Happy Ever After Read online

  ‘Can’t be helped. You always were a blabbermouth,’ Connie said affectionately.

  ‘Bitch,’ grinned her sister-in-law. ‘Imagine being married to that pain in the ass. I don’t know how she lasted so long. Juliet’s totally different to Aimee, isn’t she? Much softer. Too soft to be married to that big tyrant.’

  ‘I think he’s possibly the rudest man I ever met. Imagine having him for a father. Not easy either. Maybe that’s why Aimee’s so driven. You never know what goes on in other people’s lives sure you don’t,’ Connie mused. ‘You’re lucky to have a happy marriage, Karen. John’s one in a million. When I look at Juliet and Ken, and Aimee and Barry, I have to say, I’m very contented in my single state. I won’t be going down that road, for sure.’

  ‘And what about that sexy man you were telling me about?’ Karen topped up her glass.

  ‘Mmm . . . I don’t think he’s too anxious to go down that road again either,’ Connie said firmly.

  ‘Well, I live in hopes of being your matron of honour, madam, so I’m not giving up on it,’ Karen giggled as she slugged her wine.

  ‘You have two chances of that, Karen – slim and none,’ Connie retorted tartly but, as she gazed out at the moonlit sea, she thought how nice it would be to sit sipping wine and talking all night with Drew Sullivan. Full moons always made her lonely. Full moons should be shared, she thought wistfully, recognizing that all the wine she’d drunk had made her maudlin. Juliet had said you didn’t need a man to live happy ever after, and Connie wouldn’t argue with that, but with the right man, if there was such a creature, happiness was possible and, although she was contented with her life, she wouldn’t shut the door on new opportunities that came her way. She didn’t have to marry the new opportunity, she smiled to herself, looking forward to her new job and to meeting Drew again.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  ‘Mum’s looking for a divorce?! When did she tell you that?’ Aimee couldn’t believe her ears at the news her father had just imparted.

  ‘Last night. I flew out to the villa to discuss things in a reasonable ma—’

  ‘You’re in Spain!’ Aimee exclaimed.

  ‘Yes, yes,’ her father said impatiently. ‘I came over to—’

  ‘What did you do that for, Dad?’ Aimee couldn’t hide her irritation. ‘Could you not have just left her alone for a while without going over to Spain and hounding her?’

  ‘I beg your pardon, Missy, I did no such thing. Watch the way you speak to me please,’ Ken bristled.

  ‘Oh, get over yourself, Dad. I’m not surprised that Mum asked for a divorce the way you go on,’ Aimee said rudely.

  ‘What’s that supposed to mean? I’m ringing you to ask you to have a word with her. To try and get you to knock some sense into her. Do you realize how costly a divorce would be? There won’t be too much left for you and your brothers if she insists on going down that road,’ Ken warned.

  ‘I don’t want your money, Dad, I’ve plenty of money of my own, thank you, so it’s no skin off my nose if you and Mum divorce,’ Aimee said airily, letting him know in no uncertain terms that his nasty little threat didn’t bother her.

  ‘You might have plenty of money, but I’m not an ATM, and it’s time Juliet realized it,’ Ken retorted. ‘I found her slugging back wine with that Connie woman who was once married to your husband,’ he said, slyly getting his little dig in. ‘And his sister was there as well, all of them laughing and tittering and having a great time at my expense. Your mother was having the time of her life, and does she even stop to think who’s paying for her life of luxury? Does she ever consider how hard I’ve worked to provide her with a lifestyle that’s the envy of many—’

  ‘And you never stop going on about it. You’re always rubbing her nose in it, Dad. Did you ever stop to think how difficult it is for her having to put up with you! She’s earned every bit of “luxury”, as you call it. If I were married to you I’d have been gone long ago.’

  ‘Ah yes, I should have known better than to come to you for a bit of sympathy and understanding. You’re the liberated woman, aren’t you?’ he jeered. ‘The feminist. The emasculator of men. It’s your sort that have the world the way it is.’ He couldn’t have been more contemptuous.

  ‘Listen to yourself, Dad. You’re out of the ark. I’m not one of your poor little minions who has to take your crap. I’ve got work to do, so if you’re ringing me to ask me to try and get Mum to change her mind, you can think again. I applaud her decision. I’m delighted she’s finally stood up to you and your bully—’

  ‘There’s no use talking to you. All I’m getting is impertinence,’ Ken bellowed down the line.

  ‘And I don’t have to listen to you roaring and shouting. Mum should have left you long ago,’ Aimee retaliated, and hung up. She felt queasy. Confrontations with her father had never been easy, but at least she could hang up on him now and not have to endure his domineering attitude, which had certainly not diminished with age. It was getting worse, if anything. Typical of him to ring and take his bad temper out on her. That’s what a daughter was for if the wife wasn’t there to be the butt of it.

  He was a fool, Aimee thought bitterly. If he wasn’t careful, he’d end up an angry, bitter old man with no one to talk to. And if anything happened to him in his old age, she certainly wouldn’t be looking after him. It was the nursing home for him, and it might bring him down a peg or two to have to be looked after by nurses who wouldn’t take any of his nonsense. That would be something else, and she’d take pleasure in it, she thought venomously, and looked up to find Barry standing in the doorway of the kitchen staring at her.

  ‘That sounded pretty nasty,’ he remarked.

  ‘It was, but it’s none of your business, and I’ll thank you not to earwig on my phone calls,’ she snapped.

  ‘I couldn’t help it, you weren’t exactly keeping it down,’ he shot back, filling the kettle and turning it on.

  ‘That was my father, as I’m sure you guessed. My mother’s divorcing him. And about time too. It will be a happy day for her, to get her freedom, and it will be a happy day for me when I divorce you, Barry,’ said Aimee coldly.

  ‘Do you know something, Aimee, right now, that’s something I look forward to myself, because living with you is like living with a she devil,’ he said nastily.

  ‘What did you ever marry me for in the first place?’ she sneered, a derisory look in her eyes.

  ‘That’s something I’ve been asking myself a lot these days. And there’s something else you might like to think about while you’re at it, Aimee: you’re much more like your father than you think – intransigent, confrontational, self-centred, dictatorial, arrogant, pretentious. You have it all in spades, my dear. So why would I want to stay married to you?’

  ‘Bastard,’ she swore, flushing at his jibes.

  Barry bowed and walked out on to the balcony, knowing that she’d be gone by the time he came back in.

  Aimee flung her half-drunk tea into the sink and grabbed her briefcase. Men! She hated the species, she raged, fishing her car keys out of her bag and hurrying down the hall.

  Melissa’s heart pounded as she heard the front door close. Her parents were going to get a divorce! It couldn’t be true. Had she been hearing things? Was she having a dream? She gave herself a hard pinch, and flinched. She wasn’t dreaming. She closed her bedroom door softly. The sound of the phone ringing had woken her, and she’d lain drowsily in her bed squinting at her clock, wondering who would be ringing so early in the morning. It must have been an emergency in her mother’s work, she’d figured, glad she didn’t have to get up. She’d heard the rain batter against the window and tried to go back to sleep, but she was hungry. She’d eaten very little the previous day. A glass of water would help take the gnawing hunger pangs away. She’d eventually dragged herself out of bed and padded barefoot down to the kitchen, in time to hear her parents row viciously.

  Tears slid down Melissa’s cheeks. She didn’t want her mother
and father to divorce. She knew they hadn’t been getting on well lately. In fact, they were hardly talking these days, but she presumed that was because her mother’s hormones were all over the place because of expecting the baby. She knew Aimee didn’t want to have a baby. All she was interested in was her job. Had she felt like that when she’d found out she was pregnant with her, Melissa wondered unhappily as she sobbed into her pillow, trying to smother the noise so her father wouldn’t hear. Was this how Debbie had felt when she found out that Barry and Connie were going to divorce all those years ago?

  Had Barry met someone else? Was that why he was no longer in love with her mother? If they divorced, what would happen? Where would they live? Would Barry have to move out? That would be awful. Melissa wept. She loved her father, but she wouldn’t like to see him living with another woman. Poor Debbie, she thought wildly. No wonder her half-sister didn’t really like Aimee. Now, she understood why. She’d hate this new woman that Barry was involved with. She’d HATE her for taking him away from her and Aimee. She’d have to do something to stop the divorce. But what?

  ‘Bye, Melissa,’ she heard her father call softly. She froze. She didn’t want him to know that she was awake. He always called out goodbye to her when he was leaving. Sometimes she heard him; sometimes she didn’t if she was asleep.

  She heard the heavy tread of his footsteps down the hall and then the front door closed and she was mercifully alone. She sat up and wrapped her arms around her pillow, and cried her heart out, knowing that life would never be carefree and happy again.

  Aimee had just arrived at the cream and gold marquee which was housing an event she was overseeing. The heavens had opened, and she sat in the car waiting for the deluge to ease, not wanting to look like a drowned rat when she went in. Her mobile rang, and Roger O’Leary’s name came up on her screen. Her stomach flip-flopped. He’d told her he’d get back to her as soon as possible about whether he and Myles were willing to proceed with the new venture. Was the swiftness of his response an indication of good news or bad, she wondered, staring at the phone. She took a deep breath. This was it. Make or break time. Would she be moving on, or staying with a company which didn’t appreciate just how much she had to offer?

  ‘Hello.’ Her voice was remarkably calm. She silently congratulated herself on her acting abilities.

  ‘Aimee, Roger here. How are you today?’ the businessman inquired genially.

  Oh just tell me, she begged silently. ‘I’ve managed to keep my breakfast down.’ She injected a cheery note into her tone, trying to gauge from his whether or not he had good news for her.

  ‘Excellent,’ he replied. ‘Did you try the peppermint tea?’

  ‘I did, it was very helpful,’ she lied, curling her fingers into her palms so tightly they left marks.

  ‘Good, you’ll need to drink a lot of it then. We’re all systems go. Myles and I had a long discussion, and he’s keen to progress with the project so, as soon as you’ve worked your notice, we’ll get up and running. In the meantime, we should have another meeting to target our office space, and I’ll be putting the word out and about that Hibernian Dreams is the company to do business with. I think Edward Gallagher is looking for someone to organize their twenty-fifth year in business.’

  ‘I’d heard that,’ Aimee replied matter-of-factly, although she felt like yelling and dancing with delight.

  ‘I might have a chat with him and give him your number. He’d be as good a client as any of them to start off our new enterprise with. I’m off to Moscow this afternoon; I have some business interests in Russia. I’ll be in touch when I get back. I think we’ll make a good team, Aimee.’

  ‘I have no doubt of it, Roger. And thank you. I appreciate your trust and confidence in me. I’ll do my utmost to live up to it.’

  ‘It pays to take a chance now and again, I’ve always found. And if you put in the effort that you did for the wedding, that’s good enough for me. Keep drinking the peppermint tea,’ Roger said enthusiastically, before hanging up.

  Aimee sat in her car, savouring the moment. Who would have thought she would end up the MD of her own company, despite being pregnant? It was the crowning moment of her career. She couldn’t wait to get back to the office and hand in her notice. And who would have thought that Roger O’Leary, of all people, would be the one giving her the chance to become a big success? And to think she’d looked down her nose at him. She wouldn’t make that mistake again. He might be a touch unsophisticated, to say the least, but he was a big player in business, and he was now her boss and he’d get one hundred per cent of her loyalty.

  Exhilarated, she went to dial Barry’s number to tell him her news and, then, with a sinking heart, remembered that they were at war. After the things he’d said to her this morning, he’d be lucky if she ever spoke to him again, she thought grimly. Before the wedding she would have phoned her friend Gwen, but Gwen wasn’t talking to her either.

  Maybe she would have calmed down after all these weeks. Surely she wouldn’t hold a grudge. It was a misunderstanding. She’d probably be pleased that Aimee had taken the first step by ringing. She’d read an article in a magazine at the hairdresser’s which maintained that you had to invest in friendships, work at them. She’d been rather lax in that regard, she thought guiltily, remembering how she’d rarely phoned any of the girls, always leaving it up to them to get in touch. She’d make more of an effort once she and Gwen were on speaking terms again. On impulse, she scrolled down her directory and found the other woman’s number. A familiar voice answered. It was nice to hear it again. Aimee smiled.

  ‘Hi Gwen, it’s me, I just wanted to—’

  The phone went dead. Aimee stared at it, taken aback. Gwen had hung up on her without even giving her a chance. ‘You don’t get another chance with me, lady. Grow up,’ she muttered, disgusted. It was one thing to have a row with someone, but to behave in such a manner, at her age, was utterly childish.

  She scrolled through her directory again and found her mother’s number.

  ‘Morning, Mum, I believe you’re looking for a divorce. Congratulations!’ she said cheerfully.

  ‘And, I believe, congratulations are in order for you too,’ Juliet said crisply.

  Aimee’s jaw dropped. ‘How did you know? I’ve just got the job,’ she said, puzzled.

  ‘You got a new job. Oh, well done!’ her mother exclaimed. ‘A new job and a new baby – double congratulations so.’

  Aimee’s eyes widened in shock. ‘How did you know I was pregnant? Was Barry talking to you?’ she demanded angrily.

  ‘No, he wasn’t.’ Juliet sounded surprised at the notion. ‘Karen mentioned it. Seemingly, Melissa let it slip to Connie last weekend, and Connie told Karen. It would have been nice to know that I was going to have another grandchild.’

  ‘Oh, for God’s sake, Mum, I was going to tell you. Does the whole bloody world know?’ Aimee fumed, hugely irritated to think that Connie and Karen had been gossiping about her, and probably having a good laugh at her expense too. How mortifying! She could just imagine the smug bitches sniggering about her having a bun in the oven.

  ‘I don’t think so. How do you feel about it?’ Juliet asked.

  ‘How would you think?’ Aimee said glumly. ‘It couldn’t have happened at a worse time. I’m starting up a new company. I’m the MD. I can’t really afford to be taking time off for maternity leave. And looking after a new baby is not what I want to be doing at this stage of my life.’

  ‘Oh dear, that’s tough luck. I didn’t think you’d be too pleased,’ Juliet admitted.

  ‘Well, you’re right there, Mother,’ Aimee said dryly. ‘I’m not at all pleased. And what woman in my position would be? I wanted to go for a termination, but Barry won’t hear of it. He’s being a real pig about it, if you want to know. You might not be the only Davenport to be getting a divorce.’

  ‘Oh Aimee, don’t do anything rash!’ her mother exclaimed. ‘You have Melissa to think about. And this new child, t
oo.’

  ‘And what about me? What about my needs? I thought you, of all people, would understand,’ Aimee said heatedly.

  ‘I do, I really do, Aimee, but unfortunately, when you’re a wife and mother, you have to put other people’s needs before your own.’

  ‘You’re getting a divorce,’ Aimee retorted.

  ‘Yes, now that all of my children are reared and able to fend for themselves. I would never have gone looking for a divorce with a young family,’ Juliet said soberly.

  ‘Well, times are different now. I can afford to get a divorce—’

  ‘I’m not talking about the financial aspect, dear. I was thinking of the effect it would have on Melissa.’

  ‘Saint Connie raised Debbie on her own,’ Aimee pointed out sarcastically. ‘She seems to have done OK.’

  ‘Yes, but don’t forget Connie worked her hours to be at home when Debbie was finished school; you won’t be able to do that with a demanding new job. And, from what you told me, with the events leading up to the wedding, there was a lot of bitterness and resentment on Debbie’s part. So, remember that when you’re thinking of getting divorced. And another thing – Connie is a good person, Aimee; you shouldn’t mock her and look down your nose at her. She and Karen have been incredibly kind to me these past few days. In fact, I stayed with them last night rather than have to stay under the same roof as Ken. I’ve just had breakfast with them, and they’ve left me here to relax while they went up to El Zoco to get some groceries. They’ve told me to stay as long as I like. Connie Adams could teach you a thing or two,’ Juliet said crossly.

  ‘Look, I have to go. I’ll talk to you soon, and please don’t discuss what I’ve told you with those two,’ Aimee said coolly, unwilling to have to listen to any more laudatory words about Barry’s ex. It was bad enough being lectured by her mother about her responsibilities as a wife and mother, without having to listen to Connie being praised to the skies. She wouldn’t be jaunting off to Spain with Melissa to listen to that sort of rubbish, she decided, hastily revising her plan.