Christmas Day was bright and cold. Cassandra arrived at the nursing home at eight thirty and things were already buzzing.She went to her father’s room and saw that he had already showered and was struggling with his clothes so she helped him.
“Thank you, my love,” he said and again she knew he thought she was her mother.
“Happy Christmas, Dad,” she said as she gave him the scarf she had bought in Paris.“I got this in Paris.I thought you would like it.”
“Trés gentile,” he said with a mischievous grin.
Cassandra laughed delightedly at his remembering his smattering of French.
The local priest was coming to say Mass in the recreation room so she arranged the chairs for the residents and staff.There were only ten, excluding herself. She helped the residents to their places.After that the Church of Ireland clergyman came and gave a blessing. Cassandra couldn’t figure out if any of the residents were of his persuasion but they all seemed pleased to see him.She chatted to the men while they were devouring coffee and mince pies provided by Matron.
The day passed quietly with the Christmas dinner, served at two o’clock, being the highlight. Cassandra went back to her hotel at about nine, having had a sherry with the Matron, and promised to return the next day to help the residents who had been away for a few days to settle in.She had spent her Christmases like this for several years and found it extremely relaxing.
By contrast, Christmas at The Coven was a madhouse.The boys were boisterous to say the least and this made the girls equally high-spirited.Eliza insisted they all go to Mass at ten o’clock even though she knew that this was probably not customary for Lizzie and the boys.She was right. The boys stared around them in awe.They were not sure how to behave but they watched Grace and Orla and sort of followed their example.When they got back to The Coven they opened their presents.Santa had left the presents for all the children under the large tree in the hall and everybody else left their presents nearby.It was a culture shock for both families who were used to having relatively small gatherings at Christmas though Lizzie usually invited friends in on St Stephen’s Day – or Boxing Day as she had come to call it. Christmas Day was just her and the boys.
Everything was labelled andOrla, who had been in a state of high excitement since she got up, acted as the distributor because she was the youngest. They opened Santa’s gifts first as the children couldn’t contain themselves.Alice was pretty sure that Grace no longer believed but she played along with the fantasy and showed no signs that this might be the case.The boys got games for their DSs and a box of Lego Creator each. Orla got Sylvanian Families and also a Creative Design Kit while Grace was ecstatic about her iPod touch.Then the girls were given gifts from Hugo, Eliza, Lizzie and the boys and the twins got gifts from Alice and the girls in return and from their grandparents. The icing on the cake was the DVDs Cassandra had left under the tree for each of the children and the Cadbury’s selection packs from Nicola.
The adults then exchanged gifts and eventually it was time to sit down to dinner. Alice and Hugo served the dinner with Eliza helping with the dessert. The meal was wonderful and the dessert, when it eventually arrived, superb. As well as the trifle, Alice had made a fresh fruit salad and home-made ice cream in case none of the children wanted the trifle or the pudding.She was right. Only Grace had dessert and she went for the ice cream. They were full after the main course and anxious to get at their new toys so they left the table early while the adults remained over a leisurely dessert and ample cups of freshly ground coffee.
After lunch they wrapped up warm and went for a long walk in the woods.Alice really liked Lizzie, and Hugo and Eliza were delighted with the way the day was going.
When they got back to The Coven Alice and the girls went back to their apartment to watch a Christmas movie together.
It was only after the girls had flopped into bed exhausted that Alice began to contemplate the prospect that she had managed to put to the back of her mind all day. She hadn’t told anyone but she had received an email from her sister, home from Botswana for the Christmas break, saying that she and their mother would be coming to Galway for the Sales and asking could they come and visit.
Alone on the sofa she began to fret.She looked around the apartment, glad it was so nice. She was determined to put on a brave face.If everything worked out okay she would soon have her own home and she would be able to get on with her life.She didn’t want to explain anything to her mother – not at this point in any case. It was so complicated she knew her mother would worry. Her mother had always been devoted to her family but Alice understood that what she had done in having a relationship with a man whom the whole family had looked up to had been a bridge too far. But she felt sure that her mother would be able to patch up the relationship now that Jack was out of the picture. She was less sure about her father.To him, Jack would almost certainly be a fallen hero who had taken advantage of his little girl but she felt that he wouldn’t necessarily absolve her of blame either.She felt that he might be harder to win round.She wondered if he was staying at home because he didn’t want to see her or whether it was because of the state of his health.She knew he’d had a stroke but had virtually no information about how bad it was or what the prognosis was.She would email her sister before Thursday, the day they were to come, and ask her a few questions so that she would be better prepared.
Chapter 23
Alice barely slept on Wednesday night and didn’t tell the girls until Thursday that their aunt andtheir granny would be coming to visit that day.She prepared a beef casserole for lunch with Christmas pudding and brandy butter for dessert in deference to the season.She had given her sister Niamh instructions on how to get to The Coven and told her to look at the bells and press the one with her name on it. Niamh thought they would get there around twelve thirty.
By a quarter past twelve she was on tenterhooks.She understood completely why some people take to the sherry! She could have done with access to some drug which would stop her hands shaking and she dropped the cutlery on the floor when she was setting the table. Grace jumped at the clatter and then wordlessly picked up the cutlery, washed it and finished setting the table without being asked.
At twelve thirty-five the bell rang and Alice and the girls went down to the front door.
Alice looked at her mother wordlessly. Margaret O’Brien had aged.Her hair was completely grey now and Alice somehow hadn’t expected that.They stood at the open door looking at each other and then Alice stepped forward and hugged her mother and was pleased to note that the hug was reciprocated, if a bit tentatively. Tears came and she wiped them on her sleeve.
The girls stared at their grandmother as if they didn’t believe she was real.
Orla gave a small cough and Alice laughed. “That’s her way of saying I’m ignoring her,” she said. “Mam, Niamh, this is Grace and this is Orla.”
The girls smiled but didn’t say anything. They had picked up on the fact that this was a strange situation for their mother and probably for their grandmother and aunt as well.
Niamh was the first to speak. “Well, girls, I think I’ll be your favourite aunt from now on,” she said.
“That’s easy,” agreed Orla. “Because we haven’t got another one. And you can be our favourite grandmother,” she said, turning to Margaret. “We don’t have another one of those either.”
“That will be lovely,” Margaret said. “Now can I give my two granddaughters a hug?”
Though the ice was broken there was still some tension in the atmosphere.
They all went up the stairs to the apartment and Alice’s mother looked around.
“You have a nice place,” she said.
“Yes.We’ve been lucky.”
They sat down in the living room, the atmosphere still not in any way relaxed until Orla, unable to contain her excitement, blurted out: “We’re delighted ye came! We’re the only people we know who didn’t have a granny or granddad. Some of our friends have only one
of each but some even have two.”
Margaret looked completely taken aback and then she laughed.
“Well, now you have one of each even though you haven’t met your granddad yet.I’d like you to call me ‘Nana’.”
“That’s fine with us,” Orla replied.“It’s nicer than ‘Granny’, isn’t it?”
This time everybody laughed.
“And it’s lovely to have an auntie too, especially one in Africa,” Grace put in diplomatically, with a shy glance at Niamh.
“And it’s lovely for us to have you,” Niamh responded.
“How have you been?” Alice asked her mother. “Niamh told me that Dad hasn’t been well.How is he?”
“He had a minor stroke last summer but he’s recovering well and is expected to make a full recovery, or close to it at least.”
While the girls chatted to Margaret, Niamh helped Alice serve the lunch and the atmosphere gradually became less strained.
The visit went reasonably well. Alice didn’t relax completely though the girls seemed totally at ease and towards the end their nana was listening to them sing songs from their nativity play and admiring their Christmas presents and saying that they must visit her and their granddad down on the farm.
“Come on, Mam,” Niamh said eventually, “we’d better go. Aren’t we getting you a new winter coat?”
“The sales in Anthony Ryan’s are always good value,” Alice said.“Or you could try Nestor’s.”
“Right,” said Niamh. “We’ll be off so.”
“Mam,” Alice said when they were at the door, “I’m so delighted you came.I really would love to have you and Dad back in my life if that is possible.”
“I’d say it is,” Margaret replied with a sort of sad smile. “But one step at a time.”
“You can set the pace,” Alice said.“And Niamh, thanks!Come again if you are in Galway before you go back to Africa.”
“Great!I’ll email you,” said Niamh with a grin.
As Margaret turned to say goodbye to the girls, Grace and then Orla reached up and kissed her on the cheek as she bent to hug them.
“We’re delighted you came,” Grace said.
“Yes,” said Orla. “An aunt and a grandmother we didn’t know we had. Soon we’ll be like any other family. Could you bring Granddad the next time?”
Alice held her breath.
“I’m not sure he’s well enough to travel yet but you could come to see him,” her nana said and that seemed to satisfy her.
Alice shut the front door of The Coven happy that, while the visit had been a bit strained, it was the first step on the road to repairing the rift between her and her parents. The two girls bounded up the stairs, satisfied in themselves that their nana and granddad and aunt would become a permanent fixture in their lives.
Chapter 24
Alice’s hands were shaking as she read out the document to Eliza and Hugo in the kitchen of The Coven. It was the 7thof January and the household was just getting back to normal after Christmas.The other tenants had returned to their apartments, Lizzie and the boys had gone back to London and Alice was tying up loose ends following her foray into the world of business.Eliza, however, was getting ready for her first session of chemotherapy that day.
“Tower Properties v. Alice O’Brien. Set for hearing at Ennis Court on 14th February.”
The irony of the date was not lost on any of them. Eliza and Hugo stared at Alice.She was trying not to cry but shades of the fragile little girl were very close to the surface.
“You should ring Nicola,” Hugo said, conscious that he should be trying to provide a calm environment for Eliza for what undoubtedly was going to be an unpleasant, if beneficial, experience.Eliza just looked dumbstruck but her own impending ordeal was probably playing on her mind.
“You’re right,” Alice said.“I got such a shock I just had to tell someone.”
“Of course,” Eliza said calmly. “I’m glad you came to us.I’m sure Nicola will be in contact with the solicitor and she will know the procedure from here.”
“Oh, God, Eliza! I just remembered your chemo is today! I’m so sorry for burdening you with this.”Alice was close to tears.
“It’s no burden.In fact it’s good to take my mind off what is before me.”
“I’ll ring Nicola and I’ll let you know what happened when you get back,” said Alice. “How long will it take today?”
“I think about four hours,” Eliza replied.“Hugo is bringing in a book of short stories and if I am allowed to turn the pages I will read them myself.If not, Hugo has said he will read them to me. They are my favourites – Seán Ó’Faoláin.”
“I’ll ring Nicola now.Should I do lunch?Do you think you’ll be home by then?”
“Probably not,” Hugo said.“In any case you may be busy if there are any preparations to be done.I’ll try and pick the children up from school but if I am late I’ll text you.”
“Thanks so much, Hugo.Best of luck, Eliza – see you later.” She gave Eliza a quick hug and turned away.
They looked at her drooping shoulders as she trudged up the stairs to her apartment.
The date of the court case was news to Nicola. Not being a party to the legal proceedings she had not been notified, though she knew she might be called as a witness. She wondered if Séamus knew yet but he was at a meeting when she rang him.She rang Cassandra to let her know the date well in advance so that she couldarrange to be free on the day, though of course Gerard Murphy would eventually be notifying her.
Alice had sounded panicky so Nicolahad said she’d meet her for lunch at the café in the Museum.
“We’ve several weeks to prepare for this and the legal people will know exactly what to do,” she said, trying to be reassuring as they waited for their soup.Alice had a drawn look that Nicola had only seen rarely on her face before.“This is what we’ve been waiting for.This will be the start of the next phase of your life.”
“If it goes well,” Alice said glumly.
“No matter what way it goes, you will be finishing a bad chapter of your life.And haven’t you made progress already in setting up your own business and making a nice little profit in the process?”
Nicola’s upbeat tone did little to cheer Alice up.She played around with her spoon and had eaten very little of her soup.
“I suppose I had better tell my CWO about my earnings. Hugo helped me with the accounts. I don’t think I have earned enough to affect my benefits yet but if I continue – and I intend to – I will probably do that soon enough.”
“Good idea,” Nicola agreed. “You must inform them of any extra earnings even if they are small.”
They were about to pay their bill when Hugo texted to say that he had been delayed at the hospital and wouldn’t be able to pick up the girls.
“I have to go,” Alice said. “Hugo can’t make it to pick up the girls. Can you come out later to discuss the court case?”
“I’m not free today.Better to wait till tomorrow in any case.We’ll have more information. I want to talk to Séamus and he’ll probably be in touch with the barrister.”
“I suppose so,” Alice agreed and she got up and headed for the school to pick the girls up on the first day of their new term.
Her heart flipped when the girls came charging out of the school, all news and laughter.She loved them so much. She was well over the fact that Jack didn’t want to have anything more to do with her but every time she looked at her girls she couldn’t believe that he could turn his back on them – but he had.
They got a bus home and were quite tired when they got there because The Coven was about a mile from the nearest bus stop. Alice made them hot chocolate and they collapsed on the sofa. She said they could watch television for an hour and went downstairs to start dinner.She was sautéing the vegetables when she heard the jeep draw up. She went to the door to greet Eliza and Hugo.
Hugo got out first and Eliza followed.She looked better than Alice expected and seemed quite perky
.
“How did it go?”
“Not bad at all.But I believe that it may get worse. Today’s session was grand.I think I’ll lie down now but I’m fine – a bit tired, that’s all.”Eliza seemed quite happy in herself.
“Will I come up with you?”Hugo asked.
“No, I’ll be fine and you could do with a break from looking after me.” Eliza brushed her hand affectionately on his arm and went up the stairs.
“Come and have a nice cup of camomile,” Alice said to Hugo. “I’ve a few scones baked as well.”
“Do you want me to turn into a complete wimp?” Hugo laughed as they made their way to the kitchen. “Any chance of real tea?I’d love one of your scones though.”
“Coming up,” Alice smiled and she busied herself preparing the tea. “Now tell me, how did it go – really?”
“Actually it was as Eliza said,” Hugo said as he sat down at the table. “She had to sit on the chair fairly still while they put various drips into her arm.But it was fine.”
“That’s good anyway.”Alice was glad for Eliza.Every time she looked at Hugo she envied Eliza her luck.
“How did your day go?”
“Well, nothing happened really. Nicola didn’t know what the next step was and Séamus wasn’t available.She’s to get back to me tomorrow.”
“This is good, Alice,” Hugo said gently. “When this is over, you can begin again.”
“That’s what Nicola said.” Alice sighed as if she didn’t believe it.
Chapter 25
Garda Declan Cotter was on desk duty on the 9thof January when he got a call from the Serious Crimes Division in Dublin.
“A special investigation has shown that Hugo Lynch, whose address is Cappagh Hall, is purchasing, downloading and exchanging the most vile child pornography on his computer.It will have to be seized without delay.”
Who is Alice? Page 19