Page 4 of Be More Octopus

'Are you expecting me to contribute? Seriously??' Em managed to fake a laugh.

'How am I going to afford that?' If Connor's voice got any higher only dogs would hear him.

'You should've thought of that before you started sticking your cock in another woman's orifices.' Em said as she walked over to the coffee table ready for her grand finale. 'But we all make mistakes. So I'm going to take pity on you and give you your engagement ring back. She casually threw the ring on to the table. 'Selling that should help you considerably.'

Connor shifted uncomfortably on the edge of the sofa, looking at the silver metal circle as it settled on the wooden surface.

While searching for all the wedding paperwork earlier, Em had found the receipt for her ring. It wasn't diamond and platinum as Connor had claimed, but silver and cubic zirconia, as fake as their relationship, it seemed. Selling it would probably get him enough cash to pay for one guest's meal if he was lucky.

She carefully set his phone down next to the ring.

'Goodbye, Connor. Have a lovely life with Astra. Forward my post to Dad's.'

He didn't say a word as she calmly picked up her shoulder bag and walked out without giving him a second glance.

CHAPTER FOUR

Em spent the twenty minute drive to her dad's mulling over her life with Connor while Lucy expertly navigated the Friday evening traffic. Had she missed any clues to his infidelity? Had he cheated on her with anyone else? She couldn't think of a single thing. Either she hadn't been paying enough attention, or he'd been an expert at covering his tracks.

'We're here.' Lucy's voice snapped Em out of her reverie as they pulled up on the drive behind a shiny new red sports car. Another example of her dad moving on with his life, whereas here Em was at the age of 29, returning to the house where she grew up. It felt like such a retrograde step.

Her dad appeared at the front door as soon as they got out of the car. 'Hello, love. Welcome home.'

He left the door open and disappeared into the kitchen, while Em and Lucy started unpacking the car.

Em dragged her large, battered suitcase over the familiar doorstep.

Lucy was already in the hall, clutching Em's big box of books. She seemed to be transfixed by something on the wall opposite her. Em followed her gaze to see what had grabbed her attention.

A massive canvas of a male nude, painted in lurid colours, dominated the end wall. It was a lot more eye-catching than the cheap print of Constable's The Hay Wain which had hung there for as long as Em could remember.

'I've got the kettle on, love,' her dad shouted from the kitchen.

'Thanks,' said Em half-heartedly, even more distracted by the painting than Lucy. It bore a disturbing resemblance to her father.

'Ah, you've spotted my new work of art,' her dad said, emerging from the kitchen.

'It would be difficult to miss it, Roger,' said Lucy.

'Strictly, it's not mine. It's Cynthia's, but she gave it to me to look after.' Cynthia was his new girlfriend. They had met a few months ago after he had decided to supplement his retirement pension with some life modelling. He'd proved popular with the ladies of the over-60s creativity class, his full head of hair and neat white teeth (nearly all his own) giving him a significant advantage over the other men in the room. But, judging by the picture, he had another asset as well.

'Did your father ever consider a career as a porn star?' Lucy whispered when Roger had returned to the kitchen to pour their tea.

Em sighed. 'I suppose I should be grateful that Cynthia's not a sculptor.'

'I don't know about that. At least you'd have had somewhere to hang your coat.'

Em screwed up her face. That image was even worse than the ones of Connor with Astra. 'I'm not sure that moving back home was such a good idea.'

'I told you, you should've stood your ground over the flat.'

'Have you got much more to bring in?' Em's dad was back, handing them two large steaming mugs of tea.

'No, this is pretty much it.' Em looked sadly at the small pile of bags and the box, all she'd got to show for living away from home for eight years.

Her dad started fidgeting with his signet ring, which usually meant he was about to impart some bad news. 'By the way, there's something I should've mentioned on the phone earlier. If you could go out for the night on the third Wednesday of every month, that would probably be for the best.'

Em looked at her father, puzzled.