“Where’s my slut of a wife?” he yelled. “Watch your wallets, folks. She stole my bloody money and she’ll steal yours too if you give her a chance.”

Ken walked across the lawn to remonstrate with him, but Val hesitated. She knew she should go too—he was her husband, after all—but it was as if her legs wouldn’t carry her. She was terrified of what he might do. Peggy put a supportive arm around her shoulders. Nicole was playing with the other children, oblivious to the drama.

The sound of the car horn stopped as Tony got out and strode across the lawn to argue with Ken face-to-face. Val couldn’t hear the words, but she could see his fists clenched by his sides and knew he was close to losing his temper.

“He might get violent,” she warned, and two of the other men put down their beers and hurried over.

Suddenly Tony swung a punch. Ken swayed to avoid it, and the other men grabbed Tony’s arms, shouting at him. “What you doing, mate?” Tony struggled to free himself, but they overpowered him easily and marched him to his car, wrestling him inside.

“Don’t come back,” Val heard one of them yell as he slammed the door.

Tony drove off, waving an emphatic middle finger out the window.

“I’m so sorry,” Val apologized to the men when they returned to the party.

“No worries. Bloke’s a wanker,” one of them said. “You’re well out of that.”

The barbecue resumed but Val felt uneasy. Now Tony knew she was back, he would be hunting for her. He would never let her get away with stealing from him. No doubt he would have gone to the police and pressed charges if he could.

Let him try, she thought. Let’s see how sympathetic the judge is when he hears he isn’t paying a cent in child support.

The following afternoon, a brick crashed through Peggy and Ken’s sitting-room window, landing just a few feet from where the children were coloring with crayons. By the time Ken rushed outside, all he could see was a car disappearing around the bend, but he was pretty sure it was the same make and color as Tony’s.

As Val and Peggy cleared up the broken glass, Val promised, “I’ll get out of here as soon as I possibly can.”

Peggy gave her a sympathetic smile, but Val noted that she didn’t say “No, stay as long as you like!” Everyone had their limits.

* * *