Weekend Wives
'What is the world, then, of the weekend wife?' asked Emily.
'Secrets, there will be secrets. Not necessarily serious ones, but the triviality of them almost makes them worse. Someone will start smoking. One of you will see an ex and for some unknown reason decide not to tell the other one and before you know it, it's become a thing.' Laura sighed. 'None of it really matters, I know, when I say it like that, but it all chips away.'
'Still, those sort of secrets, like you say, they're not anything serious, you know, like...' Emily paused, unable to say the word out loud.
'Like an affair?' said Laura. 'Oh god, this set-up is a recipe for adultery, don't you think?'
A few months ago, Emily and her husband sold their house in the city and bought a place in the country. But Emily didn't know that it would sometimes feel like a move to another country altogether. Moreover, with Matt working in the city from Monday-Friday, and only coming home to her and the kids at the weekend, Emily is suddenly plunged into the world of a 'weekend wife'. With all the obstacles . . . and secrets . . . that brings with it.
Christina Hopkinson is an author and journalist whose work has appeared in the Daily Telegraph, Guardian, The Times, Grazia and Red magazine. She lives in London with her husband and three children.
Visit Christina's website, www.christinahopkinson.com, and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/Xtinahopkinson.