Page 7

‘No, wait,’ the man says suddenly. ‘You stay here and hide. I’ll try and get her to leave without her seeing you.’

That doesn’t sound like it could work, but they are going to try anyway, and I see the man’s feet touch down on the carpet inches from my face a second later.

As he frantically picks up his clothes and scrambles to get dressed, I can hear more movement on the mattress and figure the woman is doing her best to cover herself with the duvet so that she won’t be seen if anyone else comes in here.

At least she isn’t trying to hide under the bed.

That space is already occupied.

The man seems to be mostly dressed now because I watch his feet as they head for the bedroom door, and he’s obviously hoping to get into the hallway before his wife makes it to the top of the stairs. If she doesn’t see him leaving this bedroom, she might not suspect he has a woman in here, but that is probably wishful thinking and a second later, I get confirmation of that thought.

‘What are you doing in there?’ the woman cries from outside the bedroom, and she has obviously caught her husband leaving their son’s room.

‘Maggie? What are you doing home?’ he asks his wife, sounding surprised and using what little acting ability he possesses.

‘Where is she?’ Maggie snaps back.

‘Who?’

‘You know who? The woman you’ve been cheating on me with!’

If this feels nervy for me to listen to, I can only imagine what it feels like for the woman currently hiding in the bed I’m under.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ the cheating man replies, but it’s the most blatant lie I’ve ever heard, and I’m not the only one who thinks that.

‘You’re a lying, cheating rat and I am going to make you pay,’ Maggie cries. ‘Is she in there with you? Is she in our son’s bedroom?’

‘No!’ he cries, but a moment later, a pair of women’s shoes become visible, and it tells me that Maggie has just entered the bedroom.

The bedroom where two people are currently hiding.

But will either of us be found?

‘Maggie, please. Just calm down and listen to me,’ the man tries. ‘I’m not cheating on you, I swear.’

The woman’s shoes get closer to the bed.

I hold my breath.

I imagine the mistress on the mattress is doing the same.

‘If you’ve got nothing to hide, you won’t mind me taking a look under here, will you?’ Maggie says before I fear that she is about to look under the bed. If she does, she’ll see me and the items I have in my backpack will never make it out of here.

But then I realise Maggie wasn’t referring to looking under the bed.

‘You bitch!’ Maggie cries before I see the duvet fall to the floor by her feet.

She was referring to looking under the duvet instead, and now that she has, she has found the woman with whom her husband has been betraying her.

‘Please, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know he was married!’ the mistress tries frantically, and that blatant lie quickly supersedes the one that the man told a few moments ago.

‘You expect me to believe that?’ Maggie snaps back. ‘You must have passed about five photos of me and my husband on your way into this bedroom!’

That is a good point and one that the mistress surely can’t defeat.

‘Maggie, this isn’t what it looks like,’ the man tries before I hear a loud slapping sound.

I guess Maggie just slapped her husband. I don’t need to guess if he deserved it.