Second Chance - Jane Green [40]
Had you been at the service yesterday then saw Sarah right now, you would never know you were looking at the same person. Will was right. She had managed to pull it together yesterday. Quite how much, Holly didn’t realize until now.
‘Oh Sarah,’ Holly says, sympathy and sorrow washing over her. ‘I’m so sorry.’ And she puts her arms around Sarah, who leans into her shoulder and bursts into tears.
‘I just miss him,’ Sarah sobs. ‘I just miss him so much.’
‘I know,’ Holly whispers, rubbing her back. ‘I know.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Sarah says after a while, pulling back and digging a shredded tissue from her jeans pocket. ‘I keep falling apart on people.’
‘I think that’s what you’re meant to do.’ Holly squeezes her hand.
‘He loved you, Holly,’ Sarah says suddenly. Unexpectedly. ‘You always had a special place in his heart, and I was always jealous of you. I’m so sorry.’ And this time it is Holly’s turn to cry, her carefully applied make-up running all the way down her face.
‘No Will today?’ Holly has waited an hour, hoping, each time the door opens, that Will will walk through, but nothing.
Maggie shakes her head. ‘Darling Will,’ she says. ‘We love him but he’s hopeless. Responsibility has never been his strong point, and he’s never been good at time-keeping. He’ll probably show up some time this evening. Isn’t he something? Can you believe our little Will has grown up?’
‘Unbelievable,’ Holly agrees, wondering why her heart is sinking. This evening. Could she come back? Would it be ridiculous? There are the kids to get to bed, Marcus to take care of. No. With a sigh she realizes she can’t come back. So much for If he likes me, he’ll be there, she thinks, and when Paul comes over and asks her if she’s ready to leave, she nods, amazed at how you can go from such a high to such a low in such a short space of time.
Chapter Eight
‘Mummy, can you give me some cereal?’ Daisy’s plaintive little voice is inches away from Holly’s face as the sun streams through the wooden blinds on this bright Saturday morning.
‘Yes, darling,’ Holly groans, opening one eye and squinting at the alarm clock. Six fourteen. Oh God. What she would give to have children who sleep in late. ‘Just give me a minute.’ Holly finds herself drifting back to sleep, when Daisy’s voice intrudes again. ‘Mummy? When are you going to get out of bed? Are you stuck?’ Holly has occasionally got away with Daisy believing she is stuck in bed, running into Frauke’s room instead, allowing Holly to get back to sleep.
‘No. Coming,’ she says, throwing the covers back and looking at the lump on the other side of the bed that is Marcus. In all their years together, Holly doesn’t remember a time when Marcus got up to give the children breakfast. He is busy working all week, he says, and the weekends are the only time he gets to sleep. What about me? Holly once tried to argue. I work too, and I raise the children and I run the house and I pay the bills and I cook. When do I get a lie-in?
You have Frauke during the week, Marcus argued back. And then inferred that Holly’s job was largely irrelevant. An indulgence, she thinks he called it, whereas his job was very important and he was tired and he deserved to sleep.
There are times when Holly looks at Marcus and hates him.
And there are times when Holly finds herself behaving like a teenager. ‘Oh yes,’ she has started muttering under her breath when Marcus finds he can’t help wash the dishes or put up a curtain rod or give Holly a break by taking the children for half an hour, ‘I forgot you are a very busy and important man.’
‘You know my husband’s a very busy and important man,’ she has started saying to Frauke, and the two of them snort with laughter,