Page 57 of A Merry Little Christmas

Yvonna pursed her lips. ‘I used to hate his long hours, especially when my friends were all going out with their husbands, and I was sitting at home watching TV alone.’

Except when she was having an affair with Olek’s friend, thought Nell.

‘Well, have a nice evening tonight with Viktor,’ she said, preparing to wrap up the conversation.

‘I will, Viktor is always here. The good thing about being a baker is that he finishes early; he is always home in the evenings, ready for an early night.’

‘So no going out with this husband either then,’ Nell pointed out slyly.

‘Not anymore, we’re past that now,’ said Yvonna with a sniff. ‘Back in the early days, we were party animals.’

‘That must have been a challenge when Max was so young.’ Poor Max, Nell thought, imagining him as a little boy, bewildered by the replacement of his quiet, mild-mannered father with Viktor, the jolly baker.

Two pink spots appeared on the other woman’s face. ‘I meant while Max was with Olek. One of the best benefits of splitting up from a good dad is that you’ve always got a willing babysitter.’

The nerve of the woman, thought Nell indignantly. She seemed proud of the fact that by splitting from her husband, she’d got such a good babysitter for Max.

Olek had caught them red-handed, and Yvonna had never admitted how long their affair had been going on. But Nell wanted to know. Because if Viktor was around at the time Max was conceived, then the chances were that they were father and son.

She really wanted to find out. Yvonna had just said she owed her one, but this was a biggie. On the other hand, when else would she get an opportunity like this, just the two of them?

‘Yvonna, can I ask …’ She hesitated, watching as Yvonna leaned in, her gaze intense. What the hell was she thinking? Of course she couldn’t ask. ‘No, no, it’s nothing, forget it.’

Nell gave the other woman a tight smile and retreated into her car.

‘What? Go on, you can’t leave it there,’ Yvonna probed. ‘I’ll be thinking about it all night. I hate mysteries.’

Nell wavered. Her heart was knocking against her ribs. This was not one of her best ideas. And what if it got back to Olek?

‘Nell.’ Yvonna folded her arms. ‘Out with it, what do you want to know?’

‘OK, hold on.’ Nell couldn’t do this sitting down with the other woman looming over her. She got out and faced Yvonna directly, eyeball to eyeball. ‘You said you owed me one.’

Yvonna’s eyes narrowed. ‘It was a figure of speech, but carry on.’

The night air was freezing, and their breath swirled mistily in front of their faces. Nell didn’t like conflict, she was the good-natured one. Olek sometimes joked that he couldn’t have married two more different woman.

‘This must never reach Olek.’ She looked back at the house to check that no one was in earshot.

‘Well, well, well.’ Yvonna smirked. ‘I’d never have had you down as someone to keep secrets from your husband. But yeah, sure, if you want.’

You don’t know the half of it, thought Nell. The list of lies she’d told him was getting longer by the day.

‘Olek and I had some tests.’ This was a dangerous game she was playing; she licked her dry lips. ‘At a fertility clinic.’

Yvonna’s gaze intensified. ‘Oh? You’re having problems? Sorry to hear that. Although, at Olek’s age, I’d be surprised he wants to go through the baby years again; I certainly wouldn’t.’

‘Unfortunately, we might not be. It turns out that he can’t …’ She licked her dry lips. ‘Look, the thing is, I wondered if … Oh God.’ Nell pressed her hands to her face. ‘What am I doing?’

‘No idea,’ Yvonna scoffed. ‘But I’m freezing out here, so spit it out, or let me go in and get on with the rest of my evening.’

The audacity of the woman. She’d had an uninterrupted evening so far, thanks to Nell, who’d come out of her way to drop off Max and still had to go back to the shop to finish tidying up. Nell felt her anger bubble up and spill over.

‘OK, fine. Is Max … I mean, was there any doubt that Olek …?’ she blurted. Even as her words came spilling out, regrets started to smother them. ‘Actually, forget I said that. Please. Ignore me. It’s been a long and stressful day and I’m tired.’

The colour drained from Yvonna’s face, and her eyes were wide with shock. ‘Are you insinuating that Olek might not be Max’s dad?’ Yvonna drew herself up ramrod straight and tilted her chin at Nell.

‘I didn’t say that. I didn’t finish my sentence.’ Nell stared at her, but Yvonna could scarcely meet her eye, guilt etched into every line on her face. ‘Interesting that you assumed that was what I was going to say.’