Something You Should Know

by Melissa Hill

  “The train would be perfect.” Jenny agreed, trying not to let the relief show on her face. Luckily for her, she’d got away with having to sit in a car with Karen for the almost three hour trip to the North. Although the way Karen drove, they’d probably have made it within two. Jenny had recently bought a car of her own – a three-year-old Fiat Punto, and was currently taking driving lessons in it. While she was happy to drive in and around Dun Laoghaire, and maybe into the city centre once in a while, Jenny knew that she wouldn’t be able for such a long trip. It was a blessing in disguise that Shane’s car was due for its NCT, she thought, negotiating her way through the crowds, and out behind Karen out into the sunlight.

  Chapter 36

  Karen checked her watch. She couldn’t wait to leave the office. Today had seemed like the longest day she had even put down at work. Still, only a few weeks to go until the wedding, and then she and Shane were flying out to Thailand for two blissful weeks in the (hopefully) blistering sunshine. They both needed the break, actually. Shane had been really putting in the hours at work these days. Sometimes he didn’t get home until well after she had gone to bed. He was often quite irritable as a result too. Their wedding was going to be quite small, but Shane was insistent that they pay for everything themselves – hotel, flowers, honeymoon etc, without having to resort to borrowing. Which was why he was working all that overtime.

  Karen checked her watch again, hoping that by some miracle the hands might read five o’clock. No such luck. She was looking forward to this shopping trip to Belfast with Jenny at the weekend. Hopefully, there she’d find something half-decent for her own wedding. Surely there was something that would do? Karen was afraid that if she didn’t get a dress in Belfast, she might have to think about wearing a suit to the registry office. She didn’t want to resort to that. She would hate it if she weren’t looking her best in her wedding photographs. Still, with her build, it was proving increasingly difficult to find a dress that would do the trick. Such were the delights of having a big chest. She couldn’t understand why so many women were obsessed with having bigger breasts. In Karen’s experience, it caused nothing but trouble. From her leotard-wearing schooldays, to the search for the ultimate white dress, Karen’s boobs were, quite literally, getting in her way.

  Anyway, Shane seemed to love her just the way she was and that was the main thing. Although, with his being away so much, there hadn’t been much loving lately. Karen wondered if getting married would have much of an effect on their sex life. She must ask Tessa, although maybe she wasn’t the right person to ask at the moment. Tessa was getting bigger by the minute, and the last time Karen had spoken with her, her friend had been terribly depressed.

  “What if I can’t lose all this weight afterwards?” she had said tearfully. “I’ll never go outside the front door again.”

  Karen hadn’t been able to persuade her otherwise. She smiled to herself as she tried hard to imagine what Tessa would be like as a mother. She would probably be brilliant, and needless to say her nursing experience would stand to her. Karen wondered if she would ever be able to think seriously about having children herself. It just didn’t appeal to her in the slightest, and listening to Tessa recount tales of ‘all day and all night’ sickness (‘whoever called it morning sickness was having a laugh’) didn’t at all endear her to the possibility. There was no way Karen would have taken a chance like Jenny did, that time with Mike. She was absolutely crazy to have unprotected sex with him in Wexford and very lucky to have got away with it.

  She decided to make a quick phone call to Shane, before leaving the office. No doubt he would still be at his desk, slogging away on the plans for that new toll bridge, or something similar. Karen tapped her fingernails on the desktop as she waited to be put through to his department.

  “I’m sorry, Karen – he left about half an hour ago. Will I take a message or …?” the receptionist asked.

  Karen frowned. She was sure Shane had told her he was working late tonight. She shrugged. Must have been a change of plan.

  “No, thanks, Stephanie. I’ll catch him at home. Thanks – bye.”

  What an unexpected bonus, Karen thought, smiling to herself as she shut down her PC. A quiet night relaxing in front of the telly tonight, just the two of them, was exactly what she and Shane needed. They hadn’t had time to themselves in ages.

  *****

  Shortly after five thirty pm, Aidan heard the alarm go off. He jumped up quickly, casting aside the playing cards he had been using for a poker game with Donal Ryan, his fellow fire-officer.

  Noel Flanagan came running out of the Watchroom waving a white telex in his hand.

  “RTA on the M50 southbound,” he shouted above the heads of the other fire officers, who raced to the dressing room, “person’s trapped, person’s reported, two vehicles – get a move on, lads.”

  An RTA, Aidan said to himself, as he quickly changed into uniform. Road Traffic Accidents were the worst. And from the sounds of the report, this accident was a serious one. He lifted his helmet from where it hung on the wall, and followed the others towards the fire trucks.

  “Aidan, take the second appliance, will you?” said John Cullinane, the Station Officer. “We’ve already got six men in here.”

  Aidan nodded and dutifully rushed towards the second truck and, passing the Jaws of Life hanging on the side of the unit, his stomach turned. He hated the very sight of that machine and everything it stood for. He hated the sounds of screeching metal piercing his eardrums, whenever they used it to pry open a space wide enough, and safe enough, to remove a crash victim. It was this part of his job that Aidan hated the most.

  The two fire appliances hurtled out of the station, sirens screaming, past the rush-hour traffic, as they raced towards the scene of the accident on the M50. The station officer radioed instructions to Aidan’s unit, from his position on the appliance up ahead.

  “Colin and Tony – fend off position. Aidan and Donal – airbags.”

  As the instruction suggested, Colin and Tony would be responsible for sectioning off the crash scene, ensuring that the rescue team and the paramedics would have enough room in which to carry out their duties. As he and Donal had been given airbag duties, Aidan knew that at least one of the cars had been tipped over onto the driver’s side, during, or after the crash. The airbags would be used to lift the car back up, so that the rescue team could get access to the victim.

  The ambulance and the Garda Siochana had already reached the scene. When the truck stopped, Aidan and Donal jumped out, and immediately grabbed the air bags, deploying them as the Senior Fire Officer directed them towards the first vehicle. Aidan raced towards the mangled vehicle and, as he did, his breath caught in his throat.

  “Jesus Christ,” he whispered hoarsely to Donal, “I know that car.”

  *****

  Tessa decided to check on Mrs Cleary once more, before going off duty.

  “How are you feeling now?” she asked the older woman, who had been complaining all day of a ferocious headache.

  “Not too bad,” Mrs Cleary said hoarsely, “I think those tablets you gave me did the trick.”

  Tessa patted her hand. “Oh, look at those fabulous flowers, who sent you those?”

  Ms Cleary sniffed. “That rap of a daughter of mine. It’d be more in her line to call in and see how I was, but sure that would be too much trouble for her.”

  Tessa nodded sympathetically. She had met Mrs Cleary’s daughter once before, and once had been enough. The woman had treated the hospital staff as though they were skivvies, hired only to look after her mother. Mrs Cleary had broken her hip, after falling from her chair while trying to replace a light bulb. If her own daughter hadn’t been too self-absorbed to pay her regular visits in the first place, the incident would never have happened. Yet she treated the nurses as though they had been the ones that had broken the light bulb in the first place.

  “I’ll miss you when you’re gone,” the older woman said to her. “
When are you moving down to Cork?”

  “Next week,” Tessa confirmed. She was looking forward to it. New house, new job and new baby. And the beginnings of a new life for herself and Gerry.

  Tessa said goodbye to the Ward Sister and switched on her Walkman as she turned out of St Vincent’s Hospital, and headed towards her bus stop on the Donnybrook Road. She fiddled with the dial for a few moments, trying to find a clear signal for Today FM. It was bloody cold out this evening, she thought, shivering as she wrapped a light cardigan around her midriff. She had planned on walking home, but she’d freeze if she stayed out in this much longer. Typical Irish summer. As she waited idly at the bus stop she listened to the five thirty news bulletin. Apparently, there had been a very bad car crash out on the motorway a little while ago. Tessa shivered again, but not from the cold. She hated hearing things like that, and always wondered whether anyone she knew was involved.

  And Gerry travelled on the M50 on his way home.

  Tessa retrieved her mobile phone from her handbag, and quickly dialled her husband’s number.

  *****

  Jenny saw Barry switch off the light in his office. She checked her watch. It was just after five-forty-five. Time for her to finish what she was doing and head home.

  Home. She recalled a recent conversation with Mike when she had been moaning about the rent on her apartment, and how the landlord had informed her that he was increasing the rent, and did she want to renew her lease?

  Things were going well for her at the bank. There was an Officer post coming up in the district within the next few weeks, and Marion had already suggested her to Barry as an ideal candidate. Sometimes Jenny thought Marion was more anxious to keep her moving up the corporate ladder than she was in climbing it herself. But the Administration Manager thought she deserved it. If she was promoted again, Jenny knew that she would hardly notice the rent increase. In fact, she thought, she could start thinking about buying a place of her own. But she liked living out here in Dun Laoghaire, liked living on the southside. There was no way she’d be able to do what Mike had done and buy a house out here. Even with her job in the Bank, she would never qualify for such a mortgage. When discussing all of this with Mike, Jenny had got the impression – although he hadn’t exactly said anything – that he would like her to move in with him.

  The thought of it didn’t frighten her to death, but yet Jenny was loathe to give up her independence, and her new-found sense of freedom, so soon after achieving it. Was she ready for this? Was she ready to commit herself to someone again, and commit freely, without any baggage from her previous relationship, or relationships even?

  Was Mike supposed to be The One?

  Jenny laughed softly to herself as she recalled Mrs Crowley’s prediction all that time ago. This time it fit.

  Maybe she and Mike should talk seriously about where the relationship was going. She’d give him a ring and see if it was OK to call over to his house later that evening. She hadn’t seen him since the middle of last week. She had warned him to stay away from her until she rid herself of a stomach bug that had finally abated at the weekend. For a while, she had been afraid she wouldn’t get over it in time for her shopping trip with Karen. She dialled his private number at the office, heard it ring for a moment, and then her call was diverted to reception.

  “Hi Ciara, it’s Jenny Hamilton here. I was looking for Mike,” she said when her call was answered.

  “Mr Kennedy isn’t working from here today,” the receptionist said snootily. “I thought he would have told you that.”

  “Well, he didn’t,” Jenny said simply. “Where is he working from then?”

  “At a client’s office,” Alison said, “in one of the business parks off the M50 somewhere.”

  Chapter 37

  Karen sat in front of the TV, languidly flicking from Coronation Street to EastEnders with the remote control. She didn’t follow either soap, and tonight couldn’t find any particular reason to start. Most of the characters seemed to spend all their time in the local pub, throwing dirty looks at everyone else.

  She felt a low rumble in her stomach and wondered what on earth was keeping Shane. He had since left a message on her mobile phone, telling her that he’d pick up a Chinese takeaway for dinner on the way home from work. Karen wished he’d hurry up, because she was so hungry she didn’t think she’d be able to hold out much longer. The thoughts of chicken with green peppers and black bean sauce was making her mouth water. She hoped he’d got the message she’d left on his message-minder asking him to get some spring rolls and prawn crackers.

  EastEnders ended with yet another resident upset or annoyed about something.

  Oh, sod it, she thought, she might as well get something to eat. A slice of bread would keep her going until Shane got back, she thought, wandering into the kitchen. She winced when she saw the contents of the bread bin. A Brennan’s sliced pan had been there for so long that any bread that might once have existed was now completely indistinguishable under the mildew.

  A few minutes later Karen was still searching for something edible at the back of her never-defrosted-freezer, when she heard the front doorbell ring. Great, she thought glumly. Only one of the bloody Quinns would arrive at her doorstep unannounced on a weeknight. Either that, or it was someone looking for directions – again. Living at the corner of a busy junction brought its own problems, and she couldn’t count the number of times she and Shane had been disturbed in the evening by some lost soul trying to find his way to Terenure. Karen padded out towards the door in her stocking-feet.

  An ashen-faced Aidan stood in her doorway.

  “Aidan – hi.” she said good-humouredly. “I haven’t seen you for a while. If you’re looking for Shane, he’s not home yet –”

  “Karen … love,” Aidan cut her off. He came into the hallway and took both of her hands in his. “Karen … there’s been an accident.”

  “An accident? Where – at the crossroads?” she said, looking past him to the street.

  “Please, love – just sit down for a moment,” Aidan said, and Karen felt a rod of panic shoot through her, as she realised that there was another person standing outside her door – in uniform.

  The garda car was parked a little way down from her house, its blue overhead lights flashing wildly and illuminating the expectant faces of the small crowd gathering around it on the path, hoping to catch a little drama. The panic began to travel from her toes to the top of her throat, and back down again. Her stomach constricted with fear, and her heart hammered loudly against her chest.

  “An accident? Well, I don’t know what I can do for you, Aidan – are you hurt? I don’t have any bandages here, or anything if that’s what you want, but – ”

  “Karen – ”

  “I mean, I’m not a nurse or anything, I don’t even know first aid. Tessa’s the one you want, really, but she’s not here though, is she? Of course not, she’s probably at work – oh well, I suppose you’d better call an ambulance.”

  “Karen, please … sit down.” Tears streamed down Aidan’s face as he reached for her.

  She stepped back from him as if electrocuted.

  “Aidan – stop it, please. I don’t know why you’re doing this. If this is your idea of a joke, it’s not funny. It’s not bloody funny, OK? Why are you trying to scare me like this? Oh, God.” Suddenly, dizzy with panic, Karen lost her balance and slumped heavily against the front door.

  She knew what he was here to tell her – knew it before Aidan had even opened his mouth. His expression told her everything – he didn’t have to say it. She hoped he wouldn’t, because she didn’t think she could bear to hear the words out loud.

  “He didn’t suffer, love,” Aidan said, his voice constricted with grief. He reached for her again, and this time Karen let him guide her back towards the sofa. He sat down next to her, holding her gently in his arms. “It was a head-on collision. He was coming back from a site inspection, and a driver going north on the motorway
at ninety miles an hour had a tyre blow-out. He skidded across the reservation, straight into Shane. He was killed instantly – there was no pain.”

  Karen said nothing.

  “I’m so, so sorry, love,” he said, resting his head on top of hers, his tears dropping onto her hair, as she rocked back and forth in his arms, staring into space.

  “No,” she said finally, her face fixed in a mask of defiance, “no, Aidan, you’re wrong, you have to be wrong – he couldn’t be – it mustn’t have been Shane.”

  Aidan turned to face her. “Karen – ”

  “No, seriously, think about it,” she said, her voice rising as she shook her head from side to side. “He was picking up a takeaway – he’s probably in the Jasmine Palace even as we speak. It wasn’t Shane – I’m telling you.”

  “Karen – ”

  “Aidan, don’t you think you should have got your bloody facts right, before you came waltzing in here and upsetting me? The least you could have done is found out for sure!”

  Aidan shook his head, tear after tear rolling down his face, as he looked back towards the garda for some assistance.

  The garda went up to Karen, and put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Ms Cassidy. I know how difficult this is for you, but your fiancé has already been identified by Fireman Reilly.”

  “What do you mean?” Karen implored in a small voice. “What does he mean ‘identified’, Aidan – what?”

  Aidan wiped the tears from his eyes. “My unit was called to the scene of the accident – I’ve seen him, Karen. It is Shane, and he’s gone. I’m so, so sorry, but he’s gone.” With this he broke down in tears again.