Sushi for Beginners - Marian Keyes [178]
Dylan arrived after work. He was different. No longer obviously in pain, but angry.
‘You wanted to be caught, didn’t you?’
‘No!’Did she?
‘Yes, you did. You’ve been behaving really weirdly.’
Maybe she had been, she acknowledged.
‘Have my children seen you in bed with that prick?’
‘No, of course not!’
‘Well, they better not. Not if you want any access to them.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’m going to get custody of them, you don’t stand a chance. In the circumstances,’ he added, unpleasantly.
His words and the hard expression on his face suddenly brought home to Clodagh how deadly serious this situation was. It was a side to Dylan that she wasn’t familiar with.
‘Jesus Christ, Dylan,’ she exploded, ‘why are you being such a –!’ She stopped short of calling him a bastard. Why wouldn’t he be a bastard, all things considered?
He seemed amused by her frustration – if it was possible for someone to laugh and sneer simultaneously.
She was reminded that Dylan was a businessman. A very successful one. A man who played hardball. Maybe he wasn’t going to roll over and play dead just because she wanted him to. Dylan had always treated her with tenderness and love, she was finding this abrupt change hard, even if she was responsible for it.
‘I’m going to get custody,’ he repeated.
‘OK,’ she said humbly. But even as her face was meek, her head was whirring. He’s not getting my children, no way.
‘Right, I’m going to talk to them.’ Dylan went into the room where Craig and Molly were watching telly. They obviously sensed something was wrong because they’d been bizarrely subdued all afternoon.
When Dylan emerged he said coldly, ‘I’ve just told them I have to go away for a while. I need time to think what the best way to deal with this long-term should be.’ He rubbed his hand over his mouth and suddenly he looked exhausted.
But Clodagh’s aching compassion for him vanished when he added, ‘I could tell them their mother is an adulterous bitch who’s ruined everything, but it would do more harm than good, I’m told. Right, I’m going. I’m at my parents’. Ring me –’
‘I will –’
‘If there’s anything up with my children.’
She watched him hug them fiercely, his eyes clenched shut. This was so fucking awful. This time yesterday things couldn’t have been more normal. She’d made stir-fry for dinner, Craig had spat it all back out on to his plate, she’d watched Coronation Street, she’d nagged Dylan into changing a light-bulb, Molly had smeared her bedroom wall with peanut butter. In retrospect it seemed like a golden era, untouched by pain or worry. Who would have thought that so quickly their lives would be thrown up in the air and utterly rearranged, mired in bitterness?
‘Bye.’ Dylan closed the front-door behind him. She’d seen him pack his bag, he’d told her he was leaving, but she hadn’t been able to imagine it until presented with it as a fait accompli.
This isn’t happening, she thought as she stood in the hall. This isn’t happening.
She turned away from the door and found Craig and Molly standing gazing at her in silence. Shamed, she turned away from their questioning eyes and reached for the phone.
She listened to Marcus’s phone ring and ring, then click into answer-machine mode. Where was he? Then she remembered that he’d asked for her to ring, hang up, then ring again. Reluctantly she did so – it made her feel like a type of outlaw.
On the second set of rings, Marcus answered and instantly her pain lessened and was replaced by a soaring, giddy sensation.
‘Is Dylan gone?’ he asked.
‘Yes –’
‘OK, I’m on my way.’
‘No, wait!’
‘What?’ His voice was suddenly unfriendly.
‘I’d love to see you,’ she explained, ‘but not tonight. It’s too soon. I don’t want to confuse the kids. You see, Dylan’s talking about all kinds of terrible things like making sure I don’t get custody of them.’
All was still, then in a low voice Marcus asked, ‘Don’t you want to see me?’
‘Marcus, I would give anything! You know I would, but I think it’s better if we leave it until tomorrow. Hey, I bet you’re sorry you ever got involved in this,’ she sniffled,