by Ella Grey
“Olivia, surely you can understand the position she was in,” Matt said. “What was the point of telling you over the phone? What would you have done?”
“I would have got the first plane home, that’s what I would have done. But if I were looking after someone else’s child I wouldn’t take it upon myself to make such a decision. Her hair is ruined, for goodness’ sake.”
“Can we go home now, Mummy?” Ellie pleaded.
Catherine pointed inside. “Her things are in the hallway,” she sniffed tearfully.
“Fine.”
Without a word of goodbye to either of them, Olivia turned and walked inside. “Yes, we’re going home,” she answered her daughter, who hugged her even tighter. “Back home where we should be.”
43
Leah was horrified. “You really should have asked me,” she said, when the following day Olivia and the newly coiffed Ellie visited her at the shop. “I would have been delighted to look after her, you know that.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t now, but I didn’t want to put you on the spot – you’ve enough on your plate at the moment.” In all the years they’d known one another, she had never seen her friend look so lost, so deflated.
She kicked herself once again for agreeing to go away with Matt when by rights she should have been around for Leah. “By the looks of things, you’re still very busy here too.” The shop was packed to the gills and Olivia almost had to fight her way through the crowds to get to the kitchen out back. Amanda was out front, flitting around like a butterfly on one wing and Olivia suspected – spying her casually flicking through a newspaper when there was a queue a mile long – about as much use.
Leah gave a rare smile, the first one Olivia had seen since the split with Josh. “I know, it’s great, isn’t it? But seriously, you should have asked me to take her. Alan and Amanda could have looked after things here and I certainly could have done with the diversion. I can honestly say too that I wouldn’t have cut her hair without asking – not like that anyway,” she added, dropping her voice to a whisper.
Ellie was out of earshot and incredibly, Olivia thought, seemed to be enjoying all the attention her new hairstyle was getting. Eva had been equally horrified and the previous evening Olivia had to physically stop her mother from marching across the green to “tell that madam exactly what I think of her.”
“But tell me, what happened afterwards?” Leah asked. “What did Matt say?”
Olivia shrugged. “We went straight home, obviously. He called over afterwards and, to be honest, he didn’t say much other than to reiterate that Catherine had done what she thought was best, and didn’t want to upset me by telling me blah, blah, blah.” She rolled her eyes. “The weekend was a disaster, Leah. Bulgaria was wonderful but I was so stressed about Ellie being with that – that witch, that I just couldn’t relax and enjoy it.” She explained how Catherine had – purposefully, she was sure of it – tried to upset her by insinuating that Ellie was being a nightmare.
“I find that very hard to believe.” Leah gazed lovingly at the little girl, who was staring fascinated at the huge blocks of chocolate that had been delivered earlier that day. They lay there like lumps of rock waiting for a talented sculptor to begin work.
“Well, I did too, and, as it turned out, it was Adam that was causing problems, not Ellie.”
“Oh?”
“Obviously, Ellie knew I was upset about her hair, and she told me that when Catherine took them for a day out at the lake, Adam picked up a dirty piece of chewing gum from one of the benches and put it in his mouth.”
That wasn’t the worst bit, Olivia thought. Back home, Catherine had instantly presumed it was Ellie who had somehow ‘sneaked in’ the gum. But as it turned out, it had been Adam who, when finished chewing the dirt and grime, had taken it out of his mouth and begun playing with it.
“Adam gave me the bold bubblegum, Mummy,” Ellie’d said, troubled that once again she’d been betrayed by her new friend. “An’ it got caught in my curls.”
Leah shook her head. “And the silly cow never even thought to wonder if it could be Adam.”
“Nope. He can do no wrong as far as she’s concerned. Don’t get me wrong – he’s a nice kid but he’s very spoiled, and personally I think he’s crying out for his dad’s attention. Matt’s away a lot, and it’s Catherine who looks after him most of the time.”
“A regular little family, aren’t they?” Leah said sarcastically. “That whole thing with her is really odd, if you ask me.”
“You know, I think you might have been right about her having some kind of crush on him,” Olivia said, admitting it out loud. “But what should I do? Things are shaky enough between me and Matt as it is, and we’ve only been together a little while. He can’t see any wrong in what she’s doing, and he won’t hear a word said against her.”
“And how do you feel about it all? I mean, despite all this business with Catherine, do you think he’s worth pursuing?”
“To be honest, I don’t know where I stand with him, let alone how I feel. We tiptoed around one another at the weekend – it was hardly the love-in that we’d planned.” Olivia chuckled, although it wasn’t at all funny. “So, have you spoken to Josh since?” she asked, tentatively changing the subject and instantly a shadow crossed her friend’s pretty face.
“I’m seeing him tomorrow,” Leah admitted, almost shyly, as if she was being weak. “He’s phoned every day since, but it’s been hard …” She trailed off, a catch in her voice.
“I know it is.” Olivia touched her gently on the arm. “Still, I think you’re doing the right thing by meeting him. You two still have some things to talk about, I’m sure.”
“Yeah, mostly about how he should take the rest of his stuff and get out of my life for good.” Leah said vehemently, but Olivia could see the sorrow in her eyes. “Just go and meet him and keep an open mind about what he has to say.”
“I suppose.” Leah didn’t look at all enamoured of the prospect. “I might need a shoulder to cry on afterwards though.”
Olivia grimaced. “We’re invited to Kate’s tomorrow night though, aren’t we?”
Leah rolled her eyes. “I’d forgotten about that.”
“Does she know about you and Josh?”
“No, I didn’t want to say anything, because let’s face it, she’d probably want to hunt Josh down and kill him.”
Olivia nodded. As they both knew only too well, Kate was fiercely unforgiving about any wrongdoings towards her friends.
“I hope she’s in the mood for vino this time though.” Leah raised a tiny grin. “Something tells me I’ll need to drown my sorrows.”
“Well, look, there’s no point in you driving then. Why don’t I call to you beforehand and we’ll go together. Mum’s taking Ellie, and from what I can make out, is determined to do a patch-up job on her hair.” She grimaced. “Not sure it’s such a good idea but what can I do? It has to be better than – ”
“Girls, girls!” Just then Amanda burst through the door and cut short the remainder of Olivia’s sentence. Typically dramatic, she was flushed and seemed to be waving a newspaper over her head. “You have just got to read this!”
“Let me guess,” Leah drawled. “BTs are having a mid-season sale?”
Amanda shook her head impatiently, as she flicked through the pages. “Nope, even better. It’s last Saturday’s paper actually, and I would have missed it only …oh, where has it gone?”
“What is it?” Olivia asked, and then she and Leah gawped in unison as they caught sight of Robin staring back at them from the Weekend Lifestyle section of the Independent, the headline overhead proclaiming: Nuts about Robin – Irishwoman Takes US Publishing World by Storm.
“Publishing world …what?” Olivia asked, looking at the others. “I didn’t know Robin had written anything.”
“Neither did I,” Leah said, and by her tone, Olivia knew she was a little hurt. She and Robin normally shared everything and Olivia knew that her
friend had told Robin about her and Josh’s recent split.
“According to the paper she’s being paid a fortune for writing these dinky little picture books,” Amanda said. “Aren’t they always saying that you should write about what you know and, by the looks of things,” she added, eyes widening, “Robin’s making a nice little career for herself by doing exactly that.”
“You don’t mean …?” Olivia’s sentence trailed off as she scanned the article. As she tried to read the words, she felt as though a firework had just gone off in her stomach. Robin writing stories about …
Leah, who’d since read the article from beginning to end, looked up from the newspaper.
“She has,” she confirmed, astonishment written all over her face. “Robin’s written a book about allergies – children’s allergies – and now it’s being made into a cartoon or a TV series.”
Olivia looked at her in disbelief. “You’re not serious.”
“I know!” Amanda cried. “Believe me, Robin was the last one I’d have expected to do something like that.” She put a hand on her hip. “I’m a bit annoyed, to be honest – I had hoped to try my hand at one of those baby manuals. But seems freaky old Robin has beaten me to it. Lucky cow, I bet she’ll get to go on TV and everything.”
“That’s not all,” Leah said. “It says here she’ll be doing a promotional tour here shortly. I can’t believe she kept quiet about that. I’m always asking her when she’s coming home.”
Olivia said nothing. She was still coming to terms with the fact that Robin had written not just a book – but a book for children. With allergies.
“So, she’s finally coming home, then,” Amanda said. She shook her head wistfully. “Finally all the old gang together again.” At this, Leah nudged her. “Besides Peter of course, sorry, Olivia,” she added hurriedly, but Olivia didn’t even notice.
She was too busy wondering what would happen when her old friend returned home, and when their paths crossed – as Olivia was certain they would – what would they have to say to one another?
44
Catherine rarely frequented the corner shop, preferring to get a full grocery shop in the larger supermarket on the outskirts of town, but today she had an ulterior motive.
In the few times she’d been in there since moving to Lakeview, mostly popping in for milk or after a day out with Adam, she’d realised that the shop’s proprietor was a bit of a gossip and hoped that today the woman would be in fine fettle.
To her delight, the small shop was empty and the shopkeeper Molly, gave her a friendly wave. “Warm outside today, isn’t it?” she said, rolling her eyes and fanning her face.
Catherine gave her a winning smile. “It certainly is. I’m painting my dining-room at the moment, but it’s hard to keep going in this heat.”
Molly leaned forward, her eyes shining with interest. “Oh, are you living locally?”
“Yes, Cherrywood Green. It doesn’t need a lot of work, but still you have to make it your own.”
“Of course, you bought Eileen Kavanagh’s place, didn’t you?” She made a half-hearted sign of the cross. “God rest her, she was a lovely woman.”
“So I believe.”
“Yes, I thought I’d seen you in here before. You moved in just before Easter, wasn’t it?”
Wow, you don’t miss a trick, do you? Catherine thought.
All the better.
She nodded. “It’s a lovely place and very quiet, but at the same time, it can be hard to get to know people.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry to much about that, pet. Given time you’ll know everyone, although in fairness most of them keep themselves to themselves up there on the Green. They’re all a lot older than you too, of course – I can’t see stuffy old bridge parties being your thing.” She laughed gaily before adding as afterthought. “So, you’re there on your own then?”
“Single white female, that’s me,” Catherine agreed, with a self-effacing grin.
“Ah, I can understand then why you might find it lonely. No man on the scene at all?”
“Unfortunately, no. So that’s why I’d like to get to know a few more people around here.”
“Well, you know me now,” the older woman laughed and extended a hand. “Although we haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Molly Cronin.”
“Catherine Duffy,” she said, shaking Molly’s hand with enthusiasm. “Although, now that I think of it,” she added, as if just remembering, “I do know one of my neighbours, although not very well really. Olivia Gallagher?”
“Of course. Wasn’t I one of the first people Olivia met when she moved into the area? She’s a dote, so she is. And I suppose she was a bit like yourself – you know, a single woman, no husband or boyfriend to look after her.”
Catherine held her breath and waited for her to continue.
Molly shook her head sadly and then lowered her voice slightly. “Poor thing, in my opinion she deserves a nice romance, so she does.”
“I really don’t know her all that well - she’s a little bit shy and I didn’t want to pry - but I believe she lost her husband …?” She let the sentence trail off in the hope that Molly would take the bait.
The older woman looked pained. “Yes, it was a terrible thing, a terrible tragedy altogether. She often pops down town with the little one to buy flowers for the grave, and it would break your heart seeing the two of them head off – Ellie with her little pictures and everything …” She trailed off, a sorrowful expression on her face.
“A tragedy?”
“Yes.” Molly went on to fill Catherine in on the situation with added gusto. “Oh, it happened before she moved to Cherrywood Green, and Olivia doesn’t say much about it, but reading between the lines …”
“Between the lines?” Catherine made a mental effort to stop behaving like a demented parrot.
Molly leaned forward and gave a quick glance towards the back of the shop, apparently not wanting to be overheard, but unable to resist passing on the rest.
“Apparently, she had some part in what happened to her husband. He had a turn and she wasn’t there to help him. You do know she used to be a vet? But had to give it all up when the child was born. I think she does a bit now and again though for the Animal Centre up around Enniskerry.”
“You said he had a turn? Like a heart attack?”
“Supposedly – and him only a young man. Isn’t it terrible? But according to Maeve McGrath one who lives a few doors down from her – and who if you ask me is an awful motor-mouth –” she added disapprovingly, “Olivia was cut up with guilt about it because she wasn’t there to help him.”
“But how was it her fault?”
“It happened at home, not above in the green mind, they were living in Dublin at the time, but anyway, the way I heard it, that day she was supposed to be home early, but she was called out on some emergency, and she was late back. Apparently, if she’d been back a bit earlier she might have been in time to help him.”
Catherine was thinking out loud. “But he could have had a heart attack at any time.”
“That’s what I thought, but sure, who knows how people deal with these things? Obviously the poor crature felt she should have been there and, if she was, then she might have saved him, and all the rest of it. It’s a very big if, but if that’s how she feels, then God love her, that’s how she feels.” Molly blessed herself again.
Catherine nodded absently.
“And of course, wasn’t it ten times worse because, apparently, hadn’t she only just found out that they were going to have a baby? They’d been trying for years, seemingly,” she added authoritatively.
“How awful,” Catherine murmured, although her mind was elsewhere. “You say the neighbour told you all this?”
Molly reddened. “Well, no, not all of it … I mean, I know Olivia well of course, but some things you don’t ask straight out. No, Maeve let slip a few things, and a lot of it I figured out for myself.”
“Oh.” So it was ju
st tittle-tattle, gossip, Catherine realised.
Still, she’d shed some light on the situation. And oh, wouldn’t Matt just love to try and help Olivia through that? Be her saviour and knight in shining armour.
“The poor thing,” She plastered a compassionate smile on her face. “Now I understand why she can be so shy and mysterious sometimes.”
“Yes, she can be like that. Now, you won’t tell her about our little chat, will you?” she said, backtracking slightly. “I’d hate Olivia to think I was talking about her behind her back. She’s a lovely girl and a good customer and normally I wouldn’t say a word but …”
“My lips are sealed,” Catherine soothed. “And sure, you only told me because you know I’m anxious to make friends, isn’t that it?”
“That’s exactly it,” Molly agreed. “And if you two are going to be friends, it was only fair to fill you in on Olivia’s background, just so you wouldn’t put your foot in it or anything. I think you two might be just what the other needs actually – you both could go out hunting for men together.”
“Maybe,” Catherine said with a smile, before adding, “Of course, I’d hate for Olivia to think I was – ”
“Don’t worry about that, sure if she asks, I’ll let on I hardly know you,” Molly said with a maternal smile. “Although, now you’re a bit more settled in Lakeview, I do hope we’ll see a lot more of you from now on.”
Oh, you’ll see plenty of me, don’t worry, Catherine thought to herself, as she smiled and said goodbye to mouthy Molly. I’m not going anywhere…
45
Leah had agreed to meet Josh on neutral ground – in a café near the apartment – and it was amazing, she thought, how calmly and maturely she was managing their break-up.
There was no going back, she had told him, no second chances. He hadn’t said much, but she had been shocked upon seeing him. His eyes were bloodshot, his face pale and he looked as though he hadn’t slept in weeks.