Baby Be Mine

take it from him. Is he going to tell me she’s back?
    No need. I hear the terrace door sliding shut. Johnny finally meets my eyes and I don’t know what it is I see in them as Dana’s footsteps sound on the stairs. She appears behind him and he looks away again, but not at her.
    ‘Can we go to bed now the Baby Whisperer is home?’ she drawls into his ear. I can’t even be bothered to look at her.
    ‘I’ll be there in a minute,’ he replies in a gruff voice, staring at the wall.
    She turns and walks away. ‘Don’t keep me waiting long, baby. You’ve got to finish what you started.’ She giggles and pushes open his door. He looks at me again.
    ‘Nice,’ I say quietly and sarcastically. I give him a look of contempt and then head along the landing to my bedroom.
    ‘Hey,’ he whispers after me. I don’t wait to hear what he has to say before going into my bedroom and firmly shutting the door.

 
  Chapter 38  
    ‘Take your bloody time,’ Joseph jokes. ‘I didn’t think you were ever going to call.’
    I didn’t want to. Bess made me. She said I had to get back on the horse, which was funny because those were the exact same words that Kitty used.
    ‘Sorry, it’s been a busy few days. Listen, I wondered if you’d fancy coming to a Halloween party on Saturday night? It’s being held by Sylvester Middleman – I don’t know if you know him?’
    ‘I know of him. How did you get an invite to that?’ He sounds impressed.
    ‘Barney’s dad is kind of well connected.’
    ‘Aah, I see,’ he replies, thankfully not asking who Barney’s dad actually is. ‘Do you have a spare ticket?’
    ‘I’m pretty sure I could get one.’ And I don’t give a crap if Johnny is annoyed about it.
    ‘Cool, well, don’t put yourself out.’
    ‘Oh, it won’t be any trouble at all,’ I tell him.
    With Dana back on the scene and clearly keen to make her mark on the matter, Bess and I spend more time out of the house and keeping busy so the weekend comes around quicker than expected. On Friday we go fancy-dress shopping, and after much hilarious deliberation, Bess opts to go dressed as Minnie Mouse, and somehow or other she manages to talk me into wearing a slinky black cat suit so I’m going as a cat. Barney, we’re dressing as a pumpkin because it’s the only costume he doesn’t immediately try to take off. We’re sitting in the kitchen having a laugh with Eddie, when Johnny saunters in. Our easy conversation halts, as it tends to do in his presence.
    ‘You still here?’ he asks Eddie.
    ‘I’m just finishing up,’ Eddie replies.
    ‘Any plans for the weekend?’ asks Johnny.
    ‘Nope. Just hearing about Bess and Meg’s fancy-dress costumes. Sounds like it’s going to be a blast.’
    ‘What’s going to be a blast?’ Dana asks with fake enthusiasm as she bounds into the room.
    ‘Halloween,’ Johnny replies shortly as she kisses him on his cheek and throws her arm around his neck. She’s clearly in an annoyingly good mood.
    ‘Fuck me, I forgot it was Halloween! What are we doing?’
    ‘Hey,’ he warns softly, glancing at Barney and me.
    She clamps her hand over her mouth and looks at me. ‘Sorry, Maria!’
    ‘Maria?’ I ask, unamused.
    ‘The nanny from The Sound of Music,’ she replies with a shrug.
    ‘Can you stop calling me names?’ I ask with irritation.
    She just laughs. ‘Shit, you should totally go dressed as a nun. I bet you’d look great in a habit.’
    ‘Oh, bugger off,’ I mutter.
    ‘Meg.’ Johnny frowns, glancing at Barney as if I’m the one who’s being out of line.
    ‘Are you taking the piss?’ I’m about to lose it, and my son being in the vicinity isn’t going to change that.
    Bess gets up and goes to take Barney, but I stop her.
    ‘Forget it,’ I say calmly.
    ‘So, anyway,’ Dana moves on brightly. ‘Who’s doing what for Halloween?’ She glances at each of us, but neither Bess nor I speak. ‘Johnny? We gotta do something to celebrate our first Halloween together . . .’
    ‘Are you going to Sylvester’s do?’ he asks me.
    ‘Mmm,’ I nod, non-committally.
    ‘Sylvester?’ Dana asks. ‘As in Middleman?’
    Johnny nods.
    ‘Shit, we should totally go to that! Everyone will be there.’
    ‘Really?’ Johnny asks her with surprise. ‘You want to do Halloween?’
    ‘Hell, yeah!’
    My heart continues its descent into the pit of my stomach.
    ‘Hey, you should come, too!’ she says to Eddie. ‘Staff party!’ She laughs.
    ‘Sure, Lena