by Melissa Hill
“Now I know the interview went well. Go on, spit out the good news. Is Marianne Cohen the new head of sales?” he asked, serving himself a slice of lasagne and scooping salad on to his plate.
“No.”
“No?” Donal queried. “OK tell me what happened, because something obviously did.”
“I never actually did the interview for the promotion. I cancelled it,” she said.
Donal’s eyes widened. “You did what? Why?”
“I went to Ms. Walker’s office and sat down waiting for her to finish talking on the phone. I looked around her office, and Donal; there was not a single photograph of her with people she loved. There was only a picture of her holding her cat,” Marianne said with feeling.
“So?”
“Can’t you see, that’s the price of success?” she said. “Honey, I don’t want to live my life like that, alone with only a cat to love.”
“But you have me, so that’s unlikely.”
“Maybe Ms. Walker had a husband too at one point and they divorced?” Marianne said. “And it seems to me that we are headed down that road too.”
Donal put his fork down and stared at her. “Divorce, us? Am I missing something?”
“Haven’t you noticed? We’re so busy building our careers that we’re neglecting our marriage.”
Donal shifted about in his chair. “It’s that way for many people these days though. You have to build your career and have a firm financial base. That’s what we are doing.”
Marianne looked at him with sadness and said nothing.
“So why did you cancel the interview?”
“I want a life Donal.”
“You have a life,” he said, ripping the napkin into tiny little pieces.
“I’m thirty seven years old, and I feel so alone yet I’m married.”
Donal looked away.
“Look at me,” Marianne said and when he did she continued. “I love you so much and I want our marriage to work.”
He was quiet for a while and Marianne crossed her fingers. She remained silent knowing that he usually needed time to think things through without being drowned with information.
“What do you want us to do so?” he finally said.
“I want us to go back to Lakeview. Remember that night all those years ago when you proposed; remember how romantic it was watching the moonlight over the lake, and just talking about our future?”
Donal looked wistful. “How can I forget?”
“So let’s go back there - this summer.”
Would he agree to take some time out together, back to Lakeview where he had proposed to her? Marianne closed her eyes and allowed herself to remember.
Back then, Donal had not acquired that distracted look he now wore all the time. He had taken her out on a boat on the lake and as they floated on the dark water, the moonlight casting shadows all around them, he had gone down on one knee and asked her to marry him.
“Well yes, I’m sure we will sometime but what about the job Marianne? Are you sure you don’t want it?” Donal said sitting back to look at her face.
“I’ve never been so sure of anything.”
“OK, but the perks would have been attractive,” he pointed out, and Marianne knew he was testing her.
“Yes I know, but our marriage is more important, and maybe one day children too,” she added quietly, before adding, “I booked us a cottage in Lakeview for the last two weeks in June.”
Donal stared at her.“Are you serious?” he said. “You booked a holiday without consulting me?”
“I did, it’s for us, we need this, Donal. We need time alone from everything.”
“These things need to be planned. You can’t just wake up one morning and decide you’re going on holiday. I’m an investment consultant. There are people depending on me to make important decisions for them.”
“Think about it though, we haven’t had a holiday in TWO years. Come on you can do it. Remind them at work how long you’ve worked nonstop.”
“It’s not that. I have so much planned for the next few weeks. There are meetings with clients and potential clients and conferences to attend. Ah, Marianne.”
“I’m sorry; I know I shouldn’t have booked it without speaking to you first.” Marianne said, immediately contrite.
Donal inhaled deeply but said nothing. Then he sighed.
“OK it’ll be tight, but if it’s that important to you, maybe I can swing it.”
Marianne threw herself on him and hugged him tight. Thank goodness. He really wanted to try; wanted their marriage to work as much as she did.
Then she thought of his mobile and laptop. Would he agree to switch them off while they were there though? Otherwise if he worked throughout, the break would be for nothing
Then she chided herself for her pessimism. Donal had agreed to go to Lakeview and that was the main thing.
One step at a time.
7
Kevin Carter stood by the car, leaning on the driver’s door.
“Drive safely, don’t be in a rush,” he said to his wife, looking anxious.
“We’ll be fine, won’t we boys?” Grace said in a cheerful voice, her hands gripping the steering wheel so hard that her palms hurt.
“I love you, have fun and I promise I’ll pop down for a quick stay if I can,” Kevin said, and stepped away from the car.
“Love you too,” Grace echoed, but she knew that Kevin wouldn’t be joining them.
Things had seriously heated up at the firm following the takeover, and he was working every hour God sent. The last thing he needed was to sit in merciless summer traffic to and from Wicklow at the weekends.
She looked at the mirror, and for once the boys were uncharacteristically subdued.
“Are you OK guys?” she asked.
“I miss daddy, I want him to come with us,” Jake pouted.
“It won’t be any fun without daddy. I want to stay with him,” Josh added.
“Well, you can’t stay with daddy because he has to work. I explained all this to you already, didn’t I? The three of us will go to Lakeview; we’ll enjoy ourselves and come back home after two weeks.”
“I will not have fun,” Jake said and crossed his arms across his chest.
“Me neither. I wish I wasn’t going,” Josh added.
Grace sighed. “You two are very ungrateful you know. A lot of kids would love to be in your situation, yet here you are sulking.”
There was no response from the back seat and she looked at the mirror. They were looking out the window wearing sulky expressions.
Oh well.
It was two in the afternoon, and the sun was out in full force, glaring down and emitting a warmth that was almost too hot but not quite.
Grace drove with her window open and hummed along to the country music blaring from the radio. She glanced over at the boys and saw that they now were fast asleep. Jake’s neck was at a funny angle and she worried as she looked at him.
Finally she pulled into a petrol station nearby and as she adjusted the position of his neck, he woke up. And Josh followed.
“I want to go wee-wee,” he said.
“Me too.’
The three of them trooped to the bathroom which was on the other side of the station, next to a restaurant.
Grace shepherded them to the ladies’ as she usually did when she was alone with them and there was no family toilet.
“I’m not going to a girl’s toilet,” Josh said stopping.
“Me neither. I want to go to the big boys’ toilet.”
“You can’t go in there alone, you know that,” Grace said.
She grabbed each twins’ hand and tried to pull them in, but they wouldn’t bulge. There was no one around, but still the thought of them entering the toilet alone petrified her.
“I’ll buy you sweets in the shop next door,” Grace finally said, hating herself for backing down and resorting to bribes.
“Yaaay!” they yelled and followed her t
o the ladies toilet without further complaint.
Five minutes later, they were all back in the car, the twins happily sucking on their sweets. If Kevin had been there, he would not have needed to bribe them.
He had a way of talking that got the boys obeying what they were told. But as usual, she was useless at that, useless at everything when it came to her children.
Grace thought of the two long weeks that lay ahead, and felt like bawling like a child.
8
It was mid-June, and Summer at the Heartbreak Cafe had begun in earnest.
At six in the morning, Ella headed over the stone bridge from her house to the café. Despite the early hour, the sun was out, though the air was not as warm as it would get later, and already there were joggers running down the street.
She used her key to let herself in and closed it behind her. Summer opening hours were from seven to nine in the evening. The inviting smell of coffee told Ella that Colm was already in. She crossed the empty dining room and entered the kitchen through a door behind the counter. Her chef was cutting up bacon, and when he heard footsteps, he turned to Ella with a smile.
“Good morning,” he called out, waving the sharp knife he was using.
“I hope it is a good morning for you, I don’t want that knife sticking out of me,” Ella joked.
“Very funny. The coffee’s ready if you want a cup.”
“Thanks I will, but first let me get things started in here,” she said, and went to the sink to wash her hands.
For the next hour, Ella arranged everything needed for the day. She and Colm worked in perfect unison, each following their own morning routine. The prep work done, she carried dishes from the kitchen to the dining room, setting breakfast cutlery on the counter, ready to be carried to individual tables.
At seven on the dot, Paddy Collins walked in, his walking stick making a tapping noise on the ground. He sat at his ‘usual’ table by the window.
Ella served him his tea and an omelet and as soon as she was finished, Sam the writer walked in. He had become a regular too over the last two weeks or so.
“Good morning.” Ella greeted pleasantly.
“Morning to you too,” he replied with a smile.
“What can I get you?” she asked, keeping the conversation short and to the point. She realised that the guy wasn’t a big talker and didn’t appreciate too much conversation, obviously liking his privacy.
“It’s a bit empty in here this morning, isn't it?” Sam commented.
“Well,” Ella started, wondering how to respond, “it’s still a bit early. It’s only seven.”
“Oh is it?” he said, surprise in his voice. “Time loses all meaning when you’re engrossed in something. I’ll have a coffee and a doughnut please.”
“Coming right up.” Ella said, and walked away, bemused.
Perhaps his work was now coming along better then. He and Nina seemed to have struck up a friendship of sorts, and he had told her that he was under pressure to complete a novel while staying here, hence his need for privacy.
Ella poured out the coffee, and put a fresh doughnut on a plate, before carrying the lot to Sam. When she placed his breakfast on the table, he did not glance at her, his mind and eyes were on a spot somewhere across the street.
She soon forgot about him as other customers came in. At a few minutes to eight, Nina started her shift and Ella retired to her office, a small room off the dining room.
Her rumbling stomach told her that she had forgotten to have her morning coffee. She got up and went to serve herself coffee and a fruit.
Now Nina was talking to Sam, and for once he looked animated, even throwing his head back to laugh. Younger prettier women were obviously much more to his liking.
Smiling, Ella returned to her office with her coffee and a banana. She turned on her computer and made her usual biweekly orders.
She also took the time to update the books and then just when she was winding up, she heard a commotion coming from the café.
Quickly, she sprung from her chair and sprinted out of her office to the dining room. She got there just in time to see a strange woman yelling at her two children, who in turn looked petrified. On the floor was a bowl of sugar, smashed into pieces.
Nina had already begun sweeping up the pieces and the spilt sugar.
“Are you OK?” Ella said softly to the young woman, who looked to be on the brink of tears. “Don’t worry, it’s just a sugar bowl and can be replaced.”
“That’s not the point,” the woman said and this time did burst into tears.
By now they were the centre of attention in the café.
“Come, let’s go to out back, there’s a playground nearby where the boys can play,” Ella said to the woman, then turned to the boys who were obviously twins. “Do you want to do something fun?” she said, and they yelled in response, making Ella want to close her ears with her hands.
“Is that OK?” she asked the woman, who had not yet responded.
She nodded in reply, as she wiped her tears and tried to regain her composure.
Ella held each boy by the hand and led them to a table on the outside patio. She helped the woman sit down and then showed the boys to a playground in the park only a few steps away.
“They’ll be safe there, it’s entirely enclosed, not even a rabbit space.” Ella said with a wink, and got a tentative smile in response. “Have you ordered anything?” she asked the woman.
“I was just about to when—”
“That’s OK; I’ll get it for you. What would you like?”
“A cup of tea would be nice, and maybe two glasses of milk for the boys?”
“OK, coming right up,” Ella said and went to process the order.
She felt sorry for the woman. Ella had heard that twins could overwhelm and that seemed to be exactly what was happening to this woman. She prepared the order, placed it on a tray and went back outside.
The woman was still in the same position, under the parasol, although her attention was now on the boys.
“I can’t believe how well they’re playing without fighting or arguing or breaking something,” she said, seemingly taken aback.
“Ah, kids that age just need to be kept busy.”
After she placed the tray on the table, Ella sat down on the opposite chair and stuck out her hand.
“My name is Ella and I’m the manager here.”
“Thanks. I’m Grace and the boys are Jake and Josh - they’re four. Again I’m so sorry about the sugar. We came in for a treat, and hadn’t even sat down - ”
“Again, it’s not a problem,” Ella interjected pleasantly. “How do you tell them apart?”
“Josh is the one with the tiny mole on his chin.”
They both turned their eyes on the boys who were engrossed in swinging beneath the sun.
Ella said nothing, just sat quietly, and as she had known, Grace begun talking.
For the thirty years that she had run the café, she had realised that most people wanted to talk, craved a sympathetic ear, and this woman was no different.
“We were supposed to come down here for two weeks with my husband Kevin, but at the last minute, he cancelled. Something came up at work, which he absolutely had to stay for. The boys’ minder is away also, visiting her sick mother. And me, well, I don’t manage them so well on my own. We drive each other up the wall.”
“Two at the same time are always a handful,” Ella said but she could see that she had already lost Grace’s attention.
“Jake, will you stop pushing Josh so high, what if he falls and breaks something?” Grace cried, a panicky note in her voice.
Ella was puzzled by her reaction. From what she could see neither boy was in any danger of getting hurt. Besides, there was only so high the swing could go, and she pointed this out to Grace.
“See what I mean?” she said, throwing her hands in the air. “Even you, a stranger can see that I don’t handle them very well.”
At
this, she broke down into loud noisy sobs.
Ella rushed to her side and patted her back, murmuring soothing words. She looked over her shoulder at the twins, but luckily they were still absorbed with the swings, this time winding them round and round and then letting them go. She waited until Grace stopped crying and then returned to her chair.
“You know I remember my own son at that age, rushing round like a battery operated toy. Tons of energy all day like you’ve never seen. He was exhausting,” Ella said her eyes shiny with the memory.
“Please tell me one day he stopped.” Grace said with a moan, making Ella laugh.
“Well not quite, however I did find a way to keep his energy levels down.”
“What did you do?”
“I gave him the freedom to play mostly outside, under my supervision of course. Then either I or his dad played soccer with him, taught him how to ride a bike without stabilisers, took him swimming, hiking in the mountains … the list is endless. They have so much energy, boys in particular,” Ella said, her voice wistful.
Grace looked at her skeptically. “I wouldn’t even know where to start with soccer.”
“You could start by just getting a ball? These boys are four years old, you said? All they need at this stage is a ball to kick around, no fancy moves.”
“OK, I suppose I’ll give it a try,” Grace said, but by the tone of her voice, Ella doubted if she would. Still, she had done her bit by trying.
“I’d better go back inside,” she said then. “Leave you three to enjoy your tea and milk.”
“Again, I don’t know what to say,” Grace said with feeling. “Thank you very much for being so kind. About everything.”
“It’s no problem. And try not to worry. I have a feeling your boys will enjoy their time here in Lakeview,” she assured Grace. “Most people do.”
“What was up there?” Nina asked afterwards from behind the counter.
“Oh, she was just going through what all mothers do at one point or another. Being overwhelmed by kids.”
Nina sighed. “Tell me about it.”