‘I haven’t seen these men for fifty years,’ he said, grabbing them again, and they stood together, side by side, arm in arm. ‘We used to be in a group named Sweet Harmony. We toured the country up and down, left and right, didn’t we, boys?’
The two men, far from boys, nodded and reminisced.
‘These are the two Bobbys: this is Bobby Owens and this is Robert Malone. Sadly we’re missing dear Frankie.’ He looked to the other two for confirmation and they nodded sadly. Seamus took a moment at that, mourning the loss of a man he hadn’t seen for fifty years, because the friendship now seemed as new and fresh as it had been then. Even more so, because it brought with it the excitement and sentimentality of reunion, of reminiscing, of all things positive and everything dark forgotten and under the bridge. ‘There’s only one man who could have done this,’ he said suddenly, wagging his finger in the air. ‘Only one man who takes care of me like this and that’s my grandson George. Am I right, George?’ he looked to the head table and George looked at Eva. Eva nodded hastily.
‘Get up here beside me, George,’ Seamus called, emotion in his voice again.
George, embarrassed by both the attention and presumably by the fact he had very little to do with the choice of gift, slowly stood up to polite applause.
‘Get over here,’ Seamus called again.
‘As long as you don’t make me sing,’ George said, and everyone laughed. He was beautiful – even better turned out than in his office suits – he was charming and dapper, and had old Hollywood star good looks.
‘This man is an angel,’ Seamus said, his voice breaking again. ‘I love all my grandchildren, you know that,’ he looked out to the crowd, ‘but this man is my angel. We don’t see him enough, and he works too hard, but I love him and we appreciate everything he does for us.’ He grabbed him then into a tight hug and there was a collective appreciative sound from the crowd.
‘Happy birthday, Gramps,’ George said.
‘Thank you, son, thank you,’ Seamus said, battling with his tears again.
Kitty even spotted Nigel, appearing moved among a table of old people and children at the back of the room. Before Kitty had time to pick Eva’s brains, the bride and groom, who had been making their rounds of the tables, finally made their way to theirs.
‘Eva, thank you so much for our gift,’ George’s sister, Gemma, said with a catch in her voice. ‘It is the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given us.’
Eva seemed embarrassed. ‘I’m so glad you like it, but really, it’s not from me. It’s George’s gift to you.’
‘Oh, you can’t fool us. I love George with all my heart but I know he didn’t have the brains to pull that one off himself.’
‘Honestly, Eva, if you’re ever in North Carolina, please come and visit us. You are always welcome in our home. It was the kindest, most thoughtful gift we’ve ever received. No offence, you guys.’
There was none taken, as nobody else at the table had brought a gift, hadn’t even known they’d be attending a wedding. A few people mumbled a few incoherent embarrassed responses to that effect but it didn’t matter, the groom wasn’t listening. Tears had gathered in his eyes.
‘And we’re so glad Philipa is gone,’ Gemma added in a hushed voice.
Eva blushed.
‘My father and my grandfather, if they were still alive, would have been so proud,’ the groom said in his strong Carolina accent, nostrils flaring and lip quivering to beat the tears.
‘Oh, baby,’ Gemma said, kissing her husband on the lips.
‘Jesus, what did you get them?’ Mary-Rose asked as soon as they’d left the table, the groom rubbing his eyes roughly with a handkerchief.
‘I designed a new family crest for them. I took things from both sides of the family and also items representing their own life, all stemming from a grapevine because they’re a wine region family and live on a vineyard. He was so desperate to find out more about his family name but I couldn’t come up with anything so I designed a family crest and had it hand-stitched and printed onto some items: linen, stationery, that kind of thing,’ Eva said almost embarrassed. ‘I had been trying to find some family members for him but there was no one.’
‘That’s because there’s no such thing as the name O’Logan,’ Molly hissed quietly, and for the first time she saw Eva laugh, though she looked a little guilty for it.
‘Molly, stop.’
‘What? I don’t think it’s occurred to him that his great-
grandfather was a con artist who changed his name as soon as he landed in America, was probably running from the law and just made up some bullshit name to start his new life.’
Edward started laughing loudly.
Kitty thought it was the first time she’d seen his serious face soften so much.
George headed straight for Eva’s table, took her by the hand and led her out of the room, Eva’s cheeks flushing. Kitty contemplated following them but her phone lit up. It was on silent but it was as though it was screaming at her to be answered: Richie Daly, the slimeball, whom she’d helped get a publishing deal. She had to take this. She slipped away from the table and out the French doors to the garden, which overlooked the river.
Her heart was thumping in her throat as she answered.
‘Kitty,’ he said.
‘Yes.’
‘I didn’t think you’d answer.’
‘I wasn’t going to.’
Silence.
‘Well, I called you to say,’ he sighed. ‘I don’t know where to start.’
‘Just get to the point, Richie.’
‘I want to say thank you, for what you did. For sending my book into the publishers. After what I did to you … well, I didn’t deserve your help and if you hadn’t done it well then I probably never would have. It’s been finished for a long time but I just didn’t have the confidence, I suppose, to send it to anyone. And, well, so thank you. I don’t know why you did it, but thank you.’
If only he knew why she’d really done it … She was seething.
‘But really why I’ve called is to apologise for what I did to you. It was despicable. No matter how much I try to dress it up and justify it, I can’t. It was really low, you were a college friend and I shouldn’t have done that to you. Hand on my heart, I’m truly, truly sorry for any harm I caused you, any upset or—’
‘You humiliated me, Richie,’ she interrupted.
‘I know. Well, I didn’t know that, but I can understand how you feel that you were—’
‘You humiliated me and used me and made me feel worse than I’ve ever felt in my whole life.’ She felt the emotion in her throat and she stopped before she cried. He would never hear any of her words if she cried.
‘I know. I’m so sorry. I want to make things right, really I do. I’ve spoken to my editor and I want to write a favourable article about you. He’s agreed to it, agreed to the whole thing, and I can write what I want. This time it will be anything you want me to say.’
‘What makes you think I’d ever want to speak to you again?’ she asked, shocked by his proposal. ‘I couldn’t give a crap what you write about me from now on, I never did, it was the fact you lied to me, slept with me and betrayed something very precious.’ Kitty was far from virginal but she did think some things were precious, and sleeping with someone for information was beyond the scummiest thing anyone could ever do. She expected him to snap and defend himself like he did the last time, a coward who couldn’t accept responsibility, but in fact the opposite happened.
‘I know you’re right, I’m sorry. I’ll never bother you again. I just wanted you to know that you did the nicest thing for me that anyone has ever done and I can’t understand why because I realise what I did to you was the worst and I have to live with that. Anyway, I won’t take up too much more of your time, I just wanted you to know that hand on heart, I’m sorry.’
‘Well … okay,’ she replied, not knowing what else to say, wanting to spout more words of hate at him but
no longer feeling it was necessary. ‘Maybe you could give me a percentage of your royalties or something when the book is published,’ she joked.
‘Oh, yeah, there won’t be a book,’ he said.
‘What do you mean? I thought they liked it.’
‘They did but I had a meeting with the publisher this morning. When he found out who I was he decided not to publish me. I wrote a not-too-favourable article about a colleague of his a few years ago and, well, he definitely didn’t forget it.’
Kitty’s mouth dropped, she punched the air silently and didn’t care who could see her from the wedding reception. No wonder the little rascal was so sorry, his evil ways were coming back to haunt him. When she ended the call she did a little happy dance.
‘What’s that? A rain dance?’ a gentle voice behind her asked. ‘I wasn’t listening, I just saw you leave the table and wanted to make sure everything was okay.’
She turned round to see Steve a few steps away from her.
‘I think today is the happiest day of my life,’ she laughed.
‘What did you do now, tell me,’ he said, and the way he phrased it made Kitty laugh again. ‘What?’ he asked.
‘You make it sound like I’m always getting myself into trouble.’
‘That’s because you are. And I’m always trying to get you out of it.’ He came closer to her and gave her that look that made her feel delightful.
‘Um, Steve.’
‘Yes.’
‘Katja.’ One word.
‘Ah. Katja is no longer.’
‘What did you do to her? Bury her in your allotment?’
He dug his knuckles into her back.
‘Oww,’ she howled and squirmed, but he still held on to her tight.
‘No. We broke up.’
‘Why?’
‘Why do you think?’ He gave her that dark serious look again.
Kitty swallowed.
‘She felt that I spent more time with you than with her.’
‘That’s ridiculous. You and I hardly ever see each other,’ Kitty spat.
‘True. Okay, she felt that I was there for you more than I was for her.’
‘Oh. Well. Do you think you are?’
‘Kitty, I helped you wipe shit and paint off your door, I gave you my bed and now I’m here in Cork with you pretending to be a photographer. What do you think?’
‘I think if I was your girlfriend I’d dump your ass.’
‘Would you?’
‘Would I what?’
‘Be my girlfriend?’ he asked. He asked it so shyly, yet so ser-iously, Kitty felt they were ten years old. She laughed shyly and looked down at her feet.
Steve put his finger under her chin and lifted her head to meet his gaze. ‘I promise I’ve come on leaps and bounds since our last encounter.’
Kitty laughed. ‘Hmm, I bet you have. I have too.’
‘It wasn’t that bad, was it?’
‘No,’ she smiled. ‘It wasn’t bad at all.’
Just as he closed his eyes and leaned in to her, the tip of his finger beneath her chin, the water lapping beside them, there came the sound of applause as everyone toasted the bride and groom. As Kitty leaned in to kiss the beautiful, funny, dependable Steve, she happened to look over his shoulder and see someone at the pier, checking his watch, looking rather frustrated and as if he was about to leave at any moment.
‘Steve!’ she said, just as he reached her lips.
‘What?’ his eyes opened.
‘The adjudicator!’ She let go of him quickly. ‘We have to get Jedrek. The adjudicator is here.’ She let go of Steve’s hand and ran up the grassy slope to the party. ‘Stall him, I’ll get the boys!’
CHAPTER THIRTY
‘Yes, my dear, and I love you so much too. I wish you were here but this is my opportunity now to prove to everyone, to prove to you, that I can be something.’ Jedrek’s voice cracked and he stopped talking to compose himself. Kitty wanted to reach out to him to hurry him on but she couldn’t. She was eavesdropping on his phone conversation with his wife, which was beautiful and touching, but they had an impatient judge waiting and an entire wedding congregation lining up along the shore to watch, as Kitty had burst into the reception a little too loudly to announce the adjudicator was there. Much interest had been taken in the table of people quickly escaping the reception and the sight of two men and a pedalo running past them on the grass. So everybody had trickled out of the party to join them on the banks of the river where they were currently waiting for Jedrek to get off the phone to his wife.
Finally he hung up and wiped his eyes, turned to the crowd with pride and confidence in his eyes. ‘We can do this, my friend Achar.’ He reached out to his compadre and they walked arm in arm down to the water. Everybody cheered as they went.
‘Could you do the honours, please?’ Jedrek said to Kitty.
‘Okay, em …’ Kitty cleared her throat and Steve circled her and moved around snapping photographs of the entire event. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, bride and groom, we’re sorry to have taken you from your wedding party.’ The bride and groom seemed as excited as everybody else. ‘But our friends Jedrek and Achar, who have been in training for almost a year, are about to make a world record attempt for the fastest two men in a pedalo dash. The current record is one-minute fifty-eight point six two and they are attempting to break this record at one minute fifty.’
There was an excited response from the crowd.
‘I’ve seen them do it, but today we are joined by a Guinness World Record adjudicator who will witness this officially for our friends. So please lend your support to our friends Jedrek and Achar!’
Another cheer and James, the adjudicator, immediately perked up at the response of the two-hundred-strong crowd.
‘You can do it, Jedrek, Achar.’ Birdie gave them each a pink lipsticked kiss on the cheek. Archie slapped their backs and took his place as coach and morale-booster. Steve took photographs, Eva, Mary-Rose, Ambrose and Eugene crowded around them, and suddenly Kitty felt overwhelmingly proud of her little group of random people whom she – whom Constance – had brought together.
Everybody neared the water’s edge to get a full view of the record attempt.
Jedrek and Achar climbed into the pedalo, cycled slowly out one hundred and fifty metres and prepared themselves. They held hands tightly, said a prayer, looked at one another and passed silent words of support, and then they were ready.
The adjudicator made the official call for them to start, holding the stopwatch in his hands and immediately they were off.
The crowd cheered them on, the bride and groom in pride of place whooping and hollering, delighted to have this entertainment at their wedding. Achar and Jedrek pumped their little legs like they’d never done before, their faces full of concentration, of need, of want, of pure desire to be accepted, to be deemed worthy, to forget about the few years of emptiness and despair they had felt, for this moment to rescue them, to make them feel like men again. The sounds of their encouragement to each other were audible from the water’s edge. And finally they reached the one-hundred-metre mark and there was a burst of cheering from the crowd. Jedrek and Achar looked up anxiously to see if they had done it.
‘You did it!’ Kitty shouted, and the two men stood up and celebrated, hugging each other and jumping up and down so much they eventually fell into the water.
Everyone laughed, and Eugene and Archie helped pull them out.
The adjudicator pulled a rolled-up piece of paper from his bag and gathered a dripping wet Achar and Jedrek beside him.
‘Unfortunately I didn’t know that I was going to be here today, I was merely accosted by these two men yesterday,’ he explained. ‘But I had the office fax me some paperwork so that they could have something to see today. It officially declares them as record owners for the fastest pedalo dash by two men in a distance of one hundred metres.’
He presented them with the rolled-up fax, and Jedrek and Achar took it in their
wet hands as though it were the Holy Grail. Though it was Jedrek and Achar’s win, Kitty felt that all of her little group felt some ownership of it too. They had convinced the judge to come here today and so a small part of it was owed to them. They all hugged each other, congratulating and celebrating at the same time. Finally Kitty found herself embracing Steve.
Their eyes locked.
‘Yes,’ she said.
‘Yes, what?’
‘Yes I’ll be your girlfriend,’ she said softly.
‘Oh,’ he frowned. ‘I don’t want to any more. That was so twenty minutes ago.’
She slapped him playfully and he pulled her close. And finally, they kissed.
The cheers increased again, and while Kitty imagined they were for her and Steve, behind them Achar and Jedrek were hoisted up onto Archie and Sam’s now very wet shoulders and were being paraded around.
‘We’d really better get a move on,’ Molly said, looking at her watch, worried. ‘I have to get this bus back this evening.’
‘Don’t worry, we’ve plenty of time, we can do it,’ Edward said, placing a hand protectively on Molly’s shoulder, and she softened and smiled.
‘Thanks.’
‘We’d better make it.’ Kitty looked at Steve, worried. ‘I have a presentation at the office at six.’
‘Can you delay it?’
‘I’ve delayed it a week already. I’m supposed to make a presentation about Constance’s story,’ Kitty said, sweat breaking out all over her body at the thought.
They were waiting for George and Eva to finish their private conversation, everyone was on the bus celebrating Jedrek and Achar’s record attempt, and nobody but Molly and Kitty were starting to get nervous.
‘You really know how to leave things last minute, don’t you?’ Steve smiled. ‘So, do you know what it’s about yet? The thing that links them all? Because personally I’ve had a hard time trying to put it all together.’ He looked at the gang around him from all walks of life.
Kitty nodded, proudly. ‘I sure do.’
‘Well then, you’ve nothing to worry about,’ he said encouragingly.
‘Apart from our driver,’ she said, her voice low.
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