And as it started to sink in tears came to her eyes.
She shook her head. She could cry about it later. For now she needed to get her thoughts straight. Firstly, Alfie would be devastated, so she needed to be sensitive to him. Secondly, there were still avenues they could explore. If she wanted to have her own baby then they could use a sperm donor, or they could adopt. She’d often thought that, after she had a couple of her own and built a family home, she would like to adopt a child. There was something about the idea of sharing what she had with someone in need that appealed to her.
Well, maybe that was going to happen sooner than she’d thought.
She closed her laptop. She needed a coffee. As she got up, Jodie called.
‘Hey,’ Claire said. ‘How’re things?’
‘Good,’ Jodie replied. ‘You? Want to meet up tonight?’
‘I can’t. And I thought you were locked into Pippa world.’
‘I was. But, amazingly, she’s going out tonight. We were supposed to be watching a movie, but she called and said she had plans. She sounded quite happy, actually. Maybe she got asked out on a date. Either way, I thought I’d take advantage and see if you were free.’
‘Sadly not,’ Claire said. ‘I have plans with Alfie. But I’m glad Pippa is off your hands, for a night at least.’
‘Me too. See you soon.’
Claire put her phone in her bag and headed for the main doors. She needed to get some fresh air. She could get her coffee somewhere nearby.
As she left the building she noticed that the busker was gone.
Alfie put his phone down – his Henry Bryant phone – and stared out of the office window.
He was in trouble. Big trouble.
Just before he’d given Claire the bad news, Pippa had sent him a text message – We need to talk – which he’d ignored, as usual. He hadn’t been able to ignore the next one she sent, though, since it contained his name. His real name.
You’ll have to answer this one, Henry, it read. Or should I say, Alfie?
She knew who he was. How, he had no idea, but she knew. And if she knew, then others might. She was right; he had to answer, so he had called her.
Well, well, she said. Nice to hear from you, Henry.
She put a heavy, sarcastic emphasis on the ‘Henry’.
Look, he said. I can explain.
Can you? she replied. I doubt it. Although I suppose you’re trapped in an unhappy marriage and Henry Bryant was your way out?
Yes, he said. I know it’s a cliché but it’s true. And this is true, too – I was falling for you too deeply and I knew that if it carried on I’d be in trouble, which was why I had to end it.
You texted me, she said. You didn’t even have the decency to call.
I knew if I did you’d persuade me. I’m weak, Pippa, when it comes to you. I would have heard your voice and I would have been unable to do it.
She paused and he sensed her soften. He was telling her what she wanted to hear. It was amazing how easily people would believe you when you did that.
Pippa, he said. I knew that if we stayed together I’d eventually have had to choose between you and my marriage, and I’d have chosen you. But that’s impossible. My wife is vindictive. The divorce would have been messy and she’d have made sure I was left with nothing. And that’s not all … she’s violent. There’s no telling what she would have done. So I couldn’t let it come to that.
I’d have helped you, Pippa said. We’d have been OK together.
You couldn’t stop her. No one could.
It wouldn’t have mattered. As long as we had each other, everything else would have been irrelevant.
Oh, Pippa, he said, injecting real longing into his voice. I want to see you. Can we meet? Tonight?
I don’t know, she said. You hurt me.
Now she thought she was in the driving seat, she was playing hard to get, but that was all it was.
Please, he said. I miss you.
I miss you too, she replied, her voice almost a whisper.
Will you meet me? he begged.
Yes. I’ll meet you.
Tonight?
Tonight.
And so they had arranged to meet later. Claire would be expecting him home, but he’d have to come up with some reason he’d stayed out later. For now, Pippa was the priority. He had no idea what he was going to do, but he knew he had to find out how she knew, who else she had told, and then he could start to figure out how to fix this.
He took his car from the office car park and drove to Barnes, where they had arranged to meet in a pub. They hugged and he was struck by how, even at an emotional reunion, there was a limpness and passivity in the way she embraced him. A shudder of disgust ran through him.
They ordered two glasses of wine and sat at a corner table.
‘So,’ he said. ‘It’s great to see you. How’ve you been?’
She looked at him, her eyes wide, almost fearful. ‘Not good,’ she said. ‘I was going a bit crazy.’
‘Me too. But I’m here now.’
‘And you’re not Henry Bryant,’ she said. ‘You lied to me.’
‘Only about that. Not about how I felt about you.’
‘How do I know that? It’s going to be hard for me to trust you again.’
Going to be, he noted. In her mind, they were already back together.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘Truly I am. And not that it matters now, but how did you find out?’
She smiled a sly smile. ‘A friend.’
Shit. So someone else knew. This was getting worse. ‘Which friend?’
‘Jodie.’
He froze. If Jodie knew then it was only a matter of time before she told Claire. They were best friends. He was surprised she hadn’t called already. ‘How did she find out?’ he asked.
‘She didn’t. Not exactly.’
‘Then what happened?’
‘She was showing me some photos on her phone, and one came up of her with you. And your wife. Who I’ve met, by the way, a while ago. There was another photo of you singing a song. A romantic one, I assume. Of course, I was more than a little surprised to see you, so I asked who you were and she told me. Alfie Daniels, husband of the lovely Claire.’
‘She isn’t so lovely.’ He shook his head. ‘And it wasn’t a romantic song.’ There was an important piece of information he needed. The most important piece. ‘You told Jodie about us?’
Pippa shook her head. ‘No. I wanted