‘No! Not trouble, just now’s not a good time to wrap up Maxxed Out.’
‘It’s a good time for Max,’ she replied flatly. ‘It’s overdue, in fact. He’s been reading the comments on the channel, and he’s seen some pretty dark stuff on there. Protecting him is more important than money or your ego.’
‘My ego?’
Shit!She instantly regretted saying ‘ego’. ‘Sorry, not your ego.’Placate him, placate him.‘I meant your … pride … in your work, in being such a good father. So fun.’
It killed her to pander to him, but it was dawning on her that this is what was necessary when you shared a child with a person you no longer trusted.Will I have to manage his behaviour forever? Probably.Max was a part of them both. They both loved him. But it was undeniable: they had very different ideas about what was good for him.
‘I think you are completely overreacting, Lindy. Anyway, Max won’t go for it, believe me.’
A knock on the door silenced them. ‘Guys?’ It was Eddie. ‘Dinner’s on its way?’
‘Coming,’ Lindy called, hoping they hadn’t been too loud.
23
‘IS THIS TILLY’S FIRST OFFICIAL DINNER PARTY then?’ Lindy was uncorking a bottle of chilled Albariño, and Ailbhe searched her feelings, happy to find no real longing. She had a new purpose: no more jeopardising the things that were good for her. Ailbhe watched Lindy pouring three glasses, and when Lindy looked at her with a questioning expression, Ailbhe gave a subtle shake of her head. Roe also declined, she noted. She had to tell Lindy what was going on with Roe – they needed to talk sense into her before anything untakebackable (like a baby!) happened.
Everyone sat for their starter of grilled prawns in chilli butter with fresh sourdough. A private chef, who’d arrived with the entire meal just a few minutes before, was discreetly placing the covered main-course tray in the oven on a low temperature and leaving a neat printout of instructions on how to serve the rest of the meal.
‘Thanks a million.’ Eddie tipped him as he slipped out.
‘This looks amazing.’ Ailbhe finished settling Tilly in the newborn attachment of the highchair and pulled out the seat beside her. ‘And yes, this is Tilly’s first soirée – fingers crossed she can keep her chill for at least a few minutes. We should make a toast.’ Ailbhe pulled her Coke towards her. ‘I feel like any baby milestone should be celebrated in a big way. Especially after she tortured me with the colic for the first couple of months.’
‘Oooh, wait, Ailbhe!’ Eddie was rummaging in a bag propped against his chair. ‘We can’t toast Tilly before our special guest joins us.’
Special guest? Confusion gave way to vague dread when Eddie pulled out an iPad and settled it at an empty space at the end of the table.Has to be Tom, Ailbhe thought.Oh God.
‘He wanted to surprise you!’ Adam grinned over at her. ‘Got me and Ed in on it.’
Ailbhe sat back, drawing a smile over her clenched face.This isn’t him surprising me: this is him cornering me. He thinks I’ve been avoiding him cos he’s mad. I just wanted a couple more wine-free days behind me to prove how serious I am. Reaching a round number felt meaningful to Ailbhe, so she’d placated him with videos of Tilly and avoided any face-to-face contact.
‘He’s so cute,’ she said sweetly.Great, now I have to have my first conversation with Tom in weeks right in front of our friends. She didn’t want to have to tell him all about her new clean living at a dinner party. Awkward didn’t even cover it.Though being tense and secretly fighting at a crowded dinner party is probably the most ‘normal couple’ thing we’ve ever done, she thought wryly.
‘Oh, here he comes.’ Roe turned to Ailbhe and slyly poked her tongue out.
‘Hi, gang! How’s my connection?’ Tom’s smaller-than-life-size face appeared on the screen. He was in a white shirt, looking relaxed by the beach.
‘Perfect, man.’ Adam pretended to high five the iPad, and Ailbhe spied identical pained expressions crossing Lindy’s and Max’s faces.
‘Hi, Ailbhe!’ Tom’s formal greeting to her seemed pointed but maybe she was projecting.
‘Hi,’ she echoed.
‘You guys notice anything?’ Tom looked around him, one eyebrow cocked.
‘You’re at the beach?’ Lindy delicately peeled a prawn.
‘Wait! Wait!’ Max leaned forward to peer at the screen. ‘That’s here. You’re atthisbeach. Are you? How?’
‘Yeah, it’s cool, isn’t it?’ Adam interjected. ‘I sent Tom snaps and he’s made them into a virtual background.’
‘I wanted to make this feel as close to being there with you as possible.’ Tom straightened up and fiddled with something on his computer. ‘I’m actually in one of the Optimise nap pods!’ His background flickered to reveal a dark space with the word OptiSnooze emblazoned above him.
He is sweet. Ailbhe smiled with real feeling as the beach returned behind her husband.This is his way of being with us. He cares enough to attend a dinner party remotely in the middle of his working day. This is his way of showing me that he wants us to work too.
‘Look, I know you’re all only on starters but I have a 2 p.m. so I need to get down to it.’ The tiny face peered up at them; the iPad placement made it look like Tom was a small child at the table. ‘This is an intervention.’
