City Lives (44 page)

‘Is everything OK, Maggie?’ Luke was at her side. He’d seen Sulaiman’s agitated conversation.

‘No, Luke. He thinks Alma and Terry are in a room together. He’s going to cause a scene,’ Maggie whispered as she hurried after Sulaiman.

‘This is the room,’ Sulaiman announced at the top of his voice and shoved open the door.

Maggie nearly died. Terry was groaning on top of Alma, on the bed, and she had her long legs wrapped tightly around his back.

Sulaiman’s face darkened terrifyingly and he made a lunge at Terry.

‘You bastard!’ he roared.

Alma screamed.

‘Hold on now, Sulaiman.’ Luke caught the other man.

‘Let go of me. Let go of me.’ He struggled. But Luke was a powerful man and held him back.

‘You slut! You
whore
!’ he ranted, beginning to curse in his native tongue.

Terry struggled to get up and rearrange his clothes, his face ashen.

‘Don’t you call me those names, Sulaiman Al Shariff,’ Alma spat as she sat up, tousled and dishevelled.

‘What good are you to me? I’m a woman, I have needs. A limp dick is no good to me,’ she screeched drunkenly. ‘That pathetic floppy little . . . little leek can’t
give me what I need. I need a real man,’ she yelled.

Someone tittered nervously in the background as people gathered to see what was going on.

Sulaiman gave a great roar, shouted something in Urdu and lunged at Alma.

‘No, Sulaiman. No! Come on. She’s drunk. She doesn’t mean it.’ Luke manhandled Sulaiman out the door. Curious guests parted to let them through. Devlin stood wide-eyed,
with her hands over her mouth in horror. Her eyes met Maggie’s.

Maggie stood rooted to the spot. How could Terry humiliate her like this in front of Luke and Devlin and their guests? How could he shame them both and embarrass their best friends?

‘You!’ she pointed a finger at Alma. ‘Don’t come back to my house tonight. And
you
!’ Her voice dripped with contempt, her eyes were like flints as she
regarded her husband. ‘Don’t make the mistake of thinking that I give a damn who you fuck. She’s welcome to you. You can fuck the man in the moon for all I care, but I think
you’re despicable to do what you’ve done to a friend. And to do it here in Devlin’s and Luke’s is as tacky as you are.’

With as much dignity as she could muster, she walked down the hall, followed by Devlin.

‘I’m so sorry, Devlin. Just let me get a taxi and get out of here.’ She was shaking.

‘I’ll drive you home. I haven’t been drinking. You’re not getting a taxi after that shock. God Almighty, I could strangle Terry. The fool!’

Andy and Mary Madigan came up to them. ‘Maggie, we’ll take Sulaiman home. He can spend the night with us. It might make things easier all round,’ Mary said gently.

‘That’s very kind of you, Mary. Thanks.’ Maggie was touched by the other woman’s thoughtfulness. ‘I’m terribly sorry about what happened.’

‘Tsk, it’s not your fault, pet. Things will sort themselves out,’ Mary said diplomatically.

Luke and Sulaiman were out on the landing beside the lift. The older man was crying, sobbing like a child.

‘You heard what she said. I’m not a man. I can’t please her. I wish I were dead. I thought Terry Ryan was my friend.’

‘These things happen, Sulaiman. There was drink taken. It was a party. It meant nothing, I’m sure.’ Luke tried to console his distraught guest.

‘Come on, Suly. Come home with us.’ Andy took his colleague by the arm. ‘Have a good night’s sleep. Things will look different in the morning.’ He led Sulaiman into
the lift and Luke gave a sigh of relief as the doors closed and it began its descent.

‘I’ll take Alma to my house,’ Janice offered.

‘That’s Paula and Norma knocked off the front page,’ Maggie said sheepishly.

‘Oh don’t be silly, Maggie! This couldn’t
possibly
compete with Paula and Norma. You’re not in the same league at all,’ Janice retorted crisply.
‘Chin up,’ she said kindly. She went off in search of Alma, who was weeping drunkenly in the bathroom.

‘Come on, Alma. You’re coming to stay the night with me. You can sleep it off.’ Janice rapped smartly on the door and marched in.

‘Oh Janice, this is the worst night of my life,’ Alma mumbled.

‘Nonsense! Come on.’

‘I’m going to be sick,’ Alma wailed.

‘Well throw up in the toilet, Alma,’ Janice ordered, turning her around and sticking her head down the loo.

Alma retched miserably.

Good enough for you,
thought Maggie unsympathetically as Janice closed the bathroom door. She never wanted to see Alma Al Shariff again.

By the time she got home, Maggie was drained and exhausted. She’d told Terry not to come with her. He was the last person she needed right now.

Devlin had wanted to drive her home but Maggie was adamant. It was too late. Devlin was pregnant. A taxi was fine.

The other guests had started to leave. Terry slipped away after mumbling an abashed apology to Devlin and Luke. Maggie’s taxi arrived and she slid into the back seat gratefully. She was
stone-cold sober again. Tired as she was, she was too wound up to go to bed, despite the fact that it was almost one a.m. With grim determination she set about packing her guests’ bags. She
didn’t want to see them again. She just wanted them out. There was no question of them remaining in her house for the rest of their stay.

She threw Alma’s toiletries into her toilet bag with a vengeance and then packed away her clothes into her suitcase. An hour later, the bed was stripped. The suitcases were in the hall and
only the heavy scent of Alma’s perfume lingered in the room as mute testament that she had ever been there.

She put the sheets in the washing-machine, switched off the lights and dragged herself up to bed. Surprisingly, she fell asleep instantly, worn out.

Terry poured a shot from the bottle of whiskey he’d ordered from room service, undid his tie and kicked off his shoes. He lay back in the hotel armchair.

He’d really cocked things up tonight, he thought ruefully. Shagging Alma in Devlin’s guest-room had not been a good move, although it had been incredibly exciting until they’d
been interrupted.

The woman was hungry for it. There was nothing more satisfying than an eager woman. Now, though, he’d be in the doghouse. Maggie would never forgive him for embarrassing her in front of so
many people. And he’d never be able to look Luke and Devlin in the eye.

He’d been lucky to get a room in a hotel at this time of year. Otherwise he’d have had to bunk down in the office. He’d have a nice lie-in in the morning, he decided. There was
no point in going home early. The Al Shariffs would have to collect the kids and their luggage. He certainly didn’t want to have to meet Sulaiman again. The man would kill him.

Terry felt a stab of shame. Suly was a nice man. It was a pity he’d discovered them. If he hadn’t, there’d be no harm done.

Alma had been truly pissed to say the things she’d said. It was an awful thing to do. To take a man’s pride away like that. ‘Limp dick’. What a slur!

Poor Suly. It was a shame for him. He probably knew full well what he was missing. Alma was a real goer in the sack. Terry sighed. He wasn’t at all sorry that he’d had the
experience. He was just sorry he’d been caught.

Alma Al Shariff snored noisily on Janice Sullivan’s guest bed. She was as drunk as a skunk. The minute the fresh air had hit her when she’d left Devlin’s
apartment all she wanted to do was sleep. She’d fallen asleep as soon as she lay down on the bed, wrapped in Janice’s quilted dressing-gown. Her sleep was dreamless and untroubled.

Sulaiman Al Shariff cried his eyes out in the Madigans’ guest-room. Curled up in a ball in the bed, he dug his fists in his eyes and wept brokenheartedly. He had failed
his wife. She had shamed him. When they got back to Saudi from America he was going to divorce her and take the kids to Pakistan. His mother and sister could rear them. Alma was not a fit mother.
She would pay the penalty for her betrayal.

Devlin and Luke lay cuddled in each other’s arms in the silence of their apartment. The detritus of the party had been cleared away, the caterers and guests long
gone.

‘Poor Maggie,’ sighed Devlin. ‘It will be all over Dublin. Terry is such a selfish bastard.’

‘And Alma’s an almighty bitch. I know she was drunk, but to say those things to her husband in front of people was the lowest of the low.’ Luke tightened his arms around her.
‘That poor man was shattered. If I hadn’t held him back he would have killed one or other of them.’

‘Just as well you’re good and fit,’ Devlin murmured, resting her cheek against his chest.

‘It took me all my strength. Sulaiman’s no lightweight,’ Luke said ruefully.

‘It was very kind of Andy and Mary to take him home. And Janice certainly took no nonsense from Alma. Did you see the way she frogmarched her out to the lift?’ Devlin giggled.

‘Janice is a good egg,’ Luke smiled. ‘She said to me when she was going, “Luke darling, you throw a great party. I’ll never be able to outdo it.”’

‘I wonder where will they go? They’ll hardly get flights on standby at this time of the year.’

‘Well, they can’t stay at Maggie’s, that’s for sure.’ Luke yawned. ‘Go to sleep, wife. I don’t know about you but I’m beat. It was a long
day.’

Devlin lay in his arms and listened to his low rumbling snores. She could never conceive of Luke betraying her the way Terry had betrayed Maggie.

It was horrible watching her friend’s marriage disintegrating. This had been a dreadful year for her two best friends. At least it was nearly over. Maybe things would change for both of
them now that, through strange quirks of fate, they were free to move on.

‘Maggie, where’s Mommy and Dad? And why is all our luggage in the hall?’ Noori came scooting downstairs looking extremely perplexed.

‘Come and have your breakfast, Noori. You have to leave today. Your parents will collect you.’ Maggie pulled out a chair at the kitchen table.

‘But I don’t want to leave. I want—’

‘Eat,’ Maggie ordered, putting a bowl of cornflakes in front of her young guest.

‘But—’

‘Not another word.’ Maggie’s tone was so grim Noori gulped and began to eat.

‘Ah, Mrs Ling,’ Maggie greeted the maid. ‘There’s been a change of plans and you’ll be leaving today, if you want to go upstairs and pack after you’ve had
breakfast.’

‘Very well, ma’am.’ Mrs Ling sat down and calmly buttered some toast. Hers was never to reason why. If her employers wanted to go to Timbuktu she would simply pack her red
tartan case and go. While Mrs Ling and the children were having breakfast, Maggie went into the sitting-room and dialled the Little Chef Motel in Swords. They had two rooms available so she booked
them provisionally.

Then she rang the Madigans and asked to speak to Sulaiman. He was very subdued.

‘Sulaiman, I’ve booked two rooms in the Little Chef Motel in Swords. They accommodate five people each. It’s near the airport if you want to try for an earlier flight to the
States. Or you can try yourself for hotel rooms. You might have trouble getting them so near to Christmas. I have all your luggage packed. And the children will be ready and waiting.’

‘I’m very sorry about all this, Maggie,’ he said miserably. ‘You are in the same boat that I’m in.’

‘I know, Suly. We just have to get on with it. I’m sorry that you can’t finish your stay here.’

‘That would be out of the question, of course. Do you know where my wife is?’

‘You can call her at this number.’ Maggie read out Janice’s number and repeated it for him to write down.

‘I’ll call a taxi and I’ll be there within the next hour,’ Sulaiman said heavily. ‘Thank you, Maggie. Again my apologies.’

‘It’s not your fault, Suly. Goodbye,’ Maggie said sadly and hung up.

Alma groaned as Janice shook her awake. Her head felt as if it were going to explode. Her tongue felt two sizes too large for her mouth, which tasted like sawdust.

‘Your husband phoned. He’s collecting the children, Mrs Ling and your luggage from Maggie’s. He wants you to take a taxi and meet him at the Little Chef Motel in Swords.
It’s close to the airport,’ Janice added helpfully.

‘I know where Swords is.’ Alma ran her tongue around her teeth and nearly gagged. ‘What does he want me to go there for? Why is he collecting the children and our luggage? What
am I doing here?’

‘Don’t you remember last night? Er . . . you and Terry,’ Janice said delicately.

‘Oh my God.’ Hazy memories floated back. Alma put her head in her hands. ‘Oh God.’ She looked at Janice. ‘I guess Maggie won’t ever speak to me
again.’

‘I guess not,’ Janice agreed dryly.

‘Could you remind me of the worst thing I did?’ Alma asked heavily.

‘Well, you and Terry were . . . um . . . doing it and Sulaiman and Maggie caught you. And then you cast some rather uncomplimentary aspersions on Sulaiman’s . . . er . . .
manhood.’

Alma drew a deep breath and winced. ‘What was the worst thing I said?’

Janice cleared her throat. ‘I . . . er . . . think you made some reference to his “limp dick”.’ Janice’s tone was matter-of-fact.

Alma paled. ‘Oh!’ she whispered. ‘In front of everyone?’

‘In front of everyone,’ Janice corroborated.

‘He’ll never forgive me for that,’ Alma murmured.

‘Possibly not,’ Janice said cheerfully. ‘Would you like a fry for breakfast?’

Forty-five minutes after his phone call, Sulaiman arrived to collect his family and their luggage. ‘Mrs Ling, take the children to the car, please,’ he ordered. Ali
and Noori were subdued when they heard their father’s tone. They followed the maid to the taxi, heads down. They knew something was up.

‘We’re going directly to the motel. Alma is taking a taxi from Janice’s, she’ll meet us there. That’s all I know. I’m sorry, Maggie.’ Tears darkened his
eyes. Maggie threw her arms around him, distressed for him.

‘She was drunk, Suly, she didn’t mean it.’

‘Oh yes she did, Maggie. Yes indeed she did. If it wasn’t Terry it would have been someone else. I’m going to divorce her and let her go find what I can’t give her. I
can’t forgive the hurt and shame she’s brought me. Every time I look at her, I’ll remember. I can’t live like that.’