some couples got up on the dance floor while others appeared deep in conversation.
Jay pulled me up to dance and as we moved around the floor, I watched Maya as she helped herself to another glass of champagne from the bottle left in the cooler bucket in the centre of the table.
When the song was over, we made our way back to the table.
Jay’s arm was draped around my shoulder, while my arm slotted along his lower back.
‘Still no sign of Hugo then?’ Jay asked when we reached the table.
‘No, not since he walked out. This is typical of him. He’s probably gone home.’
‘He’d leave without you?’ I asked, shocked.
‘I don’t know why I bother bringing him to these things.’
‘Would either of you like a drink?’ Jay asked, clearly looking to escape.
‘I’ll have a Coke, thanks,’ I said. ‘I’ve enough of the bubbles.’
‘Could you get me a large glass of Pinot?’ Maya asked. ‘The bottle on the table is empty and I need something before I combust.’
‘Sure,’ Jay said, heading up to the bar.
‘Hey,’ I said, putting my hand on her arm when we were alone. ‘Are you okay? I thought things were better between you both?’ She had told me during their last session with Julia that Hugo had made an effort to engage and I had thought they were finally making some headway.
‘Hardly,’ she snarled. ‘It’s the same as it always is. Why did I ever think he would change?’
I cringed as resentment and bitterness festered into something dark and ugly whenever she spoke about him.
‘I’m really sorry,’ I went on.
Jay returned with the drinks and she clenched her fingers so tightly around the stem that I thought the glass might shatter in her grip. The band started playing Queen’s ‘I Want to Break Free’ and Jay ran onto the dance floor to play air guitar.
‘He’s just a big kid.’ I laughed.
‘At least he’s having fun.’
‘I hope you don’t think I’m out of order,’ I began tentatively now that we were on our own.
‘Go on,’ she encouraged.
‘I still can’t believe Hugo spoke to you like that. Are you sure you’re okay?’
Maya rolled her eyes and shook her head. ‘That was nothing.’
‘But what he said about getting other men to sleep with you, that’s not okay. You can’t let him get away with insulting you. I’d divorce Jay if he ever said anything like that.’
Her eyes darted to the floor.
‘What is it?’ I asked. I was growing concerned about her.
I was worried that Maya was in an abusive marriage and she didn’t even realise it.
Perhaps she didn’t think there was anything wrong because that’s how he always spoke to her.
‘This isn’t normal behaviour; you’ve nothing to be ashamed of,’ I continued, hoping she might open up to me.
‘There’s something you should know…’ she said eventually.