Leanne’s eyes lit up. ‘God, yes, you’re right. Why not do a grand tour while we’re at it? Will you look it all up and draw up a travel plan?’
Maddy nodded, her heart beating faster. It wasn’t just talk any more. They were going to do it.
‘Four-star hotels at least,’ Leanne ordered. ‘With pools and Jacuzzis. No skimping. I want to live it up.’
‘Gotcha. But… how are you going to break this to your mother?’
Leanne frowned. ‘I’m not sure yet. It’ll take a bit of fibbing. But I’ll think of something to placate her. What about you? What are you going to tell Tom?’
Maddy’s mouth suddenly went dry. Tom wouldn’t like this one bit. Never mind that he played golf for most of the day during their holidays, he liked to have Maddy there with dinner ready when he arrived home after a long day at the golf course. He hated an empty house.
‘I don’t know,’ she said, her voice shaking slightly. ‘Maybe just that we’re going away together for a beach holiday somewhere in Ireland? A girls-away thing for a week or two?’
‘You big chicken. But okay. I get it. Tell him what he’ll believe. The truth might cause him to kick up a fuss. Anything for peace and a quick getaway, right?’
‘Exactly.’
‘Men, huh? I’m not married, but I’ve been around enough of ’em to know how tricky they can be.’
‘Especially middle-aged men.’ Maddy sighed. Tom would be turning fifty at the end of the summer. He was already being moody about it. She steeled herself to stick to her guns when she told him she would be going away for a break. He would throw a hissy fit and then sulk for bit. But a good dinner and some wine usually helped. He would get over it. She hoped.
* * *
The lamb cutlets were ready for the grill pan, the potatoes roasting in the oven and the table on the patio laid for two with a bottle of Chianti opened to air, when the front door slammed. Maddy wiped her hands on a towel, her heart racing. He was home. Would it be better to wait until after dinner to tell him? She nodded. Yes. Better to hear the news on a full stomach after a few glasses of wine. It was a beautiful evening, too. He would be in a good mood. She suddenly felt annoyed with herself. Here she was humouring him again. Not because she was afraid of him, but she hated confrontation. Maybe she should just go ahead and tell him as soon as he came home?
Her thoughts were interrupted by Tom marching into the kitchen, beaming at her. ‘Hi, sweetheart. Grand evening, isn’t it?’ He threw his jacket on a chair and loosened his tie. ‘Dinner nearly ready?’
‘I just have to grill the cutlets. We’re eating on the patio as it’s so warm. I opened a bottle of wine.’
‘Perfect.’ He walked to her side and put his arm around her. ‘I have something to tell you.’
‘Me too,’ Maddy said, her stomach doing a little flip. ‘But maybe we can wait until after dinner?’
He squeezed her waist. ‘Good idea. I’ll have a quick shower and then we can eat.’ He started to walk to the door but stopped halfway there. ‘Just one thing. I have to tell you or I’ll burst. You have no idea what just happened.’
Maddy stared at him, taken aback by the unusual excitement in his voice. ‘What? You’ve been promoted?’
‘No. Much better. I got a text message an hour ago.’
‘About what?’ Maddy asked, confused by the look of triumph in his eyes.
He pointed at his chest. ‘You’re looking at the new captain of St George’s golf club.’
‘Really?’ Maddy suppressed an urge to roll her eyes. Standing there, all aglow with his great news, he looked suddenly like someone she didn’t know any more. She felt like throwing the frying pan at him, just to make him react. Instead, faking delight, she rushed to his side and planted a kiss on his cheek. ‘That’s amazing! Congratulations. Was that what you were going to tell me?’
His eyes sobered. ‘No. There’s something else. Nothing bad, don’t worry. Just something I want to—’ He stopped. ‘Not now. Dinner first.’ He walked swiftly out of the kitchen, leaving Maddy staring at the door swinging shut, wondering what the ‘something else’ could be. He had looked slightly guilty just then. Maddy had a sinking feeling he was planning something he knew she’d hate.
* * *
Despite the nice weather and the beautiful view of the harbour and the Irish Sea, the birdsong and scent of early summer roses, dinner turned into overcooked lamb chops served on a bed of awkward conversation and stiff smiles. They both poked at their food, darting glances at each other, taking gulps of wine as if trying to get the courage to speak. Is this what we have become? Maddy wondered. We’re just going through the motions. Is there really any point in staying together? She put her knife and fork down with a loud clatter. ‘I can’t eat until I tell you.’
Tom pushed his plate away. ‘Me neither. But please, let me go first.’
‘Okay.’
He reached across the table and took her hand. ‘Don’t say anything until I’ve finished.’
Maddy nodded. ‘Fine. I’m listening.’
He let go of her hand. ‘It’s about the summer. I’ve made some plans. Before you start jumping to conclusions, please believe there’s nothing strange going on.’
Maddy raised an eyebrow.
‘With some other woman, I mean. This is about me and my golf game.’
Maddy smirked. ‘What else would it be?’ she muttered, despite her promise to let him finish. ‘Okay, sorry,’ she said when Tom glared at her.
He cleared his throat. ‘As I said, it’s about golf and the club. I’m taking part in a tournament in Lahinch in County Clare at the beginning of next month. I’ll be away two weeks.’ He held up a hand. ‘I know what you’re going to say. A tournament doesn’t take up two weeks. But I want to go there to practice. It’s a links course and quite a challenging one. I want to do my best for our club, and I… well, it’s a huge deal for me. I came to golf quite late, so I have to catch up. I’ve hired an instructor, who’ll help me improve my game and get me a better handicap.’ He shot Maddy a pleading look. ‘Please say you understand.’
Maddy stared at him. ‘Do you expect me to come with you?’
Tom’s face reddened. ‘Uh, no. It’ll be boring for you, and in any case—’
‘—you’ll be playing eight hours a day when you’re not in the bar replaying every single hole with the rest of the members?’ Maddy tried her best to sound hurt while she did a happy dance in her head. He was going away and thought she would mind. What a stroke of luck. Hello holiday in France without the guilt or lying about anything. ‘You’ll be eating, sleeping and playing that fecking game the whole bloody time you’re there, right?’ she snapped, just to add to his discomfort.
‘Well, uh, I suppose.’
‘I see.’
‘You don’t mind?’
She looked at him squarely. ‘Mind? Of course I mind. I thought we’d go somewhere nice now that we don’t have to worry about what the kids want to do.’ She looked at his still-handsome face and wondered what had happened to the spark she used to feel, that dart of joy every time he touched her. She hadn’t felt that for a long time. ‘It makes me sad,’ she mumbled, not thinking about golf. ‘I mean, it looks to me that you don’t want to spend any time with me any more.’
‘Maddy, I’m sorry, but I need to do this,’ he said, his voice tense. ‘I’ll be fifty soon. I want to live a little while I still can. We have the rest of our lives to grow old together.’
‘If we stay together,’ she said under her breath, picking up a cutlet from her plate and nibbling on it.
‘What?’
She shrugged. ‘Nothing. Forget I said it. Let’s settle this and then enjoy the evening. It’s okay. You can go and do the golf tournament. But I might not be here when you get back.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’m planning a little getaway of my own, you see.’
Tom looked shocked. ‘You are? Where are you going?’
‘I’ve been
asked by a friend to go on a trip. She’s planning to drive around Europe for a bit, visit the sites and so on. We haven’t booked anything yet. I didn’t know how you’d feel about it. But now I can aim for the same time you’ll be away and maybe a little longer.’ She looked coolly at Tom. ‘That okay with you?’
He stared at her. ‘Who’s the friend you’re going with?’
‘Leanne. The science teacher at my school.’
‘The one with the platinum-blonde hair and a ring in her nose?’
‘That’s her.’
‘Didn’t think she’d be the kind of woman you’d hang out with.’
Maddy shrugged. ‘I hang out with a lot of people you don’t know about. Leanne’s great. You’d like her if you bothered to get to know her.’
‘I doubt it. How are you going to pay for all of this? From our joint account?’
‘How are you paying for yours?’ Maddy shot back.
Tom squirmed. ‘Well, we had a little bit of a surplus, so…’
Maddy lifted one eyebrow. ‘You spent that on the golf outing?’ She shrugged. ‘Fine. No problem. I got a bit of a windfall recently. I won some money on… a scratch card. Not much, a couple of thousand.’ The lie didn’t seem so bad now that Tom had spent their money on his own trip. If he knew about the two hundred thousand euros sitting in her private savings account, he would have found things to spend that on, which would mostly be related to golf.
‘A scratch card?’ he said, looking at her pityingly. ‘I never do those things.’
‘Well, I did and I won something.’
‘Good for you.’
She studied Tom. ‘You don’t look delighted about my plans.’
‘I’m just a bit surprised. I thought maybe you’d be here doing the gardening and going to the gym while I was away.’
‘And greet you with open arms and a big welcome-home dinner when you came back?’
‘Well, maybe.’ He played with the fringe of the tablecloth.
‘This isn’t the nineteen fifties, you know. We’ve somehow managed to break off the shackles.’
Maddy’s scathing tone made no impression on Tom. ‘Yeah, sure. Women have it all these days. Maybe that’s why we need our golf games and weekends away.’
‘I think we both need a break. From each other.’ Maddy grabbed the bottle and poured herself a generous amount. ‘Cheers, darling,’ she said and downed the wine in one go before she got up from the table. ‘You’ll clean up, won’t you? I have to go and book the trip.’
Without waiting for a reply, she walked away from the table, the view and the beautiful evening to call Leanne and make plans. She felt a dart of excitement. Now that there was a sour taste to her marriage, she longed to get away. To leave all of it behind and get some answers to questions that had been haunting her for over twenty years.
Chapter Three
Maddy stood at the window waiting for Leanne to arrive in her new car. She looked down the street and spotted a shiny, red Mercedes convertible with the top down and Leanne at the wheel, her short hair fluttering in the breeze.
Maddy opened the door and ran down the steps to greet her when the car came to a screeching halt at the gate. ‘Wow! Look at that car. I had no idea you were planning to buy a sports car. I thought you’d buy something a little cheaper. Like a Toyota Yaris.’
Leanne peered at Maddy over her Ray-Bans. ‘A Toyota Yaris? How old do you think I am? Sixty-five?’
‘No, but you must have blown all you had on this thing.’
Leanne laughed. ‘Relax, it’s a rental.’
‘What?’
‘I leased this thing for two months. It cost me just a couple of grand. I wanted to know what it felt like to drive around in a sports car with a bit of bling. I’ll get something small and sensible when we get back.’
‘Oh.’ Maddy ran her hand over the shiny red bonnet. ‘She’s a beauty, I give you that. Not very practical, but gorgeous. Four seats and a tiny boot. Where will I put my bag?’
‘In the tiny boot. I told you there wouldn’t be much room for luggage. I hope you didn’t pack a huge suitcase.’
‘No. Just a small one. It’ll fit with some space to spare.’
‘Great. Go get it, then. We have no time to lose. Love the hair, by the way.’
‘Thanks.’ Maddy ran her hand over the glossy short bob that had been created at a very expensive hair salon in Dawson Street. It had cost an eye-watering amount, but she had paid with a smile, thinking of the large sum that had just been transferred to her account. She just had to get used to having a lot of money, and spending it all on herself.
‘Come on, go get your bag. I want to call into Kildare on the way.’
‘Kildare?’ Maddy asked. ‘What do you want to do in Kildare? That would be a big detour. It’s not in our plan.’
‘Not Kildare, as in the county. Kildare Village. The fashion outlet place. I want to pick up a few accessories and some shoes. We can cut across from there and go through Blessington to pick up the motorway to Waterford. So we need to get going,’ Leanne urged. ‘Is your bag packed? And have you said a fond farewell to hubby?’
‘Yes to both of those questions.’ Maddy started up the steps to the front door. ‘I’ll just get my bag.’
Leanne nodded. ‘We need to be in Rosslare by late afternoon, so we can’t afford to hang around.’
‘I know.’ Maddy ran back into the house and up the stairs to the bedroom. The small suitcase lay on her bed, all packed and ready to go. She picked it up along with her tote and jacket and stopped for a moment. There was something she needed to take with her. She searched in the drawer of her bedside table until her fingers found the edge of the small black-and-white photo, worn ragged by time and touch. She slipped it into her handbag, picked up her luggage and closed the door again, bumping into Tom as he came up the stairs.
‘All set to go?’ he asked.
‘Yup. Leanne’s waiting in the car.’
He took her suitcase. ‘I’ll put this in for you.’
‘Thanks.’
Maddy followed Tom down the stairs and out the door, where he stopped dead so suddenly she bumped into him.
‘What’s that?’ he demanded, pointing a shaking finger at the car.
‘It’s Leanne in her car.’
‘You’re going to drive around France – in that?’
‘Yes,’ Maddy chortled. ‘Isn’t it great?’
‘How… I mean, is that her car? Or did she—?’
‘—steal it?’ Maddy filled in, her voice bubbling with laughter. ‘Relax. It’s perfectly legal. She leased it.’
‘Oh.’ Tom continued down the front steps to the car. ‘Hi,’ he said to Leanne and held out his hand. ‘I’m Tom. I think we’ve met before.’
Leanne shook Tom’s hand. ‘Yeah, I remember you. How are you?’
‘Fine.’ Tom hesitated. ‘So, where do I put this?’
‘In the boot. It’s open.’
‘Okay.’ Tom went to the back of the car and opened the boot. ‘Not much room here.’
‘It’s not exactly a family car,’ Leanne remarked. ‘But we don’t need much, do we, Mads?’
‘Certainly not.’ Maddy couldn’t help laughing at Tom’s face and Leanne’s attempt at trying to shock him.
Tom stuffed the suitcase into the boot beside Leanne’s purple bag and slammed it shut. ‘There you go.’ He pecked at Maddy’s cheek. ‘We’ve already said our goodbyes, but have a good time and don’t forget to keep in touch.’
‘I will,’ Maddy said. ‘I mean, like we said, just in an emergency. You have a good time, too. Go kill ’em in Lahinch.’
‘I’ll do my best. Try not to spend all that money in one go.’ Tom stood back while Maddy got into the car. She waved, he waved back. Maddy gave him a stiff smile. Tom smiled back politely as if she was someone he’d just met.
‘Bye, sweetheart,’ Maddy said to soften her stiffness. ‘I’ll keep in touch, promise.’
He nodded. ‘Good.’
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‘Okay, let’s hit the road.’ Leanne started up the engine and took off so fast, Maddy was thrown against the seat.
‘Do you have to break the speed limit?’ she shouted, her hands on her hair. ‘And do we have to have the top down on the motorway? It’ll be a little breezy, don’t you think?’
Leanne slowed down and came to a stop. ‘Yeah, you’re right. I’ll put the roof back on.’ She pressed a button on the dashboard and the roof came up behind them and gently settled over them with a soft whirr. ‘Can’t have the wind ruffle that new hairdo.’
‘Thanks,’ Maddy made herself comfortable in the bucket seat and pushed her tote bag under her legs.
Leanne pulled out into the street. ‘What was that about not spending all your money? What did you tell him?’
‘I said I won two thousand on a scratch card.’
Leanne howled with laughter. ‘Priceless. You’re a hoot, my dear.’
‘What did you say to your mam?’
‘I just said I was going on a packet to Ibiza. She didn’t see the car. I parked it up the street.’
‘Chicken.’
Leanne shrugged. ‘Yeah, I know. But I needed to get away quickly without having to call an ambulance. It was bad enough with her telling me I’d be sorry if she dropped dead while I was away. She’s perfectly healthy, by the way. Walks for an hour every day and digs and plants in the garden, not to mention DIY in the house. And she works full-time in the pharmacy. Her doctor says she has perfectly normal blood pressure and will outlive us all, which she finds very annoying. But her mother died at ninety-eight, so she has a long way to go yet with those genes.’
‘How old is she?’ Maddy asked.
‘Fifty-seven.’
‘That’s not old at all.’
Leanne sighed. ‘I know. She just gets out the violins to make me feel guilty and to make me stay and look after her. But, shite, I need to get free and live a little.’
The Road Trip_A feel-good romantic comedy that will make you laugh out loud! Page 2