My Husband's Wives (24 page)

‘My father has a garage, remember? I grew up parking cars on the forecourt. Anyway, we're hardly likely to steal it, are we?' Annalise pulled the lock across on the garage door before they dashed back towards the house.

‘No. I didn't mean that; sometimes it is the way I say things. You understand, though?' Kasia panted. ‘You enjoy bending the rules, I think.'

‘I enjoy getting one over on people.' They were standing in the small kitchen. Annalise filled the kettle and switched it on. ‘So how are we going to get Evie into that car?'

Grace Kennedy made her promise she'd drop by Carlinville once every couple of days, just for half an hour. And why not? Since Kasia had moved in, Annalise found herself more drawn to the place. Perhaps it was because there was a baby on the way? She loved babies. Didn't everyone? Or maybe it was to do with Paul. Grace whispered to her the day they found Evie that the house felt as if it held some vital part of him, even now. Whatever it was, and Annalise was not prepared to admit it might be the company of the other women, she found herself doing as she'd been asked. So, in a very short period of time, she became a regular, if sometimes still uncomfortable, visitor. The dreams of a career still bubbled beneath her skin, but it seemed now that her family and Carlinville had first dibs on her time, so when Gail rang she missed her call several times, before in the end she answered.

Gail sounded as if she was running low on patience. ‘It's not often they ask specifically for you these days. The least you can do is turn up if they do.'

‘Give me something worth going to, so.' Annalise had never been so flippant with Gail. After all, she depended on Gail to get her work. Most models would give their last set of stick-on nails to be on her books.

‘I'm giving you something now.'

‘No offence, Gail, but I'm too old to be cavorting around Stephen's Green in a bikini with a man dressed in a chicken suit to advertise drumsticks in a box at €5.99.'

‘It was good enough for you a couple of years ago,' Gail hit back.

‘Yes, but a lot has happened in the meantime. Anyhow, Gail, I can't today. I have no one to take the boys.' But Gail Rosenstock had a point, Annalise had to concede, as she inwardly groaned at her reflection in the mirror. She tried to tame her hair into something sleek, aiming for an Audrey Hepburn look. The result was more Alfalfa from
The Little Rascals
. She tied her hair up in a loose knot, any attempt at styling forgotten, threw on fresh clothes and scrubbed her face clean. After all, it wasn't as though she was madly busy at work.

Being around Evie made her feel better about herself. Young. Beautiful. Evie made her feel as if she had the world at her feet. She treated the boys as if she'd been waiting for decades for them to arrive. And it would be nice to do something for someone else. ‘Boys,' she called, ‘come on. We're going out.'

*

Kasia sat silently in one of the deep Victorian couches, knotting her hands nervously, tired and pale. Annalise remembered what it was like when she was pregnant with Dylan. She pitied Kasia; her exhaustion worn as a badge across her whole body. It was a mixture of worry, fear and growing excitement that meshed with feeling drained all the time.

‘I read once that Sophia Loren had to stay in bed for most of her pregnancies,' Annalise said as she flopped into a chair opposite her.

‘Is she another of your supermodels?' Kasia smiled.

‘No, she was…' Annalise shook her head. There wasn't much point in explaining to Kasia, it just wasn't her thing. ‘She was an Italian actress. She's old now.' Annalise smiled. ‘You never hear of celebrities having terrible pregnancies these days. It's all yoga and Pilates and slipping back into their pre-pregnancy designer clothes five minutes after they give birth.'

‘I do not understand your taste with all of these people. They would make me feel the worse and not the better. My life will never be like theirs.' Kasia said simply.

‘It's not about comparing…' Annalise said, but she couldn't finish her sentence, because, maybe it was. Maybe that was what she spent her life doing, comparing herself to Miranda Kerr and the Duchess of Cambridge and Katie Holmes. Kasia was right; it made her feel as if her life was a shoddy second best.

‘Anyway, even if I don't have the house in Beverly Hills, I'm going to have what I've always wanted,' Kasia placed her hand across her tummy and smiled serenely, ‘and it is good. I can depend on you to tell me all about the famous people's lives that I haven't time to catch up on.' Like a small coin falling through a complex slot, Annalise felt a dawning realization come over her: Kasia was happy because she only compared her life to her own standards.

‘Kasia, I think you have a point.' Annalise stared at her. It was a moment of real learning. She determined then and there to end her obsession with celebrity culture. She settled back into the chair, feeling as though she'd shed an ungainly overcoat that she no longer needed. She would dump every magazine and cut all her online accounts with celebrity gossip sites. The thought was like a wave of freedom, as though she'd picked up the ‘get out of jail' card in a game of Monopoly. She considered Kasia, who seemed to have so little compared to her, and yet she was so happy. If it had been only a few months earlier, Annalise had a feeling that she wouldn't ‘get' Kasia. Now she knew. She knew that Kasia was just happy to be here. She was overjoyed to be pregnant. She was content to be with people who cared about her. It had taken until this for Annalise to value all of these things that she'd taken for granted until recently.

Madeline had made sure that Annalise kept active, ate well and slept well throughout both her pregnancies and after the births of her boys. Kasia didn't have the luxury of staying at home while her mother took care of her. If Annalise was afraid of what the future held, how much worse were Kasia's fears? Annalise knew a little about Vasile and something of Kasia's past in Romania. ‘You judge life differently there,' Kasia said simply. She was so composed it was hard to imagine her suffering at the hands of a brute like Vasile.

Without meaning to and hardly realizing it, Annalise had grown fond of Kasia. It wasn't just that she doted on the boys; she was really good with them. ‘They are easy; try living in a place with sixty little boys, and then you learn how to manage children. Your children, Annalise, they are – how do you say it here? A walk in the gardens?' She laughed lightly and easily and it added to her charm. Kasia was nothing like the girls Annalise met on the Dublin modelling scene. Annalise knew that there were little cliques: girls that socialized together, were bridesmaids at each other's weddings, perhaps lifelong friends. She'd never struck up that kind of friendship with any of them – although these were the people she should have most in common with. But, Evie, Grace and Kasia, who only weeks ago she had felt no warmth for, had actively disliked in fact – well, they had become part of her life – an unlikely part, but there you go. You don't always get to choose, do you? How had that happened? Annalise had a feeling that it had been quietly, stealthily organized behind the scenes by Paul.

‘Are you okay?' Annalise asked.

‘Sure. You?'

In the far corner of the room, the boys played with toys that doubtless belonged in a museum. Simple things: horses, push-along cars and marbles that were probably too dangerous for them. Annalise didn't have the heart to take them from them; instead she grabbed Jerome as he scampered about picking up the marbles and kissed him dotingly on his soft peachy skin. ‘Seriously, you look really – I don't know, tired, worried, I suppose.'

‘I…' A large tear spilled down Kasia's cheek. ‘Maybe my hormones are all over me?' She smiled, wiping away the tear. ‘I…' She pointed discreetly in the direction of the kitchen where Evie was making a pot of tea for them. ‘I don't want to worry her, but, I've seen Vasile.'

‘Oh?' It was the last thing Annalise expected.

Kasia lowered her voice further. ‘He stood opposite the hospital for hours yesterday. It was strange to see him just standing there, smoking and looking across at the windows. Of course, he can't see in, he can't watch from there but… it scared me.' She shook her head. ‘I don't like it; it's as though he's waiting for me, waiting to make his move. I left the back way. I don't think he saw me.'

‘Would he hurt you?'

‘Oh, Annalise.' She smiled. ‘Annalise, he's hit me and kicked me and made me feel small. Sometimes I thought I would die there and, to be honest, I did not think it mattered all that much. Who'd miss me if I had?'

‘Oh Kasia, I'm so sorry.'

‘But for the first time in a long time, I have something to live for. I have every reason to stay safe, to stay away from him. If he hurts me, he hurts the baby and I can't let that happen.'

‘So can you talk to the guards?' It seemed so simple to Annalise.

‘No. That would make it worse. People like Vasile, they do not give up. I do not think he knows where I am staying, but that is only a matter of time. He will follow me, or he will get some of his friends to follow me. Then – well – if he came here, there is no guarantee that he would just stop with me. I'm afraid for Evie too.' A tear slipped down her cheek. ‘I'll have to leave. Soon.'

‘But you're happy here, aren't you? You can't just leave. You can't just let him win. You have work, somewhere to live, people that care about you.' Annalise took Kasia's hand. ‘You should tell Grace and Evie.' If anyone could sort this, it would be Grace.

‘I can't; they have been too kind already. You all have. Don't you see? I have only the clothes I stand inside; I bring only the baby. If Vasile finds me, finds that I am here, it will mean nothing but trouble for all of you and for my baby.'

‘Kasia, you can't spend a lifetime running. Not when you have a child.' Annalise didn't want Vasile or his trouble on her doorstep. Neither did she want Kasia leaving here with nowhere but the streets to go to, or worse, perhaps the streets of some other unkind city. It struck Annalise that only a short time ago, she'd have been delighted to see the back of Kasia, wouldn't have minded if she told them she was off to China to open a Tesco store. ‘Don't forget that we're all here for you. I'd say Evie would happily take the frying pan to him if he came near you.' They giggled at that. ‘Could you confront him, right there, opposite the hospital? I mean, would it be safe, is he the kind of bully who only lashes out when no one is looking?'

‘That is exactly what he is. I do not think he'd hit me or do anything apart from shout at me if there were people around to see him.'

‘Then maybe you need to meet him, ask him what he wants.' Annalise glimpsed the fear that stalked Kasia's eyes. ‘Easier said than done, I can see that. If you want me to do anything, you know I'll help.'

‘You were there the last time, at Paul's funeral. I couldn't speak to him. It was Grace and Evie who told him to go. I was too scared; it was as if all the fear of the last few years just came over me at once. I had no words to speak for him.' Kasia shuddered.

‘Well, I do think you should tell Grace and Evie. Four heads are always better than one.' It had happened in spite of them: they were now a unit of four, if a somewhat disjointed one.

‘Maybe you are right,' Kasia conceded quietly.

‘Of course I am. We want to help you.' Annalise surprised herself by realizing that the words were genuine.

‘And I am so grateful for that, Annalise. It means so much to have people who care.' Kasia's smile took away some of the greyness that had settled in her eyes. ‘Can I say something to you?' Kasia lowered her voice further and took a breath before going on, ‘Your agent, Gail?'

‘Yes, Gail, what about her?' Annalise had a feeling it wouldn't be good.

Kasia said, ‘I hope you don't mind me saying it?'

Annalise nodded. ‘Go ahead.'

‘I don't say bad things about people, but she is not doing you any good.'

‘Oh, Kasia, I know she can be a little… Ab fab,' Annalise took in Kasia's blank expression. ‘You know, it's just fashion. She's the best agent in Dublin, even though she can be a bit prickly.'

‘Maybe I have misunderstood.' Kasia sounded doubtful. ‘Maybe she is just a little jealous?'

‘Jealous of me?' Annalise didn't feel there was too much to be jealous of. Her career – what she had left of it – was in tatters. Paul was gone – really gone – and she'd spent the best part of the morning emptying the downstairs loo of Lego blocks. ‘I don't think she has any reason to be jealous of me, Kasia. She is madly successful, probably one of the most powerful people on the Dublin fashion scene?'

‘Yes, but she is not young and she is not beautiful.'

‘Neither last forever and she knows that better than any of us,' Annalise said. ‘She's clever and successful and she could cross me off her books in the morning if she felt like it.' Secretly, Annalise often wondered why she hadn't.

‘Who is?' Grace arrived behind Annalise without her realizing.

‘Oh, we're talking about Gail; Kasia is just telling me to watch her.' She smiled in spite of herself. ‘I'm only getting two-bit promotion jobs while she's got some of her girls working in Paris for
Vogue
.' It wasn't affecting her as badly as it should have.

‘You and your agent were friends best? No?' Kasia's brows rutted.

‘Funny, after ten years I thought so too.
Best friends
? I suppose all's fair in love and fashion, right?'

‘I thought you wanted to get more TV work?' Grace settled herself into the chair across from them.

‘That was the plan. It's a pity that there aren't a few producers or directors with the same idea. All I'm getting offered is bikini jobs – and let's face it, I don't have that many bikini shots left in me.' Annalise laughed. ‘It's not as if I'm on the breadline, or anything.' Kasia had a way of making you count your blessings without even opening her mouth. ‘It's just I want to have a career – something to be proud of.' It was more than just wiping Grace Kennedy's eye anymore. Annalise had begun to admire Grace. Of course, Annalise was never going to be as talented. But there had to be somewhere she could shine, right?