Short story: A daughter’s deception

She had a loving husband and an adorable child – but was her beloved Tara about to throw it all away?

ÔYou look lovely, Tara,’ smiled Janet, watching her daughter’s third attempt at putting her eyeliner on neatly. ‘Are you OK, darling? You seem a bit on edge?’

‘I’m fine, Mum,’ replied Tara, trying to keep a steady hand.

‘Mmm, all right.’ But Janet wasn’t so sure. Tara definitely appeared to be a bit uneasy about something.

‘Thanks for coming over, Mum. I’ll be home around three.’

‘That’s fine, have a lovely lunch. Is Carrie napping?’

‘Yes, I’ve left everything out that you need, she’ll be awake soon.’

‘Oh, that’s good,’ returned Janet, who was looking forward to spending some time with her granddaughter.

Tara glanced at her watch and dabbed a little Chanel No 5 on to her wrists. Janet took her daughter’s hand and breathed in the perfume.

‘My favourite…’ Then, searching her face, as only a mother can, she spoke quietly, still perturbed with Tara’s mood. ‘Are you sure you’re OK, darling?’ ‘Yes, Mum, I am sure,’ replied Tara, a little impatiently.

‘Is Marie picking you up? It is Marie you’re meeting?’ Janet hadn’t met this particular friend of her daughter’s.

‘She offered to pick me up, but I said I’d take the bus into town.’

‘Oh well, never mind. Once you pass your driving test, you’ll be able to get yourself around.’

‘Don’t remind me – I’m losing count of how many times I’ve failed.’

‘Anyway, have a lovely lunch with Marie. It’ll do you good to have a break.’

Janet smiled at her daughter, impressed – if a bit surprised – that she had made such an effort for a girls’ lunch date.

‘See you later, Mum. I’ll give you a call when I’m on my way home.’

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Janet watched her daughter sweep down the garden path, her long blonde hair swinging around her shoulders. She had chosen a flowing floral dress pinched in at the waist. Being her mum, Janet was obviously biased, but there was no denying Tara was stunning. The sun was shining and a lunch date with a friend was what she deserved. Tara was a great mother and loving wife, and, equally, her husband, Simon, was a good man. Tara had settled down to marriage and motherhood surprisingly easily, Janet reminisced, remembering that she had never been short of boyfriends, but Simon was her man from the moment they met.

Janet was reading Carrie a pop-up book when a shrill ringing came from behind the cushion. ‘What’s that?’ Janet exclaimed, making Carrie giggle as she scrabbled for the phone. ‘Oh! Mummy’s phone. Silly Mummy’s forgotten it!’

Janet looked at the screen. The name ‘Marie’ was showing. ‘That’s strange,’ she thought, swiping the screen to answer the call. ‘She’s with Marie.’

Hoping nothing bad had happened, but guessing it was probably Tara using Marie’s phone to check she had left hers behind, Janet tapped to answer it. But it wasn’t Tara at all. Marie steamed in, ‘Hi, Tara, how are you? It’s been ages…’

Janet froze, her heart pounding. Where was her daughter?

‘This is her mum,’ she managed to say. ‘I’m babysitting, she left her phone behind.’

‘Oh, no worries. Never mind. I’ll catch her another time.’

Janet’s mouth turned dry, as she struggled with her words, ‘I thought you and Tara were having lunch today?’

‘No, not today. I haven’t seen her for a while…’

‘I’ve obviously got it wrong,’ replied Janet, her hand beginning to shake as she and Marie politely ended the call.

The shock of Tara lying to her was a stark realisation, and a tight knot formed in her stomach. What was going on in her daughter’s life that had forced her to invent a lunch date with a girlfriend, to fob her mother off? She had never known Tara to lie to her, and it hurt. Taking deep breaths and trying to pull herself together, Janet decided that there had to be some sort of forgivable explanation.

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Tara must have another friend called Marie. The mobile still in her hand, she stared at it for a few seconds and, as though her fingers had completely disengaged with her brain, she began to scroll through Tara’s list of contacts.

There wasn’t another ‘Marie’. Janet recognised many, though not all, of the

A tide of guilt swept over her

names, both male and female on the list. But then one seemed to leap out at her – Jason, probably because he had just called this morning.

She looked further. In fact, Jason had called Tara quite a few times over the past couple of weeks. But she could see no texts to or from him.

A tide of guilt swept over her. What was she doing, scrutinising her daughter’s phone like this? Hadn’t Tara heard of security passwords and the like, thought Janet, trying to justify her actions.

Who was Jason? Was he her lunch date today? And what was the Chanel No 5 all about?

Janet recalled Tara’s earlier uneasiness. She definitely hadn’t been herself. What was she up to? Her head held a kaleidoscope of images for that brief moment. Her beautiful daughter, surrounded by a myriad of past boyfriends… and among them was a Jason. He was some part of her daughter’s life. Someone, possibly, that Tara was now lying about.

Janet was on the brink of phoning this man, but she knew doing that would be unforgivable.

Her mind in turmoil, she tried not to imagine Tara with any man other than Simon. She had to take hold.

Janet had always prided herself on being a calm and rational woman, always ready to help, to dish out advice. And she’d done that many a time with Tara over the years. But now her daughter had lied to her for some reason, which came as a shock, a feeling Janet didn’t care for one bit. They had always been so close. If she was seeing this Jason, then Tara needed to be brought back to her senses, before she wrecked her marriage. It was a tragedy if she was cheating on Simon. They always seemed so happy.

She would confront her the moment she came home – whether Tara thought her interfering or not.

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The mobile rang again. Simon’s name appeared on the screen. Settling Carrie on her knee, she answered the call.

‘Hello, it’s Janet. Tara left her phone behind.’

‘Behind? Where is she? Where are you, for that matter?’ he asked brightly. ‘I’m at yours looking after Carrie. Tara’s just popped out.’

‘OK, just ringing to say I’m leaving work early. I’ll be home about three. Hope you’re not rushing off?’

‘Oh, I expect I’ll still be here,’ replied Janet. Her heart went out to Simon. She would have to act quickly to speak to Tara, but if Simon arrived home first, she was done for.

So it was a huge relief, a little while later, when she spotted Tara walking up the pathway. Letting herself in, she breezed into the lounge beaming and headed straight for her baby. ‘Have you been a good girl for Granny?’ Carrie grinned widely at her mother. ‘How was lunch? How was Marie?’ asked Janet, hearing the tension in her own voice.

‘Both great,’ Tara replied, not taking her eyes off the baby.

Janet’s heart sank. Tara was still lying to her, unable to look her in the eye, she thought sadly. ‘I couldn’t phone, I left my mobile…’ ‘Yes, it’s here,’ Janet said, unable to read any hint of deception on her daughter’s face. Janet felt like she was having a bad dream, having to ask her daughter why she had lied to her, and, at the same time, dreading the answer. But she knew in her heart, whatever the outcome, she would have to support her daughter in whatever way was needed.

‘Tara, love, I don’t mean to…’ But just then Carrie squealed with delight as her father walked into the room.

‘We didn’t hear you come in,’ said Tara, before turning back to her mother, ‘Sorry, Mum, what were you going to say?’

‘Er, only that Simon had phoned,’ Janet said, desperately wanting to talk to Tara, to remind her what was at risk.

‘Mmm, you smell good,’ said Simon, hugging his wife, before sitting down.

‘Thanks for coming over to look after this one,’ he said cheerfully, as he eyed his gurgling baby daughter.

Tara remained standing, seemingly taking centre stage. Janet sensed an announcement was coming. Tears pricked her eyes.

‘I wanted us all to be together before I told you this,’ said Tara. ‘I’ve just spent some time with a very important man.’

Oh no, don’t do it, Tara, don’t wreck your lives. Janet felt numb, but couldn’t stop what was coming next.

Tara shifted from one foot to the other. Her cheeks were flushed. She pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, then took a huge breath… ‘I’ve only gone and done it!’ Janet winced – we don’t want to know… Simon frowned curiously at his wife. Janet felt so sorry for him. He didn’t deserve this.

‘Passed my driving test!’ Tara yelled, punching the air and breaking into a happy little dance.

Tara’s words reverberated in Janet’s ears, throwing her into a daze. She wanted to shake and hug Tara all at the same time.

Nonetheless, she welcomed the feeling of relief seeping through every vein in her body.

‘Mum, I’m sorry I fibbed about meeting Marie. I really did want to keep this ordeal a secret. I’ve tried and failed so often!’

‘Jason said you’d do it!’ exclaimed Simon, leaping from the sofa to hug his wife. ‘Jason?’ asked Janet, lamely. ‘He’s my new driving instructor. I really wasn’t getting very far with the other one. Sorry I didn’t tell you about him either – but what you didn’t know, wasn’t going to hurt you.’

Janet groaned inwardly. If only you knew what you’ve put me through today.

But this moment was a joyous one. And, besides, a girl is allowed a secret, isn’t she?

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THE END

Christine Pinfold, 2021

It felt as if she was having a bad dream