Second Chance - Jane Green [98]
‘Not Gloucestershire, that’s for sure.’ Paul laughed. ‘We popped into the corner shop but mayonnaise and baked beans didn’t seem to quite do it for her.’
‘Can’t make any promises but I’ll do my best.’
‘Oh, and one more thing. It’s bloody freezing. The plumber’s supposed to be coming tomorrow morning, and we’re waiting for the chimney guy, but bring tons of clothes. We may have to sleep in our coats tonight.’
‘Oh great.’ Holly affected a dramatic sigh. ‘First you tell me there’s nothing to eat except mayonnaise and baked beans, and now you tell me it’s the North Pole. Anything else I ought to know before I climb in the car?’
‘Shit! Yes! Can you pick Olivia up? I know it’s a bit out of the way for you, but Saffron insisted that Olivia come too. Is that okay?’
‘Sounds great. A proper reunion. I imagine we’ll be there around five or six. See you later, and thanks for the directions.’ And Holly took her cup of coffee up to her studio to phone Marcus.
‘What? You’re what?’ Marcus spits with anger. ‘Taking the children and going where? Just a little bit of a coincidence, isn’t it? You tell me you’re unhappy and now you’re leaving with no notice? Do you really think I believe this is about Saffron? Christ, Holly, you barely even know these people, you haven’t seen them in, what, twenty years? And now all of a sudden you’re dropping everything for them.’
And then his voice dips to a familiar calm. ‘No,’ he says. ‘I will not tolerate this. You’re not going.’
‘I am, Marcus,’ Holly says quietly. ‘I’m sorry, but I have to.’
‘If you go,’ Marcus is still eerily calm, ‘if you go and take the children, Holly, don’t bother coming back. I’m warning you, Holly, if you carry on and do this, I won’t be here when you come back. I will not have my wife deliberately defy me in this way. This is not acceptable. This is your last chance, Holly. It’s me or these people you think are your friends. Your choice, Holly. Your choice.’
Holly stares blankly at her computer screen, listening to all the familiar noises in her house. The slight tapping of the pipes, the buzz of the washing machine downstairs, the tinny music, barely audible, from the radio in the kitchen. Everything sounds exactly the same, but everything is suddenly completely different.
Here it is. As if God has reached down and opened up a window of opportunity for her, a window of opportunity she has only fantasized about but has never been certain she would actually pass through if it were offered.
Here it is.
And there is no doubt in her heart, no second thoughts, barely a thought at all. Freedom is being offered to her on a plate, and feeling the weight being lifted off her heart, she speaks.
‘I’m sorry you feel that way, Marcus. I’m sorry you’re giving me a choice, but I can’t let my friends down. I’m going.’
‘Fine,’ he shouts. ‘I’ll get your stuff packed while you’re away, because let me tell you this, you’re not getting the bloody house, and you’re not getting a penny out of me.’
‘Fine,’ Holly echoes, and feeling she is in a dream, and not a particularly bad one, by the way, she hangs up the phone and immediately calls Will.
She leaves him a message on his mobile, a message at home, and sends him a brief email explaining what just happened. She isn’t sure how she feels, and part of her knows she should be scared, but why then is there a smile on her face? Why does she skip downstairs to pack, and to pack way more than she would have done had she and Marcus not just had this conversation?
Already, a few minutes in, she knows this is it. There is no going back. Think. Think. What does Marcus do when he is hurt? When he is angry? She is not sure how far he will go, but this is the ultimate humiliation for him, and when Marcus is hurt, Marcus strikes out.
She has to take everything that is important to her, she realizes. She doesn’t know whether he’ll have changed the locks by the time she gets back. She doesn’t much care, but there are paintings she wants. Books. Things she has collected over the years that have no financial value,