Picnics in Hyde Park

‘Right,’ Zoe murmured through dry lips, throat aching. Ouch. Direct hit.

‘I’m sorry,’ Melody gasped immediately, ‘I didn’t mean it. You know I didn’t. I’m just such a mess…’ she dropped her head into her hands, shoulders heaving, ‘and I’m so angry.’

‘I know. Don’t worry.’ Melody was normally the gentlest person in the world. Zoe scooted her chair around the table to get closer, the legs scraping on the tiled floor. Placing a hand on her little sister’s back, she waited quietly, giving her time.

If she’d been there for Melody, maybe none of this would have happened. Mel wouldn’t have gone looking for the guidance and friendship from her boss that she should have been getting from her big sister. Even though they’d texted and Skyped a lot, it hadn’t been the same, living on opposite sides of the ocean. Zoe might blame Matt and Stephen for her sister’s heartbreak, but part of the responsibility rested on her shoulders too.

The look on Matt’s face when he talked about Melody letting him down flashed across her mind and as much as she wanted to dismiss it, or think he’d been lying, there’d been something there. Something he was unsure of or puzzled about. It would do no good to tell Melody what Matt had said because it might upset her. But perhaps her plan could serve two purposes; not just revenge, but finding out just what the heck had happened.

She stroked her sister’s back soothingly. ‘I know you’re worried about my plan, and don’t really agree with it but maybe if I can find out why, it will give you closure?’ She nodded at Melody’s raw, tear-filled eyes. ‘I take it that Stephen still isn’t taking your calls or answering your messages?’ Thinking of his travel bag and see you when I get back holler to his brother. ‘I suppose he could be abroad. Perhaps he’s having problems with his phone.’

Melody shook her head, a lone tear running down her cheek. ‘I don’t think so, and he can more than afford the roaming charges. I just don’t get it. Everything was fine. We were happy. And I just can’t understand the way Matt acted— Oh, Zoe, I don’t know what to do-oo…’

The last word ended on a wail and reignited the hot, rolling rage and fiercely protective instincts in Zoe. She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, rubbing her sister’s back more firmly, wanting to scrub away the hurt. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. But Matt hasn’t been in touch to check how you are either. I mean, you could be living on a park bench somewhere for all he knows. It’s disgusting. I really think he needs to be taught a lesson.’ She looked into her sister’s face, jaw set, thinking of the added insult of a few days before, when she’d gone to Matt’s house. ‘Let me do this for you, Mel,’ she said fiercely. ‘Let me get answers and teach them they can’t behave this way. That you can’t ignore people and pretend you’ve done nothing wrong. It’ll be fine, I promise.’

Melody sighed heavily, running a finger over some spilt grains of sugar. ‘Okay,’ she whispered.

‘Good. It’s the only thing that makes sense.’ Zoe paused. ‘Also, I know that Jemima is happy to have you,’ she broached, ‘but sleeping on her couch is less than ideal. What do you think about me calling Ruth and seeing if you could stay with her for a while? You always got on well together, right? I’m sure she still has the guest room set up ready. It might give you some distance. Fifty miles might not be very far, but it’s not on Matt’s doorstep either. One of the worst things about a break up is running into the person, or the possibility you’re going to. If Stephen gets back soon, you’ll have two people who upset you to avoid. I don’t want you to think I want shot of you,’ she added, ‘because I can’t wait for us to spend some quality time together after I’ve been away so long. I’m just thinking of what’s best for you right now.’

Melody sniffed. ‘It would be good to have some space, and be somewhere familiar. I know it never seemed like home to you, and Ruth isn’t the huggy sort, but I feel safe there.’ She nodded. ‘Can you call her please? If you can do it without arguing that is. I’m going to splash some cold water on my face.’ Pushing her chair back, she grabbed her bag and hitched her chin up, trying to be brave.

Zoe watched her go. Poor thing. Sucking in a deep breath she dialled her Aunt’s number, dreading the conversation. ‘It’s me,’ she said when Ruth answered with a curt hello.

‘Oh. You are still in the land of the living then.’

‘I did text you from the airport the other day.’

‘Messaging relatives is no substitute for a good old fashioned phone call,’ Ruth said in a sniffy tone. ‘I expected you to follow the text up with a call. I knew you’d be jetlagged but surely you could have—’

‘I’ve had my hands full,’ she cut across her Aunt’s accusation, picturing her grey hair in its no-nonsense bun and the pursed lips, shoulders bolt-straight, her dark eyes cool and unforgiving. When in this mood, the result was stilted accusations Zoe didn’t have the time and energy for today. Obviously she still wasn’t forgiven for what had happened before her departure for the States, despite the birthday and Christmas cards she’d always sent, accompanied by luxury gifts. However, now was not the time to try and sort it out. That didn’t mean she shouldn’t be conciliatory. ‘I’m sorry, you’re right, I should have called. The thing is, Matt’s fired Melody and kicked her out, and Stephen’s gone AWOL.’

‘What? What on earth do you mean? What happened? The absolute brutes.’

‘I’m not sure yet.’ Zoe didn’t know whether to be grateful or sad that her Aunt would jump so easily to her sister’s defence, when if it had been her the first thing Ruth would have asked was what did you do? ‘I’m trying to sort it out,’ no way was she telling Ruth the details of what she was up to, ‘but in the meantime I think it would be good for Melody if she came home for a while. We’ve talked about it and it’s what she wants, if you’ll have her.’

‘Of course I will. The guest room is made up for when she visits during the holidays. Put her on the first train you can and let me know when she’ll be arriving. I’ll pick her up from the station. She can stay as long as she likes.’

‘Okay, thank you,’ Zoe said, relieved. At least that was one less thing to worry about. There might be a lot of muddy ground between her and Ruth, but Melody’s well-being was always a given. ‘I’ll text you. I’m aiming to get her on the train this afternoon if I can manage it.’

‘Right. And what are you going to be doing in the meantime?’

‘I’ll be trying to work out what’s gone on, and see if the situation can be retrieved.’ She had to talk in the language that Ruth understood.

‘You do that. Keep me updated, will you? If you need me to speak with either of the swines let me know. I don’t know enough about Stephen to comment, however it’s odd about Matthew, I didn’t think he was like that. He always seemed so nice. I met him a few times when I came into London for lunch with your sister.’

‘That’s what Melody thought too,’ Zoe replied. ‘I’ll be in touch. Bye.’ She hung up, sitting back in her chair. Formidable was not the word for her aunt. She almost felt like setting her on Matt because it was what he deserved, but that wouldn’t get them anywhere. She was convinced that direct confrontation wasn’t the route to take. Staring down at the greasy table top, she frowned, anxiety coiling in her stomach. Was it always going to be this way between her and Ruth? Was there ever going to be a time that they could come to some understanding? Or when Ruth would tell her why she’d always been the odd one out in their little patched together family?

When Melody returned a minute later, Zoe forced a smile. ‘Good news,’ she said. ‘You can go to Ruth’s as soon as this afternoon if you want. We can grab your things from Jemima’s and get you on the train in no time.’ She thought longingly of the coarse sandy beaches of Southend-on-Sea. Pictured the world’s longest pleasure pier, the row of multi-painted beach huts, the rides and roller coaster of Adventure Island on the Western Esplanade. Could almost taste the salt that carried on the sea breeze and always tangled her hair. While Ruth’s house with its dark shadows, locked rooms and no-nonsense air had never felt like home, she loved the seaside town she’d spent most of her teens in.

‘That would be good,’ Melody murmured. ‘I do think I need to get away and the sooner the better.’ She closed her eyes then opened them again, looking horrified. ‘I haven’t even asked about you, Sis. Are you doing okay? Funny that we’re both going through break-ups at the same time.’

‘I’ll be fine.’ Zoe grabbed her bag from under the table and started rooting through her purse. ‘At least I know what happened,’ she muttered, head down. The memory of that last night with Greg flashed in front of her eyes. ‘Besides, I’ve got other things to concentrate on. I’ll be checking out of the bed and breakfast in a couple of days’ time and moving in with Matt.’

Melody shook her head. ‘That’s the part of the plan that makes me nervous.’

‘Why?’ Zoe frowned at her sister as she threw a ten pound note down on the table. At least that was one thing; she was returning to the UK with money in the bank, courtesy of her ex-fiancé and their cancelled plans. ‘You think he might rumble me straight away?’

‘No. It’s more that while he has a tendency to be closed off from the children, and really distracted, he’s a nice guy. Kind of charming actually. I never saw him that way but lots of women—’

‘Not such a nice guy that it stopped him from doing what he did to you,’ she interrupted, ‘and that’s all I’m interested in. Don’t worry, I won’t fall for the act.’ Thinking of Greg, something in her chest twisted. ‘There’s no chance.’

Later on, when they said goodbye as Melody boarded the train, her shoulders slumped like a puppy that had been kicked one too many times, a new determination burned through Zoe. The sooner this was done, the sooner Melody might be able to move on with her life, and come back to London, where the two of them belonged side by side together again. Sisters.

Huffing out a breath, Zoe slung another huge canvas bag on the bed, a trickle of sweat snaking down her back. She bit her lower lip, pulling out her phone to re-read her sister’s text from that morning.

All settled and Ruth is

looking after me. I’m still

not sure about this Sis.

But if you’re going to do

it, please be careful. M xx

Melody was obviously worried so Zoe had done her best to reassure her.

I’ll be fine.

Can’t wait to see the

look on Matt’s face when

it all comes together.

Then on to Stephen! ☺ xx

It probably was a kind of madness, moving in with a guy she detested. But it was part of the plan. Besides, if she wasn’t meant to do this, why would the universe have co-operated quite so nicely? When the agency had called the day following the interview to tell her Matt wanted her to go back and meet the kids, it’d felt like cosmic rebalancing, like it was meant to be. Not that she was superstitious. But the agency—Exclusive London Nannies—had been happy to re-register her, delighted to make money from the placement. Once Liberty had supplied a glowing reference and Zoe had registered with the online DBS service, her enhanced disclosure and barring clearance available within days, with her certificate of good conduct on its way from America, it had been too easy to meet Aimee and Jasper. To convince Matt of her suitability to be his nanny. Of course it had helped that Melody had been able to give her some inside tips about the family.

Surprisingly, the children weren’t the spoilt brats she’d expected. Maybe that was down to her sister’s influence over the last few years. They did however have a few issues that Melody hadn’t articulated.

Number one was that they were crying out for their dad’s love, the net result being that Aimee was so incredibly shy she was virtually mute, finding it hard to hold eye contact and hesitant about speaking, while Jasper’s behaviour was so demanding and energy levels so high he was on the verge of hyperactivity. Zoe couldn’t help feeling Jasper was attention seeking, trying to establish communication with his only parent.

Number two was they were bored out of their skulls and weren’t engaging with the activities Matt had chosen for them.

She’d seen it all within an hour; interacting with the three of them, noticing Matt’s distracted and distant manner, the way the light went out of his kids’ eyes whenever he glanced at his phone, or gazed off into space with a faraway look, or scribbled something on a notepad he kept in his back pocket. They weren’t a happy, cohesive family unit. Not at all.

She could do a lot of good for these kids. It was a shame she was only here for a few weeks to get revenge, which she’d started referring to as Plan Nannygate in her head. Nothing over the past week had made her feel like Matt didn’t deserve it. What she hadn’t mentioned to her sister in the cafe was what had happened during her brief third visit, just after accepting the job.