The Perfect Happiness(89)
“I’m not angry with you, and of course I accept your apology. We all say things we don’t mean. Let’s forget it ever happened. How are the children?”
He answered in detail, which was uncharacteristic for Olivier. “They’re on great form. Joe got mentioned in dispatches for hard work. He was very pleased and showed me the newsletter himself. He’s missing you. We all are. But he’s not unhappy, so you don’t need to worry. He’s just counting the days for you to come home. Isabel has fallen out with Delfine, but there’s nothing unusual about that. They seem to break up and make up ten times a day as far as I can see. She’s made a paper caterpillar with Joe for the days you are away, and each day they tear off a segment. Every day I give them a treat. Yesterday I took them for tea at Patisserie Valerie. They loved it and ate those raspberry tarts. They made a terrible mess, but what the hell. They had a good time.”
“You must have left work early.”
“I’m happy to leave work early at the moment. There’s not much to do except damage control, and there’s no pleasure in that. I’m enjoying spending time with the children, actually. They are highly entertaining. Candace has asked us for the weekend, which is very kind of her and a great help to me, as I’m not very competent on my own, as you know.” Angelica felt a wave of compassion. He was making an effort to be a committed father.
“Give Candace my love. I’m very grateful to her for rescuing you. The children will have a great time in the country.”
“I’m going to take the morning off on Monday so I can pick you up from the airport.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know. I want to. I’ve had time to think and reflect. I’m not too proud to see the error of my ways and make a change. Sometimes it takes a little distance for us to realize how much we care.”
“Let’s just forget the whole incident.”
“Yes, please.” He sounded relieved. “So tell me, how have your events gone so far?”
While Angelica talked, Anita drove, trying to look like she wasn’t listening. But once she hung up, Angelica felt she had to explain.
“We had a row before I left. My husband’s very temperamental. I’m glad that he’s apologized.”
“Ag, shame,” said Anita, her face crumpling with sympathy.
“No, it’s not a shame at all. It’s really quite an achievement. He’s French and very proud.”
“Here we say ‘shame’ when something is very sweet.”
Angelica laughed. “Shame and robots. I should start putting together a little dictionary.”
“And your children?”
“They’ve made a paper caterpillar with segments for every day I’m away. Each day they tear a segment off.”
Anita grinned at her. “Shame!”
“If you saw my husband in a temper, you wouldn’t be so quick to say shame.”
“Sounds like he’s missing you.”
“He is.”
“They’re always the same. As soon as you’re away and they have to run the household and look after the children, they stop taking you for granted.”
“He’s full of appreciation.”
“At least you had your cousin here to look after you.”
Angelica contained her amusement by opening her telephone to text Candace. “I know, if it wasn’t for Jack, I wouldn’t have been allowed to come at all.” She hesitated over the letters. Perhaps it would be a good idea to mention Jack and Anna and their invitation to Rosenbosch to Olivier the next time he called, just to cover herself. The way the grapevine worked in London there was no chance she’d manage a weekend there without its getting back somehow.
Dear Candace, thanx for having my lot for the weekend. You’re a star. Olivier is so grateful! Missing you. All well out here. Beautiful weather—glorious! Catch up on my return. XX Angelica. A few minutes later, Candace replied. Glad it’s going so well. Can’t wait to hear all about it. We’re missing you here. Kate’s latest crisis will have you in hysterics! Love, Candace X She clearly couldn’t resist adding a word of warning: Be careful!
Although Angelica was curious to know about Kate’s latest drama, she didn’t want to think about next Monday. She didn’t want it all to be over. She wasn’t ready for her old skin, and she certainly wasn’t ready to see Candace and the mirror she held up to reflect her guilty conscience.
Sustained by Jack’s texts and his late-night telephone calls, the week went faster than she had anticipated. She said goodbye to Anita in Johannesburg and flew to Cape Town, where she was met by a rep called Joanna. As they drove towards the city, Angelica was horrified by the endless sea of shanty townships that seemed to lay siege to it. The heat shimmered off the corrugated iron roofs that gave pathetic shelter to the multicolored boxes that people called home, and telephone poles rose into the air like masts of beleaguered ships after a terrible battle. She wasn’t sure she could live in a country where such poverty was so visible and so overwhelming. Surely it would be impossible to find happiness in the shadow of such misery.