Hayley pulled the rest of her clothes on, her heart beating hard. A few minutes later Sean strolled into the kitchen, whistling a terrible rendition of ‘Ironic’. Hayley didn’t care that he was butchering what had been one of her favourite Alanis Morissette songs – she didn’t like it as much since Ed Byrnes had taken the piss out of it so badly – and besides, she had to focus on the fact that they were both fully clothed.
I can’t believe I … I almost … What the hell was I thinking?
Sean stopped whistling. ‘You okay?’
‘Kind of,’ she said. Her eyes wandered around the room until they settled back on him. Tiny water droplets sparkled in his hair and when he looked at her she quickly dropped her gaze. She’d always thought his hazel eyes could see right into her soul. She swallowed. Pushing the last shreds of dirty shower thoughts from her mind she said, ‘I almost did something stupid.’
He smiled and hooked his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans. ‘You put salt in the tea again?’
Hayley stared at him blankly and his smile disappeared. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Who’s Melanie?’ she said.
The colour drained from his face and he looked away as he fidgeted with his wedding ring. Hayley would have spotted the guilt written all over his face if she’d been on the moon.
‘I saw the text on your phone.’ She didn’t take her eyes off him this time. ‘What does she want you to tell me?’
‘Ah, shite, Hayley. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.’ He ran his fingers through his hair, then puffed out his cheeks and smoothed down his shirt. ‘I asked your mum and dad to take the kids because … because … I have stuff to talk to you about.’
‘Evidently,’ Hayley said. ‘Start by telling me who Melanie is.’
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, leaning against the kitchen cabinet. ‘Oh Hayley, I’m sorry.’
She quietly observed him, taking in his shiny eyes, his clenched jaw and his trembling hands. ‘You’re having an affair.’
Five seconds went by before he answered. ‘Yes.’ He walked over to the table and sat down opposite her, pushing the stack of junk mail to one side.
‘How long?’ She felt strangely detached, almost as if she was researching a case at work. ‘How do you know her?’
‘A few months. We met at work, years ago, but nothing happened before, I swear … I … I’m so sorry.’
‘Why?’ Hayley said quietly, shaking her head. ‘Why would you do that to us?’
‘I … we …’ Sean fidgeted with his wedding ring again, turning it around and around, pulling it up to his knuckle and pushing it down his finger again.
‘Do you love her?’
He looked at Hayley but didn’t speak for what seemed like an eternity. ‘Yes,’ he finally said so quietly she barely heard him. ‘Yes I do.’
‘But … but we seem so happy … the photos,’ she whispered, more to herself than to Sean.
‘I know,’ he said. ‘We were. Maybe, maybe if Ell–’ He stopped talking and exhaled sharply. ‘Look, I … I know this is sudden for you but I’ve thought about it a lot and … I … I think I should move out. Once the kids are back and we’ve had a chance to talk to them.’
‘What? You’re leaving me? To move in with her?’ A tear escaped the corner of her eye and trickled down her cheek. It was all she could do to stop herself from screaming.
I just found him again and now he’s going? Why? WHY?
‘Oh baby, don’t cry. Please don’t cry,’ Sean said, grabbing her hands. ‘We haven’t been happy for so long. I’ve tried … we’ve tried … It’s not an excuse but … I can’t get close … No, that’s not fair. I’m sorry.’
She angrily pulled her hands back and wiped her cheek. ‘Don’t touch me.’
‘We need to talk.’ Sean said gently.
Hayley waved her hands. ‘No, not now.’ As she pushed her chair back it scraped noisily across the floor. ‘I need to get some air.’
‘Of course,’ Sean said softly. ‘But we can’t run away from this, Hayley.’
She walked to the front door, opened the cupboard and pulled out a pair of boots and a jacket. A bag that she presumed was hers dangled on the back of the cupboard door. She grabbed the phone, keys and purse from her briefcase and stuffed them in the bag.
‘I’ll be back later,’ she said to Sean, who had followed her and watched her with his shoulders hunched. ‘I need to work a few things out.’
He opened the door for her. The symbolism wasn’t lost on her.
How could things have gone so wrong?
She pulled the phone out of her bag as she walked to the end of the road and punched in Ellen’s number, stabbing the keypad with her index finger. An automated message informed her the number wasn’t in service. She scrolled through list of contacts but couldn’t find Ellen’s name. She selected Mark’s number instead, then pressed the phone against her ear.
‘Hi, you’ve reached Mark. You know what to do.’
Hayley didn’t bother leaving a message and called for a taxi instead. When it arrived, she climbed into the back seat, gave the driver her parents’ address and dialled their number, crossing her fingers.
‘Stan Adams.’ His voice was clear. Crystal clear.
‘Dad?’ Hayley whispered. ‘Dad? Is that you?’
‘Hello, poppet,’ he said cheerfully.
Poppet. He hadn’t called her that for years.
‘It’s so good to hear your voice,’ she said as fresh tears stung her eyes. ‘Can I come and see you?’
‘Course you can. I’m around all day. See you in a bit. Whoops. I’d better go. The toast’s burning.’
Hayley clutched the phone to her chest and burst into tears, gratefully accepting the hankies the taxi driver shoved her way with an uncomfortable look on his face.