To Ava’s surprise, Daisy sounded thrilled to hear from her and promptly asked her over for coffee. She seemed upbeat, not at all chastened by her appalling behavior. Ava wondered how she managed to look herself in the mirror after having hurt so many people. A hair shirt would be more appropriate. It wasn’t fair that she was happy after having made her husband and children so unhappy—holding the prize of a future with her lover that Ava denied herself.
Daisy’s mother, Romie, lived the other side of Blandford, about half an hour away, in a pretty white house adorned with pink montana.
Ava followed Romie into the tiled hall. The ceilings were low and beamed, the walls white, the rooms small and cozy. Ava remembered the times she had stayed there as a teenager for dances and dinner parties. Before she could dwell on the memory of a certain pink satin dress, Daisy was striding out of the kitchen to greet her. “I can’t tell you how nice it is to see you, Ava! Most of my friends have disowned me.” The two women kissed. Daisy smelled of Yves Saint Laurent’s Paris. “Come and have some coffee. I’ve opened a packet of biscuits.”
“You’re just in time,” added Romie from the butcher’s table. “She’s off to South Africa on Friday.”
“For good?” Ava asked.
“Forever,” said Daisy, pouring coffee into the cups.
“Oh, Daisy. You must have gone through hell.”
“It’s been terribly hard. But I’ve done enough weeping and wailing. One has to look on the bright side or one would go mad.”
“How did it happen?”
Daisy smiled resignedly and shook her head. “I’m amazed you came to see me, Ava. I know your mother disapproves very strongly.”
“Duty and all that,” said Ava, embarrassed that word had got back. “She’s a different generation.”
“Listen, she’s not a lone voice, I assure you. What I did was unforgivable. I fell in love with another man. But I was so unhappy, Ava. I was a shadow of myself. Wasting my life with a man I no longer loved, loving a man I couldn’t have. My love consumed me. I was a terrible mother and a terrible wife, no good to anyone.” She swept her curly brown hair off her face and Ava glimpsed a hint of weariness in her eyes. “Michael and I weren’t like you and Phillip. If we had enjoyed a contented marriage it would never have happened. Unhappiness is the perfect breeding ground for infidelity.” Loneliness is, too, Ava wanted to add, but kept her thoughts to herself.
“How did you meet him?”
“We were in Cape Town for a wedding. It was love at first sight. I thought long and hard, Ava, but in the end I felt it would be better for the children to grow up in a house of joy rather than a house of sorrow.” She nibbled a biscuit reflectively. “You see, Ava, we never had the beautiful estate that you have. My children are going from an ordinary little suburban house to a stunning country house in the middle of mountains. It’s an idyll. They’ll love it. South Africa is beautiful.”
“But what about Michael?”
She lowered her eyes. “Don’t,” she groaned. “He’ll see them in the holidays. They’ll get the best of both worlds.” But she clearly knew that wasn’t true. Nothing could replace their father. She suddenly looked old and deflated. It was the first time that Ava had seen the true face she hid behind her smile.
“You’re doing your best,” said Ava gently. “You can’t replace the eggs once the shells are broken. But you’re making the best omelette you can.”
Daisy laughed. “Trust you to come up with something like that. I am doing my best. God, I’ve had every accusation thrown at me. From callously leaving my children to suing Michael for hundreds of thousands. First, I never left my children. I was always going to come back for them. Michael knew that. Second, poor old Michael doesn’t have any money, so I can hardly fleece him of what he doesn’t have.”
“So, what’s this South African like?”
Ava and Daisy took their coffee cups and strolled around the garden. It was a beautiful morning, clear and bright, the freshly emerging leaves still glittering with dew. “How has your mother taken it all?”
“She puts on a good show, but she’s ashamed, of course. But what can she do? She’s my mother, she has to support me. I’m running off to South Africa, she has to stick around and answer to all her friends. You wouldn’t believe the people who have turned their backs on us. The least expected.” She shrugged. “At least I now know who my friends are.” She turned to Ava. “I can count on you, can’t I?”