Free The Playdate by Louise Millar

She’d only met Sasha once, at a party for Jez’s clients that she had forced him to let her attend, but the young woman’s face was fixed in her memory: long-lashed doe eyes that searched Jez too longingly as he spoke, without bothering to turn to Suzy; the glossy, loose ponytail that she teased slowly around a tanned shoulder while she listened to him; a mouth that rolled softly into a pout as she sipped wine.
    Suzy had seen it all before, in Denver. The kind of women who liked Jez—and there were a lot of them—usually didn’t bother to hide it.
    Her thigh throbbed for her attention. No, she thought. Not since the night she found out she was pregnant with Henry, and never again. Jez would not drive her to that.
    “Now, my darling, I can stay here as long as you like. What do you want me to do?”
    Suzy thought. “Does the club have bedrooms? Could they stay there all night?”
    “I think it does, my darling,” Vondra said. The kindness inher voice always made Suzy want to cry. She knew what Vondra had been through with her own errant husband, and how running this business was more than just a moneymaking exercise. The first time Suzy had rung her, nervous and guarded, Vondra had listened to her for half an hour. At their meeting in the café Suzy had talked for two hours, warming to the woman’s kind voice and concerned expression.
    “Suzy. You know I’m here for you. And I’ll stay here till we find out what you need to know.”
    She thought for a second.
    “OK, can you just give him another hour. See if she turns up?”
    “I will. And Suzy, one more thing. I’ve been checking on those bank accounts as you asked . . . Do you know of a Flock Ventures?”
    “Uh . . .” said Suzy, searching her mind. “There’s something familiar about it, but . . . no, I don’t know. He doesn’t let me near the business. Why, is it important?”
    “Maybe. Maybe not,” Vondra said. “Nothing to worry about now, anyway. Now listen, my love. Go and have yourself a nice hot bath and relax. We’ll get to the bottom of this, and everything will be fine. Remember what I told you. Whatever happens, you’re back in control.” She lifted her voice to a singsong, chanting tone, like a preacher at church. “And THAT, my darling, is where we ladies HAVE TO BE!”
     
    *     *     *
    Ten minutes later, Suzy went to brush her teeth, Vondra’s words still repeating in her head. She looked up at the razors, then spat a mouthful of toothpaste into the sink, closed the cabinet door, and climbed into bed.
    She pulled her knees close to her, and tried to close hereyes. But the image of where Jez was right now—what he was doing—made them spring open again, and an involuntary groan come from her lips.
    Sitting up, she stepped back out of bed, and looked out of the bedroom window. Callie’s light shone softly in her sitting room.
    Jez was leaving her, and Callie was going back to work.
    She padded down the hall and climbed quietly into Henry’s bed, pulling his sleepy little body close for warmth.

SUNDAY
     
    11
Callie
    I’d forgotten how much fun shopping could be.
    Rae and I arrive home on Sunday afternoon from Brent Cross, our crisp new shopping bags filling up the communal hall as I pick out the silver key to our flat from the ring.
    Just as I put it in the door and turn it to the left, I sense someone behind me. I turn to see the Somali woman from the rented flat upstairs coming in the front door behind us, holding a plastic bag filled with what looks like meat wrapped in anonymous white paper and a cluster of tall, knobbly cream vegetables I don’t recognize.
    “Oh, hello. How are you?” I ask, waving a hand, already knowing there’s no point asking.
    She waves back, and touches Rae’s cheek, looking at her with gentle brown eyes.
    “Ah,” she says, smiling.
    Rae stares at the woman’s pregnant stomach, and then at me, shifting her eyes sideways for me to have a look. Thewoman laughs, and holds up four