The Seven Secrets of Happiness

by Sharon Owens

‘And when did that stop?’

  ‘It didn’t stop exactly.’

  ‘What then?’

  ‘There were quiet days. And then quiet weeks. And then she would go off for a day on her own somewhere.’

  ‘And that became the pattern, did it?’ Ruby asked gently.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘But you still loved each other?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And Mum said in her letter that she still loved you?’

  ‘Yes… She did… Where is this all going, Ruby?’

  ‘Well, I’m no expert, but from what I can see it’s a basic personality clash, that sort of thing. Mum loves you but she needs excitement as well. She needs change. For you it’s enough to go walking around the loughs. Or maybe listening to the radio. Or just pottering in the shed and making things.’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘So if you’re to get back with Mum one of you is going to have to compromise. And obviously it’s not going to be her. So it’ll have to be you, Dad.’

  ‘How do you mean?’ he asked. He sounded mystified.

  ‘I mean, you might have to start doing what she wants for a change.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘Like selling the house and moving to Enniskillen or even to Belfast. Or maybe even abroad somewhere, though you’ll have to be careful where you buy nowadays, some resorts are going downhill… And you’d have to start taking Mum out more. And going on holiday more. Anything she wants, really. So she’ll start to laugh again.’

  ‘But I’m a home bird, Ruby. She knew that when she married me,’ he said in a worried voice. ‘I don’t want to be a jet-setter out partying every night of the week at some trendy Spanish resort. And some ridiculous holiday clothes on me! We’re retired now. We’re past all that.’

  ‘Dad, I don’t think Mum’s past all that. Do you see? I think it’s now or never, for this marriage. Mum has thrown down the gauntlet here. She’s going to divorce you unless you make major changes. It’s up to you now whether you join her in her little world or stay here in yours. And, to be brutally honest, maybe there’s nothing you can do to make her change her mind. Maybe it’s too late already?’

  ‘What do you think I should do, Ruby?’

  ‘That’s entirely up to you, Daddy.’

  ‘I knew you’d say that.’

  ‘I’m sorry. I only wish I had some better advice to give you.’

  ‘Ah, it’s okay. I’ll think of something,’ he smiled.

  ‘I’ve met someone. I suppose I should tell you,’ she said then.

  ‘Really? A man?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes, a man. I’m not bisexual, Dad.’

  ‘Shush, for God’s sake!’ Ruby’s father said, looking over his shoulder. ‘Someone might hear you. Bisexual indeed…’

  ‘He’s a gardener too,’ Ruby laughed. ‘A proper gardener and not just a weekend handyman. Tom Lavery is his name. Seriously though, he’s a lovely man. He’s a widower. His wife died of cancer more than six years ago.’

  ‘Is that right? God bless the two of them. Isn’t that desperate altogether? But I suppose that’s something major you have in common now. Where did you meet this Tom Lavery?’

  ‘It’s a long story,’ Ruby said. ‘He delivered my Christmas tree ages back.’

  ‘I see. And are you very fond of him?’

  ‘Yes, I am. I mean we haven’t had a big talk about the future or anything, it’s early days for us, but I like him a lot. We’ve been out together a few times and we just get on well, you know? It’s easy to talk to him. He’s very easygoing when you get to know him. But he’s quiet at first.’

  ‘Fair enough. I never could stand these life-and-soul types. The majority of them seem to hang their fiddles on the back of the door. They use up all their energy and laughter on their friends and hangers-on and then the poor wife gets nothing but a grumpy mood and a scowl.’

  ‘He’s not like that, believe me,’ Ruby smiled.

  ‘And there’s been no, what did you call it, no personality clash?’

  ‘Not yet, no. And then Jasmine and I sprinkled Jonathan’s ashes a few days ago in the Mourne Mountains.’

  ‘Ah, love…’

  ‘It was early in the morning, a glorious sunny morning. There was nobody else there… I think I’m ready to move on, Dad. Or at least begin to move on. I trust Tom. There’s a kind of peace about him and that’s what I need right now. We had a little misunderstanding a while back. Well, I got cold feet, to tell you the truth. I didn’t think I was ready to start seeing anyone else. But he was really nice and understanding about it. And so we decided to carry on. There’s sadness too. I mean he loved his wife very much. And he always will. But I understand that. I loved Jonathan with all my heart too.’

  ‘I hope it works out for you both then. I really do,’ Ruby’s father said, patting her affectionately on the arm. ‘You deserve it.’

  ‘Thanks. And what will you do? About Mum?’

  ‘I’m going to have a good, long think,’ he said, nodding his head, and smiling. ‘You know me, Ruby! It takes me a while to get my act together! But don’t you be worrying about me, love, I’ll get myself sorted out… eventually.’

  31. The Return of the Snow

  The months flew by and soon it was Christmas time again. Ruby’s father had written to his wife twice, offering to make some significant changes to their lifestyle, and even to go for a few sessions of relationship counselling, but so far she’d not replied.

  Emily called Ruby every week now to keep in touch, however, which was something of a development. And she’d also called to thank her for the beautiful red handbag and all the goodies (a packet of strong tea included) that she’d sent over from Belfast.

  And then one day Emily had asked Ruby to please tell her husband that she was very sorry, but that she still wanted to divorce him. There was no point in answering her husband’s very nice letters, she said to Ruby, because he’d only expect her to stop her silliness in New York and come home again, and behave herself. And she wasn’t going to do that, not ever. And offering to go to the cinema more, and for weekend breaks to Dublin, just wasn’t going to be enough to save their marriage, unfortunately. Too little, too late, had been the exact phrase she’d used. So he’d better just start getting used to it.

  Ruby duly passed on the message and her father seemed to take it well enough. He had signed up for another cookery course, he told Ruby, and he’d made some new friends there and also in the church choir. So he was getting out and about at least once a week and it was doing him ‘the power of good’.

  Ruby and Tom saw each other every week too. They’d go for long, meandering walks along the beach or around the gardens at Camberwell. Occasionally they held hands if nobody else was around to see them. They had dinner sometimes in the quiet restaurant near the park that they both liked. Or they had lunch at Ruby’s flat or at the café at Camberwell. Mrs Kenny was always happy to see Ruby and she always gave her a small basket of scones to take back to her flat.

  So far, however, Ruby and Tom hadn’t spent the night together. They both wanted to though. That much was patently obvious by now, so it wasn’t down to a lack of sexual chemistry or anything. No, they were both dying to take that next step… It was all they could do sometimes not to just run to the nearest private space and tear each other’s clothes off… They’d had some very tender and delicious kisses, just gentle kisses, mostly in the box maze when it was closed to the public. But spending the night together might mean they were officially a couple, perhaps even ready to live together, and they both wanted to be one hundred per cent sure before they took things to the next stage.

  Early on Christmas Eve it began to snow again. They’d been predicting it for a while on the weather forecast, but nobody in Belfast really worried about the snow unless it persisted for more than three or four days. That was usually when the patience of the locals began to run out. However, Ruby felt very emotional when she opened her bedroom curtains at seven o’clock in t
he morning and saw the soft white flurries brushing past her frozen window. It was the third anniversary of Jonathan’s death.

  Ruby stood there, statue-still for a minute, just gazing out at the blizzard. The streets were still clear, but by the looks of it they’d be under a few inches of snow by lunchtime. Ruby blew a tender kiss skywards to Jonathan, and then she went into the kitchen to make breakfast.

  She was going to open the shop all day today. And Jasmine and herself were planning to give a small packet of chocolates away free to every customer. They were going to play Christmas songs on the stereo and had even put up a small Christmas tree in one corner. One of Tom’s trees, as it happened…

  ‘Can you believe it’s snowing?’ Jasmine gasped when she arrived for work at nine o’clock. There were even snowflakes stuck to her eyelashes.

  ‘No I can’t,’ Ruby replied, shaking her head.

  ‘What’s going on with the bloody weather?’

  ‘Search me.’

  ‘I mean, that’s three years in a row now we’ve had heavy snow.’

  ‘I know. I don’t remember getting weather like this every year in the past,’ Ruby said thoughtfully. ‘Must be a cold snap.’

  ‘I thought it was supposed to be getting warmer,’ Jasmine muttered, brushing snow out of her hair. ‘Global warming, my foot.’

  ‘Um, I’m not sure, but I think if Ireland loses the Gulf Stream effect and also gets more rain, well, we could end up with a climate like Iceland’s… Under snow and ice for months at a time.’

  ‘Christ, I hope not. Typical bloody Ireland! This place has little enough going for it already,’ Jasmine groaned, ‘without us all having to wear fur coats to the Spar shop for a loaf of bread! Talk about Narnia!’

  ‘You said last week that it wasn’t all that bad here,’ Ruby reminded her. ‘You know, like, compared to Africa or the Middle East?’

  ‘Yes, well, I’m just a bit fed up today. I still have no idea who the hell’s been sending me these blasted flowers!’ Jasmine said, hanging up her coat and changing into a dry pair of shoes. ‘A great big bunch of pink tulips or roses or lilies every month and no message on it? The florist still won’t tell me who they’re from. Said it was confidential. I’m definitely thinking of refusing to accept the next one. Or maybe even going to the police, like my parents suggested.’

  ‘I told you it’d be a stalker,’ Ruby said in a sympathetic voice.

  ‘Yes, I know you did. Thank you for the vote of confidence! I might have known if something nice like this happened to me there’d be a stalker on the other end of it. God’s sake!’

  ‘I mean, it’s a lovely gesture and everything,’ Ruby soothed. ‘But one bouquet a month, for the last six months! That’s just too long to wait for any mystery man to come forward.’

  ‘Yes, I was hoping it’d be some lovely shy guy. Like your Tom. And that he’d have come in here, in person, by now. I’m getting very bored with all the suspense, Ruby.’

  ‘So am I,’ Ruby agreed meaningfully. Sometimes Jasmine could speak of little else!

  ‘Right, so what are our plans for today?’ Jasmine wanted to know.

  ‘Nothing more to do really. You’ve gift-wrapped lots of nice things, the shop is spotless, we’ve all our chocolates ready to give out. I think we’ve only to open up and hope the shoppers can still be bothered to venture forth in this awful weather.’

  ‘Okay. Is Tom coming round to see you later?’

  ‘Maybe. I said I’d phone him and let him know how I’m feeling. I thought I might prefer to spend the third anniversary of Jonathan’s death by myself. But now that it’s snowing and everything, well, it might be nice to have some company.’

  ‘You’re very brave, Ruby.’

  ‘Not at all. The bravest thing I’ve ever done is put a burgundy rinse in my hair without doing the allergy test first,’ Ruby smiled.

  ‘No, really, you are the bravest person I know,’ Jasmine said gently, thinking back to the night when Jonathan had been so tragically killed. She wanted to ask Ruby if she was falling in love with Tom, but she didn’t dare. Not yet anyway. Whatever Tom and Ruby had together was obviously still very vulnerable and fragile and might be spoilt by too much outside attention. Or joking around…

  ‘What are you doing tonight? Still going to that swanky party?’ Ruby asked.

  ‘At Café Vaudeville? Yes. Might as well go, seeing as my mystery man is still a complete bloody mystery. Can I have a staff discount on one of these short black cardigans with the big buttons, please, Ruby? It’d just go perfectly with my lovely new dress from Dotty P.’

  ‘Of course,’ Ruby said, smiling. ‘Be my guest. Have a corsage as well, on the house.’

  ‘Oh, you sweetheart!’

  Then the first customer of the day arrived. A well-dressed man came bustling in the door, red in the face with rushing, and a list of twenty-one names in his hand.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ he said apologetically, ‘but I’ve left it all to the last minute as usual. Could you ever help me out? I need gifts for my four teenage nieces, two sisters-in-law, the ten ladies who work for me in the office, my mother, my grandmother, two aunts and my cleaning lady. I’m just giving all the males on my list either a bottle of wine or a voucher for HMV depending on whether they’re over thirty or under it. But I daresay the ladies will be very upset if I don’t get them something a bit more thoughtful. Especially my cleaning lady, she’s very sensitive about getting a Christmas present.’

  Ruby and Jasmine exchanged smug glances: this was going to be a breeze now with Jasmine’s super-speedy, pre-wrapped gift service. In less than five minutes Jasmine had all twenty-one gifts safely packed in two large carrier bags. With the initials of each recipient written in pencil on the back of the gift tag, the receipt printed out and the free box of chocolates handed over with a smile.

  ‘Thank you so much,’ the man said, beaming from ear to ear. ‘What a terrific little shop this is! I thought I’d be stuck here all morning. At this rate I might even be early for my first meeting. I must tell all my friends about you. Happy Christmas.’

  ‘Happy Christmas,’ Ruby and Jasmine replied, delighted with such a good start to Christmas Eve.

  The shop was busy all day, and Ruby and Jasmine even had to stagger their lunch breaks to cope with the influx… They’d never had so many customers in one day, in fact. The cabinets were almost empty and every one of Jasmine’s special gifts had been sold. By closing time the shop was stripped bare and Ruby and Jasmine were utterly exhausted.

  ‘So much for my wee hobby shop,’ Ruby yawned. ‘That was unbelievable… Every bone in my body is aching.’

  ‘Me too,’ Jasmine agreed. ‘My feet are in shreds. I could lie down there on the armchair and sleep, right now.’

  ‘Will you be fit to go to your party?’ Ruby asked.

  ‘I don’t know if I’ll have the energy, Ruby. I might faint if I drink too much, feeling this tired. I’ll go home now and sleep for a bit, and maybe I’ll find my second wind. What time is it?’

  ‘Six fifteen.’

  ‘Well, if I sleep until nine I might be able to make it,’ Jasmine said, peering out at the snow. ‘Mind you, the weather is so awful. It’s just like the North Pole out there. I’m tempted to stay in bed and watch TV instead.’

  ‘So am I,’ Ruby agreed. The idea of her cosy bed was sheer heaven to her just then, but Tom was coming round later.

  ‘Did you get a chance to ring Tom at lunchtime?’ Jasmine asked.

  ‘Yes, I did, just for a minute. He has a mobile now.’

  ‘Wow. Progress!’

  ‘I know. It’s great not to have to ring the café all the time. I love Mrs Kenny, but it makes me feel like a teenager… asking my boyfriend’s mummy if I can please speak to him for two seconds.’

  ‘Are Tom’s parents coming home for Christmas, by the way?’

  ‘No, they’re staying in India. They’re having a party in the orphanage they run there. He showed me some photographs of them
both last week. They seem a lovely couple.’

  ‘Right…’ Jasmine wasn’t overly interested in Indian orphanages; she had a very useful knack of blocking out the various miseries of the human condition. ‘So is Tom coming over to see you tonight?’

  ‘Yes, the Land Rover is fine in the snow, he said. God, I hope so. I get so nervous of anyone travelling to see me in bad weather,’ Ruby confessed.

  ‘I know you do,’ Jasmine nodded. ‘That’s perfectly understandable.’

  ‘So, anyway, I’ll see you out. And will you please call me if you can’t get a taxi home or anything?’ Ruby said then.

  ‘Yes, Mummy,’ Jasmine teased.

  ‘Jasmine, honestly, I don’t want you walking home alone – anything could happen,’ Ruby said sternly. ‘Promise me you’ll call if you’re stranded? I don’t care what time it is. Tom and I will come to fetch you home in the Land Rover.’

  ‘Okay, I promise. And thanks.’

  ‘Oh, and here’s your present,’ Ruby said, going to the kitchenette and handing over a medium-sized box. ‘You can’t open it till tomorrow,’ she beamed, hoping Jasmine would love the quirky bone-china rose-patterned teacups and saucers in a leather box within.

  ‘Thanks, Ruby,’ Jasmine said delightedly. ‘And here’s yours.’ She gave Ruby a smaller box containing a pair of red glass earrings to match the silver brooch she’d given her for her birthday.

  The two women hugged each other tightly and then Jasmine put on her coat, boots, scarf and gloves and set off into the snowy gloom. Her flat was quite close by, otherwise Ruby would have insisted on her waiting for a lift from Tom.

  When she was alone in the shop, Ruby glanced around at the little Christmas tree and the depleted cabinets and wardrobes. They had taken an absolute fortune in money; she would have to get it into the bank as soon as possible. Switching off the lights now she carefully glanced out of the window to make sure no robbers were waiting in the shadows. Then she locked the shop door behind her, opened the door to her flat and hurried up the stairs. Tom was due to arrive at seven, and she knew that he’d not be one minute late. He knew the story of what Ruby had been through one Christmas Eve three years ago.