Rebecca came home in quite the state. Today, she had popped by to see her daughter. She walked in and was greeted by a veritable tipclothes everywhere, dishes balancing precariously, toys in places only Sherlock Holmes could deduce. Her daughter, Emily, was sat on the living room rug in floods of tears. Shed had a row with her husband, Tom, and chucked him out of the house. Rebecca hadnt the foggiest that things had gone off the rails. Emily always seemed so happy. They had a decent life, two well-behaved kids, even managed to buy a flat together (well, technically mostly owned by the bank at this point). Rebecca simply couldnt wrap her head around what had gone wrong.
Mum, honestly, this morning was absolutely fine, Emily blubbered, hiccupping between sobs. Then, this afternoon, someone called Tom. I answered. And there was this womans voice:
Darling, how much longer am I expected to wait? So, I asked who it was. The mystery woman immediately hung up and never answered again. Thats when I went to ask Tom. He said it mustve been a mix-up.
You do realise Ive always been faithful to you, right?! Fat lot of good that didit barely left his lips before he was shoving his jumpers into a Sainsburys bag and storming out.
Rebecca tried to soothe Emily, suggesting, perhaps feebly, that it really was all just a misunderstanding.
The very next day, Emily called her mum, voice barely above a whisper, to say Tom had filed for divorce. At least hed promised hed keep up with the mortgage payments. Although, who really knew? If Tom bailed, Emily certainly wouldnt be able to manage it alone, and that meant theyd lose the flat. Tom assured her the flat would go to the kids anyway. But Emily had heard whisperingsturns out, Toms new lady friend isnt shy about demanding her fair share of the flat.
Apparently, she needs somewhere to live too, what with her being pregnant and all. Or at least thats what shes been sayingwho knows if its true. When they split, Tom swore up and down that hed cover everything. At least there wasnt a decree that he shouldnt see the kids; Emilys not that sort of mum. But Toms new girlfriend finds it all rather inconvenient. Which means Tom might suddenly forget about the mortgage altogether.
Every now and then, when Emily spots her ex wrangling a pushchair or clutching at another coffee, she cant help but notice what a spent force he looks, absolutely knackered. Clearly, hes already exhausted by his new relationshipand her pregnancy isnt exactly helping his energy levels, either.
