The Perfect Gift

by Emma Hannigan

  ‘I can go in a taxi. It’s on the way.’

  ‘What happened to your arm, love?’ she asked.

  ‘I was making waffles for breakfast and I managed to scald the top of my arm as I was taking a tray from the oven.’

  ‘Gosh, that sounds very sore.’

  ‘It’s agony,’ she said. ‘I’d better go. Dr Murphy is saying I need to get this sorted quickly or I’ll risk infection and a possible skin graft.’

  ‘OK, we’re on the way.’

  Keeley hung up and called Doug.

  ‘Huh?’ he answered groggily.

  ‘Liv needs help,’ she said with growing irritation as she found him stretched out and half asleep. ‘Get your shoes off the sofa and I need you to either take the children or do the shopping for Liv. You choose.’ She explained what Dr Murphy had said and ran to grab a light coat as it looked like it might rain.

  ‘I’ll take the children,’ he said. ‘We’ll go to the playground and have a snack at Nourriture.’

  ‘OK great,’ she said. ‘Let’s lock up here and go in together so I can drive Liv’s car home from the doctor’s surgery. I’ll post a note on the door in case any of the guests arrive early. They’re not due to check in until late evening but you never know.’

  ‘It’ll be fine, love,’ he said.

  Sighing, she grabbed her bag and her car keys.

  ‘Keeley?’

  ‘Yeah?’ She stopped and looked at Doug.

  ‘I really missed you while I was away. It was fun with Jimmy and all that, but it’s not the same as being with my girl.’ He leaned over and kissed her. ‘Liv will be fine. As you used to say when she was tiny, everything is as it should be, Mum and Dad are here now.’ She smiled at him, grateful for his support. He drove her bats at times, but Keeley loved him just as much as she did when they first met.

  ‘Granddad!’ Billy shouted when he spotted them coming through the door of the surgery. He ran to meet them. ‘Mum is feeling yucky, the oven tried to cook her arm so the doctor has to fix her.’

  ‘I heard,’ Doug said going down onto his hunkers to hug him and a very pleased-looking Jess. ‘While Mum’s arm is being made better, why don’t we go and see how the playground is doing? Then we could go to see Auntie Róisín. I heard she has chocolate cake in that shop of hers.’

  Doug hugged Liv and told her he’d stay with the kids for as long as she needed. ‘You just concentrate on getting your poor arm fixed.’

  ‘Thanks, Dad,’ she said.

  Keeley’s heart went out to Liv. She looked terrified.

  ‘Why don’t I come with you, pet?’ Keeley said.

  ‘No, thanks Mum, but I’m happier on my own. There’s no point in us both sitting in A&E for hours. Besides, I need you to help out with the house and all that.’

  ‘Have you phoned Martin? Is he on his way?’

  ‘No and no,’ Liv said. ‘There’s no point, he has to work and it’ll be the middle of the night where he is. Leave him out of it.’

  ‘Well, OK then … sure maybe you can drop him a text. He’ll want to know, love. I’ll do some shopping and go over to your house,’ Keeley said. ‘I’ll stay with the students and your dad will bring the children over once I’m sorted. I’ll do their dinner and make sure they have what they need for tomorrow. Take your time.’

  They hugged and Liv assured her she would call or text as soon as she had any news.

  As Keeley drove Liv’s car toward the supermarket, she couldn’t quite believe how filthy it was. There were packets and juice cartons and used paper cups strewn all over the floor. The seats were stained with food and the smell was far too like a dustbin for her liking. She could barely see out the window because the outside was so dirty, and a light on the dash told her there was no diesel.

  Pulling into the nearest garage, she filled the tank and paid for a car wash. There was a queue for the brush wash so she used the time to gather all the rubbish into a plastic bag. She knew Liv wasn’t exactly in the running for housewife of year award, but she’d never been slovenly like this. Clearly things were getting on top of her. Maybe the burn on her arm was a blessing in disguise. She needed to get a bit more organised and try to sort things so she wasn’t chasing her tail quite so much.

  If she thought the car was shocking, it had nothing on the actual house. Keeley was stunned as she walked through the front door, laden down with bags of groceries. The hall floor was covered in grass and mud that was so dried-in, it could’ve been there for a decade. The kitchen was a sight, with dishes stacked in the sink and every worktop sticky and cluttered. There were empty wine and beer bottles crammed onto the draining board and the place smelled like a pub.

  The dishwasher was full and, mercifully, the crockery in there was clean. Rolling up her sleeves, Keeley set to work. Once she had dinner on and the table set, she moved into the lounge. It looked like a student flat after several parties. Just like the car, the sofa was littered with so many crisp and biscuit packets that Keeley suspected this was where the children had been eating. More worryingly, it appeared they’d been helping themselves to junk food instead of proper dinners. She grabbed a black sack and cleaned the room, wiping the sofas with a damp cloth and dusting everywhere. Once it was vacuumed, the place looked completely different. She opened the window to air the room before moving to the bedrooms and bathrooms. Each room was worse than the next until she reached the two bedrooms where the students were staying. Those rooms were neat and tidy. The newly refurbished box room with the bunk-beds was deplorable. It was blatantly clear that nothing had been cleaned or even tended to since she’d been there weeks before. Ashamed of her own daughter, Keeley stripped the beds and found clean sheets in the hot press.

  Aware that she was probably stepping over a line, but unable to help herself, Keeley ventured into the master bedroom. It was like a rat’s nest. Clothes and damp towels were strewn on the floor and soiled plates and glasses were stacked on the bedside lockers. She flung the windows open and set to work. The en suite was as neglected as the other rooms and Keeley felt like crying when she saw the state of the shower. Clogged with hair and decorated with shampoo that had dribbled out of the bottle and down the wall before cementing itself on the tray, it was utterly disgusting.

  She was sweating and red in the face with her hair stuck to her forehead by the time she heard voices in the kitchen.

  ‘Hello girls,’ she called out. Pulling off the rubber gloves as she approached, she smiled and introduced herself to the students.

  ‘I saw you all at the race last weekend, but we didn’t officially meet,’ Keeley said. They looked pleasantly surprised to meet her as they stared in awe at the difference in the house.

  ‘You clean!’ one said, pointing out the obvious before clapping a hand on her mouth and blushing.

  Keeley smiled and explained that Liv was in hospital with a burn on her arm and she would be there for the next while to look after them. The girls looked at one another and hesitated before showing her a couple of plastic bags they were carrying. Inside were chicken breasts and vegetables, which they said they intended cooking for dinner.

  ‘We no like toast for the dinner,’ one girl said.

  ‘No, of course not,’ Keeley said, trying to act relaxed. ‘Tonight you are having a nice dish called Shepherd’s Pie. It’s one of my favourites and I hope you will enjoy it.’

  Thankfully, Doug arrived then with the children, who ran straight into the open arms of the girls. Keeley guessed they were around fifteen or sixteen years old. They were so sweet to Jess and Billy it made her smile.

  ‘This is Sophia, this is Amélie, this is Natalie and this girl is Juanita,’ said Billy proudly. ‘They’re the nicest girls in the whole world.’

  ‘And me!’ Jess said.

  ‘This is Jess’s favourite thing to say,’ Amélie said and laughed. Doug arrived in with the children’s belongings.

  ‘Hello all,’ he called out. ‘I’m Doug.’

  The girls were lovely and
so appreciative of all the work Keeley had done. They ate every bit of their dinner and immediately stood up and put their plates and cutlery in the dishwasher. Before she could even blink, they were wiping the table and sweeping the floor.

  ‘You’re very helpful girls,’ Keeley said.

  ‘Ah we learn,’ Natalie said. ‘It’s too much for Liv. She is too tired after her day job so we must help.’

  Keeley glanced over at Doug who shook his head briefly, indicating she shouldn’t say anything.

  ‘Well, you’re great girls and your mothers should be very proud of you,’ Doug interjected. ‘Are you going to watch television or what do you normally do after you eat?’

  ‘Eh, no …’ Juanita said. ‘Liv no like it if we are in her air space so we go to outside for walk or we go to the bedroom and chat.’

  ‘For the entire evening?’ Keeley said in astonishment.

  The girls nodded.

  ‘Well, we’re not watching anything so you’re more than welcome to go into the living room,’ Keeley said. They thanked her and went to their rooms.

  The children wanted to watch a DVD, so Doug put one on and joined Keeley in the kitchen.

  ‘What on earth has been going on here?’ he asked.

  ‘I don’t know, Doug, but Liv has behaved appallingly. They came back with ingredients in a bag to make their dinner. The house was like a tenement when I got here and they’ve clearly been treated like the unpaid help.’

  A knock at the front door made the children spill from the living room with Doug in hot pursuit. He pulled the door open with a wide smile on his face.

  ‘Mr Clear?’ the man in a suit said, with no return smile.

  ‘Eh no, that’s my son-in-law and he’s not here right now.’

  ‘I see,’ the man coughed. ‘Well, I’m from the language school and I’m here to collect the four students.’

  ‘Oh, no problem. I didn’t know they were going out this evening. I’ll give them a shout, come in.’

  ‘Eh they’re not going out. They’re leaving.’

  ‘You’d better come in,’ Doug said moving aside. ‘Come in and meet my wife, Keeley. It’s our daughter Liv’s house, but she’s actually at the hospital.’

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that your daughter isn’t well,’ said the man as he looked around. ‘It’s really not as bad as the girls were saying,’ he said looking puzzled. ‘I’ve been sent by the agency to remove them and place them in alternative accommodation.’ He held his hands up. ‘I know how teenagers can exaggerate, but the girls have been lodging complaints from the moment they arrived in Ireland. They said they’re given no proper food and that the house is desperately dirty. Now, clearly there have been some grave exaggerations here …’

  ‘Eh …’ Keeley said squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, ‘… I hate to drop my daughter in hot water here, but I’m afraid the girls are telling the truth.’ She explained how awful the house was when she arrived earlier and apologised on Liv’s behalf. ‘All I can say is that our daughter is clearly very unwell. It’s not like her to let things get so bad. I should have come over more to check that she was coping, but I figured she was managing. Her husband works abroad a lot of the time and I didn’t realise how much she’s been struggling.’

  They decided it was in everyone’s best interest if the girls were relocated.

  ‘We’ll be in touch with the paperwork. Obviously the weekly payments will be stopped with immediate effect and we won’t be in a position to send students here again.’

  A while later the students gathered in the sitting room with their belongings hastily packed into bags.

  ‘Hey,’ Billy said. ‘Where are the girls going?’

  ‘Are you going back to Franceland and Spainland?’ Jess asked looking sad. ‘Is the fun time over?’

  ‘We need to go now,’ said Natalie kindly. ‘It was good to meet you both.’

  The children waved and Keeley felt it was best not to say too much to them. They didn’t need to know the real reason they were leaving.

  Keeley’s cheeks burned with shame as the girls waved and looked so pleased it was as if they were being released from prison.

  ‘I’m mortified,’ Keeley said as she closed the front door. ‘How could Liv treat other people’s children so shabbily?’

  ‘I’m speechless,’ Doug said. ‘I actually cannot fathom what was going on in her head.’

  The phone beeped and Keeley grabbed it.

  ‘It’s from Liv,’ she said sighing deeply. ‘Oh dear Lord,’ she said as her hands began to shake.

  ‘What is it?’ Doug took her phone and read the text.

  Not great news this end. I’m going 2 need 2 stay in for a couple of days. Seems I need special burns dressing. Will update later. Liv.

  ‘It sounds bad,’ Keeley said.

  ‘Well, burns are nasty. The risk of infection is high and if it’s on the soft skin on the inside of her arm, that’s pretty bad I’m reckoning.’

  ‘She’s in the best place I suppose,’ Keeley said hopefully. ‘Let’s not tell her about all this fuss with the students. She’ll find out soon enough. But right now, we’ll just have to pull together.’

  ‘I agree,’ said Doug. ‘Do you need to get back to the B&B? I can hold the fort here.’

  ‘Yes but I’ll call Róisín and let her know what’s happening and ask her to drop over to me when she’s finished work.’

  ‘Good plan,’ Doug agreed.

  ‘The kids can stay on camp-beds in our room,’ Keeley said.

  She went to their room to find pyjamas and their toothbrushes. She couldn’t believe the mess inside the narrow wardrobe. All the clothes were shoved in a ball and it was difficult to find anything, let alone two matching pairs of pyjamas. Grabbing a black sack from the kitchen, Keeley stuffed the majority of the clothes inside and bundled it into the car along with the dirty sheets from the beds.

  She was baffled by how Liv’s house had gotten so bad so quickly. She’d been here a few weeks before and it wasn’t anything like this. As soon as Liv was out of hospital and feeling better, Keeley was going to sit her down and try to get to the bottom of it all. Things couldn’t continue like this. It wasn’t good for the children, and it certainly wasn’t good for Liv.

  Chapter 22

  Róisín was pulling the shutters down on Nourriture for the night when her mobile phone rang. As soon as she answered, her mother took off on a breathy ramble about Liv and hospital and students and children.

  ‘Hey Mum, slow down,’ she said rubbing her temples. She’d planned on going for a long walk on the beach to get some air and think about the next steps for her business and what she should do about matters in France.

  She had a final meeting scheduled with the bank for tomorrow, when she hoped they would give her approval for her loan now that she had all the reports and surveys in order. Then she’d be in a position to make Mr Grace an offer. She wanted to be ready with as many answers as possible. She’d also had an hour-and-a-half of being trailed by Claus the German man. While he seemed like a nice fellow, she didn’t really need a lost sheep roaming in to chat about the world when she was so busy. Still, she knew he was grieving and lonely and no matter how hassled she was, she couldn’t bring herself to dismiss him.

  She walked toward the cottage and listened as her mum explained about Liv.

  ‘That’s awful. I hope she doesn’t have to go for that skin-grafting process. It’s meant to be dreadfully painful.’

  ‘Yes, so I believe. She needs to sort herself out though. If you could’ve seen the mess at the house … and the way she was treating those foreign students. She needs a stern talking-to. I know she’s in pain right now, but I’ve never been so embarrassed. She wasn’t raised to treat people so shabbily. I could kill her.’

  ‘You need to calm down, Mum,’ Róisín said. ‘I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for it all. It’s probably just too much for her. She was saying yesterday that she’s exhausted all t
he time. Now she’s being clumsy.’ Roisin paused. ‘Listen, I hope I’m not speaking out of turn here. But I’m actually worried about Liv’s drinking.’

  ‘Really? Well … I did notice she’s been getting into a bit of a state lately. She never used to get so drunk.’

  ‘I know and I tried to speak to her about it, but she got so aggressive and said I was accusing her of being an alcoholic.’

  ‘Oh dear,’ said Keeley. ‘Do you think it would be a good idea if I phoned Martin? I’m not sure what he knows and what he doesn’t know at this point.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Róisín hesitated. ‘Mum, I think there’s something not right with Liv and Martin over the last few months. Martin has changed since he’s working away. He’s snappier with Liv and the children. I hope I’m wrong, but I’m beginning to suspect there’re a few cracks in their marriage.’

  Keeley sighed deeply. ‘I agree.’

  ‘You do?’ Róisín was a bit shocked.

  ‘I’ve noticed it too. I think poor Liv might be using the drink as a sort of emotional crutch. Which isn’t going to get her anywhere. This is such a mess. I feel awful for not moving more swiftly on my hunch.’

  ‘Look, we’ll both be there for Liv.’

  ‘Yes, we will,’ Keeley said. ‘You’re a wonderful sister, Róisín. Liv is so lucky to have you. We all are.’

  ‘Thanks Mum,’ she said, smiling. ‘I’d better go. I’ll call over later.’

  ‘OK love, but do you think I should call Martin?’

  ‘I don’t know, Mum. He mightn’t like the interference and it could really annoy Liv if she finds out. She’s tetchy enough and if she thinks we’re going behind her back she could lash out and tell us both to sod off.’

  ‘Hmm. Maybe you’re right. Will we keep a close eye and see what pans out. After all, we’re only speculating here. We could be totally wrong.’

  ‘Yeah, let’s be there for Liv and see where we all stand in a few days. I’ve to fly here.’

  ‘Bye love. See you later.’

  As Róisín ended the call with her mother, she arrived at the cottage and opened the front door with her key.