Page 37 of Don't Believe A Word

‘It got cancelled,’ Iz told her, ‘so I thought I’d drop by to see how you’re getting on here, and to ask if you’d heard the first promos yet? They’re on all the major radio stations, as of this morning. Never let it be said that our guys don’t know how to put a promotional package together.’

‘Which of course, we don’t,’ Connor retorted tightly.

Shooting him a quick warning look, Cristy said, ‘You’re amazing, all of you. I’ve no idea how we’d do this without you …’

‘Oh stop!’ Iz laughed modestly. ‘We’re just doing our bit. Horses for courses, and all that. Anyway, it means the first episode will have to drop next Tuesday come what may, but we’ve all listened to it and everyone agrees it’s a fantastic opener, especially the way the envelope comes through the door at the end. Phenomenal cliff-hanger. Any news yet on what was in it?’

‘Only guesses at this stage,’ Cristy told her, ‘but we think it was photographs …’

To Cristy’s relief, after Iz had refreshed her coffee, she took herself off upstairs to enjoy ‘a little chat’ with Meena.

Returning to her emails, Cristy read and replied to each of them, before finally opening the one from Marley.

Hi Cristy,

How are you?

I expect you’re wondering why you haven’t heard from me before now …

Cristy was immediately struck with guilt. Putting aside what Marley had done to her marriage, her entire life, actually, she was still a young woman who’d just given birth and was, as far as Cristy could make out, friendless. So she should have been in touch by now.

… but I’ve had so much to deal with. Baby Bear is an absolute joy, without a doubt the best thing that’s ever happened to me, although I have to confess I was afraid of him at first. He’s so tiny and wobbly and he really didn’t want me to touch him, or feed him, or so it seemed to me. I was very hurt by that, until the midwife explained that it often happens with newborns, and it soon turned out that I really needn’t have worried because we both quickly got the hang of things and now we’re inseparable.

I expect you’ve heard about Matthew being arrested. It was my fault, of course. You’re probably not surprised to hear that given my ability to cause mayhem without really trying. The problem was, I stopped him from seeing the baby, and nor would I speak to him myself. I got it into my head that he was going to try to snatch Baby Bear from me. He didn’t take kindly to that and ended up making an awful spectacle of himself.

Luckily, he’d calmed down by the time Baby Bear and I returned home, and with Daddy around to make sure Matthew behaved I wasn’t anxious any more. It’s so sweet the way Daddy and Matthew have bonded, I suppose them being quite close in age helps, although Daddy is a big charmer, as everyone knows.

I hope you’re happy to hear from me. Your friendship and our chats mean the world to me. I always feel I can be myself with you in a way I can’t with anyone else. There aren’t many people who’d be so generous in spirit as you have been considering the way we met. I sometimes think you mean more to me than Matthew, but please don’t tell him that, and anyway, I don’t know if it’s true.

I have no idea at this time how M and I are going to move forward in our marriage. One day I feel it’s better for it to end, the next I can’t bear the idea of letting him go. He’s a very complex and conflicted man, as you know, but he has so much beauty in his soul and kindness in his heart that he is impossible not to love.He is, of course, still very much in love with you – he doesn’t tell me this, but I can sense it – and I want you to know that I’m not jealous or insecure about it, because I love you too.

I wish you would consider coming here to visit for a while. The house is very big with plenty of rooms, and we have an extra car you can use if you’d like one. Daddy can also get VIP passes to Universal Studios and Disneyland, and I’m sure lots of premieres and things will be happening so you’ll be invited to them too.

Sorry if this message is going on too long. I’m so enjoying talking to you, I just wish you were here so I could see your lovely face as we share your memories of becoming a mother for the first time.

I hope you write back.

With love,

Marley

‘She’s clearly bonkers,’ Meena stated after reading the email later. ‘Why the heck would you want to go to Universal or Disneyland, for God’s sake? How old does she think you are?’

Cristy shot her a look.

‘OK, not the point, but honestly, the things she comes out with … She’s so … I don’t know how to describe her … Clueless!’

Cristy sighed. ‘She’s definitely not properly in touch with the world, or how people tick. Still, at least she’s not asking me to bring the baby up, the way she was a couple of months ago.’

‘Shame for him,’ Meena muttered, ‘at least then he’d get a proper name.’

Chuckling, Cristy picked up her wine and took a sip. They were still at the office, in Meena’s upstairs suite where a bio-fuel fire was burning in the old Georgian hearth and a cosy arrangement of sofas was making them too comfortable to move very far on this stormy evening.

‘She’s terribly lonely, isn’t she?’ Cristy reflected sadly.

Meena nodded. ‘It certainly comes across that way. Have you shown the email to Matthew?’

‘No, not yet. I’m in two minds about it. On the one hand he probably ought to see it, for any number of reasons, but on the other I’m trying not to initiate contact with him unless I have to.’