Castles in the Sky

He became aware that the rest of the table was paying attention to the two of them and their conversation. He saw Louise get up and walk down, concern on her face.

'What's going on?'

Her mother turned around to face her. 'James has got concerns still about the sleeping arrangements. I don't think I'm explaining it well.'

'James?' Louise said facing him. 'What's up? I thought you wanted to go to my parents so you didn't have to sleep on the floor. Everyone's Okay with that.'

He took a deep breath, pulling himself together in a final push for sanity.

'Louise, I don't care about sleeping on the floor. But I find it wholly unacceptable that you're sleeping with someone other than me. That's not right.'

'What?' He could see the surprise on her face. 'I'm sharing a bed with Briony.'

'I know. Same as usual. I keep hearing that. Trouble is you're my wife and I'm here. I kind of expect you in bed with me and not her. We should be sharing a bed, not you and Briony.'

'It's for two nights, I didn't think you'd mind roughing it. Briony finds it hard to sleep on the air mattress and she didn't want to share a room with her brother and we normally share a bed when we're here, it's easier that way.'

'I do mind. I mind you being in bed with someone else.'

'Oh, stop being so damn silly. It's two nights. You're getting a proper bed, what more do you want?'

He looked at her, either she was being incredibly dense, he wasn't explaining himself or she was so fucking disrespectful that words couldn't describe it. He couldn't say anything. She was in full schoolteacher mode. He could see her stood in front of him with her arms folded, radiating her disapproval. This was her turf, her family, Briony's family, he was the outsider. Were these sleeping arrangements planned? Was this Briony's Christmas present? It felt like someone was sat on his chest, stopping him from breathing properly.

'James, you're clearly tired. You're falling asleep in the chair. It's been a long day for you, a long drive. Go and get a good night's sleep. Come back tomorrow and we can all enjoy Christmas together.'

He sat there. He looked down at his hands. He didn't trust himself to say anything. He didn't want to see the expressions on the other people's faces. He took a sip of his water; he could see his hand shaking as he lifted the glass up.

'Yeah.' He said, struggling to get the words out. 'It'll be different tomorrow.'

She nodded at him and walked back down to where she'd been sat, shaking her head as she walked. He took another sip. He knew what he was going to do, where he wanted to be.

'Are you alright, James?' Sybil asked. She could see he wasn't looking right.

'Yeah. Yeah, I will be. Thanks for the meal. I appreciate the food. It was delicious. I'm sorry if I ruined it for you at all.'

'Nonsense, you didn't ruin anything. This is a silly misunderstanding.'

He stood up from the table and fished his phone out of his pocket. He nodded at them and went and sat down where he had been before dinner. It took a few minutes to drop a text to Nita and book an Uber. He was in luck, there were drivers working in the area. He grinned at himself and changed his ringtone. He stood up, he could see everyone at the table, milling around, finishing their meals and in clearing the table. No-one was paying him any attention which suited him perfectly. Perhaps they thought he was sulking. He was past caring.

Louise was deep in conversation with Briony and her father. The three of them laughing without a care. He locked his phone and put it carefully down on the side. This phone was for his Letchworth life, he used a different phone in Manchester. He could leave this one here and not miss it. He looked at his keys, he wasn't going to drive. He was too tired for that. He should leave the keys. He shook his head and put them in his pocket. He walked out the room and to the loo. If he was going out into the cold, he wanted to empty his bladder first.

He didn't return to the living room. He looked around and made sure no-one else was about. He took his coat, picked up his travelling bag, leaving the presents behind and let himself out of the house. He deliberately made no noise and walked off down the drive, hearing the gravel crunch beneath his feet. He could feel the drizzle, the hint of rain in the air. He pulled his coat on as he walked away from the brightly lit house into the gloom of the night. He ducked his head deeper into the collar of his coat. He could feel the cold cooling him down. He moved quickly; he knew where he was heading. He got to the bus stop a minute or two before the Uber driver did. Looks like he was going to get his Christmas with the kids after all.

Chapter Seven -- I'll show you mine, if you show me yours.

In an anonymous industrial unit on Trafford Park, Manchester. At the end of play Friday, on the last day of the school Christmas holidays. There was a knock at her office door, Roland stuck his head in so he could see her.

'Nita, there's two birds here looking for James.'

Nita looked up from the computer screen. It was coming towards the end of a busy production week. They'd run the new range; she was glad she'd come in to babysit the team. She wondered if she was going to get lucky. Two women? No visitors were expected. She grinned.

'Can you show them in please?'

The head disappeared and a few minutes later, Roland showed two women into Nita's office. She stood up and greeted them. Asked them if they wanted a coffee or tea. Both shook their heads. She shut the office door.

'Louise, Briony, long time no see. Welcome to Manchester, welcome to Emerging Vapes. Sit down please. It's lovely to see you up here at last. We've been hoping to see you up here for years. You both look well.'

Louise and Briony sat awkwardly in the chairs. Nita sat herself the same side of the desk so that it wasn't between them. She didn't want to be a bitch or play any funny games with them.

Nita smiled 'How was the trip up?'

The two women looked at each other. Briony was the one that spoke.

'It wasn't too bad. Probably easier than we thought it'd be in terms of the drive, but to be honest we weren't sure where we were going or what we were going to find.'

'Well, this is it. Whilst you're here, would you like a look around? We're proud of what we've built here. It will score brownie points with Jamster, if you've seen what he's spent the last decade or so building.'

She could see that they didn't really want to. She got up, led them down to the warehouse and started the tour. She'd shown around suppliers and customers for years, so she had the whole spiel down pat. She talked about the accreditations they'd got, the prizes they'd won for their flavours. Walked them into the factory following the process flow. Explaining to them what they could see. The two women were caught by surprise.

'How big is this place?' Briony asked, looking down the length of the production hall.

'We produce over half a million units a day. There's twenty production lines and we run three shifts, twenty-four hours a day, five days a week. Impressive, isn't it?'

Louise nodded. 'I never expected anything like this. It's so clinical and organised, it looks more like a hospital than a factory.'

'Speaking as the Operations Director, thank you very much. That's the kind of in control image we try to put across.'

'Operations Director?' Briony asked.

Nita nodded. 'I'm a part owner now. Jumpy asked me to take a stake as a way of making me feel secure financially. I don't own a big stake, but it ties me closer to him and the business.'

'Why do you do that?' Briony interrupted.

'Do what?'

'Call James all those different names.'

Nita laughed. 'It's an old joke. When I first met him, he told me his name. Its quite a common name and I said as much to him. I can't remember exactly what I said but it was something along the lines of 'are all English guys called James?' and he told me to call him something different if it bothered me that much. So I do and the joke kind of stuck.'

Both of the women shook their heads. Nita smiled, she didn't care.

'How much do you do? I get the job title, but ...'

'I'm the Operations Director. I run the doing part of the business. Bond handles Sales, Marketing, and the financial side. We've got managers responsible for the different functions. We set the direction and try to deal with any big stuff. Last few years I've had a few breaks but I've stayed close to what was going on.'

'This is so much bigger than I thought it was.'

'We've done well. A lot of our competitors have folded over the years. We've got a diversified base and there's considerable scope for expansion.'

'All of this is just vaping?'

'Yup. Surprising how big it is. Isn't it? Most of this is export. Germany gets a lot from us. Italy, the Middle East.'

'You thought about doing anything else?'

'A lot of our competitors tried that. Went into food or cosmetics. Hell, CBD was very big for a while. Got their fingers burnt. We talk about it from time to time, but to be honest we've tried to stay true to who we are.'

She walked them around pointing out new machines and the different ranges. The two visitors were taken by the vivid smells of the facility. The quiet, controlled organisation. They asked questions as they walked around and were impressed with the quiet calm Nita showed in answering them.

Both could remember her from the renewal of the vows. She was strikingly good looking. She came across then as composed and capable. Nita walked them back to James's office. They stood inside and looked around. Louise walked around his desk and sat down in his chair, swivelling it around imagining how it must feel to him to work there. She looked at the desk and saw her photograph. It was her on a beach in a bikini. The photograph was from their second honeymoon. She picked it up, remembering the day it was taken.

Briony was looking at a picture on the wall. It was Louise and her with their parents in front of their house. She gestured her over and Louise came and took a closer look. There were a few other photographs on the wall, she went around them one by one. There was even one of Briony and Louise together from shortly after he started dating her.

'Jimminy misses you when he's up here.' Nita said quietly.

Louise gave her a searching look. They finished up and walked across to Nita's office. They sat back down.

'Where is James?' Briony asked.

'He's working from home today. Good thing for you guys.'

'Why?'

Nita grinned at their naivete.

'What're you planning on saying to him?'

Louise looked at Briony. Nita could see their awkwardness, their indecision. She gave them a minute and when they didn't respond, she did.

'You don't have to talk to me. I'm not his secretary.'

'Nita, I'm sorry, we've kind of started on the wrong foot. I'm out of my comfort zone and scared of what's going on.'

Nita reached over and patted Louise on her arm.

'I get it. I'm on your side, OK? Let me help. Now how's the conversation going to go?'

'To be honest, I'm not sure. I was hoping he'd be in touch. He hasn't rung or anything.'

Nita could see the strain on her face as she spoke.

'I didn't know what to do. I still don't. I'm up here hoping I can fix it.'

She took a deep breath before she continued. 'I was hoping inspiration would come to me. That when I saw him, I'd know what to say.'

Nita nodded a couple of times.

'That's what I mean about it being a good thing he isn't here. You guys need to have a real think about this conversation. I'd gently suggest this conversation is quite pivotal one for your relationship.'

'How is he?'

'Upset. Damn upset. You hurt him.'

'I promise you; it wasn't intentional.'

'Really? He thinks it was and the way he tells it, he tried not just with you but with your mums to point it out and got told to boil his head.'

'I didn't think how it must've appeared to him. But it was the most convenient way to fit everyone into the house. How else could we have done it?'

'I don't think Jammy sees it that way.'

'But we share a bed whenever we go to her parents. They have a three bedroom house. They have the master bedroom. Terry, her brother has a room which leaves the guest room. Their guest room is Briony's old bedroom. There's a double bed. It wasn't anything weird or unusual.'

She saw the sceptical look on Nita's face. It pulled her up short. She was getting a strong impression that the beautiful Indian woman wasn't afraid of speaking directly.

'What?'

'What do you want coming out of this conversation?'

'I want him back. I want to make things right again. I know I hurt him. I didn't think it was that big a deal, we were just sharing a bed. I want my husband back.'

'Okay. So, bullshitting him isn't going to work. And if you want my help, bullshitting me isn't either. That's goodwill from me, sharing that insight with you.'

She could see the look on shock on the women's faces. She kept her face impassive. She handled supplier negotiations for the company, these guys weren't in the same league. When James had arrived late on Christmas Eve, the girls had been in bed. Not knowing how fast Louise would turn up, the two of them had sat down and worked through the likely conversation, mapping out their strategy and anticipating the outcomes.

Normally nothing Letchworth intruded on their time. But due to what had happened, the normal rules were put to one side. They worked it through over a couple of glasses of Baileys. They were prepared. The two Letchworth ladies, by contrast, were like lambs to the proverbial butcher's knife.

'Why are we having this conversation with you? Where's James?' Briony demanded.

'Oh please, if you'd rather speak with Mr Houghton than me, be my guest. With your preparation and honesty, it'll be fine.'

'What do you mean?' Louise asked quietly.

'I mean you two haven't got a clue. You've not thought this through. Not thought what you want, what he wants. Nothing. You sit down with him now; he's going to ask tough questions. You've got no idea how to manage that conversation, those questions. He'll shred you and your marriage will be toast.'

The two women sat looking at her, shocked by her words. Nita saw them exchange glances. She shrugged.

'Good luck ladies. Let me know how it goes.'

It was Briony that spoke. 'We don't know where he is. This was the only way we could find him. We had to look the name of the company up. Can you tell us where to find him please. We can't even call him.'

'Strange that. She's married to him and you don't know where he spends half his life. Why is that? Don't you care about him when he's away? What is it, Louise? Out of sight, out of mind? Or is it that other things more important than your husband when he's away from you?'

Nita could see both ladies thinking.

'You called Louise out about the beds.'

Nita nodded encouragingly.

'You know something. Something about us. Something that made you think me and Lou sharing a bed at Christmas wasn't innocent.'

Nita arched a knowing eyebrow.

'You don't know us; we've only met once. The only way you'd think that was if you heard it from James. So, James doesn't think it was innocent.'

Nita gave her a clap. 'OK. See how a bit of preparation can cut some of the crap?'

Briony and Louise were silent. Nita saw them exchange glances but kept quiet. She wasn't going to make this easy for them.

Louise looked at Nita's left hand. Nita moved it away but wasn't quick enough.

'You've stopped wearing your wedding ring. I know you wore one before, I remember looking and seeing one there. It's what a married woman does when her husband works with someone as beautiful as you. James told me that you'd left your husband. I can't remember when that conversation was, I think after we redid our vows. I think, whilst we were away. I was asking him about you and I'm quite sure that he said that you and your husband were separated. Separated, not divorced.'

Nita nodded. 'Yep. We separated about six, seven years ago now.'

'Do you see him at all?'

'No. He's not part of my life.'

'Now there's no ring. Are you still married? James told me that due to your family circumstances, you couldn't divorce him.'

'Oh, I wanted to get rid of that waste of a sperm and an egg. But I didn't, more out of respect for my family's views about marriage than because of my feelings for that piece of shit.'

All the women smiled.

'But I divorced him about three or four years ago. I decided that he was a complication I didn't need. He had no value in my life.'

'So, you're single?' Briony asked, the curiosity in her voice apparent.

'Why? Are you interested?' Nita replied, giving her a wink. All three women laughed.

'I'm in a committed relationship. I don't want to get married. My first marriage ruined the institution for me. I'm happy. I'm in a loving relationship that I've built a family around.'

'Your family accept that?'

'My family didn't like it. They hated me getting a divorce, but they knew the marriage was over. The divorce was just finishing it up, an administrative ending. They didn't like what I have now. Didn't like it at all. They had a few choice comments to make. But sometimes families are different from man, woman, two children. There's a lot of space for relationships that work. They struggled initially with my choices; it was quite different to what they know. But in fairness, they've come round. They can see what I have works for me.'

'What do you think about my marriage?'

Nita stopped for a moment. She saw Briony's head spin around at the directness of the question, she was looking directly at Louise. Maybe there was something there.

'I think you've got a husband that loves you enormously and is a special man. I think you're incredibly lucky, both of you to have him in your lives. I think your marriage needs honest conversations and perhaps it'll survive. Do you want it to survive?' Nita returned her question with the same sharpness Louise had used.

'Definitely.'

There was silence in the room.

'Can you help me fix my marriage?' Louise asked in a small voice.

Nita nodded. 'It might not feel like it, but I'm on your side. And Jimmer's. I want your marriage to work. What you have is unusual, but it seems to mostly work for you both.'

Nita paused, thinking 'And for the other people in the relationship.'

Briony glanced at her quickly, a frown on her face. She was poised to speak but Louise continued.

'I made a mistake.'

'Yeah, you did. Going to fix it?'

Louise nodded.

Nita turned to Briony. 'What about you? Where do you stand on this?'

Briony looked down at the floor. 'That's a hard question to answer. I love my life how it is. I have everything I want, almost everything. I know you might not believe me, but I like James. He's a damn good man, a good husband. I don't want it to change, I'm scared what the change would be if it was to change. I don't think the change would be better for me than what I have now.'

Nita nodded slowly.

'When she discovered he'd gone, we all thought he'd gone to her parents. He was mardy from a long day and wanted to get his head down. No-one worried, he had a key. We were all drinking, having a good time.'

She paused briefly. Reached over and squeezed Louise's hand.

'We got a call from her parents when they got home. They noticed the house was how they'd left it and checked. James wasn't there. No note, no text, nothing. We tried ringing him, but he'd left his phone on the side. It rang and we could all hear Katy Perry singing 'I kissed a girl and I liked it'. Not exactly subtle.'

Nita laughed joyously; James hadn't shared that detail with her. Briony rolled her eyes.