They left the Franklin's house at 11 o'clock the next day. Seth was in sort of comatose state and only made it to the car using Sandy and Ryan as human crutches.
'Thankyou so much for letting us stay here last night.' Said Kirsten to Mrs Franklin as they stood in the door.
'Oh, Kirsten, darling, it was absolutely fine. And I think you should keep my trousers, they look better on you than they ever have or will on me!' she gushed. Kirsten smiled and turned away to follow Seth and his support team to the car.
'Hey baby.' Said Sandy, panting, as he rested against the car door. Ryan and Seth were inside, Ryan trying vainly to get Seth into some kind of sitting position.
'So, we're leaving.' She said and rested her body against his. Sandy wrapped his arms around her and kissed the back of her head.
'I'm glad we came. Maybe we should buy a house by the ocean- it seems to work well for us, huh?'
'Mmmm' she said, turning round in his arms to face him. She leaned in to kiss him, but was interrupted by a loud thump as Seth's head hit the window. He was obviously conscious enough to know when he was needed to interrupt a parental 'moment'.
'Guys, please..not in public. We're going now.' He moaned.
'Well, at least we know the alcohol has not rendered him speechless. Pity..' said Sandy as he walked round the bonnet of the car to the drivers seat. The journey back to Newport was quiet, but in a completely different way to the tense silence of the journey the previous day. They were all tired, and Seth had passed out once again in the back seat.
'I think we should take him to the doctor or something.' Said Kirsten, glancing at her son in the mirror. 'How much did he drink, Ryan?' Ryan shrugged: 'Oh, well..by the time he left the vodka fountain it was kind of a trickle. So quite a lot I guess, but he'll be fine.' Kirsten was already thinking of a suitable punishment for her son, but decided she didn't have the energy to discuss the subject now. 'He can sleep- for now.' She muttered, and Sandy glanced at her, amused.
'Honey, don't be too harsh on him- I think the way he's feeling at the moment will probably have put him off alcohol for ever!'
They pulled up in front of the house at 4 o'clock that afternoon; none of them felt like doing much, not even eating: They manhandled Seth onto his bed, Ryan sloped off to the pool house, and Sandy and Kirsten went upstairs.
'Sandy.' She said quietly as they entered the bedroom. 'One question-Where have you been sleeping when you weren't here?..I mean, if you were with..someone else..' Sandy stopped walking and turned to face her, but Kirsten didn't meet his eyes: '..I mean..I'd understand…' Sandy lifted her chin so that she had to look at him, and as soon as she saw his eyes she knew there had been no need to ask.
'I was in the spare room. By myself.' He kissed her gently: 'I didn't sleep very well- I was missing you too much.' She smiled. 'Actually, it was probably to do with the fact that the threadcount in the sheets is far lower than the ones on our own bed. The standard in there is much lower than what I'm used to.'
She raised her eyebrows: 'Oh, really?'
'Uh-huh.'
'Well, seeing as it's my fault that you had to suffer such uncomfortable nights, what can I do to make it up to you?' a smile played on her lips as she slipped her hands under the waistband of Sandy's shorts.
'First, honey, I want you to tell me the truth about every lie you told me. I want to know about you and Carter.' Kirsten stepped back, and her surprise was swiftly replaced by pleading and crying.
'No, Kirsten, for God's sake. You at least owe me the truth.' She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She spoke quietly:
'Fine. But you have to tell me everything that you did with Rebecca.' Sandy nodded, but didn't follow the inquiry immediately.
'Honey, we're not going to make this an issue. You're over him, at least you better be for his sake: if he was still competing against me for the affections of MY wife I'd…' Sandy paused to think while Kirsten raised her face to look at him, amused. 'I'd..kill him.' They both knew Sandy was the least likely person in the world to harm anyone, but it did the trick: Kirsten rose and held both of his hands.
'Ok.'
'Ok?'
'Who's going to go first? I personally think I should as I went swimming at midnight for your sake.'
'I'm starting. I have more questions to ask.' Replied Sandy.
'No you don't. But fine. I don't care..' Kirsten lied, and holding her breath, waited for him to speak.
'Did you kiss him?' Sandy saw no point in wasting any more time. Kirsten let her breath out slowly, dismayed at his first choice in question; it was a simple yes-or-no game, but this simplicity was proving to be extremely painful.
'I..he..he kissed me. And it didn't mean anything, it was stupid, I feel so b..'
Sandy interrupted: 'Honey, there's no need for that. Just answer.' He had let go of her hands and now walked over to the window where he gazed at out at the sea.
'Did you kiss her?'. She watched his motionless figure as he answered with one word, answering a question she had already guessed to be true. She blurted out: 'Did it go further than that?' Silence. 'Sandy?' she cried, a note of desperation in her voice now.
'No.' he replied.
'Do you still love her?' she continued to speak, knowing Sandy had questions to ask too but wanting to know the whole truth.
'As it's my turn to ask a question, I'll fire that one right back at you. But about Carter.' Kirsten thought she heard a note of amusement in his voice and wished he would turn around.
'I never loved him. And I still don't.'
Sandy turned round and walked towards her. He sat down on the bed next to her:
'Rebecca's different.' He said, and watched unhappily as her face crumpled. 'I will always remember her, and because I used to love her means that I'll never really be free of her.' He put one hand under Kirsten's chin to stop her head from falling down, and looked deep into her eyes, willing her to understand.
'But I don't love her. I love you so much that there's not much left for anyone else. You're everything to me, and why or how I risked losing you, I will never know.' Kirsten sighed shudderingly and raised her own hand to his face.
'You're so good at those little speeches.' She laughed, and he smiled in relief. She leaned towards him and kissed him, whilst he pulled her onto his knee.
'Was she as good as me?' whispered Kirsten, breaking away from his lips for a few seconds.
'Honey, you're the best.' Replied Sandy.