Under His Influence

Mimi wanted to slap him, but she couldn’t. She didn’t want to walk into his embrace, but that was what she did, letting his arms both warm and dampen her simultaneously.

“This is serious, John,” she warned. “You are on probation with me. Any funny business and…”

“And what?”

“I’m out. Don’t let me down.”

“I won’t. You and me, we’re a team, Miranda. We are meant to be.”

“Stop that. None of that romantic stuff. It isn’t fair.”

“But I want you. And you want me.”

“You’re married.”

“Ah, yes. We need to sort that out, don’t we?” John sighed, took hold of the umbrella and held it over the pair of them. “Let’s go and talk to Anna.”

With his other arm slung across Mimi’s unprotesting shoulder, he walked her to the Tube station. Mimi knew that her world had changed, forever, in the time it had taken the rain clouds to gather over London.

Chapter Eleven

Anna put her hand over the receiver and turned to Liam anxiously.

“It’s John,” she said. “He’s out of hospital. He wants to meet me at home.”

Liam put down his pint and placed a hand on Anna’s forearm. “What do you want to do?”

Stupid, inappropriate music doodled out of the speakers above them, typical pub-lunch light pop/rock. It didn’t seem an adequate soundtrack to the pivotal moment of Liam’s life.

Don’t go back to him. Don’t give him another chance. Stay with me.

“I need to see him. We have to talk, Liam. You know we do.”

Liam sighed. It was true.

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“Don’t you have to go back to work in a few minutes?”

“That doesn’t matter. If you want me to come with you, I will.”

“I… No. It would make things awkward. He already thinks we’re having this ridiculous affair.” Anna laughed, as if to underline what a preposterous notion any liaison between her and Liam would be, and Liam’s heart shrivelled.

“Yeah. Maybe best to go alone. I’ll worry about you though. What if he goes crazy?”

“The hospital must think he’s okay, to let him out.”

“He wouldn’t be the first guy to walk straight out of hospital and into a mass-murder spree.”

“Thanks for that thought, Liam.”

“You’re welcome.” Liam took another glum chug of his beer.

Anna finished her lime and soda, contemplating the bottom of the glass.

“I owe it to this baby to try and make a life with its daddy,” she said in an attempt at apology. “If we can make it work. We have to try. And, you know, I love him so much. I want it to go back to the way it was. I’d do anything to have that back.”

“Yeah.” It was a whisper, and Anna almost didn’t catch it.