‘I know Ella would be very cross, but it’s not the war, is it? I feel like I’m on bloody rations,’ he whispered back.
I giggled. ‘I know what you mean, Bob. I’m starving too – I won’t tell her, if you let me have one.’ I held out my hand and he smiled and handed me a precious biscuit with a sly wink.
‘Don’t you get me in trouble with Ella,’ he said quietly through crumbs.
I nodded. ‘Your secret biscuit stash is safe with me, Bob.’
‘Clare,’ he muttered, nudging me, ‘probably best not mention it to Joy either. You know how she can be.’
‘Mum’s the word.’ I smiled, just as the two other women emerged from inside carrying trays of food.
Dan poured the wine while Ella and Joy took lids off. Then Ella stood there at the head of the table and said, ‘Last week, I married my darling Jamie, but I also got an extra special gift on my wedding day, his beautiful family – the Taylors. You’ve all made me so welcome. I know I only met you all just a few days ago, but it feels much longer.’ She smiled, her eyes glistening. She looked over at Jamie, who was sitting there proudly, drinking her in, and she lifted her glass to make a toast. ‘As some of you know… I was orphaned as a child.’ She paused for effect. ‘My sister was my only family, all I had left in the world, and then… then… I lost her too. But now, now, finally, I have a family again.’ She stopped for another pause and an additional, stifled sob. ‘Here’s… to the Taylors!’ She sat down, almost collapsing onto Jamie as she did.
We all sat in silence, some of us shocked and sad I’m sure, but some of us wondering just how much of the speech, if any, was true.
Eventually, Dan broke the silence. ‘Thank you, Ella,’ he said. ‘And, as the eldest son, and therefore your big brother, I’d like to say welcome – and let’s eat now because I’m famished and Dad might collapse!’
We all laughed at this. Ella’s speech had been a surprise, and, if true, quite touching, and it needed someone to break the tension. I could relate to what she’d said. I was also without a family when I met the Taylors and I was grateful to be one of them. I raised my glass to her and she raised hers back in a rare moment of solidarity and I wondered if, another time, in another place, we might have been friends? Even though she’d seemed determined from the first moment for us to be enemies.
I have to say, the food was pretty average, but I complimented Ella on her cooking. ‘This is delicious,’ I said. Everyone else politely followed suit, and she positively glowed at the compliments, explaining each recipe in detail while we nodded, and Jamie drooled. It was like no one had ever cooked a meal before. And, tellingly, there was no mention of Joy’s contribution. At the end of the meal, I was about to remedy this and give Joy a vote of thanks, when Jamie’s phone rang.
Ella shot him a look – I doubt he was allowed to bring his phone to dinner.
He shrugged and stood up, saying, ‘Sorry, babe, got to take this,’ and off he went into the garden.
Ella looked furious, and watched him for a few moments as he disappeared from her view, but I could still see him from where I was. He seemed to be having quite an animated conversation and I couldn’t help but wonder who he was talking to.
Ella distracted me though, when she suddenly said out of the blue, ‘Dan, did you enjoy the food… Clare says you love her aubergines?’
He looked puzzled, like this was a trick question.
‘Stuffed aubergines, Dan. I make them at home sometimes,’ I reminded him.
‘Oh yeah…’
‘Do you like mine as much as Clare’s?’ she teased, and she wasn’t talking about the aubergines.
‘Yeah, great… you can come round to our place anytime and cook dinner,’ Dan added. Given our recent troubles, one might have expected him to be a little mindful of my feelings. But, no, there he was, holding up his glass, winking at her like they had this big secret.
‘I might take you up on that,’ she said, lifting her glass slowly to her lips, never taking her eyes from his. She seemed to positively grow in stature at his attention. And who could blame her? The implication behind Dan’s clumsy comment was that she was an amazing cook and I couldn’t boil an egg. Why else would you invite someone over to your house to make a meal? She smiled victoriously at me across the table, and I smiled back like none of this mattered. But it did.
‘If the rest of your repertoire is anything like this, I’ll never eat meat again,’ he continued. He really didn’t have to keep this going, but he was encouraging her and she was loving it.
‘You’ve clearly been consuming the same old stuff for years. It’s boring and unhealthy: time for a big change,’ she said, taking a slow sip of her wine. ‘Sometimes you just need someone to show you that there’s another way,’ she added, almost breathlessly.
I couldn’t stand to watch them any more, so turned to Bob and made small talk about the weather. He was surprisingly receptive, but all the time I was listening to their conversation. I was aware of the meaningful looks, the electricity in the air, and when Jamie arrived back from his phone call and engaged Bob in conversation, I’d never felt so alone. I wanted to cry. I was an outsider at my family’s table.
As Ella and Dan’s exchange continued, I felt more and more diminished by Dan’s lack of tact and Ella’s flirty responses. I could almost see how he reeled women in. I thought of Carmel and Marilyn, the ‘innocent’ remarks, the questions – all with a subtext only they could hear.
Meanwhile, Jamie seemed oblivious; he was doing something on his phone while talking to Bob, apparently unaware that there were fifty shades of flirting going on at the other end of the table.
In retaliation, I leaned forward to speak to Jamie. ‘The food was lovely, wasn’t it?’ I offered lamely. I hoped he’d see my cry for help and rescue me, but he just lifted his head in acknowledgement, nodded and smiled dismissively. I couldn’t bear his new indifference towards me – it was strange, and it hurt. But once I’d revealed the earrings waiting in Ella’s jewellery box to be discovered, I knew that even Jamie would be grateful to me for revealing his wife’s true colours, and we’d be back to how we were before Ella.
She’d come into this family like an earthquake, causing little tremors with each of us – whispering to Joy, meaningful looks at Dan, conspiratorial eyes at Jamie. She’d even had an effect on Violet, who’d suddenly become obsessed with taking photos of herself. And as for me, Ella had threatened my safety within the family, caused Jamie and my husband to doubt me, to judge me. But now it was time for her to be judged, and as I watched her smiling, and chatting, I waited to drop my bomb.
Chapter Twenty-Two
After the meal, Ella served vegan brownies with coffee and oat milk. ‘Oh, and before you ask, there’s no cow’s milk, Clare,’ she said. ‘The clue’s in the name – that’s just for baby cows.’ This with a sanctimonious smile.
I ignored her comment, surprised that Dan hadn’t asked for cow’s milk, surprised he just poured the oat milk into his coffee. And Joy too. Bob always had his black, so did Jamie, but Joy always had cow’s milk – until that night.