The Last Goodbye by Caroline Finnerty Page A

to have it newly designed for each exhibition to keep it all looking fresh.
After Charlie had gone, I started work on the press release while Nat made some calls to a few of the photographers to discuss some more of the details.
“Thanks again for Saturday night, Nat. We really enjoyed ourselves.’ That pork was amazing.” I wasn’t lying – we had enjoyed ourselves even with Will’s arrogance. Although I still didn’t approve of her relationship with him, I was tolerating it for her sake.
“Yeah, it was fun.”
“Did Will stay long afterwards?”
“No, he was up with the lark.”
“But how does his wife not hear him come in?”
“They’re in separate rooms – you know that! She doesn’t know what time he gets in at – once he’s there when she gets up in the morning, she doesn’t notice. I hate when he has to leave me though, to go back to his family. It’s getting harder every time. Just for once I wish we could just wake up together in the morning without him running home at some godforsaken hour in the middle of the night.”
“It goes with the territory, I suppose.”
“I know, Kate, I’m just saying, that’s all.”
I knew it sounded bitchy and I felt contrite then. We were only just getting back on track again after our last argument about Will. I knew that I needed to leave my judgmental side out of it but I couldn’t just stand back and watch her get hurt. I could see that she was falling deeper and deeper for him. And the truth was that after watching them together the night before, I couldn’t blame her. He was so attentive towards her, it was easy to see why she had fallen for him. It was obvious that he idolised her and he was affectionate, kind and considerate. The only problem was that he was also married.
“But you don’t have to put up with half a relationship, Nat.”
“It’s not ‘half a relationship’ – it may not fit into a stereotypical box but that doesn’t make what we have together any different from other couples.”
“Come on, Nat, you just said yourself you’re getting fed up of sharing him with his family. It’s only normal to want more.”
“Well, he can’t leave his wife because of the kids and, as someone who grew up in a broken home, I have to say that I respect that.”
“Well, at least he’s not filling you full of lies.”
“He’s not like that, Kate. We get on so well. He always says that if only we had met at another time, things could have been so different.”
I’m sure he was full of lots of romantic nonsense when it suited him. Nat was a sucker for things like that.
“So you’re happy to settle for being the other woman then?”
“For the moment, yeah. I’m happy to just be with him and whatever comes with that I’m willing to accept. It’s part and parcel of loving someone, for better or for worse.”
I didn’t say it but they were the same vows that he once would have made to his wife.

Chapter 11
The following Saturday evening Ben had arranged to meet the boys for drinks – it was his mate Thom’s stag party so it was going to be a wild one. I had persuaded Nat to call over and we were going to order a take-out. I heard the buzzer just after seven. I buzzed her in but, when I opened the door, I saw she wasn’t alone. Another woman was standing beside her.
“Hi, Kate – this is Gill.”
“Hi, I hope you don’t mind me crashing on your evening like this?” Gill smiled weakly at me.
“No, not at all, come in.”
We all went inside and Nat and Gill sat onto the sofa while I rooted in the drawers for the take-out menu.
“You don’t mind if we have a glass, do you, love?” Nat asked me, holding up a bottle of Pinot Noir.
“No, not at all – we can’t all abstain.” I would have given my right arm for a glass of the red stuff. I knew I could have a small one if I really wanted to but then I’d just want more so it was better to have none at all. “I’m going to drink a small river though when this baby is born.”
“Bet