Caleb laughed. By the time Tristan was finished the entire contents of his room would be hidden between the three cases.
Caleb looked around. Was he done? His briefcase sat in the corner of the room. The charging cables for his phone and laptop were in there. He’d be able to work wherever they were. Internet was everywhere these days and as for international calls? He’d just need to swallow the costs.
A quick check of the en suite gave him some deodorant, his toothbrush and his shaving gear. At the last second he reached over to grab some aftershave and then stopped, put it back, and grabbed another one from under the sink. Harry had finally finished talking.
‘I’ll be at the airport in an hour. I’ll send you that report from the lounge.’ He rang off. The buzz had been a text message.
His best friend, Reuben Tyler. He was on his way back from LA. Reuben’s roof had been undergoing repairs and the roofers had discovered asbestos. He couldn’t stay there. He knew Caleb was going on holiday, could he stay at his?
Caleb dashed off a reply telling him where the key was and how to turn off the alarm. Best not mention it to Addison. Reuben wasn’t exactly her favourite of Caleb’s friends.
He glanced at the case. Done. What else could he need? Why did some people spend days packing?
He zipped it up and picked it off the bed.
As he walked down the stairs he heard the taxi beep outside.
‘Come on, Tristan!’ shouted Addison. ‘It’s time to go.’
She hadn’t noticed him yet. Was she really just going to walk out of the front door without talking to him again?
The taxi driver appeared at the door and picked up the two waiting cases.
Tristan bolted down the stairs ahead of him carrying two wrestlers. Addison smiled and shook her head. ‘No way, you’ve already got ten in your backpack. That’s the limit.’ She held out his small red baseball jacket and waited for him to slide his arms inside.
She’d changed. She was wearing cream casual trousers and a pink top.
Caleb cleared his throat.
Addison did a double take. She was shocked. She was stunned that he’d actually packed and changed. Did she really think that little of him? Did she really think that he’d just let his wife and child leave without a fight?
‘You’ve packed.’
He stepped forward and sat his case down. ‘I’ve packed.’ He looked her straight in the eye.
She blinked and picked up the passport she’d left sitting on the side table and slid it into her bag.
The taxi driver stuck his head inside and picked up the case. ‘Last one?’
Caleb nodded.
‘And where we headed?’
‘Heathrow.’
Caleb cringed inwardly. He couldn’t even remember where they were going. He knew it was hot. It might be the Caribbean, or the Seychelles—somewhere like that. He remembered her mentioning it was a long flight, first stop LA and after that...
Nope. He just couldn’t remember. It hadn’t registered in his brain.
Like so many other things.
He turned back to pick up his briefcase. Addison frowned and he tried not to be annoyed.
He was coming on holiday. He would be spending time with them. But he also needed to do some work. Surely she could understand that?
She took Tristan’s hand firmly in hers. ‘Let’s go, honey, we need to get on the big plane.’
‘Come on, Daddy!’ yelled Tristan over his shoulder.
Caleb glanced at the abandoned wrestlers on the side table. He picked them up and tucked them in his briefcase. Anything to keep the little guy happy.
Addison was strapping Tristan into the back of the cab.
She straightened up and stretched her back. ‘Okay?’ he asked as he walked up behind her.
She didn’t even answer the question. Her mind seemed to be away in a world of its own.
He paused before he climbed in the cab. ‘Addison, everything will be fine.’
He didn’t want to acknowledge what had just happened between them. He didn’t want to acknowledge the fact his wife had just issued him with an ultimatum. He didn’t want to give brain space to the fact she’d just threatened to leave.
Her clear green eyes met his. ‘Will it?’ she asked before she climbed in the cab and slammed the door, staring straight ahead.
Caleb swallowed. Addison seemed anything but fine.
Where did they go from here?
THREE HOURS LATER they were finally on their flight. Addison had felt herself silently fume as Caleb had spent most of his time on his computer or on his phone in the business lounge while she kept Tristan entertained.
Her head was in turmoil. She wanted to snatch the computer from his hands and search for everything she could find on nuchal screening and being labelled high risk.
But that wouldn’t help her. Nothing would help her right now. Her heart had flip-flopped when Dr Mackay had told her children with Down’s syndrome could have heart problems. Somewhere in the back of her mind she’d heard that before. Weren’t there other associated conditions? She just didn’t know enough about these things. She had no background knowledge in anything medical related.
At some point she would need to tell Caleb about the pregnancy. Then, she’d need to tell him about the phone call.
She wasn’t sure how he would react to any of it.
She was still shocked that he’d actually come.
It was weird. Even though things had been awkward between them, if you’d asked her a few days ago, she would never have thought that Caleb would try and back out of the holiday.
Even though she’d reminded him on a few occasions to pack his case—and he hadn’t got around to it—she’d still hoped he’d remember.
But when he’d been late back today and been so busy on his phone her heart had sunk like a stone. And when he’d actually started to say that he was too busy and the timing didn’t suit she’d wanted to throw something at him.
That had been it. That had been the point that the mist had come down and she’d been at the point of no return. The phone call hadn’t helped. But it hadn’t been the catalyst. Caleb and his complete disregard of her and Tristan had been the catalyst.
When she’d given him the ultimatum she’d actually thought he wouldn’t come. She’d actually thought she’d just called time on their marriage.
She’d had to disappear into one of the empty bathrooms upstairs to allow herself some silent sobs.
All she could think about right now was how she would cope on her own with two children. Tristan was just a ball of energy. He would be over the moon to find out he was going to have a little brother or sister. But Tristan had been a poor sleeper. He’d suffered from colic and no amount of remedies or different kinds of bottles had helped. Sometimes at night he’d screamed for hours. She’d only managed to cope because she’d had Caleb right by her side.
He’d always known when to send her back to bed and disappear with the screaming Tristan downstairs. A few hours later she’d find him slumped on the sofa with a peaceful Tristan sleeping on his chest.
How would she manage if this baby was the same and there was no Caleb to help?