‘This is Mo,’ Nell said. ‘Mo, this is Mouse. She came here by chance, long story that I’ll tell you some time. Another time and not now,’ she said firmly. ‘But right this minute we’re headed for Ballyshore.’
‘Ballyshore? Today?’ Mo asked. ‘Is everything all right with you, Nell?’
‘Everything is just fine thanks, Mo. My routine is diversifying. Stranger things have happened.’
Nell couldn’t help smiling as she and Mouse bundled into her little car a short time later.
‘God bless Mo, I’d say I’ll need to hire a cherry-picker to remove her jaw from the floor. In fairness to her, this is the first time in years that I’ve had anybody here.’
‘Why?’ Mouse asked as they bumbled along the country lane toward the main road. ‘Why don’t you ever have people over? Your place is slick. I’d have parties and all sorts of fun if I owned the lighthouse.’
‘I don’t own it,’ Nell stated.
‘Yeah but you’ve lived in it for ever, haven’t you?’
‘Pretty much,’ Nell said. ‘I chose to live the way I do. It suits me. I’m happy. Nobody can annoy me, hurt me or disappoint me.’
‘Wow,’ Mouse whistled. ‘You’re weird. I know I’m hardly in a position to judge … but I’m only hiding out with you for the moment. I don’t see it as a long-term solution.’
‘Good, because I won’t be harbouring you indefinitely,’ she spat back.
Mouse looked out the window in silence. She didn’t speak another word until they pulled up at the small supermarket in Ballyshore village.
‘Sorry,’ Nell said gruffly. ‘I didn’t mean to bark. You can stay as long as you like. I won’t have you thinking I’d turf you out on the street. I’m not like that.’
‘Cheers,’ Mouse said, seeming to have completely forgiven her already. ‘Hey look at that place! What’s going on here?’ she said pointing.
‘There’s a festival happening. I totally forgot it’s the June bank holiday weekend. There’s a sponsored walk this weekend. They do it every year.’
‘Are you joining in?’
‘No,’ she scoffed. ‘I don’t do crowds and shoving and pushing. I couldn’t think of anything worse.’
‘What’s the cause? Who are they walking for?’
‘The children’s hospital,’ Nell said and she looked stricken for a brief moment. ‘I’ll make an anonymous donation like I do every year. I’ve no issue with raising funds for the hospital. It’s the hordes of people and unnecessary fussing I abhor.’
‘I think it sounds like a bit of craic,’ Mouse said.
‘Then you should go. But for now I need to get in and out of this place quickly. Let’s go,’ she said. Nell groaned inwardly as Joseph, the nosey parker from the Thatch pub, appeared.
‘Hello Nell,’ Joseph said. Without even drawing breath he zoned in on Mouse. ‘Who might you be? We haven’t seen you around these parts before.’
‘She’s staying with me,’ Nell said and kept walking.
‘I’m from Dublin, just like Nell. They call me Mouse.’
‘Do they indeed?’ Joseph said. ‘Well welcome to Ballyshore, Miss Mouse.’
‘Mouse will do fine,’ she said with a grin.
‘Bye, Joseph. Mind how you go now,’ Nell said before walking into the supermarket.
She found a basket and began to fill it with food. Mouse stood at the door with her arms folded. By the time she made it to the till and put all the things in bags, Mouse was gone.
Juggling the bags as best she could Nell walked out, ready to give the girl a piece of her mind. Much to her dismay, Mouse was posing outside the festival tents holding an oversized loaf of bread as a local photographer took pictures.
Nell dumped the groceries in the car and called out to her that she was leaving.
‘I’m coming now,’ Mouse waved.
Nell started the car and sat gripping the steering-wheel. Her knuckles were white with rage by the time Mouse jumped in beside her.
‘That was fun,’ Mouse said sitting in. ‘Your man says I’ll be in the local paper next time. That’s funny. I lived in Dublin for ages and never got in a paper and I’m here five minutes and I’m a star already, eh?’ She nudged Nell and laughed.
Nell didn’t even answer, she was so furious with Mouse for being such a show-off. She was going to draw attention to them. She didn’t want all the villagers feeling they could start asking questions or trying to befriend her. If she’d known what a liability Mouse was going to be, she’d never have brought her to the village.
‘Why are you so gruff with people?’ Mouse asked as they drove back toward the lighthouse. ‘I mean … you’re OK with me, but you don’t seem to like people in general.’
‘I don’t have much interest in them and the feeling is mutual.’
‘Why?’
‘Why didn’t you come and help me with the groceries?’ Nell shot back.
‘I don’t have any money so I didn’t want to be in the way,’ she said nibbling the side of her finger.
Nell drove on home and as soon as she stopped the car Mouse grabbed all the shopping bags and bundled them into the house. She emptied the food roughly onto the worktop and began to open and slam cupboard doors, putting it all away. She was practically tossing the groceries into the fridges and cupboards.
‘Thank you for your help,’ Nell said, figuring it would be wise to ignore the violence with which the task was being carried out. Nell knew she needed to make an attempt at tolerance. Mouse was young and enthusiastic. She clearly hadn’t meant any harm just now. It wasn’t the girl’s fault she didn’t like unnecessary contact with the outside world.
Mo was ready for her coffee and appeared looking as eager as a puppy. Nell was utterly exhausted. She’d become accustomed to being on her own most of the time. All the chatter and movement was unnerving. Her head was pounding and she longed for some silence.
‘I’ll put the kettle on,’ Mo said. ‘Oh before I forget John-Joe loved the soup you made last week. Now, I probably shouldn’t say this … but, what the heck … he still thinks your carrot and coriander is the best, especially when you throw in a bit of runny cream. There, I said it.’ She looked so relieved Nell had to stifle a smile.
‘It’s hardly earth-shattering news,’ Nell said. ‘But you can breathe easy. I made the carrot soup yesterday and I have a carton of runny cream here. I’ll have it there for you to bring home.’
‘You did not!’ Mo burst out laughing and swatted her arm as she walked over.
‘I helped,’ Mouse said. ‘Nell tells me your fella is spoiled rotten and she makes soup for him non-stop. I’d watch her, if I were you. She could be trying to swipe him from under your nose.’
‘I beg your pardon,’ Nell said looking furious.
Mouse roared laughing. ‘See, guilty! Watch that one, Mo. I’m telling you …’
Mo laughed, but Nell could see that the other woman was having a long, hard think about it.
‘Don’t mind her,’ Nell said shooting Mouse a cross look. ‘Believe me, Mo, your John-Joe is a one-woman man. I don’t think there’s another woman alive who would mind him the way you do. So don’t fret. I’ve absolutely no intention of taking him away from you and he wouldn’t want to go either.’
‘Ah, I do my best and I’m lucky to have him. He’s the light of my life, you know?’ Mo said proudly. ‘So tell me all about yourself, Mouse.’ She sat at the small round kitchen table and stared over at Mouse, clearly waiting for the low-down.
‘I used to live in Dublin.’ She tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear. ‘My ma died and I left soon after.’ She faltered and looked over at Nell with beseeching eyes.
‘Things were difficult for Mouse so she came here. It’s much simpler living here. It’s all still very raw and she’s not able to discuss it. So she’s seeing how she goes. There’s no concrete plan in place. Other than that, there’s nothing to tell. Fair enough?’ Nell stood with her hands on her hips and looked strai
ght at Mo.
‘Yeah, we’re kind of winging it for the moment,’ Mouse said, picking up on Nell’s story.
‘How did your ma die?’ Mo asked, dabbing at her eye with her sleeve for effect.
‘Like Nell says, I’m not good at talking about it. Can we take a rain-check?’
‘Mo, this isn’t up for discussion. I can’t say it any plainer than that,’ Nell reiterated.
Mo opened her mouth and closed it again. It was clear she wasn’t used to being given short shrift.
‘Now,’ Nell said loudly hoping to dispel with the awkward moment as she produced the container of soup.
Nell had known Mo long enough to realise that the interrogation was only over until she got another opportunity, one where she wasn’t in the room and Mo felt she could corner the young girl. She was very fond of Mo, but she couldn’t bear that she thrived on gossip. Although Mo often tried to fill her in on the goings-on in Ballyshore, Nell never encouraged her.
They finished their coffee and Mo went upstairs to carry on with her work. By the time she was finished, Mouse had joined her up at the observatory and, annoyingly, began poking the equipment.
‘Don’t alter any of the devices,’ Nell warned. ‘I have everything set in a certain way for a valid reason.’
‘Fair enough,’ Mouse said.
‘I’m off then,’ Mo said appearing at the staircase.
‘OK. Thank you as usual,’ Nell said. ‘The soup is on the kitchen counter.’
‘Thank you, dear. He’ll be over the moon with that.’ She hesitated. ‘I left your newspapers on the hall table …’
‘We’ll have to make sure we get the local one this week,’ Mouse piped up. ‘I’m going to be in it,’ she said. ‘When we were at the village for the shopping, a photographer was there and took my picture.’
‘Did he really? Why was that then?’ Mo asked.
‘I was standing at the food tent thingy and they’re doing a piece on the festival. There’ll be a load of pictures according to the man.’
‘Ah yes, the festival and the sponsored walk are great for the locals. Brings people together and sure what’s bad about that?’
‘I think it all sounds like fun,’ Mouse said. ‘I might even go and do the walk. Are you going, Mo?’
‘Oh yes, dear. I go every year. Even if you’re not the fittest flea on the planet it’s a great event. Raises money for sick children too. Would you like me to collect you?’ Mo asked. ‘We could go together if you want?’
‘That won’t be necessary,’ Nell interjected. ‘If Mouse wants to go, I’ll run her into the village. Enjoy your weekend, Mo. Bye now, off you go.’
‘I’ll keep an eye out for you in the papers this week,’ Mo said. ‘I’ll bring you an extra copy next Friday, if you like?’
‘I’d love that, thanks.’
Mo turned and left and there was silence for a few minutes after she slammed the front door.
Mouse dragged a chair over to one of the large curved windows and stood on it, leaning her forehead against the glass so she could watch Mo’s bright yellow car drive off.
‘It’s like a little yellow jellybean snaking off down the road,’ Mouse said. ‘She’s a nice auld one, isn’t she?’
‘She’s harmless,’ Nell conceded.
‘Nice of her to bring you those bundles of papers, isn’t it? Does she do that a lot?’
‘Every week,’ Nell confirmed.
‘Fair play to her. Not that they’d interest me a whole lot.’
‘Don’t you read papers?’
‘I don’t read full stop. To be more exact, I can’t,’ she said with a shrug. ‘It used to make me feel stupid. But I’m used to it now. I get to know the words on the stuff I need. The rest of the time I learn things off by heart.’
Nell was astonished. She hadn’t thought it would be possible to be an illiterate teenager in this day and age.
‘How old exactly are you, Mouse?’
‘Eighteen since last month,’ she said, jutting her jaw out proudly.
Nell wanted to lie on the floor and wail. She was only a baby. God bless her, off roaming the world at such a young age. She didn’t want Mouse thinking she thought of her as a lost cause, so she pulled herself together and tried to act as if the whole situation was quite normal. ‘I could show you how to read, if you want?’
‘For what?’
‘Reading has all sorts of advantages. You can see what’s going on in the world or find new stories that interest you. It would help you to get a job some day.’
‘I’d like a job,’ she said nodding enthusiastically.
‘Well, you’re not going to find one if you can’t read or write.’
‘Who told you I can’t write either?’ she asked suspiciously.
‘It kind of figures,’ Nell said. ‘One works well with the other.’
Mouse nodded and chewed her fingernails again. For the first time in years, Nell wanted to cross the room and take the girl in her arms. It was so long since she’d hugged anybody, let alone a young girl.
‘I’m actually shocked at how young you are, Mouse.’
‘Why, how old did you think I was?’
‘I must’ve thought you were older for some reason …’
‘I’m younger than the girl in the photo downstairs. Is she your daughter?’
The room took on an eerie atmosphere all of a sudden. Nell knew she could bark at Mouse and tell her that photo was none of her business. But she didn’t.
‘She was my daughter. Her name was Laura. She died.’
‘I figured.’
‘Why, because I’m here alone?’
‘Nah, there are none of her things lying around. No clothes or toothbrush or bits of make-up. If she were alive, there’d be some trace of her. You don’t talk about her either. So I guessed she’d passed away.’
Nell nodded. They both seemed lost in their own thoughts until Nell spoke again. ‘Aren’t you going to ask me how she died?’
‘I figured you’d say if you want to. I’d like to know. But I’m not pushing you to tell. I haven’t exactly told you much about me. So I understand.’
Nell smiled. ‘She was ill for a long time. She had type one diabetes. The type you’re born with. Hers was particularly severe. From the beginning she had issues with her heart and kidneys. That’s part and parcel of diabetes with a lot of patients. It involved lots of tests and monitoring. It wasn’t easy. That’s why her father decided to leave me standing like a fool at the altar on our wedding day. He thought it was too much to take on. Laura was two and he thought it best to opt out of a lifetime of hassle with a sick child and her mother.’
‘Useless prick.’
‘Yes, he was,’ Nell nodded. ‘I’m not overly fond of bad language …’
‘But sometimes it fits?’
She tried not to smile. ‘He was the one who missed out in the end. He didn’t get to raise his funny, beautiful, clever and unbelievably brave daughter.’
‘Stupid prick then,’ Mouse deadpanned.
‘He was pretty stupid,’ Nell agreed. ‘Not that I thought that the day I stood in a cheap lace dress trussed up like a prize turkey waiting for a man who was already on a plane to Australia.’
‘No way,’ Mouse said shaking her head.
‘He left a note,’ she said with a sigh.
‘Oh well that’s all just dandy then, isn’t it?’ Mouse said. ‘You must’ve been mortified. I’d have hunted him down and beaten him to death with a baseball bat,’ she said.
‘I was so in love with him,’ Nell said sadly. ‘I was so taken in by him and believed all his lies.’
‘Did he know Laura well at that stage? Were you living together?’
‘Oh yes. He stayed over a lot and he saw Laura every day. But we were living at my ma’s. I thought we’d be together for ever.’
‘How could he just walk out when he knew his little girl needed him?’ Mouse asked.
‘I don’t know. I couldn’t do it.’
>
‘I suppose it’s not that different to my da. I know I’m the one who ran away. But he hasn’t exactly issued a red alert to find me, has he?’ Mouse looked pained. ‘Some men shouldn’t be das. They’re not mature enough.’
Nell nodded.
‘Where is he now?’
‘Still in Australia,’ Nell said. ‘Festering down there somewhere.’
‘Did he never get in contact again?’
Nell felt overcome with grief all of a sudden. ‘Can we talk about something else now? I actually can’t handle …’
‘Ah sorry,’ Mouse said lurching forward and hugging her awkwardly. ‘You’re a decent old doll. He was and still is a prick. My own da is in the same category. Let’s leave it at that, yeah?’
Nell nodded. ‘I’ll tell you more another day if you like?’ she said.
‘Sure.’ Mouse lifted her arms and carefully pulled Nell into a two-way embrace. The young girl’s hair smelled of the shampoo from the bathroom and Nell was surprised by how incredibly comforting it was to hug her.
‘Thanks, Mouse,’ she said sounding choked.
‘For what?’
‘Understanding and not insisting I talk more.’
‘I’m not the best at feelings and all that stuff. So you needn’t worry that I want to be all emotional and all that …’
‘You can stay as long as you like,’ Nell said as she cleared her throat.
Much to her surprise, Nell could feel Mouse’s body shaking with sobs.
‘Hey, are you OK?’
‘Yeah,’ she said pulling back and staring up at her. ‘You’re the best. Nobody has ever been this nice to me unless they’re either pissed or a social worker. You’re not even getting paid to do this.’
‘I don’t want to pry,’ Nell said. ‘But shouldn’t you call your da or one of your brothers and let them know you’re OK?’
Mouse shrugged. Nell decided to leave the idea with her. Maybe she’d decide to call in a few days. ‘Look, the phone is there. Use it any time you want.’
‘Cheers.’
Nell could sense that Mouse needed to stop all the chatter. She looked pale and tired.
‘I’ve a few bits to do on the computer. Do you want to watch a movie or something?’
‘Sure,’ she said wandering toward the television.
The Perfect Gift Page 15