Maddie asked Jade to show her photos of Ben and she took her time scrolling through – Ben playing with the toys Maddie had noticed earlier; his face covered in tomato ketchup with a McDonalds Happy Meal in front of him; another of him splashing in a puddle wearing bright green wellies. Looking around the lounge, there was only one photo on show in a frame – Jade and Ben smiling into the camera behind a birthday cake marked with three candles.
One photo popped up on Jade’s phone of a tiny baby Ben held in the arms of a tall, dark-haired man. ‘Is that Ben’s dad?’ Maddie asked.
Jade hesitated and looked away.
‘Don’t worry, you don’t have to tell me,’ Maddie added hastily.
‘No, it’s fine. It’s just… Yes, that’s Mark. We’re not together now.’ She picked at a small hole in her T-shirt. ‘We split up before I was pregnant, but then one drunken night a couple of months later and bam!’ Jade explained conception like it was nothing. Like it was the easiest thing in the world. Maddie supposed for most people it was.
‘Mark got a really good job on the oil rigs and moved up north. He was making proper good money. I texted him to tell him I was pregnant and sent him photos and stuff. He sees Ben as much as he can and he’s always been good with paying child maintenance, which is great.’
Maddie couldn’t imagine having that kind of removed relationship with her own child. ‘Doesn’t he mind not being more involved? Missing so much of Ben growing up?’
‘No, not really. He has a new girlfriend and she’s pregnant now, so…’ Jade shrugged. ‘Actually, he’s talking about moving closer to here now. I’m not sure if I want that though. It works like it is now. He gets time with Ben and I get time away on my own. It would be too… complicated if he lived closer.’ Jade’s face looked tight and pinched as she spoke.
‘It can’t be easy for you raising Ben on your own,’ Maddie said gently.
Jade ignored her and they watched TV in silence, the atmosphere dampened.
After a while, Jade lurched to her feet and headed into the kitchen, returning with the chocolates and more wine. Maddie’s head was starting to thud, a sign of what tomorrow would be like, but she wanted to resurrect the atmosphere of earlier, didn’t want to leave on a flat note.
Until they had mentioned Ben’s dad, she had been enjoying herself. Men always knew how to ruin things. Jade had a brittle sense of humour that had had Maddie in fits of giggles all night. Her tongue was so sharp it could clip a hedge and she was quick to share her strong opinions on most things, like she had a childish need to show off for her new friend. Maddie decided one more glass wouldn’t hurt. The damage was probably already done anyway and it wasn’t like she had anything to do tomorrow.
‘Tell me about Greg,’ Jade said. ‘A bit of a sugar daddy, is he? He certainly buys you lots of nice stuff.’ Her eyes were greedy with delight.
Maddie shuffled uncomfortably. ‘It’s complicated, but he is still very much a part of my life.’
‘Really? So it’s a friendly divorce. Are you just being nice to keep the maintenance cheques coming?’ She grinned and winked.
‘No! We’re… friends. He’s been my best friend for so long – and we’re not actually divorced yet.’
‘Riiiight…’
‘It’s complicated.’
‘So you said. So are you going to divorce him? Holding out for a good settlement, I hope?’
‘I haven’t really thought about it. I guess I need to get a lawyer at some point, but for now we are just ticking along. He still lives in our house. It’s not far from here.’ Jade’s mouth gaped open and Maddie felt the need to defend herself. ‘But he bought the flat for me and he pays me my salary like before, even though I’m not working right now. He’s held my job for me if I want it, says I can work from home instead of the office, because it would be awkward.’
‘For you or him?’
‘For both of us. And his girlfriend, who was his PA before everything, so…’
‘Oh my God! This just gets better.’
Why was Maddie telling her all this?
‘They have a baby together, little Jemima.’
‘So basically, you’re stringing him along, milking him for money while he plays happy families in your house?’ Jade sounded almost envious.
‘I’ve said I’ll get a new job and I think the arrangement will change when we finally get divorced and they get married, if they get married… It’s funny, but if he died now, I would get everything because I’m still married to him and I’m a partner in the business. He’s actually worth more dead than alive.’ The thought had come from nowhere and she suddenly found it amusing. She wondered if Gemma knew that. In her inebriation, it was quite a delicious concept. She smiled into her glass. Then just as quickly, a wave of hurt nipped at her, demanding to be let in.
‘Well, I say string him along for as long as you can. Divorces are expensive,’ Jade said.
‘I think she is pushing to get married, so I’m sure he’ll ask for a divorce soon enough and things will change.’
‘Yeah, I think I might have similar problems.’ Jade slurped at her wine and fidgeted. ‘God, I need a cigarette, but I’m trying to stop smoking. Do you vape?’
Maddie was feeling very drunk, but Jade now looked sober and alert, her eyes darting around and her words crisp, unlike Maddie’s rounded, slurred diction. Jade suddenly sat forward, causing Maddie to slop some of the wine over the rim of her glass.
‘You know, we should work together, make a pact,’ Jade said excitedly.
‘Oh?’ Maddie’s attention was diverted by one of her favourite episodes of Friends starting on the TV. She was glad of the distraction, didn’t want to talk about Greg and Gemma and money anymore. ‘Oh, this is my favourite episode – Monica’s hair!’ She giggled.
‘If our respective fellas try to change our agreements, we should team up. Do something to help each other out. I don’t want to be out of pocket over their mistakes with their dicks.’
‘Sure,’ Maddie said, her eyes on the TV. ‘Like what? Kidnap them and rough them up until they agree to carry on paying up?’ Maddie laughed giddily at the absurd thought of her trying to rough anyone up. Jade, on the other hand, could probably hold her own.
Jade was watching Maddie earnestly. ‘Maybe… have you ever thought about the perfect murder? How to get away with it?’
‘Can’t say I think about murdering people very often. Well, apart from Greg…’ She giggled again.
Jade stared into her glass. ‘Ben is in Mark’s will. Mark told me that once. He earned a lot on the rigs and if he died, it would go to me for Ben until he is old enough. Especially if his other kid hasn’t been born yet.’
Maddie watched Jade as she chewed on her lip, thinking it over, and chuckled. ‘Look at you, the devious criminal mastermind! Well then, you’ve got it all sorted. Now we just have to figure out how to kill them and get away with it.’ Maddie wrung her hands together like a Bond villain, playing along with Jade. ‘Maybe a sharp shove off a cliff? A poisoned vindaloo? I tell you what, if you kill mine, I’ll kill yours.’