more ominous noise. The creak of floorboards. A door opening along the landing. Nathan.
I shot out of bed and opened my own door so quickly, I nearly slipped a disc.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’
He spun around, one foot on the top stair. ‘I...’
‘ Don’t try telling me you needed a midnight snack or a glass of milk, Nathan, because it won’t wash. I heard Gloria come back.’
‘Yes, well, so did I,’ he blustered. ‘So I... I thought I should pop down and check how Rupert is.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘A likely story. You can’t tell me you’re that worried about a man whose wife you were busy having sex with while he had a heart attack!’
Nathan curled his lip. ‘It’s not as if the two things were related, Em. He happened to collapse at the same time we happened to be having sex. The one did not cause the other. Besides, I’ve already told you I don’t want to discuss this tonight. Even less so now that Gloria’s back.’
Curiosity won out – briefly – over anger. ‘Why on earth does that make the slightest difference?’
‘We might be overheard,’ he hissed. ‘We’re not in our own home. It wouldn’t be proper.’
I couldn’t believe his nerve. My blood boiled. You could probably have cooked eggs in my arteries.
‘Proper! I think we already dispensed with proper behaviour earlier this evening. Don’t you talk to me about proper!’
He shuffled uncomfortably. ‘Emmy, you’re raising your voice. That’s exactly why I didn’t want to do this.’
I raised my voice another notch for the pure pleasure of increasing his discomfort levels along with it. ‘What difference does it make? There’s nobody here but Gloria, and she’s a whole floor down. Besides, in the event the woman has supersonic hearing, I think you’ll find she’s already in the know with regard to our current situation, seeing as she played one of the leads.’
‘Oh, for crying out loud, Emmy, quit with the melodrama.’
He slammed into his room, leaving me with no apology, no promises, no satisfaction.
Back in my own bed, with both ears finely tuned to any further movement from the landing, I cursed Gloria and her sodding guesthouse. If we hadn’t come here, this never would have happened. I cursed myself while I was at it, since it had been my bright idea. I’d thought a holiday would revive our flagging spirits. Help us relax. Pep things up a bit.
Nathan hadn’t been enthusiastic about the prospect when I’d put it to him, but in my naivety, I’d taken that as an inability to prise himself away from the office.
‘Oh, Emmy, no. You know how impossible it is. I’ve got deadlines. You’ve got deadlines. They never match. We’ve been through all this before.’
Nathan and I had met at work. With him an accountant and me assistant marketing manager at the same firm, it was almost impossible to plan holidays, but this time I had been determined. We needed this.
‘Nathan, we haven’t had a proper holiday for ages.’
He frowned. ‘We went to Bath last year.’
‘That was just a long weekend.’
‘And Exeter,’ he added, warming to his theme.
I sighed, exasperated. ‘ That was a long weekend, too.’ Our schedules had long since led us to give up on proper holidays and settle for exorbitantly-priced mini-breaks instead.
‘Well, they were alright, weren’t they?’ Nathan said, with about as much enthusiasm as me being faced with the prospect of a weekend with his parents.
‘Yes, they were alright, but we haven’t had a real holiday since Greece.’ I cast my mind back. ‘Nearly two years ago.’
Nathan grunted. ‘Too hot.’
I forced myself to be patient. ‘We don’t have to go anywhere hot, Nathan, but we do need a proper two weeks somewhere.’
‘Two weeks !’ he squeaked. ‘By the time we’ve coordinated our diaries and booked it all, then killed ourselves finishing up before we go, and killed ourselves catching up when we get back, it’s hardly worth the
I shot out of bed and opened my own door so quickly, I nearly slipped a disc.
‘Where do you think you’re going?’
He spun around, one foot on the top stair. ‘I...’
‘ Don’t try telling me you needed a midnight snack or a glass of milk, Nathan, because it won’t wash. I heard Gloria come back.’
‘Yes, well, so did I,’ he blustered. ‘So I... I thought I should pop down and check how Rupert is.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘A likely story. You can’t tell me you’re that worried about a man whose wife you were busy having sex with while he had a heart attack!’
Nathan curled his lip. ‘It’s not as if the two things were related, Em. He happened to collapse at the same time we happened to be having sex. The one did not cause the other. Besides, I’ve already told you I don’t want to discuss this tonight. Even less so now that Gloria’s back.’
Curiosity won out – briefly – over anger. ‘Why on earth does that make the slightest difference?’
‘We might be overheard,’ he hissed. ‘We’re not in our own home. It wouldn’t be proper.’
I couldn’t believe his nerve. My blood boiled. You could probably have cooked eggs in my arteries.
‘Proper! I think we already dispensed with proper behaviour earlier this evening. Don’t you talk to me about proper!’
He shuffled uncomfortably. ‘Emmy, you’re raising your voice. That’s exactly why I didn’t want to do this.’
I raised my voice another notch for the pure pleasure of increasing his discomfort levels along with it. ‘What difference does it make? There’s nobody here but Gloria, and she’s a whole floor down. Besides, in the event the woman has supersonic hearing, I think you’ll find she’s already in the know with regard to our current situation, seeing as she played one of the leads.’
‘Oh, for crying out loud, Emmy, quit with the melodrama.’
He slammed into his room, leaving me with no apology, no promises, no satisfaction.
Back in my own bed, with both ears finely tuned to any further movement from the landing, I cursed Gloria and her sodding guesthouse. If we hadn’t come here, this never would have happened. I cursed myself while I was at it, since it had been my bright idea. I’d thought a holiday would revive our flagging spirits. Help us relax. Pep things up a bit.
Nathan hadn’t been enthusiastic about the prospect when I’d put it to him, but in my naivety, I’d taken that as an inability to prise himself away from the office.
‘Oh, Emmy, no. You know how impossible it is. I’ve got deadlines. You’ve got deadlines. They never match. We’ve been through all this before.’
Nathan and I had met at work. With him an accountant and me assistant marketing manager at the same firm, it was almost impossible to plan holidays, but this time I had been determined. We needed this.
‘Nathan, we haven’t had a proper holiday for ages.’
He frowned. ‘We went to Bath last year.’
‘That was just a long weekend.’
‘And Exeter,’ he added, warming to his theme.
I sighed, exasperated. ‘ That was a long weekend, too.’ Our schedules had long since led us to give up on proper holidays and settle for exorbitantly-priced mini-breaks instead.
‘Well, they were alright, weren’t they?’ Nathan said, with about as much enthusiasm as me being faced with the prospect of a weekend with his parents.
‘Yes, they were alright, but we haven’t had a real holiday since Greece.’ I cast my mind back. ‘Nearly two years ago.’
Nathan grunted. ‘Too hot.’
I forced myself to be patient. ‘We don’t have to go anywhere hot, Nathan, but we do need a proper two weeks somewhere.’
‘Two weeks !’ he squeaked. ‘By the time we’ve coordinated our diaries and booked it all, then killed ourselves finishing up before we go, and killed ourselves catching up when we get back, it’s hardly worth the
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