April 2012
Easter had always seemed to be a special time in the life of Liz Carter. She remembered when she was young, her mother had always made a fuss about buying her a new dress or suit for the holiday and she had to wear it for church on Easter Sunday where all the other children paraded in their new clothes. When she went to school, crosses were made of dried leaves for Palm Sunday; then the day before they broke up for the two week holiday there was the Easter Bonnet parade. That was good fun seeing the talents and creative ability of the mums. Liz never won a prize, perhaps because her mother bought a readymade hat as she had no time to fiddle with bits of stuff, and her teacher thought it was unfair to choose it, even though the hat was by far the best. Good Friday was Hot Cross Buns and fish for dinner day and then a long wait until Sunday when the chocolate eggs from family members were lined up with military precision on the sideboard.
It was a nice time of year, daffodils giving way to bluebells, fresh green leaves sprouting on the trees, birds singing, lambs frolicking in the green fields, the warmth of the sun in between the April showers. So when Liz, at twenty six, met the man of her dreams, she decided to get married on the Easter Saturday. Luckily, Tim, her future husband, agreed with her and the plans were made.
However, five years on and childless, her marriage crumbled before her eyes. Liz woke on the morning of her anniversary, which that year fell on the week before Easter. Tim had already left to play a round of golf, so she pottered about, had a relaxing bath, went to the hairdressers, collected Tim's suit from the dry cleaners and was about to leave the shop when the assistant said, 'Oh, Mrs Carter, we found this in the jacket pocket.' Liz glanced at the piece of paper, which looked like a receipt; stuffed it in her pocket and went home. Tim was still out and as she took her coat off, the receipt fell out of her pocket. This time she looked at it and gasped. Tim had bought her a £400 gold necklace from the local jewelers and she hadn't even bought him a card. She put the receipt in her handbag and thought, I must act surprised when he gives it to me, and she practiced in front of the mirror pulling various faces so he wouldn't guess she knew. Liz was on tenterhooks all afternoon and as they changed to go to the restaurant, Liz, wearing a new dress bought specially for the occasion, wondered when he was going to give it to her. She thought she would hurry him up and sorted through her meager jewelery box, pulled out a silver chain and asked Tim to do it up for her. He will give it to me now, and she shivered in anticipation, but Tim just did as she asked, not even commentating on how nice she looked.
The meal was a huge success; Liz unaware that this would be the last meal they would have together. Tim chose to sit next to Jane, her best friend, and she noticed they seemed to exchange a few covetous looks; then she saw Jane finger a rather lovely necklace that nestled nicely in the v of the neckline of the bodice of her dress. Liz suddenly felt cold. No, Tim wouldn't, would he? Jane wouldn't, she was her best friend; and then things started to fall into place. The long games of golf, the late nights supposedly working overtime, the excuses of meetings he couldn't miss, the phone calls taken in his study. Oh my God, they were having an affair right under her nose. The betrayal, the man she loved and her best friend. Liz couldn't remember how they got home but as soon as Tim closed the front door she rounded on him, 'Are you having an affair with Jane? Tell me the truth.' Tim just stood there, defiance on his face, and before he could deny or answer she took the receipt out of her bag 'I thought this was for me, but you spent our money on this for my best friend. How could you? How long has it been going on?' Tim fidgeted, reaching for her, but Liz slapped him, 'I used my own money on the necklace, I'm not such a bastard that I would use our joint account, and we have been lovers for six months. I was going to tell you, but with Easter so close, didn't have the heart to spoil it for you.' Liz felt her legs give way and sank to the floor. Tim went to pick her up but she shouted at him to keep away and to get out.
So it was that Liz spent the Easter weekend on her own and as far as she was concerned Tim was dead and buried and their marriage would never be resurrected .