Half truths and Alliances

Straight off it became apparent that some investigation needed to be done to see if my suspicions were valid. I wasn't going to escalate things with Liz, especially if some solid proof weren't evident, and despite last night's revelations our relationship was going very well at the moment, something I didn't want to jeopardize if I didn't need to. However I was still pissed over how Liz had treated me so I guess my attitude in the morning must have been obvious to her that things weren't completely peachy between us. I was sitting eating my breakfast as usual, Leigh got her cereal's and sat with me as we do normally in silence till we're both ready to talk which as a rule is after about five minutes. “Dad.”

“Yes hun.”

“Are thing's good between Mum and you? You know as in relationship wise.”

“I guess, about as good as possible honey. Why?”

“Er, oh, no reason, what time did Mum get in this morning?”

“Um late, ahh, early, I don't really know, I remember her coming to bed but I don't know what time.”

I tried to not be obvious but when I looked at my daughter she had a questioning look on her face, and she didn't break her stare with me til she'd tried jedi'ing her thought's at that moment to me. I knew what they were too, 'Bullshit Old Man, Bullshit. And You know it!'

I knew she knew, when I found the last bit of food I'd eaten was hard to swallow, and I'd grimaced as I'd shifted uncomfortably, I didn't have to look at my daughter to know what she was thinking, she must of heard her mother.

“Morning you two, any coffee left?”

Leigh and I kind of grumbled, neither of us looked up at Liz and after a second she must of decided that was all she was going to get, she turned round and walked to the kitchen. Two minutes later she was back and sat at her place, waiting her chance to talk to us. Leigh had her head buried in her phone with earbuds now fitted to her ears, and I was writing in my notebook. “So what's on the agenda today?”

I knew she was asking me but she'd have to try harder than that. “Mike, so what's on the agenda today?”

I never managed to start my reply, as if she had intended to make the most poignant of non-speaking statements she could, Leigh bounded to her feet, noisily picked up her plate and spoon, dragged her seat so it screeched across the floor walked to the sink, dropped her plate and spoon in, walked back to her seat picked up her books and walked away to the back door, “Bye Dad.”

“Bye honey, have a good day.”

“You too.”

My wife finally spoke, “Hang on young lady don't I......” BANG! Door closed. “get a good bye?”

Damn, Leigh must of heard it all when Liz got home. I could feel Liz looking at me, I took the opportunity to appear even more focussed on my writings in my book. “Mike, look if I could interrupt your musings for a moment?”

I looked at Liz. I gestured 'you have my attention' to her with my eyes, if I didn't have to speak I wasn't gonna.

“You saw what your daughter said to me, or rather didn't say to me, didn't you?”

I shook my head. “What, have you lost your tongue or something Michael? I just asked you what's going on with Leigh?” She was getting pissy, AND she called me Michael. Well tough shit.

I picked up my plate, knife, stood and pushed my chair under the table and as I moved off I stopped like I was deep in thought and said to her, “Actually I don't think there's anything wrong with Leigh, she's still our Leigh like she's been forever, why? what do you mean by what's going on with her?” I'd moved a way as I spoke.

“Did you not see how she treated me? It was like I wasn't even here, total disrespect! If she keeps this up, we are going to have words. I'm not putting up with that kind of ignorance. You know what's going on don't you Mike?”

I had my back turned to her when she said that and I had no intention of telling her what I thought unless it served a purpose, for me that is. So I employed a jediism my self , “You need to think about what you've done, maybe to upset her, if Leigh is upset with you. You know, maybe it was something you've done, or said or have said when you thought she wasn't listening.” Oh I was so enjoying this it was damn near therapeutic.

“What the hell are you talking about Mike? I have no idea what you're on about. I haven't talked or done or accused Leigh of anything.”

“Geezus, I don't know Elizabeth, (yeah, I can say full names too, wife), For all I know you may of yelled out about having an affair while you thought we were all asleep, ... for example, I DON'T KNOW!!”

Ha!, She looked sick and immediately looked down and no way were those eye's going to look at me again. I knew what that meant, I still needed the evidence though. But she knew now. I wandered down to wash and finish getting ready to go to work, well work eventually, I had some things to do first.

I came back into the kitchen, “Mike, I'm sorry I, I didn't mean to get all nasty, I'm just worried about Leigh and I don't know why I got all defensive and things. Look let's just forget it ay, and you know I'll have a word with Leigh tonight, okay honey?”

“OH and tonight honey, I could do with some down time, I'm planning on us having an early....”

“Ah NO, actually you missed your chance last night,(was that a grimace on my wife's normally guileless pixie face?) I've got a full day of research and tonight I've been asked if I'd meet with some Canadian Lecturer's that are here. A few of us have got to take them out on the town to show them the night-life believe or not so don't know when I'll be finished, don't wait up.”

It wasn't a lie, we had twelve Canadian Lecturer's here, they were with us for a week, not all in the same field and the plan was to do exactly as I'd said to Liz, the only difference was I wasn't expected to do the smoozin with them, in most cases it fell to the younger of our staff or in the case of senior visitors they stayed with Senior Professor's, or Deans.

As I walked to the door I couldn't resist one more dig, “Actually I could take them to the bar you guys went to last night, what's it called, I know where it is I just can't remember the name, Night something. What is it Liz? Night?”

She looked like she was going to throw up and she looked pale, “Moves, Night Moves, but there's no point taking them there it's mostly couples and younger people, so they're going to be right out of place.”

“But you three go there and you're married and coming up thirty-two. Seven of the girls are in their mid-twenties. I think they'll fit in well, oh and most of the guys are married or actually have bought their partners with them as they're using the time to tour around.”

“For chryssakes Mike, what are you doing trotting women lecturer's out on the prowl, AND without me being there, I don't like that idea at all, surely there's enough younger associates that could do that, I'll give Dad a call...”

“No you bloody won't, firstly have I ever done anything to have deceived your trust in me! .... Well!”

The pain was etched across her face, “No, but it still..”

“And have I ever refused you your nights out with your friends, even when you've got home at three a.m.”

She knew now, she would have to wonder how much I knew. Oh she wanted to shut my argument down but based around what I'd already bought up she knew it was a lost cause. “No, you've never said no. I ....”

“And besides I know that if I screwed around on you, you'd do the same to me as I'd do to you, divorce your ass or my ass depending on the circumstances.”

She really didn't want to be in the room now, I thought she was going to own up, but I think she was having trouble just staying up-right let alone stringing sentences together that would report her infidelities.

“AND as if you need another reason, and this is the most important thing, finally, tonight you will have the opportunity to sit down with your daughter and find out what it is that's putting a block between You and her.”

She knew she was defeated, the fight had gone out of her, she had a bit to think about. I had a few phone calls to make one of which was to my daughter to give her a 'heads up' about what she would be walking into if she stayed home, in a way I suspected that she was prepared to play this little game out with her mother and at the moment I was feeling comfortable in my fourteen year old daughter being my staunch ally.

I opened the door, “Bye.” I wasn't looking for a reply.

I had two things I had to do. I had to get myself installed in the welcoming party even if I was only given one person to look after, I needed the excuse to case the club and do some on-the-ground research on what goes on there. First was to make contact with the College Visiting Staff Co-ordinator, who I didn't know, until I went on the staff and faculty page on the college website, well that was the first shock of the morning it was Virginia Poole. Virginia and I go back to well before I got married. In those day's She was a young administrative team member who was going places. She had a good head on her shoulders and no matter what she just 'got it done'. Yes we had history and I would hope that she learnt as much from me as she had taught me – enough said! Well she married one of the locals, lived in the town and I'd lost touch with her over the years as she had left the job and stopped working, now she was back and secondly she had dropped her married name, either that or it had to be the biggest coincidence's for someone to have the same name.

The second shock was her office was in the administrative wing of the college in fact her office straddled two other departments, Staff services and Admissions(Liz's Department). All of a sudden Virginia Poole was someone I wanted to get back in touch with as soon as my legs could get me to her office, I was hoping I may have found my second ally.