I arrived at the port with our baby twins to surprise my husband, who was returning from months at sea, but I caught him with his mistress — so I made him regret it.
Corey worked on the ships and he could be gone for months at a stretch.
And when he went, I was seven months gone with twins.
And two months after that I had our girls.
And he rang and rang and told me how badly he wanted to see them.
So when I knew he was coming back three months later, I decided I would surprise him.
We had agreed we would wait at home. And I wanted him to meet them as soon as there was a him to meet them, and to get hold of him, and then all of us to go home together.
So I decided I would take them to the port.
And I did not say a word about it for three months.
And the day before, I got tickets to the city where that ship was coming in.
And I went to that terminal.
And I had both of them in my arms when I finally saw him come out.
And I had my hand half up through that crowd, about to call him.
And then I saw that he was not on his own.
There was a woman with him.
She was pulling a case and he had an arm round her waist. And they were laughing at something. And then he leaned down and kissed her.
And everything in me went.
And I stood there and could not move.
And then he saw me.
And he came straight across to me with her next to him.
“Pia? What are you doing here?”
And my voice went when I answered.
“I wanted to surprise you. So you could finally see your daughters.”
And the woman next to him laughed and said: “Well. This is awkward, to put it mildly.”
And Corey said: “Don’t make a scene. We met on the ship and it just happened. You understand — I’m a young bloke, and being on your own for that many months isn’t realistic.”
And she did a face.
And then he explained to me that he could not be expected to stay with one woman, because that is men, and he said — proudly — that she was not the only one.
