Chapter 27
ORLA
‘Merry Christmas to you, merry Christmas to you, merry Christmas, dear Orla… Merry Christmas to you!’
Orla had been so happy to be invited, and that’s why she’d overruled Kyle’s request that they have a lazy day at home, just the two of them.
‘There will be plenty of time for that when we have the baby and we’re too overbearing and overprotective to leave her with babysitters,’ Orla had told him, only half in jest. ‘And besides, it’ll be nice to get dressed up and have a lunch that I didn’t destroy with my cooking. ’
He had to give that to her. When the universe was creating Orla, cooking was one of the skills that had been left out in favour of tolerance, compassion, empathy and a desire to care for people when they were sick.
Oh, and an addiction to trash reality shows, but she preferred to keep that one quiet.
It’s probably why she’d spent the last few months looking for drama where there was none, because other than cooking, she’d also discovered that she was woefully inept at spying, trusting her husband and accepting when she was wrong.
The night that she’d roped in Yvie, Keli and Emmy to track down the phone that she’d planted in Kyle’s van had given her a rude awakening.
They’d followed the signal all the way to the South Side, her heart thudding harder with every mile that they’d travelled.
When they’d finally turned into the street that the phone’s location was showing, she’d started to worry that her baby would be wondering what the hell was going on, because her heart rate must have sounded like the drums on a steel band.
‘It’s just down here on the left,’ Keli had said, guiding them in. Emmy had kept her eyes on the road, and Yvie was scanning the area from side to side like a one-woman periscope.
‘There’s his van, behind that truck,’ Orla had gasped, even though she’d fully expected it to be there.
There were houses on both sides of them, and they’d crawled along, sending her brain into overdrive.
Houses. Was one of them Demi’s home? Was that where he was?
Was the affair still going on? Had he been lying the whole time? Had her instincts been correct?
Still crawling. Still crawling. They’d passed the truck, reached Kyle’s van, swerved around it, got full line of sight to their left – and that’s when they’d seen that there was no house there.
At least, not a fully built one. It was a large piece of land, with the early stages of a house construction in the centre, and even though darkness had fallen, they were using floodlights to allow a whole team of brickies to work on building up the walls.
And right in the centre of it all was Kyle, hard hat on, high-visibility jacket beaming bright, his face serious as he consulted something on the clipboard that was in his hands.
‘Drive on,’ she’d blurted, ducking so that he wouldn’t see her. ‘Drive, drive, drive.’
Emmy had floored it like a getaway driver after a bank job – although their speed was swiftly quelled by a sign reminding them they were in a 20 mph limit zone. At which point, they’d carried on like tortoises escaping a bank job.
‘Well, now we know,’ Yvie had said, and Orla recognised the relief in her voice because it matched her own.
He wasn’t cheating. He was being faithful to her.
Everything was going to be okay. She just needed to get over herself, stop worrying and rebuild her trust in him and her optimism for the future, and that’s what she’d done every day since then.
The fates were back in charge, working in her favour again, and she was rekindling her confidence that all was going to be grand.
Today, this Christmas party, with all her friends and her handsome husband, was a great way to celebrate that.
Yvie ushered them in, showed them to their table for eight, saying, ‘It’s for our work gang and their partners, although it’s a lottery who Keli will bring,’ before going back to the door to greet the next guest.
‘I’ll just nip to the bar and get a couple of drinks,’ Kyle said, just as Keli chose that moment to slip into the seat across the table. Orla was now on week two of her maternity leave, and with the Christmas chaos, she hadn’t seen any of her pals for several days now.
‘Merry Christmas!’ Keli said, leaning across the table to give Orla a hug.
‘Merry Christmas to you too. Did you bring anyone?’
Keli shook her head. ‘Nope, it’s the new independent me.
I’m not dating anyone else unless they come with three separate references, a clean STD bill, full criminal record check and a letter from their last partner documenting all their red flags.
My resolution for next year is no more issues with men.
Talking of which, I need to apologise to your friend, Maddie, because I think I might have caused a problem for her. ’
Orla was puzzled. ‘In what way?’
Keli sighed. ‘Okay, you’ll need to follow me with this one, because it’s one of those small-world coincidence things.
Like the fates you’re always going on about.
I was telling my mum that you were in the same antenatal class as Maddie, and that she used to share a house with Dylan Bennet, and then my mum told her neighbour that, and then it turns out that the neighbour works with the mother of Dylan’s ex-wife, who then told Dylan’s ex, and then it came all the way back down the chain that apparently his ex – I can’t remember her name – put two and two together and might have made six.
According to the story that came back to my mum, who we’re now calling The Daily Gilda because she seems to be spreading news far and wide, they’re getting back together and the prospect of a pregnant skeleton in the closet didn’t please her. Has Maddie said anything?’
So much for the fates being back in charge and on her side. They appeared to have had a small blip already. But then, Maddie hadn’t mentioned it, so… ‘No. I’m sure it’s fine. Anyway, the father of Maddie’s baby is her ex-boyfriend, so the ex-wife has nothing to be concerned about.’
Orla made a mental note to give Maddie a call tomorrow to check on her anyway.
They didn’t know each other very well yet, but they’d established a connection that Orla was very much enjoying.
In fact, it was one of the best things about the last month.
That and the relief that she’d finally confirmed that her husband wasn’t cheating.
‘Ah, that’s okay then.’ Keli sat back, pleased to hear that. ‘In other news, The Daily Gilda has invited you over for Hogmanay dinner. It’s a small affair. Just about a hundred of her closest friends, she’s shutting down the street and she’s applied to the council to have fireworks at midnight.’
Orla grinned as she nodded. ‘And we’d love to come – just as long as we’re still a two and not a three by then.
’ Orla did feel the familiar pang of envy that she had when Keli, or anyone else, for that matter, talked about their families.
Yes, she had great friends. And it wasn’t that her mum didn’t love her, because she absolutely did, but, as always, she just wished that she was around.
Her mum had been supposed to come for Christmas, but their convoy had run into issues when they were crossing some border or another, so she had called to say that she’d been held up for another couple of days.
‘It’s okay, Mam. Just as long as you’re here for the baby being born, that’s all that matters. ’
‘I’ll be there for that, don’t you fret. Even if I have to walk there or swim the blooming ocean myself,’ her mum had said.
‘Then I hope you get a rubber ring for Christmas, Mam, because you can’t swim.’
Het mum had been laughing at that when she’d got cut off.
Much as Orla was missing her, the baby wasn’t due for another two weeks, so she wasn’t worried.
Her mum would get here. She just had to keep believing that and putting that thought out into the universe.
Meanwhile, she had to get on with enjoying today’s festivities.
‘Hey Kyle, how are you doing? Merry Christmas.’
Keli was one of the most stunningly beautiful women that Orla had ever met – yet even she had to admit that her friend’s gorgeous facial aesthetic turned into something bordering on sour distaste when Kyle returned to the table holding two drinks.
‘Merry Christmas. Can I get you a drink?’ he asked her, chivalrous as ever. At least, as chivalrous as he was when he wasn’t shagging someone else.
Aaaargh, Orla chided herself. Stop letting your brain go there. It’s done. We’ve moved on. All is now great. Welcome to our shiny future.
‘No, that’s okay,’ Keli said, with the most strained smile, as she slid back out of the booth. ‘I just need to go and have a quick word with Yvie, so I’ll get one myself.’
Orla knew it was because Keli would rather poke her own eyes out with a stick than forgive the man who had cheated on her friend. She appreciated the loyalty, but it was time to let it go.
‘You know, I get such a strange feeling from all your friends,’ Kyle said, as he sat down beside her. ‘Do they know about… what happened?’
What happened? That’s what they were calling it now?
She felt bad telling a white lie, but then, he hadn’t felt repentant when he was lying to her for months, so she was just going to have to move past that.
Besides, she didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable around her pals.
Her circle was small enough already without him having an issue with the few people that were in it.
‘Nope, I didn’t tell them. You’re imagining it,’ she said, with a chuckle.
To her shame, it gave her a tiny tug of pleasure to tell him that, after he’d accused her of imagining every strange thing that had happened in the last few months.
The next hour or so passed in a joyous, festive blur of chat, great food and mocktails. Emmy and her husband, Cormac, had joined them, Keli had returned, and Yvie was popping back and forwards between checking on other guests.
Orla was reluctant to leave the table, but the baby was pressing on her bladder and it was becoming an urgent situation. She was on the way to the bathroom, when she spotted a familiar face standing at the bar. Her urge to pee suddenly didn’t seem so urgent any more.
‘Kimi?’
Aidan’s sister turned around and gave her the widest smile. ‘Orla! Oh my, what are you doing here?’
‘I work with Carlo’s fiancé, Yvie, at Glasgow Central. And you?’
‘I’m dating one of Carlo’s friends, Rico. But please don’t tell my brother you saw me here. We’re all supposed to be at my mum’s house, but I made an excuse of a hangover and told them I’d be late.’
‘Your secret’s safe with me,’ Orla said, laughing, but even as she chuckled, she felt a cold wave of dread. Kimi being here was another coincidence and the last one hadn’t worked out well for her. She shrugged off the negativity. It was fine. Grand. It was all going to be great.
‘Listen, though, I kept meaning to say sorry for everything that happened. That was totally my fault and I felt terrible for ages afterwards.’
Orla appreciated the apology, but there was no need. ‘It’s fine, Kimi, really. You know, in some ways I’m glad I found out. It’s given us a clean slate to start over. I’d hate to have found out years later, when perhaps we wouldn’t have been able to get past it.’
There was something in Kimi’s face, a flinch, a flicker of her eyes, that made Orla’s nervous system go straight to high alert.
‘Kimi, is there something I don’t know?’ It was out before she could stop it.
Aidan’s sister suddenly seemed very uncomfortable. ‘Erm, I’m not sure.’
‘Is Kyle still seeing Demi?’
Orla felt mortified. Embarrassed. Felt her dignity crumble with every passing second.
‘I don’t think so. I haven’t seen him at the bar for a while.’
Relief flooded every nerve ending in Orla’s body.
He wasn’t being unfaithful. He wasn’t lying.
He really had moved on and he wanted to make a go of it.
She returned to her previous optimism and self-promises.
What she needed to do now was put the suspicions to bed, once and for all, and have faith that her husband had learned from his mistake and was fully invested in their family and their future.
‘When you say a while…? How long has it been?’ Clearly her mouth hadn’t caught up with her new-found resolution to move on and still had further questions.
‘Erm, since… well, since Aidan punched him out on the night of the bar’s birthday party.’