After Dropping His Mistress Off, Buchin Tenderly Said Goodbye Before Heading Home

Having let his lover out of the car, Colin gently bid her farewell and drove off home. He paused at the doorstep, his mind racing with all he would have to say to his wife. Taking a deep breath, he climbed the stairs and unlocked the door.

Hello? Colin called out. Edith, are you here?

Im here, came Ediths cool reply from the other room. Evening. Do you want me to get started on the chops?

Colin made himself a promisehe would be direct, decisive, manly! Time to put an end to this double life, while the thrill of forbidden kisses hadnt yet faded, before the dreary routine sucked him back in.

Edith, Colin cleared his throat, Ive come to tell you we need to part ways.

Edith received the announcement with more than composure. In all their years, it was rare anything shook her. Once, for the very trait, Colin teasingly nicknamed her Edith Frost.

What do you mean? she asked, leaning against the kitchen door. Should I not bother with the chops, then?

Thats up to you, Colin said. If you want to cook, cook; if you dont, dont. Im leaving. For another woman.

Most wives, at such a confession, would come tearing into the sitting room wielding a frying pan. Or at least put on a furious, weeping performance. But Edith was not most wives.

Well arent you just a little Lord Muck, she shrugged. Did you remember to pick up my boots from the cobbler?

N-no, Colin faltered. If thats important, I can go right now and fetch them!

Oh dear Edith muttered. Typical Colin. Ask him for boots and hed bring home last years trainers.

Colin bristled. Somehow, this monumental conversation was going completely awry. Where was the drama, the shouting? Where was the righteous fury? But what did one expect from a woman called Edith Frost?

Its like youre not even listening! Colin snapped. This is officialIm leaving you for another woman, and all you care about are your boots!

Exactly, Edith said, folding her arms. Unlike me, youve got places you can run off to. You havent got boots at the cobblers, have you? Whats stopping you?

Theyd been together a long while, yet Colin could never quite read Edithwas she being sarcastic, or deadly serious? It was, in fact, her calm, unflappable manner that had first drawn him to her. That, and her practical streak, to say nothing of her charming figure.

Edith was steadfast and reliablecool-headed as a ships anchor. But now Colin was in love with someone else. The kind of wild, reckless love that demanded action. He had to put an end to things, to set off into a new life.

And so, Edith, Colin said, with a flourish of sorrow and gravitas, thank you for everything, but I must leave, because I love another. I dont love you anymore.

Well, blow me down, Edith replied, barely looking up. Doesnt love me, the daft beggar! My mother was fond of the man next door, for what its worth. Dad preferred dominoes and gin. And just look how splendid I turned out!

Colin knew better than to argue; with Edith, every word was a weight. His earlier conviction fizzled out, the urge to quarrel simply evaporated.

Youre honestly quite remarkable, Edith, he said wearily. But I love someone else. Madly, recklessly. And Im leavingdo you get that?

Someone else, is it? Is it Rebecca Hargreaves, then? Edith asked calmly.

Colin shrank back. He had, indeed, had a secret affair with Hargreaves last year, but how on earth did Edith even know her?

How did you he began, but thought better. Actually, never mind. No, Edith, its not Hargreaves.

Edith yawned. Then perhaps its Alice Whitcombe? Off to her, are you?

A shiver of dread ran down Colins spine. He had been with Whitcombe too, but even that was long in the past. If Edith knew, why hadnt she raised hell? Ah, yes. Cool as ever, that Edith Frost.

No, not Whitcombe, and not Hargreaves, Colin pressed on. This is someone utterly extraordinary, the woman of my dreams. I cant live without herIm going, Mind you, dont try to talk me out of it!

So whatyou mean Margaret, then, Edith replied, shaking her head. Oh, Colin you hopeless romantic, you. Was that supposed to be a big secret? Your dream-womanMargaret Valentine, thirty-five, one child, two terminations? That her?

Colin grabbed his head in disbelief. Bullseye! She knew everything about his affair with Margaret Valentine.

How could you possibly Did someone tell you? Have you been following me?

Oh, please, Colin, Edith said, amused. Im a gynaecologist, remember? I know practically every woman in this town inside and out, while youve only dabbled. I just have to take a look to see where youve been, you silly sausage!

Colin tried to compose himself.

All rightsuppose youre right! he blurted, trying for dignity. Lets say its Valentine. It changes nothingIm leaving for her.

Youre a fool, Colin, Edith sighed. You could have just asked me, you know! For the record, theres nothing extraordinary about Valentineshes no different to any other woman, believe me, Id know. Ever seen her medical notes?

N-no Colin admitted.

Thought not. Now, first off, youre having a shower. Tomorrow Ill call Dr Simmons to sort you out at the clinic, no queue, said Edith briskly. Then well talk. What an embarrassmenta gynaecologists husband, and you still cant find a healthy woman!

What do you want me to do? Colin whimpered.

Im off to get those chops started, Edith tossed over her shoulder. You have a wash and suit yourself. If you ever fancy someone truly specialdisease-free and allIll put in a good word for youColin stood in the hallway, feeling as if hed just tried to leap off a cliff, only to land squarely, undramatically, on the lawn below. Through the kitchen door came the sizzle and snap of lamb chops hitting hot oil, and the familiar clang of Ediths spatula against the pan. He found himself oddly comforted by it.

He drifted upstairs as if led by invisible strings, peeling off the days stale skin, letting the hot water drum sense into him. Underneath it all, he pictured Margarets wild laugh, Alices perfume, Rebeccas sharp tongueall swirling away in the steam. Hed lived hungrily, but not bravely. Each sunbeam in a borrowed room. Every goodbye rehearsed, never performed.

Downstairs, Edith hummed an old folk song as she cooked. The melody wound its way up through the floorboards. Colin realized, with a pang he couldnt quite name, that he had always hoped for a kind of chaosfor someone to force his hand, to close the chapter on his behalf. Instead, Edith offered him roast potatoes and a clean towel.

He shuffled back to the kitchen, hair damp, hands nervous. Edith plated up the chops, poured out two glasses of wine, and eyed him with that impossible calm.

You look less of a disaster now, she observed. Sit down, before you topple over.

He obeyed, watching as she passed the salt with her usual, maddening certainty. Silence stretched between thema silence that was neither peace nor war, but a thing made possible only by two people who had knocked the sharpest edges off each other long ago.

Colin cleared his throat. Are you angry?

Edith considered. I wasonce. Maybe twice. Now? I suppose Im just tired of mending your boots, Colin. But not so tired Id let you burn the house down all on your own.

He smiled, unexpectedly grateful. This was the Edith he’d fallen fora woman who faced hurricanes armed only with logic and lamb chops. He realized, too, that his reckless yearning wasnt love so much as the ache for consequence.

After dinner, the world went on: dishes clattered, the wind rattled the gutter, and outside, the moon began her slow trek across the roof tiles. Edith didnt look for Colins hand, nor he for hers. They simply sat together, side by side, as if the world had always been like thismessy, complicated, and, somehow, just fine.

Later, when they parted for bed, Edith paused by the door.

Ill fetch my boots in the morning, she said. Maybe Ill climb that cliff youve only talked about.

And with that, she flicked off the light, leaving Colin alone with his choices and the ghost of a smile that would, perhaps, linger long after hed gone.

Outside, spring pressed its hopeful face against the window.