The Liar Next Door by Nicola Marsh
Ten
Celeste
I’m taking out the trash when I see Frankie slip outside her front door and close it softly behind her. I’m at the bottom of my steps and tucked around the corner, so she can’t see me. I’m about to step forward so it doesn’t look like I’m hiding, when I notice she’s behaving oddly. She checks the knob to ensure the door is closed, then casts a furtive glance over her shoulder toward her window, as if making sure she’s not being watched. Only then does she call someone named Walt, who doesn’t pick up, and she asks him to call her back.
Is she hiding something from her husband? Is she having an affair? I’m disappointed, as although we’ve only just met I expected more from her. She presents such a perfect image online, the accomplished wife and mother every woman aspires to be. Everyone’s friend. Sweet, nice, Frankie Forbes.
I wait until she’s finished and gone back inside before I do the same. I don’t want her discovering I overheard her. I want our daughters to be friends. It’s imperative Vi starts bonding with Luna. My darling girl needs the distraction. She’s been badgering me about her father since we arrived last night and the gender reveal party was a temporary reprieve, because the minute we got home she started peppering me with questions again.
When am I going to see Daddy again?
Why can’t I talk to him?
Why did we move here?
I try to answer as best I can, but how do I explain to a five-year-old she probably won’t see her father ever again?
Roland is my past. I can’t go back.
At the start of our relationship, I thought I’d found the man of my dreams. He’d been so attentive, so loving. Then he changed and my life imploded. He wasn’t the man I thought he was. He lied to me. He hurt me. Then I discovered I was expecting Violette…
Roland took his responsibilities seriously, so parenting Violette gave me hope we could recapture the magic, that he’d revert to the man I knew he could be. Sadly, in the end it wasn’t enough. He didn’t change, our relationship became untenable and I had to remove myself from the toxicity to give Violette the life she deserves.
As if dealing with the disintegration of my relationship with Roland isn’t hard enough, Vi occasionally asks me for a sibling. I change the subject, but she won’t be distracted forever. I have a bit of time to meet someone else and have another baby. Late-thirties is cutting it fine but more women are having babies in their forties these days. But what are the odds of me meeting a good guy who wants to have a baby ASAP? Increasingly slim…
I have a feeling our lives will be brighter here in Hambridge Heights. A fresh start.
Something I desperately need after escaping Roland and my past.