“Beth! Darling, how are you?”
She was just as reassuringly OTT as ever.
“I was expecting you to call. Have you spoken to Imo?”
“What’s all this about Laurent?”
“It’s true sweetie, I heard it from the horse’s mouth myself!”
“What? You’ve seen Laurent?”
“In Paris, at the weekend. Rob flew me over for a dirty weekend!”
Luce and her lifestyle was one of the reasons I wanted away from London. I couldn’t keep up with her. And then there was her penchant for threesomes, which I could not and did not share … So Laurent was still in Paris. Did he still have the studio on Rue St. Jacques where I first met him?
“Oh don’t worry babes! At least the exhibition’s not coming to Edinburgh until next January!”
Oh God! I don’t have that many friends here, and my students are pretty broad-minded but it could be very embarrassing for Miles. Edinburgh was about as far away as we could get. It was an obvious choice for Miles, he did his medic training here and knew the system well. I was a bit reluctant but Imo was here, having moved up with Cameron’s job and she convinced me to move to the frozen north. I was really lucky to land the Art History lecturing job at the FE college; it helped that I could name-drop about Laurent Fournier – he did come in useful eventually. And, I have to admit, that in the autumn light, Edinburgh looks stunning today. The artist in me quivers at the beauty of it sometimes…
“There’s no need to tell Miles, darling. Why don’t you come and stay next month and we can go and see it together … moral support and all that … and you can let your hair down after all those months in that dreary place!”
She had no idea. She thought they all wore kilts, ate haggis and played the bagpipes. When I first told her we were moving, she said ‘Oh my God, what will you eat, how will you manage without Waitrose and M&S?’
Well what now? Do I keep it from Miles? Risk upsetting him when he is so fragile?
This calls for serious action. When I’m stressed, I eat. Real food. Miles says I’m only slim these days because I’m happy. I was more Rubenesque, when I was with Laurent, as it will show in the portraits. OMG! Well it could all be about to change – after work I’m going to cycle round to Valvona and Crolla’s, see if Giuseppe has truffles, and prosciutto tortellini … Cream … Parmesan…a nice Orvieto Classico … Need to get back to work … And I need another story for tonight … seriously stressed !!!!
5 pm
Managed to get through the afternoon somehow and I’ve got all the goodies for dinner. Easy to rustle up in a few minutes. Time to download Imo’s PDF and see what she’s come up with. I’m in need of some TLC tonight. I hope Miles doesn’t sense there’s something up. I’m almost hyperventilating at the thought of Laurent and the exhibition.
6.15 pm
Well, there’s some very juicy stuff in Imo’s folder! And much more to come by the sounds of it – quite made me blush and I thought I was a woman of the world. But I’ll go easy tonight – don’t want to scare him off, haha! There’s a lovely one set in Sri Lanka … we went there for our honeymoon so it’s quite apt, though we didn’t go for the massage option – wish we had! Come to think of it, there’s a box of aromatherapy oils in the bathroom that I got from Lucinda last Xmas …
Writing this quickly before dinner … smells great … Miles is in the shower … He came home with a bunch of pink, sweetheart roses … beautiful…But he was ashen-faced!
“Roses! How lovely, Miles!”
“I’ve been neglecting you, Beth.” He gave me a hug then sat down heavily on the sofa.
“Bad day?”
“The worst.”
“What happened?”
“The baby died.”
“What baby?”
“The one I told you about. The one with the cigarette burns. I was suspicious about his eye movements and requested a scan. Turned out he’d multiple skull fractures with intracranial bleeding. He started having fits … there was nothing they could do.”
“That’s awful, Miles.”
“The police came to the surgery of course, taking statements. It doesn’t look good.”
“Why?”
“Well it turns out that Bill had seen the baby the day before and gave the mother a prescription for paracetamol.”
Bill was an old-school, misogynist who filled in when they were short-staffed. He must be about seventy.
“And the Health Visitor was in tears.”
“Who? Shonagh?”
He nodded. I’d met her at last year’s Xmas party. Young, very pretty.
“So what happens now?”
“An inquiry, murder trial, newspapers. The works. After baby P, we’ll be dragged over the coals.”
“Surely it’s not your fault?”
When I first met Miles he was a paediatrician at Guy’s. If anybody knew about kids’ health, it was him.
“You need a gentle evening, Miles, and I have something in mind that will make you feel better.”
I have to concentrate on Miles. My worries about the exhibition will just have to take a back seat. For now.
Midnight
Too tired and full of sex … will write it all up tomorrow!
Day Four – Thursday 26th September
7.30 am
Woken bleary eyed and very tired. The cup of tea on the bedside table is still warm and I vaguely remember Miles kissing me goodbye. He has left a rose on the pillow. How sweet! I feel quite guilty when he has to get up so early.
Last night … The dinner was excellent (I learned a few things from Laurent’s housekeeper, Maria. She was a marvellous cook but then I found Laurent was enjoying more than just her culinary skills.) Miles relaxed as the wine and the flavours caressed his mouth. Slowly he began to forget about the horrors of the day and we moved on to the sofa, lit some oriental candles, John Coltrane playing sax softly in the background … And I read him the story.
3. “Honeymoon Memories”
We stood on the hotel veranda, enjoying the colours of Sri Lanka, when we were both distracted by movement in the adjacent room. As the verandas were staggered, it was perfectly possible to see almost directly into their bedroom. An Asian
