Neve went about preparing the toast and jam. She remembered one of the first times she was around for breakfast and she’d given Poppy a choice of toast, crumpets or cereal. My goodness, that was a long and convoluted conversation. Kit apologised later that day and said he should have warned her not to give Poppy too many choices. Poppy couldn’t deal with too many options and she dealt with life better if she had clear and concise instructions. He’d explained that Poppy’s reasoning wasn’t developed enough to make convoluted choices. Kit had been quite clear about that and Neve hadn’t liked to argue, although privately she wondered if Kit was just an over-anxious father trying to care for his daughter. That was then. Now, Neve didn’t hail to this conviction.
Keeping to their usual schedule, once they were dressed and ready, Neve drove Poppy down to the bus stop.
‘Do you want me to stay with you?’ asked Neve, looking over at the small group of kids waiting for the secondary school bus and relieved to see there was no sign of Ben Hewitt.
‘No.’
‘I’ll just wait here in the car, then,’ said Neve.
She watched Poppy go over to the bus stop. None of the other kids looked at her and Neve wondered if that was a conscious decision based on the fact that she was standing guard. She didn’t care. In fact, she was pleased they seemed a little wary of her now. Within a few minutes the St Joseph’s bus pulled up and once Neve had seen Poppy board, she felt happy to leave and head off to her art classes with a clear conscience.
Arriving at the art studio and pushing open the door, Neve was surprised to see the main hall empty. She walked further in and called out. ‘Hello! Jake, are you there?’
She could hear voices coming from the studio at the back and assumed Jake must have a visitor. It was unusual that the studio was empty. Her class was a small group but, all the same, there was usually at least three or four of them there at any one time.
The door opened and Jake appeared. Something about the look on his face stopped Neve in her tracks. A movement behind him caught her attention.
Neve’s heart thudded against the wall of her chest as Kit walked into the main studio right behind Jake. ‘Kit! What are you doing here?’
‘Hello, darling,’ said Kit, walking over to her and slipping his arm around her waist, pulling her towards him so that her stomach was pushed against his groin. He kissed her on the mouth, lingering for an embarrassing moment too long. ‘After our conversation this morning, I thought I’d drop by and see how Jake was.’
Kit released Neve from his clinch but retained a proprietorial arm around her.
‘Hi,’ said Jake, pushing his hands into his pockets. There was an unease about him and Neve wondered if Kit was picking up on this, or whether she was being hyper-sensitive.
‘Jake was just showing me some of your artwork,’ said Kit.
Neve’s whole body tensed. She looked at Jake. ‘You showed him my artwork?’
Jake’s expression was somewhere between apologetic and wary. ‘I thought you said …’ He looked at Kit and then back to Neve.
Kit spoke first. ‘I asked him to. It’s not Jake’s fault. I asked him to show me.’
‘But you know my work here is personal.’ She peeled Kit’s hand from her body and took a step away, before turning to Jake. ‘You shouldn’t have shown him.’ Neve shook her head in silent disbelief. How could Jake betray her like this? He of all people should know that her therapy artwork was private and personal.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Jake.
‘As I said, I didn’t give him a lot of choice,’ said Kit.
Neve strode past the two men and into the smaller studio. On the workbench in the middle on the room were several pieces of her work. She went to touch them, to gather them up but stopped. They somehow now felt tainted. Kit had seen her deepest, darkest thoughts.
‘They’re pretty good,’ came Kit’s voice as he entered the room and stood next to her. ‘I was thinking about getting one framed for you as a surprise for your birthday.’
‘They’re not for display,’ said Neve, looking at the landscape she’d painted from memory. A wide sandy beach, big rolling waves, a wintery sky. Two lone figures standing at the water’s edge.
‘I particularly like this one,’ said Kit, as if watching her gaze. He picked up the painting. ‘That’s very dramatic. In fact, all your paintings are. I love the use of the blues, blacks and greys. It seems quite a theme.’
‘Shut up,’ snapped Neve. She couldn’t stand listening to him. He wasn’t just talking about her paintings, he was talking about her fears, her regrets, her guilt. He was talking about her pain and her shame.
Neve grabbed the painting from Kit’s hand and tore the watercolour in half. She heard Jake swear.
‘Fuck! Neve, what are you doing?’
Kit tried to grab her arm. ‘Hey, hey, hey,’ he said. She snatched her arm away and then, spotting the Stanley knife on the side, she swiped it up and slashed at the acrylic painting that lay on the table. Another one of her secrets exposed for Kit to see.
This time Kit was too strong to shrug off as his hand clamped down over her wrist, bending her arm to the side until she was forced to drop the blade. Meanwhile, Jake had rushed over and was pulling the other two paintings away from harm.
‘Get off me,’ said Neve. ‘You’re hurting me.’
Kit let go of her wrist. ‘Let’s get you home,’ he said, cupping her elbow in the palm of his hand in an attempt to guide her away.
Neve shrugged him off. ‘I’m perfectly capable of getting myself home. I don’t want you anywhere near me right now.’ She turned to Jake. ‘And that goes for you too.’
With that, she darted from the studio, through the larger one and out into the car park, gulping for fresh air.
‘Bastards!’ she yelled. ‘Both of you. Bastards!’
The sound of laughter had her spinning round on her heel tracing the source of the noise.
Leaning against the gatepost was Lee. ‘Tut, tut, tut, Neve,’ he said. ‘That’s not very ladylike.’
‘What are you doing here?’ demanded Neve.
‘Thought I’d join the art class. We could buddy up.’
Neve glanced back to the studio and through the full length windows, she could see Kit and Jake talking in the main studio. She took her chance and stomped over to Lee. ‘Didn’t I make it clear enough yesterday?’ she hissed. ‘You’re not welcome here. Now why don’t you just piss off back to where you came from?’
‘Next you’ll be telling me this town ain’t big enough for the both of us and demanding I’m out of here by noon. Now where’s the fun in that?’ said Lee. ‘Besides, I quite like Ambleton. I’m just beginning to settle in and make new friends.’
Neve glared at
