‘That woman had an awful cheek, didn’t she?’ Carol declared. ‘Honestly, Jessie, I nearly gave her one in the chops.’
‘That’s understandable,’ Jessica murmured. She’d listened to Carol pouring out her heart to her about her horrible encounter with her father’s new partner for the last hour, and while she felt very sorry for her friend, she was feeling a little bit sorry for herself too. OK, Mike going to live in Wicklow might not have the magnitude of Carol’s drama but it was her little drama, and just for once she’d have liked to have the focus on her. Carol paused for breath and continued.
‘But Sean was so understanding about it all. He didn’t want me to be alone and we stayed the night in his sister’s house.’ She rattled on.
‘Did you?’ Jessica sat up and stared at her friend. This was news. ‘Did you sleep with him?’
Carol shook her head. ‘No, and that’s what I like about him. He could see I was shattered, so we just talked and he cooked a lovely pasta dish and then I went to bed. He’s a real pet. Could you imagine Gary if we were in a free house?’ She scowled.
‘So are you going to start dating him seriously?’ Jessica probed.
‘I like being with him. He’s fun, and he’s very fit and sporty and I like that. We’ll see.’ She smiled at her friend. ‘And guess what? I’m moving flat.’
‘You’re what?’ Jessica couldn’t believe her ears.
‘At last. How did this come about?’
‘Sean’s friend, he’s a Guard too, owns a house in Phibsboro that’s let in flats. One of them is vacant. It’s self-contained and I wouldn’t have to share a bathroom, and I’d have a separate sitting-room. Sean took me to see it on Saturday and I gave the landlord a week’s notice. We’re moving my stuff in on Wednesday and Friday evenings. That’s when he’s off. What do you think?’
‘I say definitely go for it,’ Jessica urged, delighted at the idea of Carol getting out of that hen coop on the NCR.
‘The rent is a bit higher, though—’
‘Oh, for God’s sake, Carol, you can well afford it. You’re on a good salary. Spend some of it on decent accommodation, at least.’
‘I know. You’re right. And the great thing is, it’s still in the area. I’m actually nearer to you and the club, and still on my bus route.’
‘Look, it’s great, a whole new start. Enjoy it,’ Jessica said warmly. ‘Come on, let’s go out and knock a few balls around.’
‘I wonder will Gary be here with Jen?’ Carol surveyed the bar and beyond.
‘What difference does it make if he is? You’re with someone new. Your life’s on track, you’re moving flat. I’d hang on to that Sean guy, he seems like a very decent chap,’ Jessica said firmly as she followed her friend out to the courts. ‘And I’ll move a car load of stuff if you need it. It’s just I’ll have to do it earlier rather than later because Mike will be coming up on Friday night and I want to spend as much time as possible with him.’
‘You make it sound as if he’s gone half-way around the world – he’s only in Wicklow, for God’s sake,’ Carol said dismissively, and Jessica felt like smacking her. Wicklow might just as well be halfway around the world at the moment. Mike was there and she was here and she missed him. She was dying to know how the first day in the job had gone. He was ringing her at half nine and she was aching to talk to him.
It had been horrible saying goodbye to him the previous night. She’d seen his digs. He was staying with a widow and her son in a neat little house down near Bridge Street right in Wicklow Town. His room was tidy, if on the small side, and Mrs Meehan, his landlady, would cook a dinner for him in the evenings.
He’d decided to go into digs temporarily; in the meantime, he was keeping an eye out for a place for them to live, somewhere between Bray and Wicklow, so Jessica wouldn’t have to commute too far.
He’d got an old banger of a car that would get him from A to B. That was something, although her mother felt he should come and live with her in Arklow now that he was mobile. But if he did that, he’d be spending as much money on petrol as he would be on rent, they’d explained patiently. Jessica knew Liz wasn’t entirely convinced.
Jessica was going to commute from Dublin one night a week, most likely Wednesday, to be with Mike. She wouldn’t be able to stay in his digs though, unfortunately. Mrs Meehan didn’t seem the type who would approve of unmarrieds sharing a single bed. Their sex life would be gone to the dogs, Jessica thought gloomily, as she threw a ball in the air and prepared to serve. Weekends only. Even though her mother was very liberal in her approach and took it for granted that they shared a room whenever Mike stayed over, Jessica could never manage to have sex under Liz’s roof. She invariably became tense, aware of every sound, and sure that the bed was creaking even more loudly than normal. Her mother’s bedroom was next door and she just couldn’t relax enough to do it. Mike understood and never made an issue of it. Jessica felt he was as uncomfortable as she was with it, so kisses and cuddles were as far as they went at home. It would have to be the back of the car on Wednesday nights for a bit of nookie. Roll on September, she thought fervently, as Carol ran her ragged around the court.
* * *
Mike lay on his bed and yawned his head off. He was knackered: he’d been on site at seven a.m., and even though he’d enjoyed his first working day, it had been a bit of a strain trying to remember all the names and take in all the information that he’d been given about the job. He was steeped in luck to get this job, he reflected. The N11 was being upgraded. Ashford and Rathnew were to be bypassed in the years to come. There were plenty of meaty challenges to keep him on his toes and he was looking forward to it. He just wished Jessica was with him so he could share all the events of the day with her. He’d had a good dinner, lamb chops and plenty of gravy and mashed potatoes and veg, but he wasn’t in the humour for going down to the sitting-room to make polite conversation with his landlady and her son.
It would be great having a place of their own. He’d noticed a nice little cottage in Ashford for sale, but that might still be a bit of a trek for Jessica commuting out to RTE. Besides, they didn’t have enough money for a deposit, he thought ruefully. Not with the wedding coming up.
Mike glanced at his watch. Ten past nine. He’d told Jessica he’d phone her at half. He was out of credit on his mobile and he’d forgotten to get some. He didn’t want to use the payphone in the hall. He wanted a bit of privacy. He’d go to the call-box up near the bank and call her. It would be good to go out and get some fresh air before going to bed. Hauling himself to his feet, he ran a comb through his hair, made sure he had enough coins for the phone, and headed off to talk to his beloved.
* * *
The following Wednesday Carol made sure to take extra care with her make-up. She’d been half-tempted not to go to the club tonight when she’d heard that Jessica was driving down to Wicklow to meet Mike. But she was rostered for a game of mixed doubles and she didn’t want to let her partner down. She had a feeling that Gary and Jen would be there, and she had no desire to watch the other woman swanning around the club with a smug smirk on her puss. To that end, she’d asked Sean to collect her there later, and she’d make sure he had at least one drink so she could show him off. She wanted to ask him to come to the Mid-Summer’s Ball the following week, and she hoped against hope that he wouldn’t be working and that he’d say yes.
She sighed, looking at her reflection in the mirror. There was no sign of the roller-coaster of emotions she was feeling. One minute she was exhilarated, on top of the world, the next she was in the pits of depression unable to stop thinking about Gary and Jen. Imagining them making passionate love, and feeling gutted that he had let her go so easily.
They were at the bar when she strolled in, and out of the corner of her eye she caught Gary looking at her. She pretended not to see them and responded gaily to a greeting from one of the other members.
She stayed chatting with the other girl for a while before making her excuses to go
to the changing-room. She was just pulling her white skirt up over her thighs when Jen glided in.
‘Oh, oh, hello,’ she said coolly.
‘Hi,’ Carol was equally cool.
‘Look, this is awkward, I know, and I hope you weren’t too upset about Gary breaking off your engagement, but—’
‘Sorry?’ Carol arched an eyebrow.
‘I hope you’re not too upset because Gary er . . . umm . . . broke it off.’ Jen faltered under Carol’s supercilious stare.
‘I think you’re under a misapprehension here, Jen. Gary didn’t break it off with me, I broke it off with him—’
‘He told me otherwise,’ Jen snapped.
‘He’s lying. I broke it off with him in public in the lock at Athlone in front of Jessie and Mike. But it’s no skin off my nose who you believe. You’re welcome to him,’ she said coldly, before stalking out of the locker room, head held high.
Gary was such a creep saying it was him that broke it off. He had no integrity whatsoever. Sean wouldn’t do that, she thought, and banished the thought. She didn’t want to get into comparisons; deep down she knew Gary wouldn’t even rate a comparison with Sean.
Gary was standing at the clubhouse door, tying a lace on his runner.
‘Jen’s not too happy – she was offering condolences on you breaking off with me. I set the record straight. You shouldn’t tell fibs, Gary, it’s much easier if you tell the truth in the long run,’ she said disdainfully as she walked by him.
It would be interesting to see the repercussions of that, she thought with satisfaction, suddenly looking forward to her match.
* * *
Jen Coughlan sat on the bench tying up her runners. Humiliation seared her soul. Carol Logan had not been lying, she knew by her whole superior attitude. Gary Davis had left her wide open as a result of his lies. Now she’d be the laughing stock, and the one people pitied when it got out that Gary had been dumped and not the other way around. She’d be seen as the fool that took him back. Why was she such an idiot? She cursed herself. Why did she believe his lies? Why did she always take him back? There was only so much shit a woman could take, and she’d taken her quota. Tonight Gary Davis would be going home on his own. She’d had it with him. He was history.
* * *
Gary’s heart sank. He’d seen the look of disdain Jen had thrown him as she passed his court and knew he was in trouble. He should have known better. It was bound to get out that Carol had ended the engagement and not him. Women couldn’t keep these things to themselves. They always had to be getting one over on each other. He was better off without the species, he thought irritably as he played a crap shot and lost his serve game.
His humour was not improved when he went looking for Jen after his match to discover she’d already left. He was definitely blown out now. Pissed off, he went into the bar to have a quiet drink only to see Carol, looking fabulous in a pair of tight-fitting jeans and a black spaghetti-string top that clung to every toned curve. She was laughing at something a man was saying to her, and Gary realized with a sense of shock that it was that bloody Guard she was going out with. They moved to the bar and ordered drinks, and rather than retreat and lose face he stepped up to the bar beside her.
‘Hello, Carol,’ he said casually. ‘How did the match go?’
‘Fine,’ she said airily. ‘This is a friend of mine, Sean Ryan. Sean, this is Gary Davis, my ex.’
‘Hello.’ Gary nodded but made no move to shake hands. The copper nodded politely.
‘We’re just having a quickie. Sean’s helping move my stuff to my new flat,’ Carol informed him briskly. ‘See you around.’ She picked up her glass of orange and headed for a table, followed by her new boyfriend.
She was moving flat. This was a new departure. It probably had a bedroom with a double bed rather than her virginal single-bed bedsit. She definitely must be sleeping with him, Gary thought jealously. The thought infuriated him.
Another thought struck him. If Jen wasn’t speaking to him he had just over a week to find another woman to go to the bloody Mid-Summer’s Ball with him. That was all he needed, he thought morosely as he took a slug out of his pint and tried not to look over at Carol and her fella.
* * *
‘I don’t think your ex was too happy to see you with someone else,’ Sean remarked as he lugged two black sacks down the stairs of Carol’s bedsit a little while later.
‘Tough,’ Carol said crisply as she followed him down with a half-dozen assorted bags.
‘You enjoyed letting him know that you were moving flat,’ he said, straight to the point as usual.
‘I’m a woman, Sean,’ she retorted.
‘True, that says it all,’ he grinned.
She pulled the front door closed and stowed her bags in the boot of his car.
‘Are you working Saturday night week?’ she asked nonchalantly as she sat into the car beside him.
‘Ah . . . let’s see.’ He looked into the distance and did a quick mental calculation. ‘Nope, I’m working the Saturday after that. Why?’
‘How would you like to come to our Mid-Summer’s Ball? It’s usually good crack. It’s in The Marine in Sutton. Jessica and Mike will be at it.’
‘Will his nibs?’
‘Don’t know. I put Jen, his girlfriend, straight about the fact that I’d ended it and not him – she had the nerve to hope I wasn’t too upset because he’d ended it, according to her. So I don’t know if they’ll get over that little hiccup. Who cares anyway?’
‘I think you do,’ he said perceptively.
‘Look, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to,’ she said testily. ‘I’m not fussed whether I go or not.’
‘Don’t get huffy,’ he grinned. ‘I’ll go if you’d like me to.’
‘Don’t be too enthusiastic,’ she retorted.
‘Ah, stop, do I have to dress up in a monkey suit?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Right.’
‘Do you not like dinner dances?’
‘No,’ he said bluntly, and she laughed at his honesty.
‘If you don’t want to go I won’t hold it against you,’ she assured him.
‘Ah sure we’ll give it a try.’
‘How come a lovely fella like you is single?’ She was curious.
Sean laughed as he started the engine. ‘I was going with a girl in Sligo and she wasn’t too happy at me coming to Dublin. She did an “It’s Dublin or me” ultimatum.’ He glanced across at her. ‘I don’t like ultimatums.’
‘I must remember that,’ Carol murmured. ‘Doesn’t like dinner dances and doesn’t like ultimatums.’
‘But likes swimming, hill-walking and sexy women joggers,’ he teased, and she laughed and felt a most unexpected flicker of happiness.
22
‘Wow, that’s a gorgeous dress,’ Jessica said almost enviously as Carol stepped into a black jersey silk halter-neck dress that moulded itself to every curve of her body.
‘Yours is gorgeous as well,’ Carol reciprocated, pleased at her friend’s reaction.
‘It’s not drop-dead sexy like yours is!’ Jessica made a face. Her dress was a peach spaghetti-strapped floaty chiffon-type dress that hinted at the ethereal more than the sexy. It was the kind of dress Carol would never have got away with.
‘Look, the two of us are drop-dead gorgeous. Wait until the guys see us. They won’t be able to walk, they’ll be so horny.’ Carol giggled.
Jessica laughed. It was great to see Carol in such good form. The break from Gary had been the best thing that had ever happened to her. ‘How’s the flat going?’
‘Oh, I don’t know myself having so much space, you’ll have to see it,’ Carol enthused. ‘You’re right, I should have done it years ago. I suppose I thought seeing as I was engaged to Gary I’d be moving in with him and there wasn’t much point.’
‘Oh,’ Jessica murmured. ‘I hear it’s all off with Jen. I wonder will he come to the do tonight?’
‘I bet
he will. He wouldn’t have it said that he couldn’t get a date. He’ll be with some blonde bimbo, wait until you see,’ Carol predicted confidently.
‘Won’t you mind?’ Curiosity got the better of Jessica.
‘I don’t know,’ the other girl confessed. ‘Sometimes I’m fine, usually when I’m with Sean, other times I’m miserable.’
‘I think you’ve done very, very well under the circumstances. Much better than I thought you would,’ Jessica said admiringly as she dusted some blusher on to her cheeks.
‘I think that’s because I met Sean. He kinda took the sting out of it. It was nice to show Gary that I could get another man and very quickly too. I know you don’t approve and don’t think it a reason to go out with anyone. You’d understand if it happened to you.’
Prudently Jessica refrained from comment, pretending to be too busy concentrating on applying her mascara. A ring at the doorbell caused them both to grab their bags and wraps. It was Sean and the taxi. They’d decided to go as a foursome. Carol had come over to Jessica’s to get dolled up and Mike was downstairs in his tux.
Two wolf whistles greeted their appearance as Sean and Mike stood waiting for them in the sitting-room, drinking a beer.
‘Who are these women?’ Mike asked, handing each of them a glass of champagne.
‘I’ve no idea, never met them before,’ deadpanned Sean, who looked rakishly sexy in his dress suit.
‘And we could say the same of you pair,’ Carol retorted. ‘They do scrub up well when they want to, don’t they?’ She turned to Jessica, who was beaming at Mike as if she hadn’t seen him for a year.
Carol threw her eyes to heaven. ‘Would you look at that pair, can’t take their eyes off each other. It’s sad.’ She smiled at Sean, who leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
‘You look fantastic,’ he said admiringly.
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