Victor, Lily and his mum and sister are always at the top of his list.
Emma, stop playing the sad girl, Lily said, lets have a proper chat and sort this out.
Whatever youre cooking up in your head, I promise nothing terrible happened. Were not fiveyearolds, we can handle it.
Victors voice from the childrens bedroom door made Lily and her tenyearold son Sam glance at each other and shake their heads at the same time.
I hate him because he keeps twisting things so it looks like were overreacting, he muttered, and Sam, without even realizing it, echoed Lilys thoughts.
Lily gave Sam a quick nod, made herself comfortable on the sofa and stuck in some headphones so she wouldnt hear the gentle, reproachful tone drifting from behind the door.
It was that very tone that had first made her fall for Victor. Shed believed a man could smooth over any conflict with a bit of diplomacy. Too bad, in his mind, diplomacy meant bending everything to his own interests and painting the other person as a whiny, immature child.
Shed been willing to put up with those tricks for the sake of their child, but she wasnt about to let Victor treat Sam the same way.
His recent birthday plans proved he cared just as little about his own kid. Sure, Victor could sideline Lily in favour of his mum and sister that could be explained away with the usual a mans loyalties lie first with his family nonsense. But the way he treated his own son was unforgivable, even for someone as patient as Lily.
Theyd agreed a month ago on Sams birthday. Theyd booked a table at their favourite familyfriendly bistro in Kingston with a great play area, invited Sams three best mates and their families, sorted the menu and ordered a custom cake.
What could go wrong? At worst, a friend might fall ill and not turn up a minor inconvenience, no big deal. In the absolute worst case, Sam could get sick, the reservation would be wasted and the cake would probably end up with the friends. But Sams a healthy kid, and all the friends called in the morning confirming theyd be there on the dot.
Only Victor, when the whole family was dressing up for the occasion, answered his sisters call and immediately started changing into something less formal.
Where do you think youre off to? Lilys tone crackled with the usual accusation, if you know their history.
Victors world is organised around three women: his mum, his sister Claire and Lily, in that order. Hed spent countless weekends helping his mum in the garden or running errands for her. If his mum had no tasks for Sam, Claire would swoop in, needing a brother to help with the housework because of her own husbands construction job.
When Lily first met Victor she took his devotion to family as a good sign. How a man treats his mother is how hell treat his wife, she thought. Turns out that logic was completely off. While Victor ran around the city catering to his relatives, the pipes in their own house kept leaking, doors creaked, and the male chores piled up. Lily finally stopped waiting for promises of Ill fix it tomorrow and hired tradespeople.
Victor seemed to breathe easier once the relatives stopped pestering him. Lily got used to his constant absence and even started enjoying the solitude. Lately Victor kept complaining that Lily was growing colder, that she seemed indifferent to his presence or lack thereof.
Lily, however, was already accustomed to his being away, so why bother when he popped up for a fleeting moment? When his phone rang and he muttered, Yeah, Mum, Im on my way, shed rather knit a scarf or binge a favourite sitcom than engage in marital talk.
The breaking point came when Victor, on Sams birthday, decided to head over to Claires instead. Lily couldnt stomach that. Victor, with his most sincere face, tried to convince her that Claire was struggling with a move and he had to haul boxes, while Sams birthday could be postponed to any other day.
Is that really how important a tenyearolds birthday is? Lily snapped, raising her voice for the first time. She gave Victor a week to realise his mistakes and think up a way to make amends.
Honestly, that week gave her time to sort her thoughts and brace herself for what came next. Divorce was a heavy, almost unacceptable idea for her, but shed become less tolerant. If shed been more impulsive, she mightve called it off after that first night when Victor spent the whole morning on the phone with his mum because she was bored and felt lonely.
Sitting at the train station with Victor, Lily thought she shouldnt have to feel that loneliness with him nowhere to be seen. She didnt forgive Sams dad for the week he spent trying to explain to Lily and Sam why they were wrong. When the week was up, she walked into the solicitors office with a clear conscience and filed for divorce, kicking Victor out of their marital home and handing the place over to his doting mum.
For the next eight years she barely saw her exhusband or loving father. He paid child support, but only turned up once a year for Sams birthday and even then, never on the exact day, as if a belated happy birthday a couple of weeks later was enough.
Sam quickly stopped expecting anything from him, his desire to talk dwindled. Only when he turned eighteen did a sudden urge to reconnect with his dad surface, and Victor suddenly had a laundry list of grievances.
You could’ve smoothed things over between us. Explain to him that a child needs both parents, that no matter what the dad is, he should be loved, not just spoken to in rare visits, Victor blurted out during a tense meeting outside Lilys flat.
Go to hell, you know where, Lily shot back. You had eight years to mend things, and all you did was widen the gap.
What the hell am I supposed to do, fix your relationship with our own son? Lily snapped, her oncedocile demeanor now hardened by years of experience. I had other things besides raising a child, you know that. I still have my mum and my sister.
Fine, go bother them. Let them help you with Sam. Just leave me alone, she said, slamming the door in his face as he passed the hallway.
That evening Sam told his mum, Im finally over it.
Whats that? Lily asked.
Dad invited me to his place a week after my birthday. I told him I already have a concert with Jules. You know Jules, the one with the blue hair whos always hanging around us.
And what did he say?
He got upset because I seemed to put Jules ahead of my own dad. I told him we could celebrate later, maybe in two weeks or even a month after my exams. Apparently that doesnt work for him, Sam grinned crookedly.
Youre quite the vengeful one, arent you? Lily replied.
Not really. Just good memory, a bit spiteful where it counts. Mum, I have one question: why did you put up with him for ten years? Couldnt you have just divorced earlier?
It was because, Lily waved it off. All the reasons shed once clung to now seemed foolish and contrived. Back then she wasnt as clearsighted as she is now, and it took Victors blatant neglect of their own son to finally make her rethink the marriage.
Otherwise she might still be living with Victor, his mum and his sister, like a fourth unwanted piece in that bizarre puzzle. Thank goodness she finally pulled the plug.
