He's Got to Go

by Sheila O'Flanagan

  “When will you start, Finn? Are you part of the summer or autumn schedules?” asked Nessa.

  “Autumn—that’s much better,” Finn assured her. “It’ll be on Friday nights and I’ve already had a lot of talk with them about how we want it to go.”

  “Taking over where the Late Late Show left off?” suggested Louis.

  “Better than the Late Late,” said Finn confidently. “Let’s face it, chat shows have moved on from that tired old format. I know I can make a real go of it.”

  “Congratulations.” Adam lifted his wineglass.

  “It’s so exciting!” Jill clapped her hands. “You’ll be on the telly, Finn. Can I be on the telly?”

  “I’m sure I can get you into the audience of one of my shows,” said Finn.

  “So they won’t be topical shows?” Adam said. “If you can get kids on them.”

  Finn flashed a glance at him. “Of course they’ll be topical. But some will be more light-hearted than others. I’ll get her on a light-hearted one.”

  “It’s wonderful news, Finn,” said Miriam. “I’m already a minor celebrity in Salthill among the people who know you’re going out with my daughter. I’ll be a real celebrity when you start appearing in gossip magazines!”

  “We won’t be in gossip magazines,” said Cate.

  “Finn might,” Nessa told her. “Let’s face it, Catey, he’s Ireland’s most photogenic man.”

  Finn laughed. Adam looked slightly disdainful. Louis grinned.

  “Let me check on dinner,” said Nessa. “It’s beef in Guinness. I decided to do some one-pot cooking since Bree said she was going to be late.”

  “Why?” asked Cate.

  “Late into work today meant that she had to stay late tonight,” said Nessa disapprovingly. “Really, that girl needs a kick in the behind. How she expects to hang on to her job I’ll never know.”

  “Maybe because she’s good at it,” suggested Finn.

  “Their patience will run out,” said Adam. “I always advise my clients to get rid of maverick staff, no matter how good they are. And Bree is a maverick.”

  “What’s that?” asked Jill.

  “Not something you need to bother with, sweetheart,” said Miriam. “And we shouldn’t be talking about your auntie behind her back.”

  “You’re right, Miriam,” conceded Adam. “Can I get you another drink?”

  It was nearly half an hour later and Nessa was getting very edgy about the state of her food before the doorbell rang.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” said Bree as she catapulted into the room. “I know I’m late. I asked Christy if I could go early even though I was a bit late in and he said yes but this stupid old bat came in to get her car fixed just as I was leaving. And they were digging up the road outside the flat so I couldn’t even get the bike into the house. And, even on a bike, traffic through town was just awful…”

  “It’s OK,” said Miriam. “We haven’t started without you.”

  “I knew you wouldn’t.” Bree turned to Adam. “I brought the light cover for your car, Adam. I’ll do it later.”

  Bree has the same genes as me too, Nessa mused as she observed her youngest sister, but even though her hair is the same color as mine and Cate’s, she always manages to have that artful just-got-out-of-bed look, whereas you’d think that Cate had stepped out of the hairdresser and I—she touched the back of her own head—maybe I need to change my style for something a bit more up-to-date. Only I never seem to have time to go to the hairdressers. Even though I know the girls think I have plenty of time to do whatever I want.

  Bree wriggled onto the sofa between Cate and Miriam while Finn stood behind them.

  “New system?” She nodded at the Bang & Olufsen CD player.

  “Absolutely,” said Jill. “Daddy blew an absolute fortune on it. Mum nearly had hysterics.”

  Nessa looked at Jill despairingly while Adam laughed. “That’s condensing the story somewhat,” he told them all. “It’s a great system. Nessa had hysterics because she doesn’t like the way the CD player hangs on the wall.”

  Bree nodded. “You used to have a painting in that spot, didn’t you?”

  “Yes,” said Nessa. “I preferred the painting.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” said Cate. “I rather like the CD player. It’s elegant.”

  “It’d look good in your shrine to simplicity and modernity,” said Nessa. “But I think it’s a bit austere for this house.”

  “Austere is nice,” Finn told her.

  “I like comfort,” said Nessa.

  “Comfort us all by dishing up some food,” suggested Adam. “I’m starving. I had a toasted sandwich at two o’clock and nothing since then, given that you wouldn’t let me raid the fridge when I got home.” He smiled at the rest of the family. “This was on the basis that it’d ruin my appetite. I ask you! A starving man doesn’t ruin his appetite by having a quick snack two hours before he eats.”

  “Oh, shut up, Adam,” said Nessa tolerantly. “Come and make yourself useful and open a couple of bottles of wine.”

  It was over a year since the entire family had been together. Nessa had to admit that her parents were looking better than ever—retirement to Galway obviously suited them. The trip to Dublin this weekend was part of a package to see the ballet at the Point (Miriam loved ballet) which included a two-night stay in the Conrad Hotel. Miriam and Louis had taken lots of weekend breaks around the country in the last year and, Louis informed the family, they were going to spend a month in the States in October.

  “You’re really getting the most out of life, aren’t you?” Finn looked at the older couple admiringly. “You’re an absolute advertisement for active retirement.” He scratched the side of his cheek thoughtfully. “Maybe I could do a show about that. Life for the over-sixties. How it doesn’t all have to be about incontinence and immobility.”

  “Finn!” Cate was outraged. “How can you say that sort of thing?”

  “Lots of people think it,” said Finn.

  Louis laughed indulgently. “You come up with the show, Finn. We’ll appear. A modest fee is all that’s required.”

  “What show?” asked Bree, and looked at Finn in admiration as he told her. “Omigod,” she squeaked. “You’ll get to meet all sorts of celebs. Are you going to ask a Formula One guy on? You must, Finn, you absolutely must. And then I can meet with them afterward! Schumacher would be good.”

  Finn laughed and told her he’d do what he could. But that he was dead keen on the over-sixties idea. He wanted to appeal to everyone, he told Bree. Not just airhead twenty-somethings like her.

  He’s so happy, thought Cate, as she watched him. He’s delighted with this new job and his confidence just radiates on his face. He looks even more damned attractive than ever. Which means more stupid fan mail letters, thought Cate. From silly women who should know better. Who should know that a person isn’t just how they look. He’s so much more than that.

  She bit her lip. She wished she could feel better about Finn’s job but she couldn’t. All she could think about was the fact that he was becoming more and more successful and in demand while she was still doing what she’d been doing for the past three years, trying to make her sports company’s stuff look better than anyone else’s in an already overcrowded market. And failing miserably right now. She realized suddenly that nobody had tried to headhunt her in ages. Maybe she was yesterday’s news. Maybe the word had already got out. She shivered then smoothed back a nonexistent stray hair from her face.

  They sat around the dinner table and tucked in to the beef in Guinness. Finn, still enthusiastic about the idea for his show, asked Miriam and Louis what had made them decide to move back to Galway after spending their adult lives in Dublin.

  Louis shrugged. “I think everyone thinks about going back to their roots when they get older. When the chance came we took it.”

  “I would’ve stayed if my girls weren’t settled,” said Miriam. “But they are. More or less.�
�� She looked archly at Cate and Finn.

  “I’m as settled as I’ll ever be,” said Cate hastily.

  “Well, you’ve got a good job anyway,” her mother conceded. “And, of course, Nessa is as settled and as happy as anything, aren’t you, darling? I know that Bree will never settle so there’s no point in me waiting.”

  “I might,” said Bree. “There’s nothing to say that I won’t.”

  “Bree, you’ve been in your current job for a year. Surely you must be thinking of moving on by now?” Cate looked skeptically at her younger sister.

  “I still like it there,” said Bree. “Though who knows?” She was tired of this conversation which happened regularly whenever her mother was around. Miriam was like Nessa, a settling down sort of person. Bree was like—well, no one she knew in her family because she hated the idea of settling down anywhere. Whenever she heard Nessa talking about decorating or adding an extension to the house or doing the garden she felt shivers run up and down her spine and she wanted to get up and go that very instant. Cate was as bad in her own way, thought Bree. Cate might think that she wasn’t a settling sort of person either just because she was living with Finn rather than married to him, but Cate was settled in her career and in her life. Cate wasn’t happy unless she was working to some stupid deadline, attempting to do too much in too short a space of time while always trying to look cool and groomed as though she’d just stepped out of a fashion shoot. Bree couldn’t see the point of living like that. She liked to have time to herself, to immerse herself in restoring old motorbikes, while thinking about the next place that she’d like to visit. Given the rather dismal weather so far this year, she rather thought it might be somewhere warm. Her new bike, a Yamaha YZF-R6, was sleek and cool and sporty, but like all motorbikes, it was better fun to ride it in decent weather.

  “Any chance of second helpings?” she looked pleadingly at Nessa. “I’m absolutely starving.”

  “Sure.” Nessa went into the kitchen and returned with the pot. She ladled some more food onto Bree’s plate. “Why are you so hungry?”

  “Busy today. Didn’t get time to eat. Although that’s probably not a bad thing really.”

  “Why?”

  Bree made a face. “I’ve put on half a stone in the last few months. It’s those breakfast baps we normally get in the garage in the mornings. Impossible to resist.”

  “Bree!” Cate looked at her in horror. “They’re probably so high in cholesterol that they register off the scale.”

  “I know.” Bree swallowed a mouthful of beef. “That’s why they’re so utterly gorgeous.”

  “What’s in them?” asked Finn.

  “Sausage, bacon, egg and beans,” replied Bree. “You can get ’em with black and white pudding too but that’s gross.”

  “Black and white pudding is gross?” Cate’s eyes were wide. “The whole concoction is disgusting, Bree. You should be eating healthier foods than that in the morning. Why don’t you have a muesli bar or something?”

  “Because I’m hungry in the morning,” said her sister easily. “And muesli is God’s most revolting food. Anyway, I’ll lose the weight again once I go back to the gym. I haven’t had time because I’ve been working on the old bike before I sell it. And if you don’t mind me saying so, you could do with a bit of larding yourself, Cate. I nearly mistook you for a black Biro when I came in.”

  Nessa stifled a giggle while Cate looked at her sister in outrage.

  “I have a perfect height to weight ratio,” she told Bree frostily.

  “But are you happy?” asked Bree. “Let’s face it, Catey, none of us in this family were built to be sylphs. And it suits us. Nessa isn’t thin but she’s pretty. You’re thin but you look permanently pained.”

  “I do not!”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “Girls, girls!” Miriam’s voice held a warning. “No disagreements at the table.”

  Bree grinned but fell silent. There was something about her mother’s tone of voice that could still stop all three girls in their tracks. Nessa has it too when she’s talking to Jill, Bree thought. It’s clearly a skill that comes with motherhood.

  “Tell us more about the new job, Finn.” Adam changed the subject. “How much control will you have?”

  “Quite a lot,” said Finn enthusiastically. He began to outline his ideas for the show while the others listened to the soft, lilting voice that he used to such effect when he was interviewing anyone. A few months earlier there had been some talk of putting him on the drive home slot but the station wasn’t sure that it would be the best use of his talents because he would have been competing with the hottest broadcasters on the opposing stations and that would’ve been a gamble—a gamble Finn was perfectly prepared to take but the station wasn’t. And now things were even better because he reckoned that TV would turn him into a megastar. Finn wanted to be a mega-star, even if it only lasted for a short time. He wanted the name Finn Coolidge to be instantly recognizable, for people to know who he was and to think that his show was essential Friday night viewing. He couldn’t wait for the series to start.

  Nessa cleared away the plates then brought in the cake that she’d made earlier, as well as a cafetiere of coffee. Both Finn and Cate declined the cake.

  “I’m watching my weight too now,” said Finn. “You know all this thing about the TV adding ten pounds. I don’t want to overindulge.”

  “It’s only a slice of chocolate cake,” said Nessa.

  “Laden with calories,” said Cate. “I’ll pass too, if you don’t mind.”

  “Fine by me,” said Nessa. “But Bree is right. You’re beginning to look more like a Biro every day.”

  “Give me a break,” said Cate.

  “You look fine.” Finn put his arm around her and hugged her.

  Cate was surprised at how good it made her feel. Maybe she was being paranoid about Finn these days.

  “I want to do an experiment,” announced Nessa suddenly.

  “What sort of experiment?” Jill (who’d been very quiet as it was past her bedtime and she didn’t want to draw attention to herself) couldn’t help asking the question.

  “You know how you guys give me such stick about horoscopes and everything?”

  The family groaned in unison.

  “Exactly,” said Nessa. “So I thought I’d try something out. I read everyone’s horoscope this morning. Adam’s was particularly accurate—it said he’d meet some bumps along the way—and he did.” She grinned while Adam looked annoyed. “And mine was a messy one this week all about delays and things which happened.”

  “It wasn’t my fault dinner was delayed if that’s what you’re getting at,” said Bree.

  “I didn’t say it was. But lots of little things went wrong for me this week,” Nessa told her.

  “So what’s the experiment?” asked Finn impatiently.

  “I bought eight scratch cards at the supermarket today,” said Nessa. “According to all of the predictions I read, today is Mum’s lucky day. So if any of the cards are going to pay out, she should pick it.”

  “Nessa, that’s not an experiment, that’s ridiculous.” Cate was scathing.

  “Do I get to keep my winnings?” asked Miriam. “You won’t try to nab them from me or anything?”

  “Of course you can keep them,” said Nessa impatiently.

  “Then it’s a great experiment,” Miriam said robustly.

  “So we all keep any money we get on the cards?” Finn looked at Nessa quizzically.

  “Sure,” she said. “Not that you need it, Finn, with fame and fortune just around the corner.”

  “OK, I’m in.”

  Nessa fetched the scratch cards from the kitchen shelf. “Mum should have first pick,” she said. “See if her lucky vibes are working.”

  “If they are, it shouldn’t matter whether she goes first or not.” Bree grumbled. “If the ’fluence is there, it should stop us picking the unlucky cards.”

  “Oh, shut up, Bree,” s
aid Nessa impatiently. “Mum, pick first.”

  They all picked their cards. Then they began to scratch them.

  “Nothing for me,” said Cate. “You told me this morning that I’d be having great opportunities or something, didn’t you?”

  “This isn’t an opportunity,” said Nessa. “Finn’s show is an opportunity.”

  “Absolutely.” Finn blew the debris from his card. “And just as well because I’m not making any money on instant gambling.”

  “Me neither,” said Louis.

  “Mum?”

  Miriam was carefully scratching her card with a five-euro piece. “Wait a moment,” she told them. “I’ve uncovered two one hundred panels.”

  “Really?” Despite herself, Cate moved so that she could see what Miriam was doing.

  “A fiver,” said Miriam in disgust as she uncovered the second last panel.

  “This is actually getting quite tense.” Bree giggled. “If she uncovers a hundred euros, we’ll all do the washing up, Nessa.”

  “Oh my God!” Miriam stared at the card in disbelief. “A hundred euros.”

  “You’re joking!” Adam looked at her in astonishment.

  “I’m not,” said Miriam. “I was going to say it as a joke because I thought it was a tenner, but it’s a hundred. I actually won.”

  “You don’t have to do the dishes.” Nessa sounded so self-satisfied that Bree wanted to hit her. “But you can stack everything in the dishwasher for me.”

  “That’s unbelievable,” said Louis. “Did you know, Nessa? Was it a trick?”

  “No trick,” said Nessa. “There’s always a chance of winning when you buy a few scratch cards. I thought maybe someone would uncover a fiver. But I did believe that Mum’s aura was lucky this week.”

  “I feel like I should apologize to you,” said Bree. “But that’d break my heart.”

  “I feel that I should give you the money,” said Miriam.