Angels Read Free Page B

with her?
    In agony, I admitted that he probably was; the signs were there.
    Looked at from the outside I'd conclude that he definitely was, but isn't it always different when it's your life that's under scrutiny?
    I'd been so afraid of something like this happening, so much so that I'd half prepared myself for it. But now that it seemed that it had come to pass, I wasn't at all ready.
    He'd lit up with a glow when he'd noticed “their” chocolates…It had been dreadful to witness. He must be up to something. But that was too much to take on and I was back to not believing it. I mean, if he'd been messing around, surely I'd have noticed?
    The obvious thing was to ask him straight out and put an end to the speculation, but he was bound to lie like a rug. Worse still, he might tell me the truth. Out of nowhere, lines came to me from a B movie. The truth ? (Accompanied by a curled lip.) You couldn't HANDLE the truth !
    The thoughts kept coming. Could she be someone he worked with? Might I have met her at their Christmas party? I shuffled through my memories of that night, endeavoring to locate a funny look or a loaded comment. But all I could remember was dancing the hora with Jessica Benson, one of his colleagues. Could it be her? But she'd been so nice to me. Mind you, if I'd been having sex with someone's husband, maybe I'd be nice to her too…
    Apart from the women Garv worked with, there were the girlfriends and wives of his mates—and then there were my friends. I was ashamed to have even had that thought, but I couldn't help myself; suddenly I trusted no one and suspected everyone.

    ANGELS / 17
    What about Donna? She and Garv always had a great laugh and she called him Dr. Love. I went cold as I remembered reading somewhere that nicknames were a surefire indication that people were up to high jinks.
    But, with a silent sigh, I released Donna without charge: she was one of my best friends; I truly couldn't believe she'd do that to me.
    Plus, for reasons best known to herself, she was mad about Robbie the flake. Unless he was an elaborate red herring, of course.
    But there was one thing that convinced me above all others that Garv wasn't having an affair with Donna and that was the fact that she'd told him about her corns. In fact, she'd pulled off her boot and sock and thrust her foot at him so that he could see for himself just how gross they were, and if you're having a passionate fling with someone, you don't do stuff like that. It's all about mystique and impractical bras and round-the-clock upkeep on hairy legs, or so I'm told.
    Or what about my friend Sinead? Garv was so kind to her. But it was only three months since she'd been shown the door by her boyfriend, Dave. Surely she was far too fragile for an affair with her friend's husband—and far too fragile for any normal man to make a move on her. Unless it was her fragility that Garv liked.
    But wasn't he getting enough of that from me? Why go out for broken crockery when you've got it in absolute smithereens at home?
    Beside me, I realized that Garv was awake too—his fake deep breathing was the giveaway. So we could talk. Except we couldn't, we'd been trying for months.
    I didn't hear the intake of breath that precedes speech, so I was startled when the ink-dark silence was violated by Garv's voice.
    “Sorry.”
    Sorry. The worst thing he could have said. The word hung in the darkness and wouldn't go away. In my head I heard it echo again, then again. Each time fainter, until I wondered if I'd just imagined hearing it. Minutes passed. Without ever replying, I turned my back to him and surprised myself by falling asleep again.

    18 / MARIAN KEYES

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In the morning, we woke late; there was fresh blood under my nails from scratching my arm. My eczema was back in force and I'd have to start wearing gloves in bed again if this continued. But would it continue? Again I got that falling sensation.
    I busied myself with showers and coffee and when Garv