‘Sorry, I know I’m running late,’ Isla immediately apologized from her position behind the swing. In between pushes she nudged a loose strand of hair back behind her ear, and with the dropping sun glowing behind her she looked stunning. Aiden was almost taken aback at just how beautiful his wife was.
‘Even after all these months I struggle to get used to you coming home at a reasonable hour,’ she explained, still pushing Meegan in the swing even though the little girl now had other ideas.
‘Daddy, Daddy!’ she cried joyfully when she saw Aiden come in to the garden, extending her miniature arms out towards him.
‘Hi, Princess!’ Aiden came and scooped her up out of her swing seat and lifted her into his arms, spinning her around as he did so, which made her sequel with delight.
‘Daddy!’ Meegan clapped her hands happily before planting a wet kiss on Aiden’s nose.
‘I missed you today,’ he confided in his daughter who looked up at him with big, open, innocent eyes.
‘I watched Princess and the Frog,’ Meegan whispered in response, almost shamefully as though she had been too busy having fun to miss her father.
‘Did you enjoy it?’ Aiden already knew the answer; she would have loved it, as she had done the dozen or so other times she had watched it. It was currently her favourite movie.
‘I wish she’d stop watching it,’ Isla sighed, heading towards the house. She was wearing short denim hot pants which showed off her long, lean legs.
‘Why?’ Aiden asked, surprised by his wife’s lack of enthusiasm for the movie.
‘Princess films just set girls up to have unrealistic expectations of life.’
‘Well aren’t you a ray of sunshine today?’ he joked.
‘I’m serious, Aid. I don’t want Meegan to grow up to be one of those girls who wastes their lives waiting for Prince Charming to show up.’
‘So you want her to be like you and just settle for the first hot guy who comes along?’ Aiden teased.
‘I didn’t mean that,’ Isla glanced at him sheepishly. ‘I’m just having a bad day,’ she admitted sadly.
They were now in the kitchen and Aiden settled at the table, placing Meegan within her high chair while Isla began boiling some pasta in a pan.
‘Can I help?’ he offered.
‘No, I’ve got it.’
‘So why the bad day?’ Aiden asked as he briefly went over to the fridge, retrieving not his usual sole beer, but also one for his wife. He handed it to her and she gratefully accepted it.
Isla considered mentioning the note but considered against it. It was probably nothing anyway.
‘I took Meegan to that toddlers’ group over at the church.’
‘Oh yeah, you mentioned you were going to try going there.’
‘But it was a complete joke,’ Isla said, shaking her head before taking a sip of beer.
‘Joke,’ Meegan echoed without any comprehension.
‘How so?’
‘Basically, everyone there still treats me as a pariah. After everything you’ve done for this God-awful town and still they cross the street to avoid me. It’s ridiculous.’
‘They just need time.’
‘Aid, I’ve given them time. And you’ve given them a crooked priest but still they want more! So I took Meegs to the stupid toddler group and everyone just ignored me. If she went over to play with their kids they picked their kids up and moved them. I swear to God, I almost slapped one of the stupid bitches!’
‘Language,’ Aiden berated his wife, but only lightly as he could see that she was pretty fired up about the situation.
‘I’m just sick of feeling like an outsider!’ Isla lamented, the text of the note still burning in her mind. She drank some more beer to calm herself.
‘I’m sorry it’s being so tough on you.’ And Aiden was sorry. The horrid feeling of guilt crept up his spine and pinched at the back of his neck. It was his fault they were here, his fault that Isla was so miserable.
‘Daddy, look!’ Meegan called for her father and then began to proudly blow bubbles. Aiden looked at her fondly, and then up at Isla who was now smiling at her daughter.
‘I guess she’s why I do it,’ Isla admitted. ‘It’s just so hard sometimes.’
‘I know.’ Aiden himself was still treated like an outcast who could potentially be harbouring the plague and he knew it wasn’t a nice feeling. For a town which outwardly seemed so loving and community based, the people could be very standoffish.
‘Anyway, how was your day?’ Isla changed the topic and continued to prepare dinner. She handed Meegan a bowl of baby food which the little girl promptly dunked both hands into.
‘Meegan!’
‘Don’t worry, I’ve got it,’ Aiden offered, already wetting a flannel to clean Meegan up. ‘My day was good,’ he spoke as he mopped the contents of the bowel off Meegan’s little hands. ‘I started working on my next case.’
‘Oh?’
‘You’ll never guess who it’s for.’
‘Who?’ Isla asked, intrigued.
‘Buck Fern’s brother.’
‘You’re joking!’ Aiden’s wife scoffed as she stirred the pasta. ‘Is he as much of an ass as Buck is?’
‘I’ve not met him yet but by all accounts, yes, he is.’
‘Sounds like you’re in for a good time at work then.’
‘Yeah,’ Aiden sighed, picking up his beer now that Meegan was clean and finally eating her dinner rather than trying to wear it.
‘What’s the case?’
‘Paternity suit, I think.’
‘Ooh,’ Isla’s eyes lit up at the prospect of a scandal. ‘Those are always interesting.’
‘I guess.’
‘What’s the wife like? I’m guessing he’s married?’
‘Yeah he is. I’ve not met her yet either. Apparently she was Miss September one year for Playboy.’
This last piece of information got Isla’s full attention. She turned away from dinner to face Aiden, a wooden spoon held within her hands forcefully, like a weapon.
‘She’s a Playmate?’ there was something accusing in her tone and Aiden instantly wished he’d not revealed that particular piece of information to his wife.
‘She was. Years ago.’ Aiden tried to sound dismissive, didn’t want to dwell on the topic for too long. He’d forgotten that during college, Isla had applied to be a Playmate, seeing it as a fun way to make a load of extra cash. She hadn’t been accepted and it had remained a sore point for her ever since.
‘She must look cheap as that’s what they go for there.’ Isla said bitterly, watching Aiden intently, her eyes narrowed.
‘Exactly!’ Aiden agreed. ‘Can we eat yet?’
*
‘You used to hate paternity cases,’ Isla said suddenly as they lay in bed that night, bringing Aiden back from the brink of sleep. It was only just past ten but his body was now conditioned to early nights and early mornings and so it felt much later to him.
‘Huh?’ he asked