‘It is definitely her fault and hers alone. She planned it all,’ Millie said, the drinks she’d consumed removing all vestiges of solidarity with her sister.
Zara ignored her. ‘And I’m so sorry about what happened back then too. Your reaction to our surprise is all making sense now. I’d never have brought you here if I’d known, I—’
‘But that’s the thing, love, you didn’t know. The only people who ever knew the whole story were the four of us. And Gran Ada. She used to tell me that she’d bribed an old pal in border control to notify her if Gary ever re-entered the country, so she could settle the score.’ Zara caught her mum’s sad smile and knew that she would be missing gran more than ever right now. ‘Thing is, I was never 100 per cent sure she was kidding.’ Her mum’s whole demeanour changed when she moved her stare to Aiden’s dad. ‘You probably had a lucky escape,’ she told him, with no humour in her voice at all.
Gary Gregg didn’t even make an attempt at a retort and Zara was the one who was staring at him now, feeling a whole bucket of emotions and not quite sure which one was going to rise to the top.
First of all, there was shock. Her mum and this guy? She just couldn’t imagine them together. Her mum was so… well, reserved. Measured. Conventional. And she meant that in the nicest way. Her mum and dad went together, not this guy who, in fairness, looked like he’d just walked off a movie set. She could see where Aiden got the genes, the smile and the wide shoulders from. Picturing her mum with this guy was… Eurgh. That gave her the weirdest shiver right down her spine.
She felt exactly the same about her dad and Aiden’s mum. First up, it was hard to believe that she’d given birth to the man on the other sofa, because this woman sitting here looked like she was closer to forty than over fifty. Wild guess, and yes, judgemental, but all Zara could think was that to maintain that level of self-preservation, she clearly had too much time, too much money, and not enough friends to hang out with. That level of maintenance was so far removed from the father that she knew. Her dad didn’t even moisturise and he had a fit when Mum suggested paying thirty quid for a course of yoga classes at the community centre.
Next up on the emotional tombola was sorrow that her mum had to go through that. To lose her boyfriend and her best friend at the same time, and to deal with that level of betrayal must have been crushing for the young Brenda. Especially so far from home and at a time when she’d been so happy, so thrilled to be here. Zara had no idea how someone would come back from that kind of heartbreak. And for her dad to be gazumped by this bloke? Sure, he had the aftershave-advert jawline going on, but Zara would bet her Calvin Harris 2018 tour T-shirt that he didn’t have the smarts or the capacity for care that their dad had shown them all their lives. Their dad was the most solid, reliable, dependable guy she’d ever known. In a lot of ways, her Kev reminded her of him. They both had the same quiet, low-maintenance approach to life. Gary Gregg was at the other end of the maintenance spectrum. There were definitely traces of hair dye in there. That tan was just a bit too perfect to be natural, the teeth a bit too white to be his own. And as for the clothes… Zara recognised the Hermès belt and the Prada symbol on the chest of his shirt. That lot probably cost more than her dad had paid for his new Flymo.
What did it say about a man that he had to put that much effort into his looks? Yes, she was being judgemental again, but if she met that guy in a bar, she’d think he was just a touch too fond of himself. Although, granted, Aiden seemed to have turned out pretty well and totally came off as humble and balanced. He must be a genetic blip.
Fury was also in her emotional melting pot. Right now, Zara could barely look at Aiden’s mum and she felt utterly disgusted that one woman could do that to another, especially one she was supposed to love. And how could a bloke break Bro Code like that? He should be drummed out of the manhood.
And finally, there was confusion. She still had questions. If their mum and dad were the two who were betrayed, how did they end up married just a few days later? How could you go from devastation to getting hitched in forty-eight hours?
This wasn’t making sense, but she wanted to talk to her mum on her own, and not ask her all these questions in front of the others. She’d been through enough and Zara had an overwhelming urge to protect her.
Drunk Millie didn’t have the same level of restraint when it came to the founder members of Cheaters Anonymous. ‘Can’t believe you could have been my dad,’ she was whittering now to Gary. Judas. ‘Holy shit, my jaw would have been huge. I’d have looked like Buzz Lightyear.’
Zara was about to suggest that they go, when her mum beat her to it. With absolute elegance and class, Brenda stood up, smoothed down the skirt of her pale blue crepe dress, cleared her throat and spoke with utter serenity, even though she was perennially allergic to drama and Zara knew her heart must be thudding like a train.
‘I think we’re done here,’ she said. ‘Gary, Eileen, it seems like you have a very nice son, so at least you did something right. I wish you all well, but let’s leave it another thirty years until we do this again.’
Her dad jumped out of his chair. Zara did likewise.
‘Aiden, I’m sorry, I should never have dragged you into this.’
He shrugged, his whole body as slumped as that impressively solid core would allow. ‘How could either of us have known? I’m sorry too.’
The poor guy. Zara was absolutely gutted. Somehow, in the process of trying to do something great, she’d inadvertently taken a bomb to his understanding of his parents and their history too. She felt terrible, even though the root cause of the problem definitely wasn’t on her.
She took a couple of steps when she realised that Millie was still sitting there.
‘Millie! Come on.’
‘Shit, sorry,’ her sister said, jumping up. ‘I got a bit transfixed on his jaw there. I mean, no amount of contouring would make that work on me.’
Zara thought about saying something to Aiden’s parents but couldn’t think of anything on the spot.
Sorry you’re both mad shaggers who devastated my parents’ lives…
You two deserve each other…
And my parents deserve so much more than either of you…
Zara bit her bottom lip, knowing she’d come up with a killer line in about an hour and a half, and hate herself for not thinking of it in the moment. Maybe she could email them?
Millie was more focused on the practicalities. Zara saw her lean over to the waiter who had served them and speak loudly enough for Aiden’s dad to hear every word. ‘Thank you so much for the drinks. Big Tom Selleck here is going to pay, and he’s going to leave a huge tip. Fricking gigantic.’
The waiter hot-footed it away to get the bill before someone changed their mind.
Zara slipped her arm through her mum’s, and watched as she kept her head held high while they left the corner of the restaurant that they’d been sitting in. They’d only gone a few steps when her dad stopped.
‘Hang on a minute, I forgot something.’
