‘Now, let’s get started,’ she said as she showed them how to prepare the sweet pastry tart and bake it blind before filling it with the frangipane and topping with the pitted and halved cherries, then baking again before serving. The monkfish was easy and she showed them how simple it was to poach it and then serve it with the salsa and the stuffed peppers.
As they all got on with their preparation and cooking she had to admit to a feeling of achievement at the level of calm and confidence that now permeated her cookery class. Most nerves had disappeared by now, and each member of the group was doing their very best to achieve perfection in serving food that was both enticing and tasty. How would her next group fare? she wondered. She had another ten people beginning next week!
After class Rob, Paul and Gemma sat around eating, and she joined them. She opened a bottle of red wine and they chatted easily as they finished off the evening’s meal. All were in raptures about the cherry tart. Usually she would have had Sean and Dara here, so it was good to have some company.
‘Alice, are you free next week to come to the cinema or for a drink with me?’ Rob asked as he got ready to leave. ‘You know I’ve missed our outings.’
She had been so tied up with hospital visits she’d had no time to see anyone for weeks, but with Sean home in a few days, and her new class starting, she really wouldn’t have time for cinema trips. Sean would need her at home, and that’s where she planned to be.
‘I’m sorry, Rob,’ she said, explaining about Sean. ‘He’s going to need to have his mum around for a while, and to tell the truth I’d be too nervous to leave him.’
She could see the disappointment on Rob’s face, but it was only fair to let him know where her priorities lay for the moment, and not to lead him to expect any more from her.
Chapter Thirty-eight
Bringing Sean home from hospital was overwhelming, and when her son gave a whoop of excitement as he crossed over the threshold of their home, Alice almost collapsed in tears herself.
A few weeks ago his life had hung by a thread, and now he was back in Martello Avenue, safe and sound with her; back to his bedroom and the routine at home. He would miss the rest of this year’s college term and doing his second-year exams, but the college had already agreed he could repeat the year next year. For the moment he had to concentrate on getting well and getting back to normal gradually. He would join a programme out in the National Rehabilitation Hospital, which was fortunately near them, and had been told to take things slowly until he began to feel better.
Jenny had come from Galway, and Conor and Lisa and even Liam were all there for his homecoming, and she had to act like a sentry on duty as so many of his friends wanted to see him and talk to him. She had to limit his visitors – even Becky, who clearly was very close to her son and cared about him – but she had to make sure that Sean didn’t tire himself out trying to do too much. The doctor had advised him to avoid using the computer for a while and not to go on Facebook or email, as his brain still needed to rest. Even reading a page of a newspaper or book exhausted him!
Seeing him lying on the couch playing with Lexy she gave a silent prayer of thanks for his recovery.
Liam called frequently, and she tried to let him and Sean have time on their own together. Sean needed his dad, and that was obvious.
One evening when Sean had gone to bed early after having too many old school friends call to him, Liam came down to the kitchen and she made coffee and reheated some of the chicken casserole she’d made for dinner earlier for him. It felt strange having him back in the house … a weird sense of déjà vu.
‘Alice, I’m glad we’re on our own, as I need to talk to you,’ he said seriously.
She immediately felt her hackles rise, on guard for whatever he was about to throw at her.
‘I wanted to apologize for being such a shit over the past two years,’ he said slowly, ‘apologize for being such a bastard to you. I guess going through all this with Sean has made me realize how much my kids and you mean to me, and how I just took it all – my family – for granted. I can’t turn the clock back, but I promise to try to do better by you and the kids.’
She didn’t trust herself to look at him. He had hurt her so badly, but now she was beginning to live without him. He was no longer a pivotal part of her life. He was the father of her children, her ex-husband, ex-lover, but she had learned the very hard way to survive and manage without him.
‘It’s been so tough without you, Liam, but I have learned how to live my own life now,’ she said firmly.
‘I know that.’ Liam looked somewhat ashamed. ‘I see you now, and you’ve changed. You have your cookery school, and your friends and a busy life. You’ve got on with your life!’
‘What did you want me to do?’ she said bitterly. ‘Cry over you for ever?’
‘No!’
‘I’ve had to stand on my own two feet. I needed money and am doing my best to be financially independent of you or anyone else.’
‘I admire you for what you have done, Alice, believe me!’ he said. ‘I just wanted to let you know that I’ve talked to my solicitor and have organized that the house will be totally transferred into your name.’
‘Why?’ she asked, immediately suspicious of his so-called generosity.
‘We both paid for the house,’ he explained. ‘But you and I know that it was really your inheritance from Betty that paid off most of the mortgage and transformed it. It was all your money that you put into this place. So I guess for the sake of fairness it should be yours. The kids might be grown-up, but they still need a home to come to. It’s also become your place to earn some income. I may be a right shit, but after all we’ve gone through in the past few weeks I can’t take that away from you.’
Alice held her breath. She couldn’t believe it. She had been expecting a battle with him over the house, and now he was prepared to cede it to her.
‘Liam, thank you,’ she said, taking a deep calming breath.
‘The office and the apartment in Ballsbridge are, however, still in both our names,’ he said, ‘and I need you to agree to them being transferred into mine alone.’
‘Oh,’ she said, surprised. ‘Why?’
‘I want to offload at least one of them, even if the market is poor. A lot of my work is now on contracts with Johnny Leonard in the UK, and I am back and forward there a lot. I don’t need a big office with all the overheads here in Dublin any more. Something smaller will do.’
She had never had any interest in the apartment he’d bought as an investment about ten years ago, and as for the office, it had always been his as far as she was concerned. He could have it!
‘Whatever you want, Liam. If we need to sign papers and go to solicitors to set it up, just go ahead and organize it.’
‘Thanks.’
She could see the gratitude on his face.
‘Well, it looks like we are both getting on with our lives.’
She smiled half-heartedly.
‘I’ll be in the UK more and more, Alice, but you know I’ll be here if you or the kids need me. I’m just a phone call away.’
‘I know,’ she said, actually believing him. ‘What does Elaine think of you being away so much?’
‘She understands I have to go where the work is. She’s even talking about moving over herself, as her brother Tony has a wine bar in Putney and is thinking about expanding.’
She looked at Liam. Was he going to give the money to Elaine? But actually, she thought, it was none of her business what they did or didn’t do any more.
‘Well, I hope whatever happens, Liam, it all works out for you,’ she said, realizing that she genuinely meant it. Liam was no longer hers. As her husband he was so much a part of her past but she accepted the fact that he would have very little to do with her future.
‘Look, I’d better go,’ he said, standing up. ‘I said I’d collect Elaine after work.’
They hugged each other awkwardly at the front door.
> ‘I’ll be in touch about the legal stuff, Alice,’ he said, walking out to the car.
It occurred to Alice, as she watched her husband sit into his car and drive away that, for the first time in over two years, she was no longer angry with him, and that another part of her life with him was finally over.
Chapter Thirty-nine
Tessa checked the dining room. It was strange to see her mother’s old dining room in use again. She’d polished the table and set it with her mother’s good Waterford crystal glasses and Wedgwood dinner service. She’d picked pink and mauve peonies from the back garden, and they made a pretty display in vases on the table and sideboard. She’d polished the silver and cleaned the big mirror over the sideboard, and with the light from the large bay window the room seemed brighter and airier, especially with all her mother’s old boxes, that used to be stored under the sideboard, banished to the garage. The room was ready, she thought, as she placed some candles on the table.
Florence Sullivan had gone to the hairdresser’s for a wash and a blow-dry and had tried on about three outfits before settling on a pretty turquoise two-piece to wear for tonight’s dinner party. Tessa’s mother was almost as excited about Tessa having a few friends to dinner as she was.
‘Mum, they are just some of the group from my cookery class!’ Tessa had reminded her. ‘It’s no big deal.’
In London she had regularly entertained her friends and had people in. It was one of the things she had missed most since moving home. She’d mentioned it to Emmet one night and been surprised when he suggested that if so, it was high time she invited some of her new friends over to her home. She’d agonized over it, but had eventually asked Emmet and his friend Steven, Paul and Gemma, and Kitty and Rob. She’d also been surprised when Kitty had asked if she could bring her husband along.
‘Larry’s not a great one for going out, but I think that he might come along if he knew it was just the class crowd.’
Tessa opted to cook something a little fancy, and she hoped that she could pull it off, given that she was using a pretty antiquated gas oven. She had cooked a large leg of spring Wicklow lamb with garlic potatoes and spring greens. For starters there was a creamy salmon mousse, and she had made a sticky pecan toffee tart for dessert.
She had changed into a simple pale-blue shift dress that she hadn’t worn since returning home, with a pair of nude slingbacks.
It was no surprise that Rob was first, as he had promised to bring along some good wines for the night. He had also brought a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, which she put in the big glass vase in the hall.
‘They’re lovely, Rob,’ she said, hugging him, as she brought him into the sitting room where Florence was in her favourite chair.
Rob had already met her mother, as they had got into the habit of going for weekly walks, and once or twice when he’d collected Tessa he’d come in and had a bit of a chat with Florence.
‘You’re looking very stylish tonight, Florence,’ he complimented, as Tessa sliced some lemon and fixed three glasses of gin and tonic.
It was a lovely bright evening, and Tessa opened the French doors out to the garden. She’d mowed the grass the previous day and strimmed all around the edges of the flower beds. The big lilac tree was in full bloom, and some of the roses were already out. She’d always loved this room, with its sunny aspect, comfortable chintz-covered couches and polished wood bookshelves.
A few minutes later everyone seemed to arrive at the same time, and she got caught up introducing them to her mother while trying to fix drinks and top-up glasses.
‘What a lovely house!’ said Emmet, hugging her and presenting her with a box of handmade chocolates. ‘You look gorgeous, Tessa, darling!’
‘And you look great, too!’ she said, noticing he was wearing a beautiful linen jacket and crisp Ralph Lauren shirt. Steven was great fun, and was charming Florence by telling her how he and Emmet first met.
‘And you’ve been friends ever since?’ She twinkled, holding his hand.
‘You could say that!’ He laughed.
Kitty looked amazing: she had a beautiful soft mauve wrap-around dress on her, and had done something new with her hair.
‘I’ve stopped getting it permed, and am letting it grow a bit longer,’ she confided. ‘It was making me too old-looking.’
Larry, her husband, was deep in conversation with Paul about growing vegetables in a garden and the use of nets to prevent birds attacking strawberries, something he seemed to know a lot about.
Tessa asked Kitty into the kitchen to give a quick check with her that everything looked OK, and then called her guests into the dining room as Rob attended to the wine.
Tessa held her breath as they tasted the mousse. Everyone complimented her on the delicate flavour of the fish on the cucumber and lettuce bed as she passed around the warm baby brown scones she’d made to go with it.
The lamb was melt-in-the-mouth tender, the rosemary sprigs she’d picked from the garden giving it a lovely flavour. As she looked around the table she could see everyone was really enjoying it. She carved some extra slices and saw them disappear in a trice, Rob saying that it was one of the best legs of lamb he had eaten in a long time. Gemma was chatting away to Florence, telling her all about her garden flat.
‘Did I tell you that I am thinking of opening a little café-cum-coffee shop?’ said Emmet, who was sitting beside Tessa.
‘What?’ said Tessa, surprised. ‘Where are you thinking of opening?’
‘I’ve been scouting around for suitable premises, and there’s a place on the seafront near Monkstown Village that has just come up. It’s literally only a two-minute walk from the beach and the DART station,’ he explained. ‘It’s a great little premises, used to sell toys and trinkets, and I think it’s in a good location. I’ve been talking to the landlord, and we are trying to come to a deal on the rent.’
‘But it’s so different from what you normally do!’
‘Did,’ he corrected. ‘There’s very little work for architects at the moment, unless you are prepared to go overseas. Half of my office are travelling the globe, and I can’t just hang around hoping something will happen. So I guess opening a little place of my own has always been a bit of a pipe dream, and Steven has encouraged me to just go for it.’
‘What kind of place will it be?’
‘Well, nothing too fancy, and it will only open during the day. I have no intention of competing with the local restaurants! But you know something, Tessa? If you walk all along the seafront there is hardly anywhere to just chill and meet friends for coffee or lunch and grab a bowl of soup or have a nice slice of cake. So a simple café might work!’
‘Sounds great,’ said Tessa. ‘Just the kind of place most of us would drop in to!’
‘That’s what I hope.’ He sounded pleased with himself. ‘Well, that’s if I can get the premises.’
‘Fingers crossed!’ wished Tessa.
They all stayed chatting for ages, Tessa making pots of coffee and opening the bottle of Baileys that Kitty and Larry had brought along, as Florence loved a glass of the creamy liqueur.
Eventually Florence admitted she was tired and went off upstairs to bed, saying goodnight to everybody before she left.
‘She’s such a sweetheart,’ said Emmet. ‘No wonder you are so mad about her.’
As they all drifted off home in taxis, Rob was left behind. He and Tessa cleared the table and moved into the sitting room to enjoy the remnants of the fire.
‘That was a lovely night, Tessa.’
‘I’m so glad that I made the effort now,’ she admitted. ‘I was a bit nervous about everyone coming here with Mum and all, but she has had nearly as good a night as I have!’
‘It was perfect.’
‘Thanks for helping with the wines.’
‘My pleasure.’
She smiled to herself. He really was so old-fashioned and kind.
‘You’ve cooked me a lovely dinner, Tessa, so I hope that you will l
et me in return bring you to dinner next weekend?’ he said. ‘That’s, of course, if it suits you!’
‘The two of us go out on our own to dinner?’ she asked, taking in his serious face and greying hair.
‘Yes.’
‘No Bingo?’ she teased. ‘That dog is always with us.’
‘No Bingo, I promise.’
She noticed the way he laughed, those funny creases around his eyes making him seem younger.
‘Just the two of us,’ he promised, as he kissed her cheek. Then he got his jacket and said goodnight.
As Tessa blew out the candles in the sitting room and locked up it hit her that Rob was the kind of man she liked. They were comfortable together, relaxed. He made her feel attractive, and she certainly found him not only interesting but handsome in a well-preserved way. The age difference between them was nothing, really. They were already friends but maybe … maybe there could be more …
Chapter Forty
Lucy snuggled up to Finn on the couch. She had just made the most gorgeous coq au vin, as Alice called it, and Finn had practically licked his plate clean. They polished off the rest of the bottle of wine and as she curled up in his arms Lucy realized this was the place she wanted to be. She could hear his heart beat, his breath, feel his ribs move. Finn was so much part of her.
‘Lucy,’ he said slowly, ‘I’ve been thinking a lot about it lately, and I was going to ask if you’d be interested in moving in with me?’
‘Move in here with Duggy and Karl?’ she said. She spent a huge amount of time here, but Lucy couldn’t imagine anything worse than being officially just another flatmate, and paying rent to stay in this kip of a place.
‘No.’ He laughed, sitting up a bit and looking at her. ‘I meant you and me on our own moving in together and finding a place. I love you. I just want to be with you all the time, and now that I have a bit of money maybe it’s time we kind of made it official and the two of us started living together.’
A Taste for Love Page 21