Chapter 22 #2
The day went by in a flash and before she knew it the train back to Wool was trundling along the tracks and Margot was pretty sure a smile was fused permanently on her face.
She must look like a loony! But she decided that even if she didn’t get the job, this day had been monumental and showed her just what she could do.
She was capable of so much more than she’d ever thought possible.
She could function independently out in the big wide world.
And no longer would she let anyone cast doubt over that.
She got a taxi from Wool station back to her accommodation, had a shower to freshen up, and when she was dressed in jeans and her favourite soft cashmere jumper she pulled on her coat and set off for Bonnie’s place.
Faye had organised to be there this evening as well, and they had all agreed that no matter how today had gone they’d be there to support her in whatever came next.
She realised she was humming as she walked down the hill and a lady walking her dog up the other way smiled at her. She felt so alive, the nip in the air signalling summer was behind them, the sky so dark she could see the stars above.
When she reached the cottage she bent down to open the little gate, and at the same moment she heard a car pull up at the kerb behind her.
And the voice that came from the open window had her halting in her tracks.
He’d found her.
‘Get in the car Margot,’ came the familiar voice. ‘It’s time to come home.’
She didn’t look at him. She couldn’t.
‘Margot.’ The engine was still running. ‘Come on,’ said Perry, with more than a note of impatience, ‘you’ve had your fun. Enough is enough.’
The car engine stopped. She heard a door open and clunk shut, and she turned to face him.
‘Whatever were you playing at, running away?’ He came closer and closer.
She took a deep breath and determinedly told him, ‘I wasn’t running. I left.’
‘Same thing, isn’t it?’ He pushed his hands into his trouser pockets.
The way he was looking at her reminded her of the man he’d once been, the graduate who she’d met at the pub with the kind demeanour and ability to make her feel safe and special.
‘You’ve made your point, Margot. And now it’s time you came home. ’
And there he was, no longer the graduate she’d met but the man he’d turned out to be.
He took her by surprise when he said, ‘I know all about the storage unit.’ She didn’t have to ask how because he told her, ‘A leaflet came through the letterbox, then I had a phone call from the same place asking to speak to you and it clicked.’
Had he got access? Had he moved all her things back in as if she’d never got away at all?
‘How was the interview?’ he asked with more than a hint of glee in his eye.
‘How did you…’
‘You keep notes in your phone; you saved them to the cloud.’ He was likely thinking how terrible she was with technology, how that was his thing not hers, how she’d made a stupid mistake. Silly woman, silly decision – that’s what was likely going through his mind right now.
When she said nothing he pushed on. ‘So, cabin crew?’
She wanted to run, to stop the conversation in its tracks. ‘It’s none of your business.’
He grunted, raked a hand roughly through his hair. ‘You’re my wife, of course it’s my bloody business.’
Her heart beat faster, but her feet stayed where they were. She could do this. She wouldn’t be intimidated.
‘You’re important to me,’ he said, way too close and invading her personal space already. But she wouldn’t move, she told herself, not unless he touched her. ‘If you want to see the world there’s a far easier way to do that, you know. Come home, we’ll plan a holiday.’
Did he really think she was doing this to make a point? Applying for a job so she could go travelling? And did he think that a holiday would fix everything just like that?
‘Margot, I’ve always given you everything you’ve ever needed, haven’t I?’
He had – financially. But emotionally she’d been robbed of so many things and she’d slowly let herself be ground down into a different version of the woman she’d once been.
‘The boys haven’t said anything,’ said Perry, hands back in his pockets. He didn’t have a coat on and it was chilly out. He’d always hated the cold. The heating at home had been on too high in the colder months for Margot but he was unbearable when he moaned. ‘I take it you haven’t told them.’
‘This is between us, Perry.’
‘They’ll be hurt. You don’t want to upset them, do you? Now get in the car and we can talk about this properly. You’ve had some time away, come home, and let’s get on with our lives.’
She wondered then whether he’d told any of his business clients, or the neighbours. She’d put money on him having not told a soul that she’d walked out on him or even that they had separated. It wouldn’t be good for his image.
‘Margot… just get in the car. Please.’ He spoke through gritted teeth.
‘I’m not getting in the car, Perry.’ And then she looked him in the eye for the first time since he’d started the confrontation. ‘And I have told the boys.’
The remark knocked the wind out of him and she could see his mind adjusting to the knowledge.
‘You’re turning them against me.’
‘I’m not.’ He’d done that all by himself and it wasn’t her job to point it out or her job to try and fix it.
She’d been attempting to do that over the years, but he never listened.
He never saw anything wrong with his behaviour or what he said to his sons and she was tired of trying to make him see reason.
When she looked at him again he was sneering. It was a particular look that he managed to hide so often that sometimes she’d wondered whether she was imagining it. But she didn’t look away as she usually did. She kept her gaze fixed on him, on the whites of his eyes as he grew more frustrated.
‘You’re being ridiculous, you know.’
She said nothing.
And he got nastier and became sarcastic. ‘Oh, you’ve had such a terrible life in a big house not having to work, staying at home, food on the table, all the luxuries you could ever want.’
Usually when he got like this at home she’d walk away, avoid the conflict. But she’d got this far. She had to show him that things had changed. And there was no going back.
She delivered her blow quickly and bluntly. ‘I’ve been in touch with a solicitor. I’ve filed for divorce and you’ll be hearing from them soon.’ Her heart thumped wildly as she got it all out and waited for a reaction.
He looked up at the sky, at her, around them. And finally, he got it. He understood.
He stomped around to the other side of the car. ‘Well, I hope you’ve got a good one; you’ll need it.’
He was threatening her, but she wasn’t scared. She’d never felt afraid of him. He’d just got into her head and made her feel like she would never be able to have her own life without him.
‘You don’t know how lucky you are!’ He jabbed his finger in her direction.
She held her head up high the whole time he fixed her with a glare that usually made her crumble and admit defeat.
Yes, she knew she was lucky. She was lucky to have finally left him.
Lucky to be free.