Now as I stood in the kitchen, stirring my tea, with no one to cook for, my son miles away with his new wife, I should have felt joy. I should have been planning a celebration, the way we always did with his favourite meal and a bottle of beer. Instead I felt a tiny seed of something within me. It was going to grow. It had spawned from betrayal, and it would develop into something bigger still.

And there was nothing I could do to stop it.

7

DAISY

‘Happy birthday handsome,’ I said and bent down to kiss Ben on the head while he was sitting on the floor. He and Eve had been up for hours and they were now sorting through the Christmas decorations. I hadn’t slept well. I felt nauseous all night and the baby bump was already causing me discomfort in bed.

‘Thank you.’ Ben reached for my hand and held on to it as I shuffled to the chair still in my pyjamas and slipper socks and sat down.

‘What’s occurring? This looks busy.’ I surveyed the sea of greens, golds and reds on the space on the floor between Eve and Ben.

‘Just helping Eve get these ready.’ Ben held up a scary-looking knitted Santa. I motioned with my head towards Eve, so Ben could grasp this was not one of my purchases. Each year she would arrive home with an eccentric tree decoration and that particular one had been part of the family for four years.

‘Yes, he’s been super. Actually, we were just saying what a bummer it is having a birthday so close to Christmas. Ben was saying how much he dislikes Christmas – imagine that!’ Eve was, even on a non-work day, dressed immaculately. Today she was in her knee length A-line black skirt, a burgundy turtleneck, black tights and burgundy patent Mary Jane shoes. You’d never catch Eve in sports casuals. Even on DVD nights in she wore satin pyjamas and a silk Japanese robe.

‘Yes that’s right, he’s a bit of scrooge, aren’t you babe?’ I said with a laugh but Ben’s sullen expression told me he hadn’t found it funny. I was aware by now that Christmas was not his favourite time of year but I’d just put it down to the fact his birthday was so close to it. I was beginning to think there was more to it, something that he wasn’t telling me.

‘Well done.’ I yawned as I got comfy. ‘I’ll project manage. From the sidelines.’ I curled my feet under my legs.

‘So, babe,’ Ben began and, even though we had only been together just over five months, I recognised the tone. He was about to hit me with something.

‘How do you feel about me popping to the Outer Hebrides?’ My stomach lurched and my mouth went dry.

‘Oh yeah, that.’ Eve winced at her own words.

‘What? You knew already?’ I said to Eve

‘I could hardly not, sleeping beauty. He just took the phone call an hour ago, here under my nose’