Go on, youve startedso finish what you were going to say! Edward raised his voice at Rachel, a glassy glimmer in his eyes. If you dont really know, dont talk nonsense.
Oh, I do know, Rachel smirked, staring intently into his face. She never kept secrets from me
Edward and Emilys meeting was almost comically simple. It was winter, the pavement slick with black ice. Emily slipped and fell hard, banging her knee, just yards from her office. Edward saw her tumble, rushed over, and helped her to her feet. He even took her to the nearest walk-in centre for an x-ray.
The scan showed there were no broken bones, and Emily was sent home with advice: rest and a firm bandage. Throughout, Edward barely left her side. He even phoned his manager to take half a day off, insisting only on seeing Emily safely into a black cab before returning to his own work, wrangling from her a solemn promise: ring me the minute youre home, let me know youre alright.
Emily was utterly charmed by his care. Shed never met such a gentle, thoughtful man; she found herself unexpectedly giddy, swept into the sweetest romance of her life. They spent every day exchanging messages and calls, about everything and nothing at once. Edward fretted about her breakfast, the weather, the dreams she had at night. He wished her a wonderful morning, fretted she was warm enough, asked after her lunchended every night with sweet dreams.
To Edward, this was nothing strange. Hed grown up in a cocoon of familial tendernesseveryone caring for everyone else. Edward had inherited a flat in Greenwich from his grandmother, living there alone while his parentsPeter and Janetremained close by in Croydon. Family was everything; never harsh words, just warmth and trust. The old flat had always been let out, until his grandmother passed, by which time Edward was quite grown and ready to live independently.
Hed never been good with girls. Shy to the point where he never approached people in the street, never went out clubbing, didnt even have a close group of mates. But with Emily, it just happenedbecause, he thought, shed needed his help, and his nature could never turn away. Later, Edward decided fate itself had guided him.
They married two months later. It just happened. Edward, half-joking, asked Emily to marry him. She quipped: Alright, lets do it! Lets go now and give notice! They had barely an hour before the Registry Office closed, sprinting through the gathering dusk to book the soonest open date. Edwards parents were surprised by the haste, but couldnt help loving Emily instantly.
Emilys mum lived in Oxford. Emily phoned the news; her mum couldnt make itEmilys grandmother had come down poorly and couldnt be left.
Their little family bloomed: they were happy, genuinely so, the honeymoon never really ending. Then their son arrivedJamiea wiry, fair-haired whirlwind, the living centre of the household. Their joys multiplied (and their worries). One evening, on their wedding anniversary, Emilys close friend Rachel indulged a little too much and needed escorting to a waiting cab.
The party had filled a bistro, laughter echoing off the old painted walls. Edwards parentsJanet and Peterbeamed at their grandson Jamie, who, at just five, sat solemnly with the grown-ups and toasted happiness with his orange squash. Emily had invited Rachel, her friend since year sevena friendship so deep it blurred into sisterhood. Rachel, thirty like Emily, still single. Unlike beautiful, willowy Emily, Rachel had always felt invisible: short, round-faced, her features blurred like an erased pencil sketch.
From childhood, Emily had drawn all the glances. But being Emilys friend meant privilegesevening walks, cinema trips, and, by default, some attention from boys, though none ever offered Rachel the chance at more. Unlike Emily, who fielded marriage proposals from sixth form onwards, though shed bided her time, the right man never showinguntil Edward. Then, everything tumbled into place.
Rachel was unsteady going down the steps to the cab; Edward had to help, or she would have fallen thrice over. Upstairs, the others waited, but Rachels cab was down in the rain, engine humming. She could hardly stand, dizzy from too much cheap prosecco. Edward, obliged, saw her down.
Happiness to the newlyweds, eh? Oh, you lucky things! Rachels voice rang out, the citys wet street glinting under the sodium lamps. Emily always lands on her feet! Lucks always with hernever me! From the day I met her, everythings gone right for Emily. Men eating out of her hand, and you fools go along blindly! You ought to use your brains, you knowthough you lot never do when a girl like Emily bats her eyes
Theyd reached the cab when Rachel suddenly pulled away, steadier now, voice cutting and clear. Do you know whose child youre raising? Jamie isnt your own, you realise.
Dont talk rot! Edward almost slapped her, fury whirling in his chest. The city spun, streetlights spiralling madlyhe squeezed his eyes shut, willing the scene to stop, longing to shake Rachel silent, but she went on mercilessly:
Look at you, gone all chalk-white! Didnt you notice? Jamie was early! The wedding was rushed. Dyou really suppose Emily was head-over-heels for youso mad for your ring she couldnt wait? Hah! Your son looks nothing like younot that you see it She had a fiancé, before you. He left her, strung her along, tossed her aside. Suits her, if you ask me!
Edward shoved Rachel into the cab, slammed the doorwanted never to hear her poison again. Yet after the cab vanished, his phone rang sharplyhe answered without thought.
Ask her! Go on, ask your darling wife! Rachel jeered through the line. Why should I be the only one left out of your little family dream? Let her squirm for a changelike a frying fish! Her laughter echoed in Edwards mind the whole night, impossible to dispel.
He could think of nothing else. Was it true that Jamie had come earlyhed never thought about it before? Babies were sometimes premature, werent they? Hed been so madly in love and blindly happy, hed never once counted dates or worried about birth weight. Hed fallen for the little boy the instant he saw himnever once doubted.
Edwards parents doted on Jamie, inviting them up every weekend: trips to the Natural History Museum, visits to Battersea Park Zoo. Damn Rachel! She had poisoned everything, planted doubts that wriggled in his mind: Jamies pale hair and wiry limbs; Edward, dark and broad, Emily tall, Jamie frail. Janet would laugh and say, His hair will change fifty times before hes grown. But the build? The eyes? Edwards hands shook with it all. He kept silent for a week, wrestling inside, before finally asking Emily, quietly:
Emily looked at himcalm, strange. I always knew youd askeventually. Why now, after five years? She grinned, oddly cruel. Should have said straightaway! Wed have divorced and saved ourselves time. Thats what you want, isnt it? Because I deceived you? Go onshout at me!
Edward flinched. Why was she saying this? Hehe still loved her, he loved Jamie so fiercely that even if hed known, hed have married her anyway. And now, she spoke like someone waiting for disaster, wanting it over with. Divorce? Hed never even considered it. Jamie, his boyHe loved them both too much. Should he tell his parents? Or let things remain? Would Janet and Peter treat Jamie any differently if they learned the truth?
But Emily herself wasnt sure. Their first ever vicious row exploded; Edward packed his bags and left for his grans old flat in Greenwichvacant just then; hed been letting it, but no tenants this month. He stayed there two weekslong, misery-soaked days, missing Jamie, missing Emily. Thinking and dreaming. He decided: he wouldnt let Rachel ruin what mattered most. Happiness would not be stolen away so easily.
Edward returned to Emily and Jamie.
Forgive me, Emily sobbed, I said awful thingsI was so afraid youd stop loving me, I thought it would be better to end things myself, before you could. Ive lived in dread of this for years
Oh, Emily, Edward gathered her tight, gently. After five years, do you still not know me? Did you really think Id leave you? I love you bothJamie most of all. Nothing, and no one, can change that. I understand why you did what you did. In your shoes maybe Id have done the same. Ours is real love, do you hear? Rachel can never spoil it.
Emily pressed gratefully close and wiped her tears. Well, I never want to see her again, thats for certain.
And what about my parents? Edward finally voiced that gnawing question. They adore JamieWhat should we tell them?
In the end, they told Janet and Peter something quite different. A month and a half later, Emily announced she was expecting again. Soon, there would be another grandchild for the hearthand that, in the end, was all that needed saying.
