Collette Bonnar's short sotories: Wedded Bliss in Suburbia

"Would yourself and Matt consider coming along with Roy and myself on our skiing trip?” Penny Walls asked her friend, Clodagh Mills.

“Are you serious?” Clodagh’s eyes widened.

“Yes, why not? It seems ages since the four of us went on holiday together,” replied her friend. “San Moritz will be buzzing at this time of year,” she added.

“It probably will, but for a start, I can’t just drop all at the radio station and hightail it away on holiday,” said Clodagh.

“Could you not pull a sickie?” asked Penny with a smile.

READ NEXT: Collette Bonnar's short stories: The poor mouth

“You’ve got to be kidding. Besides, if I was recognised and it got back to my boss, I could find my contract coming to a very abrupt end,” said Clodagh.

“Mmm,” Penny grew thoughtful. The friends were having coffee in Clodagh’s state- of-the-art kitchen.  It was only in recent years that Clodagh claimed she couldn’t take holidays in the wintertime. She knew that there would be no problem getting a presenter to fill in for a week. Penny was aware that the real problem was Matt, Clodagh’s husband.

“Well, if there’s any way that you can wrangle a week off, Roy and myself would be delighted if you could join us for a holiday on the slopes,” said Penny as she drained her coffee and prepared to leave.

Clodagh had a high-profile job as one of the main presenters on National Radio while her husband, Matt Renfrew, was a well-known film director. His work meant he travelled the world and would often be gone for months at a time. The couple lived in the opulent, upmarket Number 6 Sun Valley Drive where a lot of big names from radio and television resided. They were regarded as the golden couple of the social scene but the reality was a lot different. Matt was a serial womaniser and Clodagh had discovered that he’d cheated on her many times in their ten years of marriage. Clodagh had been humiliated on so many occasions when well-meaning friends hinted to her that her husband was cheating. Her best friend Penny, frequently tried to bring the couple together and smooth over the cracks. Her latest suggestion to go on holiday together was yet another attempt by her friend to get Clodagh’s marriage back on track.

A few days later, Clodagh rang Penny; “Can you come over this afternoon? I need to talk to you.”

“Sure, no problem,” said Penny, having a fair idea what the chat was going to be about.

Later that afternoon, Clodagh confided in Penny. “I’ve had my suspicions for a long time now. All the usual signs. The latest being the last movie which was filmed in Denmark. I phoned Matt’s hotel room and a woman answered. I always ring him on the mobile so he wasn’t expecting me to call him on the hotel landline.”

“Do you think she was someone he met out there?” Penny asked.

“No. I think he’s in this relationship for some time now. I suspect that she accompanied him on the trip.”

“What other proof have you got?” her friend enquired.

Clodagh went on to list endless incidents of her husband’s infidelity. “He’s really humiliating me. I’ve confronted him several times but he denies everything. I’ve even asked for a divorce but of course he wouldn’t hear of it. He just wants the best of both worlds and keep up this charade that we’re the perfect happily married couple so as not to tarnish his career and golden boy image.”

“I’m so sorry to hear this,” said Penny. “I did hear rumours but was hoping that it wasn’t true. As you know, I don’t gossip so I didn’t see any point in upsetting you in case the rumours were untrue.  What are you planning to do now?”

“Oh, I’ve a plan in place,” said Clodagh with a wry smile. She then went on to elaborate.

“Great idea,” said her friend, delighted that Clodagh was finally going to give her husband his comeuppance.

A few weeks later, Matt Renfrew was being interviewed on a morning television show; Catch-up with Carrie. He spoke glowingly about how excited he was to be taking part in a new reality show with his wife, Clodagh – Wedded Bliss in Suburbia. He was unaware that the glamorous presenter, Carrie, was a very close friend of Penny. He waxed lyrical about his idyllic marriage and how confident he felt about the success of the show. After ten minutes into the interview, Carrie said to him; “Your wife of course is very successful in her own right and hosts the very popular morning radio show; Breakfast with Clodagh.”

“That’s right, my wife is wonderful. A born natural, a great presenter and of course the perfect soulmate.”

“I believe she is also going to talk about the reality show this morning so perhaps, we’ll tune in later to hear her take on it.”

“That would be smashing,” said Matt, delighted that the new project was getting such great publicity.

Finally, Carrie tuned in to listen to Clodagh’s Breakfast show. Matt sat back with a smug grin on his face but his jaw soon dropped as his wife began to tell her listeners; “If you suspect your husband is having an affair, you’re probably right. After all, I should know. My husband has been cheating on me for years and he has had the audacity to sign up for a reality television show. Wedded Bliss in Suburbia. Well, I have news for him. There’s a locksmith very busy this morning at Number 6 Sun Valley Drive. Changing the locks. Oh, and as for the reality show, he might have consulted me before he signed up for it. I know he forged my signature on the contract.”

With that, Penny tuned out and turned to a red-faced Matt who was obviously seething with rage. “Wow! Have you any comment to make?” Penny could barely keep the glee from her voice.

“This is some sort of joke,” Matt blustered.

Penny then turned to the camera. “I somehow don’t think it’s a joke. And I don’t think Wedded Bliss in Suburbia will be aired anytime soon.”