The Summer Guest

by Emma Hannigan

  ‘Nah, too crazy, even for me.’

  ‘Would you paint me with my bump?’ Maia suddenly asked.

  ‘Huh?’ Lexie was stunned.

  ‘I have the portrait you did of Josh and me for our wedding gift. I’d love a similar one of me with a bump. Odds are this’ll be my last pregnancy. The world won’t survive my hormone surges another time. Would you do it?’

  ‘You know I can’t paint any more,’ Lexie said, looking at Maia as if she’d lost her marbles. ‘Why would you ask me to do something you know I can’t?’

  ‘Because I think you gave up too soon.’

  ‘Maia, I tried,’ Lexie said. Tears were threatening. How could Maia be so insensitive? If she could paint or draw, she’d be doing it morning, noon and night.

  ‘Why don’t you try a different technique or style?’

  ‘That’s impossible,’ she said grumpily.

  ‘So it’s okay for me to have a meltdown and say I’m struggling with my special-needs child and my pregnancy, but I’m expected to get on with it, yet you can sit for the rest of your life licking your wounds? Piss off, Lexie.’

  Lexie stared at her. ‘You are fiery right now, aren’t you?’ The tension dissolved as they burst out laughing. ‘Cripes, I feel so sorry for Josh and Calvin. Do they know you’re an emotional landmine right now?’

  Maia wrinkled her nose. ‘That’s why I’m here on my own. We were meant to go to the park for the afternoon, but I bit Josh’s head off and stomped away.’

  ‘I see,’ Lexie said. ‘Why don’t you pop into Ramona next door and get a couple of doorsteps of her carrot cake and two cappuccinos and we’ll call a truce in the advice-and-badgering session?’

  Maia grinned sheepishly, but Lexie noted she hadn’t apologised for suggesting she should try painting again.

  As Maia walked past the window to Ramona’s, Lexie flexed her fingers on her left hand. She was able to do most things now, but on days when they had a lot of lifting to do or it was extremely cold, her joints ached.

  She thought of her brushes, paints and easels at home, stuffed into boxes gathering dust. They’d been abandoned for such a long time now. The gallery and the house had kept her busy and, if she was honest, Lexie hadn’t allowed her mind to wander to thoughts of her own art. She’d become so accustomed to pouring her heart into other people’s work that she’d almost forgotten her own talent.

  Amélie had gone to lunch with her friend Yvonne. She arrived back in time to see Maia.

  ‘How’s it going?’ Maia asked. ‘I heard you met some mad dealer person who tried to have his wicked way with you. Horrible bastard,’ she said.

  ‘It was pretty awful,’ Amélie said. ‘I don’t know how people take drugs for fun.’

  ‘Maia is having a let’s-be-frank phase. It happens in conjunction with pregnancy hormones,’ Lexie said, in case Amélie got upset.

  ‘Good on you,’ Amélie said, picking a tiny piece off Lexie’s cake. ‘I do straight talking. There’s nothing worse than people tiptoeing around whispering. I should know. My folks have been acting all cloak-and-dagger for ages and it turns out Mum’s pregnant.’

  ‘Feck off!’ Maia shouted, nearly choking on her cake.

  ‘Yeah,’ Lexie said, sipping her coffee. ‘I totally forgot to tell you. Dee and Billy are expecting.’

  ‘In three months,’ Amélie finished. ‘Gross – it’s proof they’re at it like rabbits still, but once I block that image from my mind I kind of like the idea of a baby around the place.’

  Maia hugged Amélie. ‘I hope I have a girl and she turns out like you. You’re a rock star.’

  ‘Thanks, Maia,’ Amélie said, beaming.

  Lexie listened as Maia gave Amélie the details of her pregnancy, complete with a quick flash of her belly and stretch marks.

  ‘Ugh, I’m never having a baby,’ Amélie said.

  ‘Yeah, stick with me, girls. I’m the best advertisement for contraception ever invented. If you’d like, I can go into episiotomy details next.’

  ‘No, thank you,’ Lexie and Amélie said in unison.

  By the time Maia left, Lexie was emotionally exhausted. But a seed had been planted in her head. Should she try to use her hand again after all this time? Maia had a point. Lexie had encouraged her to get on with the challenges that had been handed to her but she wasn’t so great at taking her own advice. For the first time in ten years she had an urge to paint again.

  Chapter 43

  Two weeks had passed since Kathleen had visited Connemara. She couldn’t quite believe it was time to see Betty and Jenny again.

  ‘We’ll be with you by midday,’ Betty promised. ‘We’ll drop our things and walk around to your flat. I’m so looking forward to seeing it. It’s been a lifetime.’

  Kathleen hadn’t wanted to promise anything, but she’d had a word with Lexie and Sam and they’d agreed to let the ladies see the rest of the house.

  ‘Of course,’ Lexie said. ‘It would be lovely for Betty to see it all these years later.’

  Kathleen had made another quiche for lunch. Rodger had complimented the one they’d had on the zoo trip so she figured it must have been good. There was green salad, tomato and basil salad and wild mushrooms with lemon juice. For dessert she’d made a chocolate biscuit cake to go with coffee.

  Just as she’d put the finishing touches to the table there was a rap on the door. ‘Hello!’ Betty and Jenny carolled.

  They stepped inside, full of oohs and aahs.

  ‘This is just perfect, isn’t it?’ Betty said. ‘I can’t believe how different it is from when we were kids.’

  ‘If you’d only seen it, Jenny,’ Kathleen said. ‘It was dark and scary. Nothing like this gorgeous bright place.’

  ‘It was like a spider hotel,’ Betty agreed.

  ‘Lexie gave me a key for upstairs too, so let’s go up before we have lunch.’

  ‘We have a tiny gift for you,’ Betty said, handing Kathleen a small box. ‘We wanted to get you something Irish and it had to be small enough that you can take it back to Orlando when you go.’

  ‘Oh, you shouldn’t have done that,’ Kathleen said. Excitedly, she untied the ribbon and opened the box. Inside, nestled in soft tissue paper, was a stunning heart-shaped crystal on a chain.

  ‘You can hang it in the window or wherever you wish. It’s genuine Waterford crystal,’ Jenny said.

  ‘I love it. Thank you, both. That’s so generous and thoughtful,’ Kathleen said, perching it on the window sill. ‘Now let’s go and have a quick look-see upstairs and then I reckon it’ll be time for a little glass of wine.’

  They gazed in awe at each room in the main house.

  ‘They’ve done such an amazing job on the place, haven’t they?’ Jenny said. ‘I love their taste. It’s so fresh yet in keeping with the age of the building.’

  ‘Is this them?’ Betty asked, as she squinted at a wedding photo on a side table.

  ‘Yes,’ said Kathleen. ‘Aren’t they a darling couple?’

  ‘They look very happy,’ Jenny agreed.

  Kathleen said they’d just have a quick glance at the bedrooms. ‘I don’t want them to feel we were snooping through all their stuff,’ she said, as they ventured upstairs.

  ‘Oh, gosh, no,’ said Betty.

  ‘Ah, they’ve a daughter,’ said Jenny.

  ‘No, their niece is staying with them.’

  ‘Don’t Lexie and Sam have any children of their own?’ Betty asked.

  ‘Not at the moment,’ Kathleen said. ‘As you can see, some of the rooms are still waiting for furniture and decoration. But a big building like this would absorb money like a sponge.’

  They made their way back downstairs and out of the front door. ‘You can see the garden from my back door,’ Kathleen explained. ‘But now I think it’s wine o’clock!’

  ‘Wine o’clock it is!’ Jenny agreed.

  The three went into the basement kitchen as Kathleen served lunch and took a bottle of white wine out of the fridge
. Just as she was going to pour, she stopped in her tracks and stared at the back wall. ‘Look,’ she breathed.

  It was covered with a vibrant display of rainbows.

  ‘They’re coming from the crystal on the windowsill,’ Jenny said.

  ‘But the sun seems to have moved over the roof towards the back,’ Betty said. ‘Odd. I don’t see the shaft of sunlight making the pattern.’

  ‘It’s Jackson,’ Kathleen said, her voice cracking. Although she was smiling broadly, tears were streaming down her cheeks. ‘It’s Jackson’s birthday today. He promised me a rainbow to let me know he’s with me.’

  ‘That’s amazing,’ said Jenny.

  ‘A sceptic would say that your crystal created them and I’m just being a silly old fool,’ said Kathleen, ‘but I’m choosing to believe that Jackson is here with me and letting me know.’

  Gradually the rainbows faded.

  ‘I’m not really a believer in the supernatural,’ Jenny said. ‘I’m afraid I don’t have a strong faith. But every now and again, just like now, I get a strong sense that there’s something else out there.’

  ‘I firmly believe in life after death,’ Betty said. ‘I believe in spirits too. At first after James died I could feel him in the room. Now that that time has passed and I’m less frantic about losing him, he’s here less and less.’

  ‘Do you ever turn around suddenly and feel he’s there?’ Kathleen asked.

  ‘Oh, yes,’ Betty said. ‘I’ve become more accustomed to it now, but it used to freak me out no end.’

  ‘Well, if my fella is ever standing there when I turn around he’d want to run pretty fast,’ Jenny said. ‘Because he deserves a good hiding for walking out and leaving me high and dry.’

  They all laughed and Kathleen waited until the other two were eating and chatting amicably before she excused herself and went to the bathroom. She locked the door and leaned against the wall. ‘Thank you, Jackson. I got my rainbow. You remembered. It was lovely to be able to share it with the ladies too. I wish you were here with me. I can’t help feeling that. Do you think I’ll ever make it through a day without longing for you?’ She was beginning to feel tearful. She didn’t want to appear from the bathroom red-eyed, so she washed her hands and concentrated on feeling upbeat.

  ‘All okay?’ Betty said, as she rejoined them.

  ‘Yes, thanks,’ said Kathleen. ‘I’d like to propose a toast.’ She raised her glass. ‘To friendship and companionship.’

  ‘To friendship and companionship,’ the others repeated.

  ‘And happy birthday, Jackson,’ Betty added.

  Kathleen winked and they sipped their wine.

  ‘So have you had any more attention from Mr Grim Reaper?’ Kathleen asked Betty, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

  ‘Ah, no. I don’t think Morris and I are exactly a match made in Heaven,’ she said.

  ‘I went to the zoo last week with my friend Rodger,’ Kathleen said. ‘We had a lovely day out. I hadn’t been to Dublin Zoo for over sixty years.’ Despite her attempts to remain upbeat, come what may, Kathleen heard her voice wobble. ‘It was strange spending the day with another man,’ she confessed. ‘It’s totally platonic and poor Rodger feels a little odd too – he lost his wife, Claudia, not so long ago so we were well suited. But it was what I would call bitter-sweet,’ she said. She reminded the ladies of her three tasks.

  ‘You told us about them,’ Betty said. ‘How lovely that you had company.’

  ‘I really need to get out more,’ Jenny said. ‘All I do is work at the hotel and do the odd errand. Even this trip here today is totally out of character for me. George is always rattling on about my insular ways.’

  ‘Maybe he has a point,’ Betty said. ‘Clara and Mark are wonderful at the hotel. You really ought to allow yourself more treats.’

  ‘True,’ she agreed. ‘But what would I do? Where would I go? There’s no point in deciding to take time off and end up wandering like a lonely nomad, is there?’

  ‘Why don’t you come visit me in Orlando?’ Kathleen said. ‘I’ll be longing for company. Both of you should come.’

  ‘I doubt I’d be able to leave Ruth with the children,’ Betty said.

  ‘Why not?’ Jenny asked. ‘You give up so much time to them, and you’re entitled to a holiday. If you gave Ruth enough notice I’m sure she’d be able to take the time off work or find someone to fill in for you.’

  Betty’s eyes lit up. ‘Do you know what? You’re both right. I’m not getting any younger, but we’re all able-bodied and in good health so what’s stopping us?’

  ‘Attagirl!’ Kathleen said, delighted. ‘It would be so fantastic to see you gals.’

  ‘What about spending Thanksgiving in Orlando?’ Betty said. ‘We could get some Christmas shopping done and lap up a bit of last-minute sun before the winter really sets in over here.’

  ‘That sounds gorgeous,’ Jenny agreed. ‘I can’t really go AWOL once Christmas kicks in, so it would suit me. What do you think, Kathleen?’

  Her face, followed by the pop of another cork, answered the question.

  The sun was shining so they ventured out into the little garden.

  ‘Can we have a snoop around the upper part?’ Betty asked.

  ‘Of course. There are comfy chairs up there so let’s take our wine up,’ Kathleen suggested.

  It was so warm they had to borrow hats and sun cream from Kathleen. By late afternoon, they were almost comatose.

  ‘I think all my bones have fallen out,’ Jenny muttered.

  ‘Uh-huh,’ Kathleen agreed. ‘I’m transforming into a slug.’

  Betty giggled and sat up, suddenly finding energy from somewhere. ‘Let’s go to the beach and paddle,’ she said.

  ‘Whaaat?’ Jenny drawled. ‘I’d drown! If I was any more relaxed here I’d be dead.’

  ‘Precisely,’ said Betty. ‘Let’s go for a revitalising stroll on the beach.’

  When they thought about it, it was a good idea, so they went back into the basement and out of the front door. Kathleen brought a towel, with the sun cream and her swimming costume. Then she stuffed a bottle of Prosecco and some paper cups into her bag – it might come in handy.

  The walk involved quite a bit of zigzagging and bashing shoulders off walls. All three were giggling involuntarily at nothing.

  ‘We’re a disgrace,’ Kathleen said. ‘We’re meant to have more sense at our age.’

  ‘Ah, bugger sense,’ said Jenny. ‘I for one have spent more than my fair share of days being the sensible and reliable one. So what if we decide to break the mould every once in a while?’

  ‘I’m going to have my swim,’ Kathleen announced. ‘Then I’m going to eat chips!’

  ‘Your last task!’ Betty said.

  ‘We won’t let you go alone. Let’s duck into your old house, Betty, and grab our swimming things,’ Jenny said. ‘We have all sorts of things stashed in the spare room,’ she explained to Kathleen.

  Ben was there and tried to talk them out of it. ‘You’re all half cut. You can’t go swimming unless you want to be rescued and rushed to A&E.’

  ‘Don’t be such a bore, Ben,’ Betty said, kissing him. ‘We’ll call you when we finish so you know we’re not dead.’ All three dissolved into giggles and refused to allow him to accompany them.

  ‘I’d feel much happier if I was there,’ he argued.

  ‘We’ll be embarrassed enough getting our bodies out in public without you staring at us,’ Betty said.

  They arrived at the beach and found a lovely spot not too far from the promenade where they changed into their swimming things.

  ‘If one of us is drunkenly drowning, someone will see us and throw us a life belt,’ Betty said.

  ‘Let’s dump our stuff here. I’ll put the towel over it,’ Kathleen said.

  They giggled as they picked their way barefoot across the stones and shells to the water’s edge. Kathleen walked right in without hesitation. ‘Oh, dear sweet Jesus!’ she shouted, retreat
ing at speed. ‘That is unmercifully cold! Why on earth would an ocean want to be that freezing?’

  ‘That’s the Irish Sea for you,’ Betty said.

  ‘Oh, girls, you are just gonna love the Atlantic Ocean at Daytona Beach when you come visit. We’ll go there and pitch up for the day and you will adore it,’ Kathleen promised.

  ‘That sounds fabulous,’ Jenny said, ‘but you’re not getting away that easily now. We’re here so we’re going in.’

  ‘Even if we end up losing a couple of toes from hypothermia?’ Kathleen joked.

  They walked in and out of the water, and Kathleen wasn’t sure if her feet had turned numb or if she’d become accustomed to the cold, but they stayed for quite a time, paddling and chatting then finally submerging.

  The feeling of exhilaration afterwards was incredible. Kathleen’s skin tingled all over and she felt like an eight-year-old girl once more. ‘I’m starving again,’ she announced.

  ‘So am I, now that you mention it,’ Betty agreed.

  ‘I’ll go and get us some chips from the van parked over there. You girls stay with the stuff and I’ll be back in a jiffy.’

  A little later they were perched happily in a row munching chips and swigging from the Prosecco bottle.

  ‘I actually have paper cups,’ Kathleen pointed out.

  ‘It’s more fun drinking from the bottle,’ Jenny said.

  ‘We could actually get arrested for doing this,’ Betty said. ‘Isn’t it an offence to drink in a public area like this?’

  They burst out laughing and polished off the bottle.

  ‘I haven’t behaved like this since I was a teenager,’ Jenny said, as they linked arms and walked towards Ben and George’s house.

  ‘I don’t think I’ve ever behaved like this,’ Betty admitted.

  ‘I did when I was a lot younger, but I’d thought my days of hanging out and drinking on beaches were well over.’

  Betty rang the doorbell and they got a fit of the giggles when Ben opened it.

  They filled him in on their adventure.

  ‘There’s nothing quite like chipper chips doused in salt and vinegar straight from the paper on the beach, is there?’ Jenny mused.