‘Are you warm enough?’
She nodded.
He wished Sarah wasn’t coming, but if she wasn’t then Stephanie wouldn’t be here.
Terry came in with two filled glasses.
‘Where’s the bottle?’ he demanded as she handed a glass to Stephanie.
‘In the kitchen, where d’you think? I’ve only got two hands!’
‘Ever heard of a tray?’ he asked as she handed him his glass. She looked at him with just as much hatred.
Taking a sip, the cold bubbles going down his throat relaxed him a little. He didn’t have much time before Sarah arrived, and he wanted Stephanie to himself for as long as possible.
‘Well? Get back in the kitchen. We’ll let you know if we need anything!’ He moved to stand beside Stephanie again.
‘If she’s not busy, she could join us for a few moments to have a drink? Surely?’ Stephanie said before Terry could leave the room.
‘She’s too busy. Aren’t you Terry?’ He stared at her, daring her to disagree with him.
‘Thank you Stephanie, but I’ll drink it in the kitchen. I need to keep an eye on the food.’ She strolled out of the room. Robert took a gulp of his drink. He was alone with her. Not another soul was there with them. God how long had it been? He put his hand on her knee.
‘Let’s play.’ She said as she put her glass down on the bar and slipped down off the stool.
‘Umm, yes ok, if you like.’ He sighed, placed his own glass beside hers and moved around the table towards her. ‘Practised lately?’
She was carefully weighing a couple of cues in her hands, and choosing the smaller lighter one, she replaced the other before answering him.
‘No, not really. Nowhere to practice.’
That was what he had hoped she would say. She was very good at playing, and had beaten him a few times, but he reasoned he would be able to beat her tonight. He hoped so. Leaning against the wall, he let her rack the balls so he could watch her move.
‘You can always come and practice here, any time you like.’
‘Shall I break?’ She smiled across the table at him.
‘Go ahead.’
Despite her remarks of not having practised, she hit the triangle of balls with the white ball remarkably accurately, and the balls washed across the green. She potted the brown and a red with the ease of a professional. But on the third ball she missed.
‘Oh such a shame,’ he smiled at her as he picked up his own favourite cue. His smile was true, he was very glad she had missed. He couldn’t bear to lose tonight. He leant down over the table and took careful aim. The door bell rang.
He looked up, she was looking at him. He glanced at his watch. It was still only two minutes to seven. She was bloody early. He would have no time alone with Stephanie at all. Neither moved. Finally Terry’s footsteps could be heard on the hall tiles making her way to the door, this time in no hurry. Robert continued to look at Stephanie, but she was now looking eagerly towards the door. If he turned his head, he knew he would be able to see the door and watch her come in. But he kept his eyes on Stephanie, wanting to see the look on her face when she saw Sarah.
The footsteps now echoed as two pairs of feet walked towards the games room. Neither of them moved, he remained poised, ready to take his shot, only his eyes were still on Stephanie.
Terry came in, announcing,
‘Sarah’s here’ and then turned to walk out.
Stephanie’s face changed, so subtly, someone who didn’t know her as well as Robert did, would not have noticed the change. But Robert noticed, he saw the gleam in her eyes, the smile remained the same, but the gleam—it was the real thing. He dreamed of that look; dreamed she would look at him that way. But she never had and he knew deep inside she never would.
The first time he had seen it, he had been devastated. They had known each other for over two years. He had felt so hurt, so angry, as if she had betrayed him. It was the day he realized she didn’t love him, and never had. The day he realized she tolerated him because he could give her what she wanted, and what she needed. He gave her cover to be who she wanted to be, the security to do what she wanted to and when it got too dangerous, she had him there as an excuse or a reason.
And now here was that look again, the look of pure desire. But he had one thing to be grateful for, he had never seen her give that look to another man.
*****
When the woman opened the door Sarah forgot everything she had planned to say. She had rehearsed all the way, driving through the country lanes, then sitting in the car outside the house waiting until it was exactly seven o’clock. And even as she walked up to the door the words and phrases went round her head. She knew exactly what she would say when Robert opened the door smiling down at her, a warm welcome. Instead this woman stood in the doorway, staring at her with piercing green eyes. Eventually Sarah had spoken,
‘Oh. I’m Sarah. I’m looking for Mr. D’Lyn’s house? I thought this was it?’
Sarah was grabbed by her arm and pulled inside.
‘Yea. Come on. You’re expected. Follow me, they’re in the games room.’
Sarah followed the untidy looking woman through a large open hallway. There was a huge staircase on her right, wide enough for three, even four people to walk up it abreast. Looking up, she saw the wooden banister continued all the way round into a gallery, so deep she couldn’t see how many doors were upstairs. Lots of paintings and pictures were hung on the walls and a grand piano sat in the stairwell.
After nearly tripping over on a rug, so enraptured by all she could see, Sarah looked only at the woman’s back, looking her up and down; hair spiralling all over the place; jeans with marks all down the legs as if she had used them as a towel; a lumberjack shirt that appeared to be in need of a wash. Sarah wondered who on earth she was, and what she was doing in this house. The bare feet let her know, whoever she was, she was at home here. As she reached a doorway, Sarah heard the woman announce her.
‘Sarah’s here.’
The first thing Sarah saw was the big billiard table dominating the room, Robert leaning over it, as if to take his shot. She noticed his eyes weren’t on the ball but watching Stephanie. Stephanie? What was Stephanie doing here? Stephanie was sliding off a stool, beaming and slithering towards her, hands outstretched. Sarah tried to smile back, hiding her surprise and disappointment; it wasn’t Robert who was coming towards her.
‘Sarah, you look lovely.’ She grasped Sarah’s hands in hers and kissed her on both cheeks. ‘Doesn’t she look lovely, Robert?’ Stephanie held her hand and twisted her around, showing her off. Sarah felt delighted to be the centre of attention. Until she heard the thwack of the ball. She turned her head to see Robert watch the ball as it disappeared down the pocket before he looked up at her and replied.
‘Lovely.’ With his back to them he walked to the wall replacing his cue in the stand. Turning round he looked first at Stephanie, and then looked at her. He smiled, and repeated himself. ‘Lovely’.
She had spent hours getting ready, putting on makeup, then taking it off again, until she got it just right. She was so proud of her dress. She had taken her time to find it; green silk chiffon. The material felt soft against her skin, almost as if she wore nothing. It floated out and around her body and when she had looked in the mirror at home she had liked what she saw. Now standing next to Stephanie she felt uncomfortable, unsure of what foot to stand on, conscious of Stephanie’s rings pressing into her fingers.
When he walked towards her, Sarah disentangled her hands from Stephanie’s. She felt Robert put his hand on her elbow and leant down to kiss her on her cheek. Sarah moved her head slightly so their lips touched. Her stomach fluttered at the touch.
‘How are you Sarah? Would you like a drink?’
She nodded.
‘Terry, another glass of champagne, I think,’ Stephanie intervened.
Sarah turned and saw the woman standing by the door, smiling back at Stephanie. ‘And you may as well bring the bottle in now,’ she turned to smile at Robert, ‘I’m sure we’ll be able to finish it before dinner.’ Turning back to Terry, still standing at the door, ‘How long d’you think we’ve got?’
‘About half an hour,’
‘Fine, now off you go and get that bottle,’ Stephanie made a little clapping noise with her hand before turning her attention back to Sarah. ‘Now you come and sit at the bar with me, while we watch Robert pot all the balls.’
Sarah felt herself being guided across the room,
‘Let’s sit on the settee, it’s far more comfortable than those stools. And we can still see Robert from here. And when he’s taken his shot, you can watch me. Have you ever played?’
Sarah shook her head, she was finding it difficult to equate this Stephanie with the one she had seen in an office, wearing sober black or grey clothes. She was wearing grey now, but it was a shimmering grey dress, hugging her body as she moved. Sarah found it distracting and couldn’t think properly. Sitting back in the settee, she was aware of Stephanie’s body touching hers, feeling her as she moved. She found the close proximity of another body unsettling and she wanted to wipe the sweat off her hands. But she couldn’t do that on this dress. Surreptitiously she wiped them down the arm of the settee.
At last Terry was standing in front of her, holding out a cold drink, which she took eagerly, feeling the coolness of the glass against the palm of her hand.
‘Thank you.’
She put the glass to her mouth and drank. The taste was bitter at first, bubbles harsh in her mouth and down her throat as she swallowed. It wasn’t at all like the wine Robert had ordered for her in the restaurant. After swallowing she wanted to feel the bubbles in her mouth again, the taste in her mouth not so bitter. She drank more. Stephanie watched her. When she took the glass from her mouth, Stephanie refilled it.
She sat holding her glass, not knowing what to say as they watched Robert move around the table, hitting the balls until they fell into the pockets. She was conscious of her body’s clamminess and worried she may be sweating under her armpits. Would it show? She must remember not to lift her arms too high. Then she remembered Robert saying Andy was coming.
‘When are the others arriving?’
‘Others, what others?’
‘Robert mentioned Andy?’
‘Oh Andy! No, Andy can’t make it. No, it’s just us, I’m afraid. Just the three of us.’ Stephanie replied whilst looking over at Robert. ‘Oops, Robert, I’m watching you know. No, Andy’s had to do some Christmas special, so had to cancel. My turn I think.’ Stephanie laughed and stood up. ‘Come and keep Sarah company.’ She demanded.
Sarah sipped her drink, watching Robert walk towards her, she held her glass against her face to cool it down. Robert sat, smiling, beside her. His leg rubbed against hers and his shoulder leaned into her as he refilled her glass. Sarah was convinced he must be able to hear her heart as he remained leaning against her. While they watched in silence, Stephanie expertly potted the remaining balls on the table.
Robert clapped as Stephanie took an exaggerated bow before them both.
‘Fill me up,’ Stephanie asked Robert, holding her empty glass out. Robert up ended the bottle but nothing came out. ‘Another bottle is needed, I think. Will you go and fetch one?’ She bent down and stroked his knee, Robert reached out to touch her hand, but she withdrew it before he could.
Sarah sat up straight, moving away from Robert when she saw this movement between them. She was finding Stephanie’s presence irritated her and the way she spoke to Robert was wrong, although she didn’t quite know why. But before any of them could move further, Terry stood in the door way.
‘Dinner’s ready.’ She turned and was gone.
Stephanie held out her hand to Sarah,
‘Come on, I’m starving, and Terry’s a great cook.’
Sarah recoiled from Stephanie’s hand for a second. But not knowing how to get away from it, she let herself be pulled up and guided from the room. She turned to look at Robert, but he was watching Stephanie. Sarah wished Stephanie hadn’t come. It would be so much nicer if there was just the two of them. Next time she would cook dinner. Just for the two of them, at her house. There would be no Terry, and no Stephanie. At that thought she felt a little better. Stephanie was far too bossy, she was a little like her mother, Sarah noticed, always taking control.
The dining room had a beautiful warm glow, with candle light bouncing off the polished table and sideboard. She was surprised the table had been laid with two places to one side and one place on the other, as she herself would of course have put Robert at the head of the table, and assumed she would be seated next to Robert. But Stephanie intervened again, seating herself next to Robert and indicating to Sarah she should sit on the one side alone, while they faced her. At least she would be able to look at Robert, even though Stephanie sat opposite her. A large candelabra stood to one side of the table, causing no obstruction of view of each other.
Terry had already laid out the first course, and two bottles of wine stood beside the candelabra, opened and ready to pour.
Robert stood,
‘Red wine or white, Sarah?’
She looked up at him,
‘Um, which do you think I would like?’ Her head was spinning already and she wasn’t sure if she wanted any wine. ‘Can I have a glass of water as well?’ She looked at him, smiling.
Before he could answer, Stephanie said,
‘Of course you can, I’ll go and get some for you. Terry should have put a jug on the table.’
Stephanie walked from the room, and Robert was left standing holding two bottles of wine.
‘White, I think,’ reaching over the table to pour some for her.
She was alone with him at last, and now couldn’t think of anything to say as she watched him fill Stephanie’s glass with red wine.
‘You know each other quite well?’
He looked up at her as he sat in his place, ‘Yes, I guess we do.’
‘Has she been here before?’
‘Yes,’ he paused, looking towards the door, ‘yes a couple of times. She’s come to a few parties here.’
‘Oh.’ Sarah felt disappointed. ‘It’s a beautiful house.’