by Cathy Kelly
Leonie smiled at Hugh.
He was gazing at her hopefully, hope-you’ll-lie-fully she reckoned.
‘I’m a veterinary nurse. And I’m not one of your father’s colleagues,’ she said pleasantly, ‘I’m a friend.’
‘Oh.’ Jane’s mouth pursed into a little moue of disapproval.
‘Your father has been telling me all about you,’ Leonie went on gamely. ‘He says you’re getting on brilliantly in work and are up for promotion. Well done.’
‘Daddy!’ hissed Jane furiously. ‘That’s private.’
‘Oh, look,’ said Hugh in desperation. ‘Here’s Stephen.’
Tall and solid like his father, Stephen had a smiling face, wore clothes that looked as if he’d dressed in a hurry, and seemed to know who Leonie was.
‘Nice to meet you at last,’ he said, throwing himself into a chair. ‘About time the old lad found himself someone. Has anyone ordered? They do great cakes here.’
Jane glared at him instead of her father. ‘You might have told me,’ she said fiercely. ‘I feel as if I’ve been hijacked.’
It was Hugh and Stephen’s turn to exchange meaningful looks. What a family! Leonie wished they’d talk instead of staring intensely at each other. People said what they thought in the Delaney house, especially Mel, who’d be the person most likely to feel put out by Hugh’s existence.
At least with Mel, you’d hear how she felt, normally at eighty decibels. She wouldn’t have just sat there simmering in silence and glaring at people.
‘Don’t be daft, Sis,’ said Stephen. ‘What’s the fuss? I told you. You’re here to meet Leonie. What’s the big deal?’ He turned to Leonie. ‘Will I go up and order us something? I’m ravenous. Would you like coffee or cakes?’
He was sweet, she decided. Aware that his sister was furious, he was doing his best to defuse the situation.
‘I’d love some,’ she said. ‘I’ll come up with you and carry a tray. Coffee, Hugh?’ she asked pleasantly, determined not to let her expression betray the fact that she thought Hugh was acting foolishly by kowtowing to the awful Jane.
‘Yes,’ he said, looking her straight in the face for the first time in ages.
Leonie and Stephen examined the cake counter with interest. Normally, Leonie wouldn’t have allowed herself anything. But today, she wasn’t in the mood to deny herself.
‘I could murder some of that carrot cake,’ she said to Stephen, pointing out some fabulously succulent cake that probably contained the exact amount of calories a marathon runner needed in an entire week.
‘Me too,’ he agreed. ‘I bet Jane would love it too. She’s on this no-fat diet, but I can usually persuade her to give it up when she’s with me.’
Leonie wasn’t sure she could imagine anyone persuading Jane to do anything she didn’t want to.
‘She’ll be fine,’ Stephen said as if he could read her thoughts. ‘She’s a bit possessive about Dad. She’s his favourite and she doesn’t really get it that he needs someone in his life.’
‘I understand,’ Leonie lied. ‘But your mum has a new partner, doesn’t she? Isn’t that hard on Jane too?’
Stephen put three fat slices of cake on his tray. ‘Yeah, but Jane isn’t the same with Mum. They are, like, exactly the same. That’s why Jane doesn’t live at home any more. They kill each other. She’s cool about Kevin – he’s Mum’s boyfriend.’ They moved slowly along the queue towards the coffee machines. Stephen put a chocolate bar on his plate as well.
‘I worry about the old boy. He gets lonely. He’s happier since meeting you.’
‘Thank you,’ Leonie said sincerely. ‘It’s lovely of you to say that. I’m so very fond of your father and I wanted you both to know that. It’s hard that Jane seems set against me.’
‘It’s ’cos you’ve got kids,’ Stephen said sagely. ‘She’s terrified Dad’ll end up liking them more than us, or end up leaving them something in his will if you two get married.’
‘How do you know this? Jane didn’t seem to have heard anything about me before today.’
‘I know Jane,’ he said simply. ‘And she does know about you. I knew Dad would bottle out of telling her about you, so I did it for him. She’s pretending not to know just to get at him. Don’t be hard on her,’ he said suddenly. ‘She’s a bit…’
Spoilt, Leonie wanted to say.
‘…insecure,’ Stephen finished. ‘She adores Dad and he adores her back. If you were on the scene, it’d be a different ball game.’
‘Well, thanks for being so honest with me,’ she said. ‘Should I simply go home now?’
Stephen laughed. ‘Don’t be daft. Jane will be fine, eventually.’
They arrived back at the table with trays laden down with goodies. Jane and Hugh had been talking animatedly until they arrived, whereupon all conversation ceased. They all drank their coffee in stony silence. Leonie could hear her own jaw clicking as she ate her carrot cake.
Finally, she couldn’t take the silence any more.
‘I was thinking we could go to the cinema later,’ Leonie said brightly. ‘Why don’t you two come?’ Did I say that? she asked herself in horror. Please say no.
‘Why not? I’ve nothing else on tonight,’ Jane said ungraciously.
Leonie, Hugh and Stephen all wanted to see the new Bond movie but Jane wanted to see the latest art-house sensation, a grim, black-and-white production about youngsters getting involved in the murky world of international drug-smuggling. Leonie would rather have cut her front lawn with nail scissors than watch that type of film. However, it was Jane’s choice and, as Leonie was discovering, Jane liked to get her own way.
At least they had something to talk about afterwards, when they shared a pizza in Temple Bar. Stephen chatted happily about the film while Jane, who’d forced them to sit through it, decided she hadn’t liked it much at all.
Leonie’s palm itched with the desire to slap Jane’s sulky little face.
After an hour, when it became plain that Jane had no intention of leaving before Leonie did, Leonie gave in and announced that she had to go home.
‘I’ll walk you back to your car,’ Hugh said. She shot him a grateful look. Free from the horrid Jane at last.
‘Dad,’ Jane said in a childish voice, ‘can I ask you a favour?’
‘Yes, darling,’ he said fondly.
‘Could I use your credit card to book my holiday? Mine is maxed out and if I don’t book on Monday, I’ll lose my place. I’ll pay you back, of course,’ she added, giving him a beseeching, big-eyed look.
Leonie’s right hand clenched up into a fist.
Hugh ruffled Jane’s hair. ‘You don’t have to ask, pet, you know that.’
For the first five minutes, Leonie and Hugh walked in silence.
As they reached Nassau Street, Hugh took her hand in his.
‘Well,’ he said tentatively, ‘how do you think it went?’
‘It might have gone better if you’d told Jane about me,’ Leonie suggested. ‘It’s not easy meeting someone who’s under the impression that you’re nothing more than a colleague. I thought we were going out, Hugh, but listening to you earlier, you’d swear we were old, platonic friends on the verge of getting our bus passes.’
‘Sorry. It’s difficult, you know. Jane is…well, she’s sensitive.’
About as sensitive as a rhino, Leonie thought grimly.
‘I should have told her, Leonie. Please forgive me.’ He squeezed her fingers. ‘I’m afraid I’m one of those indulgent fathers who can’t deny my children anything. Jane expects nothing short of adoration.’
‘And the use of your credit card,’ Leonie remarked. ‘Jane mustn’t be very good with money if she’s got this wonderful job and still has to beg from you.’ As soon as she’d said it, Leonie regretted it. Criticizing your beloved’s children was a dating no-no, on a par with saying you’d got a letter from the clinic and the warts were practically all gone. She could have kicked herself. ‘Sorry,’ she said quickly. ‘That was ro
tten of me.’
‘I thought you of all people would understand,’ Hugh said tightly. ‘Children are there to be nurtured and taken care of.’
Leonie nodded. She agreed with him. But Jane wasn’t a child. She was a manipulative grown-up and Hugh wasn’t doing her any favours by not seeing this. Treating her like an adored child was a recipe for disaster.
‘I know you love them to bits and I shouldn’t have said that,’ Leonie apologized. ‘I guess I’m a bit upset because Jane obviously didn’t approve of me.’
‘Silly,’ said Hugh sweetly. ‘She’ll love you when she gets to know you. It just takes time.’
Now where had she heard that before?
‘How did it go?’ asked Hannah when she rang the next day.
‘I am compiling research for a book called Dating Divorcés,’ announced Leonie, ‘and the longest chapter is going to be about meeting horrible, self-obsessed children who think you’re after their father for his money and who make it perfectly obvious that they hate you.’
‘You mean you’re not after him for his money?’ joked Hannah, trying to inject a note of humour into things.
‘Hugh has less money than I do,’ said Leonie hotly, not seeing the funny side of it. ‘And now I know why. He gives it all to Jane, although I can’t think why, because she has a perfectly good job. She had the nerve to ask him if she could book her holiday using his credit card. I ask you – a twenty-something with a good job! It’s ludicrous.’
‘It didn’t go well, then?’ Hannah said tentatively.
‘His son is a darling and was very sweet to me, but the daughter, Jane,’ Leonie paused, ‘is hideously jealous. As if he can’t love her and me.’
‘Maybe she’s afraid that if you’re there the cheques will dry up,’ said Hannah pragmatically.
‘It’s more than that. It’s weird. She’s nuts about him, like a small child.’
‘Girls and their fathers,’ Hannah pointed out. ‘Somebody wrote a song about their heart belonging to Daddy.’
‘I don’t know any grown woman whose heart belongs to Daddy,’ said Leonie crossly. ‘Yours doesn’t and neither does Emma’s. Mel and Abby love Ray but they didn’t go into a flat spin when he married Fliss.’
‘That’s because they’re well-adjusted kids.’
‘Hugh’s well adjusted,’ Leonie argued. ‘How could he have a daughter like this?’
‘What’s his ex-wife like?’
‘Sounds perfectly normal. They get on well and the split was as amicable as any I’ve ever heard of.’
‘Ah well, that’s it,’ Hannah said sagely. ‘No split is ever amicable. It’s an oxymoron: the words “split” and “amicable” just don’t go together. Do you think Mummy is poisoning little Jane to loathe every woman who ever tries to replace her?’
Leonie gave a mirthless laugh. ‘I don’t think Jane needs anyone to poison her. She’s poisonous enough on her own. Hugh is so wonderful, but I can’t bear the thought of having to put up with Jane’s bitchiness for the rest of my life.’
‘Hugh thinks you’re wonderful,’ Hannah comforted. ‘That’s all that matters. Jane will come round, you’ll see.’
Leonie liked Hugh’s home. A three-year-old townhouse on the edges of Templeogue, it was pristine, still new looking and without any peeling paintwork or teenage detritus. Inside, it was wall-to-wall magnolia, enlivened by Hugh’s collection of old film posters, the bookcases that lined the walls and lots of curious collectibles like a wind-up gramophone and a huge marble chessboard with marble pieces fashioned into jungle animals. It was all very quirky and Leonie liked it. In fact, there was only one thing Leonie didn’t like in the house and that was the plethora of pictures of Jane all over the place. The mantelpiece was a veritable shrine to her, with seven separate photos of Jane looking winsome as a First Communicant, sulky as a teenager, and even sulkier on a variety of other occasions. There were only two of Stephen. Leonie hoped he didn’t mind, although he probably did secretly. Nobody could remain untouched by the fact that their parent preferred their sibling. Leonie hoped she’d never made one of her children feel they were less loved than the other two. The small back garden was like a rugby pitch, thanks to the antics of Wilbur, Harris and Ludlum, Hugh’s dogs. Leonie kept meaning to bring Penny on a visit to Hugh’s house but hadn’t got round to it yet. It seemed forward to bring her dog there, because investigating whether their animals got on was tantamount to discussing whether they should live together or not. Leonie was crazy about Hugh, but she didn’t think they were anywhere near that stage yet.
Tonight, they were reaching an important point in their relationship, however. Going To Bed Together. In Leonie’s mind, this event was in capital letters. It was immense, huge, a giant hurdle to be crossed.
They had been going out for four months and, although there had been some erotic moments, like that time in the Savoy Cinema watching a modern film noir, or the evening at Leonie’s when Danny and the girls had been out and they’d ended up getting very hot and bothered on the couch, they’d never been that intimate with each other.
It wasn’t that Leonie didn’t fancy Hugh. Far from it. She found him very sexy. He was actually slightly shorter than her, but she didn’t mind that. There was something virile about him. How virile, she planned on finding out tonight. That tonight was the night was an unspoken arrangement between them. Leonie had asked her mother to stay at the cottage with the girls, ostensibly because she was going away for the night with Emma and Hannah.
Claire – whom Leonie suspected knew exactly what was really going on but was too discreet to say ‘about bloody time!’ – had said she’d be delighted.
The girls taken care of, Leonie had splurged money she didn’t have on matching knickers and bra in silky coffee-coloured lace. She’d spent so long scrubbing herself in the bath that she reckoned she’d probably lost a pound in skin alone, and she’d massaged scented body lotion into every centimetre of her body.
Determined not to reproach herself for forgetting to rub the anti-cellulite cream into her bum and thighs, Leonie didn’t look at herself too long in the mirror. She was a forty-three-year-old woman, not a supermodel. Hugh liked her for what she was. She couldn’t change what she was, no matter how much she’d secretly like to.
Hugh had obviously made a similar effort in the cooking department. When she arrived, the three dogs chorused a delighted greeting and then raced back into the kitchen to stand guard over whatever delicious-smelling thing Hugh was cooking.
‘Beef?’ said Leonie, sniffing the air in the hallway and getting an enticing mix of garlic and onions with some subtle herbs.
Hugh, looking good in a cream cotton sweater over chinos, shook his head before kissing her hello.
‘It’s a surprise,’ he said.
‘I love surprises,’ she replied archly.
He kissed her neck too. ‘I’ve got another surprise for you later,’ he purred, making her giggle.
Dinner was wonderful, but Leonie found it hard to eat too much. She didn’t want her belly to be hanging out over her sexy new knickers purely because she’d stuffed her face with boeuf bourgignon and summer pudding with cream.
‘You don’t like it?’ Hugh asked anxiously when she insisted on only having a small portion of dessert.
‘I love it,’ she said. ‘You’re so good to cook for me, darling. I’m just er…not that hungry after the lovely beef.’
They shared a lingering kiss over the coffee and danced in the kitchen to the mellow sounds of Frank Sinatra. With her arms wrapped round Hugh’s neck, her body meltingly close to his, Leonie closed her eyes and thought how perfect it all was.
‘Shall we go upstairs?’ Hugh said thickly.
She murmured assent and, holding hands, they climbed the stairs. Leonie had only been in Hugh’s bedroom once when he’d shown her around the house. It wasn’t as tidy as it had been that day: obviously the strain of cooking up a cordon bleu feast meant he hadn’t had time for too much housekeeping
. Clothes hung carelessly on the back of a chair by the dressing table, a towel graced the back of the door and a single sock peeped out from the half-open wardrobe. But the double bed was perfectly made up, with fresh smelling navy striped sheets reeking of flowery fabric softener. Leonie grinned until she saw the small table beside the bed.
A blue painted picture frame with a carved teddy anchored on one side sat beside a high-tech clock radio and inside the frame was a picture of Jane. The frame was more suited to a nursery than an adult’s bedroom.
‘Isn’t it lovely?’ Hugh said fondly, noticing the direction of her gaze as he hastily tidied up. ‘Jane gave it to me last week. She’s such a pet, always giving me gifts.’
Leonie gritted her teeth and vowed to dispose of some item of clothing so that it covered up Jane’s picture. There was no way she could make mad, passionate love with Hugh and have Jane’s smirking face watching every move.
Having Jane in the room with them was good in one way. It meant that Leonie didn’t have a moment to feel nervous about Hugh lovingly peeling off her blouse or helping her out of her skirt. She couldn’t concentrate on the awfulness of her thighs because she was thinking that it was as if Jane was in the room with them, watching, looking, sneering.
It was only when Hugh was down to his boxer shorts and led her over to the bed that Leonie decided she had to do something. While Hugh pulled the duvet back, she carefully moved the picture till it was facing the other way. When she turned back to Hugh, he was watching her.
‘Sorry, I feel uncomfortable being watched,’ she said nervously. ‘Having one’s children watching doesn’t feel right.’
‘Is that all?’ he smiled.
‘Mothers can be very prudish about things like that,’ Leonie said.
What they did next wasn’t prudish at all. Hugh buried his head in her cleavage and moaned happily as he nuzzled her breasts. Leonie stopped feeling upset and began to enjoy herself again. She enjoyed it when Hugh stroked her all over, telling her she was gorgeous and that he adored her beautiful, sexy underwear. She enjoyed touching a man erotically again, feeling him grow aroused because of her. And she adored it when she finally guided Hugh inside her, remembering how wonderful lovemaking felt and asking herself why it had been so long since she’d experienced it.