Donny changed the subject. ‘I’ll be home late tonight, I’ve got a few meetings after school and if you’re out with Sadie, then I may as well grab something to eat on the way home because you won’t be cooking, will you?’

Susan looked at him, flicked her hair over her shoulders. She’d always had great hair, silky and bouncy like in a shampoo advert. The chestnut colour complemented her skin tone and made her eyes stand out. ‘Correct, mouth almighty. It’s self-service tonight. Get a ding meal, five minutes in the microwave and there you go. It’s not exactly rocket science. Easy-peasy.’ She thought about what he’d said about Sadie and changed her tune. ‘Or go get something to eat with one of your boys. I’m sure one of them will be up for eating out. It’s not like they have anything better to do, is it? Low lives they are, the fucking lot of them, no wonder none of them have ever managed to settle down. Nothing better to do all day than sit in the boozer or pissing money away in a card game.’ The claws were out, now she’d started it was hard to stop. These pricks probably knew all about his affair, were patting him on the back for it. Snakes they were, dirty lying scumbags, who didn’t have a moral between them.

Donny could see where this was heading and decided to bow out before it went any further. He’d rattled her cage and no good was going to come of it. He was out of there. He avoided her gaze. ‘Don’t want to be late. Have a good day, babe, see you tonight.’ But the urge to wind her up hadn’t quite disappeared. ‘Oh and tell Sadie I was asking about her, send my love.’

Susan shook her head as she watched him leave, ‘You’re such a smart arse,’ she shouted after him as the corners of her mouth started to rise. How could she be angry with him when he made her laugh the way he did? Bloody men. She walked over to the window and watched him drive away before picking up her mobile. ‘Sadie? It’s me. I reckon Donny’s at it again. You should see how he’s acting. Spends hours getting ready in the mornings, why’s he making all that effort if it’s just for work?’ She listened to the voice on the other end of the phone and bit her bottom lip before continuing. ‘Something just doesn’t sit right with me, it’s like a gut feeling. I swear to you that if he’s at it again, I’ll let our John and Dave beat the living daylights out of him. I won’t save him this time, not a fucking earthly. He’s hiding something, I know it.’