Short story Second best

She loved no one but him – but would jealousy wreck what they had?

After she’d switched off her alarm clock, Anna let out a groan and wished she could just stay in bed for the rest of the day. She’d had such a dreadful night’s sleep. But she had loads to do, even though it was a Saturday, and she was going to have to talk to her husband Gavin to try and put things right between them.

He’d been so hurt the night before, he’d stormed out of their bedroom and gone off to sleep on the sofa. Now she was going to have to face him. She really didn’t know what she could say, though. The words she’d blurted out had really upset him, and he hadn’t believed her when she’d told him she loved him more than ever.

‘So why are you always talking about Paul?’ he’d demanded.

‘I’m not!’ she’d replied. ‘And I wasn’t talking about him a minute ago. Not really. It’s just that when I remembered that thing that happened in the restaurant in Copenhagen, I got muddled and only asked you if you remembered it because I thought it was you I’d been with.’

Gavin had glared at her. ‘But how could you have done, Anna? We’ve never been away together. Not even once.’

‘Yes, I know,’ she’d said slowly, trying to work out the best way to explain herself. ‘But when I saw the waiter on TV spilling wine down that woman’s dress, it reminded me that a similar thing had happened to me, and I just blurted out the first thing that came into my head.’ ‘Yeah, obviously,’ Gavin had growled. ‘But I didn’t mean to upset you. ‘Well, you did upset me. You made me feel second best.’

‘Second best?’

‘Yes.’ Gavin had run his fingers through his hair and let out a sigh. ‘You went to all sorts of places when you were with Paul and you’ve obviously got some amazing memories, but you never rave about the

‘I’M NOT THE ONE BEING RIDICULOUS’

things we’ve done together.’

‘I wasn’t raving!’ she’d insisted. ‘I just didn’t think. I remembered I was wearing a white dress and the stain never came out, so it was a complete disaster. For some stupid reason, I thought you were with me and we laughed about it.’

‘Yeah, well, we didn’t. And you were in a restaurant in Copenhagen. With Paul.’ ‘So?’ she’d cried. ‘You’ve got exes too!’ ‘But I don’t talk about them.’

‘And I don’t talk about Paul,’ she’d snapped. ‘Or at least not very often.

I just talk about the places we went sometimes because it was fun when we used to go travelling. We didn’t have any responsibilities, so we went all over the place, and I just…remember things.’ ‘With affection.’

‘No, I just remember things. It’s not a big deal. But I’ll do my best not to remember any more and I’ll think about every word I say before it comes out of my mouth in future.’

‘There’s no need to be ridiculous!’ he’d fired back angrily.

‘I’m not the one being ridiculous,’ she’d replied, glaring at him. ‘Paul doesn’t mean anything to me any more. I’m with you now and I want to be with you.’

‘So stop making me feel second best!’ he’d yelled.

‘I don’t, Gav!’ she’d replied as she’d watched him throw back the bedcovers and head down the stairs.

It had all got so heated, and she really didn’t know what she was going to say to make everything right. But she was going to have to say something or they’d probably never speak again.

*****

Gavin could be so stubborn sometimes, but she really did love him, and she’d never regretted marrying him. Not for an instant.

It had been hard after Paul had left her – she’d struggled to do her job and look after her daughter, and it had been like a dream come true when she’d met Gavin and his sons.

They’d all moved in together, so she’d been able to stop paying rent on her flat. Yet it had still been difficult financially and they hadn’t been able to go anywhere very much since they’d met.

Plus the children tied them down anyway. They were involved in so many activities, and Anna seemed to spend most of her time driving them around to various places. But she’d never regretted taking Gavin’s family on, and usually when she thought of Paul, she just remembered the bad times.

Paul had been horrified when she’d told him she was pregnant. As if she’d done it on purpose. He’d packed his bags and left within a few hours, and she’d given birth with her mother by her side.

Paul had never been in touch to find out if his child was OK, and she got angry whenever she thought of him, so she really couldn’t understand why Gavin felt second best.

He was so loving and gentle. She’d fallen in love with him as soon as she’d met him, and she hadn’t minded at all when he’d told her about his sons.

They were wonderful little boys and she’d always tried to look after them as their mother Beatrice would have, even though they’d disliked Anna at first. Beatrice had

died in a car accident, so the boys had grown even closer to their dad. They weren’t at all impressed when a new woman entered their lives, and they were even less impressed when Anna moved in with them.

They’d come round eventually, though, and Anna always felt happy when they all went out together as a family. They could only afford to go short distances, but simple days out at the park or the swimming pool were so much fun. And she often looked at Gavin and thought what a great father he was.

He loved his sons, and he’d grown to love her daughter Lily, too. Anybody watching them would have assumed she was his child.

They just looked like one big happy family – and most of the time they were.

Only, every now and then, Gavin spoiled everything by letting his jealousy get the better of him. He’d always been convinced Anna still had feelings for Paul, even though she’d told him time and time again that she and Paul would never have lasted. Before she fell pregnant, they had argued all the time.

OK, so Paul had been her first love and at first she’d been obsessed with him. But she’d realised early on that he only ever thought of himself.

He’d been horrified when she’d mentioned marriage once, so she’d had to pretend she’d only been joking. And she’d always played down how she felt about him because he’d told her right from the start he never wanted to be tied down.

Paul had insisted he was a free spirit, so it wasn’t really surprising he’d done a runner because of the baby. She’d known as soon as he’d gone that she was better off without him, although she’d cried her eyes out for hours on end.

The thought of caring for a baby on her own had been scary, and she didn’t think she would have coped if it hadn’t been for her mother’s help – especially as Lily had looked just like her father from the moment she’d been born.

Memories had played in Anna’s mind whenever she’d looked at her little girl for the first few months, and she’d struggled to get through each day. But then she’d realised she loved her baby more than she’d ever loved Paul, and things slowly grew easier.

Then she’d met Gavin, and he was different from Paul in so many ways – caring, attentive, loving…

When Gavin had first shown her a photo of Beatrice, she’d been a little taken aback. She was stunningly beautiful. For a moment, Anna had felt like second best herself.

But it was as if Gavin had read her thoughts. Looking deep into her eyes, he had taken her into his arms and kissed her tenderly. She knew then that he truly loved her.

Now, she needed to do make him feel the same way.

*****

Getting out of bed, she threw on her dressing gown and headed downstairs.

‘I had a thought,’ she announced opening the door to the living room.

‘A thought?’ Gavin repeated groggily, sitting up on the sofa, his eyes half-closed with sleep. ‘What was it? Are you thinking of leaving me?’

Anna smiled. ‘No, of course not.’ ‘Well, I wouldn’t blame you,’ Gavin said. ‘I’m an idiot.’

‘Yeah, but you’re a lovable idiot,’ Anna replied. ‘I was just wondering if Mum would look after the kids for a weekend.’ Gavin frowned. ‘Why?’

‘So we could go away,’ she explained as she walked across the room and sat down beside him. ‘I’m sure the kids are old enough to cope without us now.’

‘Yes, they are.’ Gavin smiled. ‘And our finances are better than they were so we could probably afford to go somewhere nice. Where do you fancy?’

Anna shrugged and decided she’d better not mention anywhere she’d been with Paul. ‘I don’t know. Where would you like to go?’

‘Well, I’ve always wanted to see Copenhagen,’ Gavin admitted quietly. ‘It looks beautiful.’

‘OK,’ Anna said, as it dawned on her that Gavin had been jealous about the amount of travelling she’d done as well as her relationship with Paul.

‘But you’ve been there before, so I’d understand if…’ Gavin went on.

‘No, Copenhagen sounds good,’ Anna interrupted, thinking how great it would be to make some new memories with Gavin. ‘I’ll show you Tivoli Gardens and…’

‘And we can go out for some meals!’ Gavin’s eyes danced with excitement. ‘You’d better not wear a white dress, though, if you’re drinking red wine.’

Anna grinned. ‘No. I’d better not. And I haven’t got one now anyway. Three kids and a white dress. Can you imagine?’

Gavin laughed. ‘It would be a disaster, wouldn’t it?’

‘Yes, but our weekend’s going to be brilliant,’ Anna said before she took him in her arms and kissed him softly. ‘We’re going to have the best time ever, Gav, and I’m going to prove to you once and for all – you’re far from second best. You’re the only man for me.’

THE END