GCSE General Certificate of Secondary Education. Exams taken at sixteen years of age.
'Tube': London Underground Railway.
'Keening': (Scots) crying or weeping.
'Bairn': (Scots) child.
'The Nick': Prison, or Police Station.
'Bint': Derogatory term for young woman.
'Mobile': Cell Phone
*****
Chapter Fourteen
In February, an advertisement arrived at Mike's office announcing an electronics trade exhibition in Brighton to be held in April. Rosemary suggested they take a stall. Bernard could set it up for Mike and Mike could swan around, press the flesh and answer questions about their service and research.
The family went to Scotland for Easter and they stayed for Easter week. It was a relaxing time for everyone, especially Siobhán who was preparing for her GCSEs. They returned the weekend after, and Mike went to Brighton on the following Sunday.
Mike was a fool, he admitted as much to himself. He should have taken a couple of staff, because the week was totally exhausting, but despite all the frenetic activity he managed to do a good turn for someone, and neglect to do something else, which cost him dearly.
He phoned Claire and children on the first three nights, and since there was nothing he could tell them about his work there, and he was in any case dead beat, he listened while they told him about their day. On the Thursday he could not get through, and though he tried on Friday morning, again he got the answer-phone.
After lunch on Friday, however, he was on his way home. It was a long journey from Brighton by train, nearly four hours, arriving at Manchester at 6:30pm after two changes including a crossing of London by tube. He arrived home after seven, utterly exhausted.
He had looked forward all the way home to Claire's welcoming arms but he was disappointed. He entered the hallway to a quiet house. The children were not at home. He put his bags down and went to the kitchen. No one. He put the kettle on to boil and went into the living room.
Claire was sitting on the sofa. She looked haggard and upset.
"What-?" was all he managed to utter before she started in on him.
"You heartless, lying, cheating, bastard," she began, the tears wetting her cheeks anew. "How could you do that?"
"Do what?" he inquired, totally puzzled. This was not the welcome he needed; he was all in after an exhausting week.
"Don't give me that! You know what I'm talking about. Shagging your blonde bimbo," she snarled. "You fucking hypocrite, all that cant about how faithful you always were, all those protestations of love, that my scars meant nothing. All that shit about never needing a pretty girl now you had me. You low, fucking, lying pig."
He said nothing. He had not a clue what she meant. She glowered at him, hugging her knees to her chest, taking his silence to mean guilt.
"Trying to find some lame excuse?" she taunted him. "Oh darling it didn't mean anything! Oh darling I love only you. Oh darling it was only sex! You're pathetic."
He remained silent, still trying to make sense of her outburst, but she was on a roll.
"You betrayed me, the children and our marriage. You've destroyed any trust I had in you. Your stuff is in your old room until I decide what I'm going to do. God! If only I'd not sold the house! This marriage is over, Mike. I can't live with a cheating bastard."
She lapsed into silence herself. He'd had time to think, and now he thought he knew what she was talking about. His first impulse was to try to explain; his second to feel affronted that she had no trust in him, nor was she going to give him a chance to defend himself. The second impulse won; Mike could be an obstinate bugger.
"Have you quite finished?" he growled. She simply stared at him, eyes full of hatred, which provoked him further. Then he had an idea.
"Where are the children?" he asked with some aggression.
"Julie's taken them for the evening," she said malevolently. "I've explained to the girls what you've done. I'd thank you to keep away from them."
That was too much. The implication about the children was obvious, and devastated him.
"That's low even for you!" he retorted, "and I think you've just gone beyond my ability to forgive. When the truth comes out and you're begging me to take you back, don't expect me to agree. Someone's been filling your mind with lies. How could you poison the children against me without hearing my side? Have you never thought there may be an explanation for this?"
"I don't need anything from you!" she shouted. "I've got all the evidence I need, and you won't wriggle out of this: I won't listen to your lies. Keep yourself separate from us. Get your own meals. Understand?"
He felt suddenly deflated. The woman he loved more than his life had no trust in him, no belief that he could be innocent. He couldn't live with that.
"What I understand is that you are making a big, big mistake," he said quietly. "This is your last chance. Are you going to listen to me?"
For a brief moment she looked uncertain. Then her face hardened. "Why don't you pack some things and just get out of our lives?" she said. "There's nothing you can say that'll make any difference."
"OK," he snapped, "you had your chance. I'm leaving."
It was obstinacy on his part, he could easily have told her what happened at the conference, but he was bitter and angry that she didn't want to give him a hearing and had turned the children against him. What Ryan must be making of this he couldn't imagine.
He took his bags upstairs and unpacked. Then repacked with fresh clothes. He rang Tom. Tom was surprised - again, but like the good friend he was, he offered a room for as long as Mike needed it.
"What's happened?" Tom asked after giving him beans on toast, and settling him in the guest room.
"Someone has maliciously poisoned Claire against me," he said morosely.
"Again? I don't understand," Tom countered. "How could anyone do that? She wouldn't listen to a word against you."
"I thought that until tonight," he replied. "Tonight she wouldn't hear a word
from
me! And she told me to keep away from the children, and you know what she was implying by that!"
"I still don't understand; it's not like her at all."
"That's the point! I didn't know what she was on about, then the penny dropped. Someone must have seen me with a woman at the trade fair."
"A woman?"
"Let me begin at the beginning. You know I was running round like a headless chicken before the fair, getting our stuff together? Well, just as I was finally ready to leave for the train, I got a phone call from Rosemary who told me that one of our girls, Ingrid Pearson, had just got a message that her grandmother was very ill, in fact she was dying. Well, the grandmother lived in Brighton where I was going and would I let her go, give her compassionate leave of absence?
"Well, what could I say? I volunteered to buy her train fare and go down with her. When we got there she said there was no room for her at home because a lot of relatives had arrived, so I took her to the hotel and got her a room. Someone must have seen us there.
"I gave her dinner, and on Monday she went off to visit the family and her grandmother. I was busy at the fair. Bernard our fitter had been down there and put up all the equipment but the two of us were rushed all day. He was a brilliant support.
