“No, Rory, you were just overcautious to the point of making me feel badly about myself. The only person I had to talk to other than Sheila, who was two years older than me and hung out with her age group, was Ronan Gillespie. He was such a nice person and friend, and he wasn’t judgmental. Sometimes I think Dad sent him into my life just when I needed a friend.”
“There were three of you that were always together: Ronan, his brother and yourself.”
“Yes, his little brother hung around with us because his mother worked cleaning people’s houses, and he didn’t want to be alone at home. He didn’t even remember his father, but Ronan did. And so we talked about our fathers. Nobody in the family spoke of Daddy to me. Sometimes, I thought, nobody cared that he was gone from our lives. And yes, I was perfectly safe in the Gillespie brothers’ company.”
“You were only a child. A kind word and a smile was what you needed, not my heavy-handedness.”
“And I, Rory, I unfortunately misjudged you,” Kate said apologetically.
“Our Comedy of Errors,” Rory laughed.
“It’s over and done with now, Rory. The fourth of September I’ll be twenty-five years old. So, in one-month’s time, I will receive my inheritance. So, ‘All’s Well that Ends Well’.”
“Congratulations! What are your plans for this sum of money?”
“There’s talk that the government is going to demolish the cottages in the lane. I don’t know if there is any truth to this rumor. Eventually I plan to buy a house. If this rumor becomes a fact, I’ll be doing it earlier than expected. Of course, if this all comes about, the government will have to find homes for all the families living in the lane, and that will take time.”
“Why do they want to demolish those cottages?”
“For health reasons. They contend that too many people are living in such small dwellings. Such was so years ago when these cottages housed large families. Now, except for two families, they house couples whose children have married and left home, and a few people living alone.”
“Where—“
“Momma, Momma,” called Eoin as he raced into the dining compartment, “Aunt Gwen and I saw the engineer shovel the coal into the fire to make the train go. He was all sooty, even his face. He let me throw in some coal.”
“Yes, and we’ve washed our hands and faces since we participated in that activity,” Gwen laughed.
“Let’s stay together during our five days in Dublin,” Rory proposed. Since you have a small cottage, please accept Gwen’s and my invitation to you and Eoin to join us at our hotel. I’ll take care of all the arrangements.”
“Yes, do say yes,” Gwen urged.
“That’s very kind of you both, but I only have two more days before I must return to work.”
“Then we’ll make the most of your two days with us, and whatever time you have available after work.” Turning to Eoin, Rory asked, “Do you like horses?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s yes, Uncle Rory, for you are my one and only nephew. I do believe, Eoin, you’ll enjoy the Dublin Horse Show. Maybe someday you’ll ride a horse as competently as your Mommy.”
“Eoin rides a horse on his granduncle’s farm, as do I whenever the opportunity of a visit presents itself. When he starts school, I’ll work full time, Eoin will spend summers on the farm, and I will be there on my days off.”
“Who is this granduncle?” Rory wished to know.
“They are Francis’ uncle Ned and his aunt Mary who live on a farm. They are a wonderful couple and were the first family members I introduced to Eoin when he was just a few months. Eoin is the joy of their lives.”
“Acceptance!”
“Immediate and complete,” said Kate.
“Eoin, let’s you and I find the train map and see where we are on the map.” Gwen suggested. Eoin was happy to do so, and they left.
“It must have been obvious to Ned and Mary that whatever family I had, I was an outcast to them. Other than that I do not know what they thought of the situation. Our wedding reception took place in their home. Mary, with the aid of her neighbors and friends, prepared the wedding feast. Ned drove the four of us to the church in his side-car. It was a beautiful event.” A moment of silence followed.
“My not revealing my condition destroyed what Francis and I had.”
“That’s partly true, but the other part was his reaction to the news you imparted to him.”
“He believed I married him solely to give the child a father, and that was true. However, I fell in love with Francis almost immediately. He disregarded that part.”
Before Rory would speak, Eoin and Gwen return with the names of all the train stops before reaching Dublin.
“Umm, I have a feeling, Eoin, that you and your Mommy have been to the horse show before.”
“Yes,” the boy answered gleefully. “Momma took me every year even when I was a baby.”
“She has? Have you ever stayed in a hotel before?”
“I don’t think so. Where is that?”
“A hotel is a place to sleep and eat when you’re away from home.”
“I don’t think we’ve ever been there, have we, Momma?”
“No. We’ve stayed at the farm, but that’s with family, not a hotel.”
“It will be a new experience for you, Eoin,” laughed Rory.
During a late dinner, after two unforgettable days with Rory and Gwen, Rory insisted on taking Kate and Eoin home by taxi, although Kate told him they could get a bus home. With the four of them in a taxi, they arrived at the bottom of the lane after dark.
The taxi stopped.
“Well, why isn’t he going up the lane?”
“Too narrow. No cars allowed,” Kate told Rory.
Gwen and Rory wished to escort them up the lane, while the taxi driver waited as instructed. It was a beautiful clear August evening. The lane was as quiet as an empty church. A cool breeze, as always, but much more appreciated in summer than winter, drifted in from the sea. Gwen and Rory studied the surroundings as they passed the water pump and turned towards the cottages, the only sound being their footsteps.
Some candles had been lit and were shedding a soft mellow glow into the lane. The front of the cottages having just one small window made nightfall seem earlier inside the cottages than outside. On arriving at her cottage, Kate opened the door, stepped inside, and lit a candle before inviting her family in.
“How utterly quaint,” Gwen said in delight, as she entered.
“Where’s the light switch?” Rory asked.
“No electricity.”
“This is straight out of a child’s nursery stories. Absolutely enchanting,” Gwen added.
“Would you like some tea?”
“No, we had better go now that we have delivered you safely home. The taxi driver awaits,” Rory reminded them.
“Goodnight, Kate. The last two days have been wonderful. We’ll pick you up after work tomorrow morning at the hospital and have dinner together each night before our return home.”
Then after a brief pause, Gwen asked, “Could Eoin come stay with us overnight?”
“Would you like to stay in a hotel tonight with Uncle Rory and Aunt Gwen?” Kate asked her son.
The boy considered his mother’s questions.
“Will you be there?”
“No, I must work tonight, but I’d see you after work tomorrow.”
The boy agreed to go with his uncle and aunt. It might prove to be a nice change from being with his mother’s friend Monica who took care of him, as did other women in the lane, while his mother worked. Eoin delighted in having an adult male in the group, especially one who paid him much attention, and Gwen was lavish in her praise of Eoin.
After much hugging, they left. Kate, now alone in the cottage, missed her son but was happy that Eoin was secure enough to be able to spend time without her with people he had just recently met. After they had left, Kate, grabbing soap and a towel, walked up the lane, showered and put on her uniform and
then sat on the rocking chair, for she dare not asleep as she had the midnight to seven o’clock shift at the hospital. What great parents Gwen and Rory would make, Kate thought as she recalled the day’s events.
Gwen, Rory and Eoin were waiting for Kate as she left the hospital after washing and changing out of her uniform and into a dress. Eoin’s face had a smile of delight when he saw his mother. Previous to this separation, Eoin remained in the lane while Kate worked, and he knew his mother would always return to the lane. This time there was uncertainty, for he would not be in the lane but, rather, staying in a strange place.
“I was afraid you might forget I was in the hotel place, not the lane,” he said all in one breath as he reached up and threw his arms around his mother. As they stood clinging to each other, Rory broke the connection.
“Let’s go back to the hotel where you can have some breakfast, Kate, and can sleep while we take this young man sightseeing. We’ll pick you up at about one o’clock for lunch, then head for the horse show. Does this meet with everyone’s wishes?”
“Sounds perfect to me,” Kate answered.
“And me,” Gwen replied.
On a gloriously sunny August day without a cloud in the sky, Gwen and Rory, Kate and Eoin entered the horse show grounds amid elegantly dressed women in summer gowns wearing wide brim picture hats, accompanied by their equally elegantly dressed escorts. Gwen and Kate watched this parade of fashion with fascination while Rory studied the racing form, though he was not immune to the glamour in their midst.
At the sound of a horn by a lone rider on horseback who entered the ring conversation and laughter was cut short, and all eyes turned as horses and riders commenced to fill the ring. Riders from France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Ireland, and England, splendidly dressed in riding outfits, and Americans in military uniforms, began their walk around the ring as the national anthem of each country was played. Each saluted the Irish president as they passed the grandstand.
Each team, hoping to win the Aga Khan cup for their country, jumped over hurdles, ditches, water, barricades, all of which followed a zigzag route between obstacles placed nicely apart and others very close together and some that had to be jumped at an angle or after a sharp turn. A hush lay over the crowd as each jump was made, followed by a burst of applause on the completion of a perfect jump. As the jumps were made higher, the tension rose among the crowd, for the riders had not only to steady their horses for the more difficult jumps, but they were racing against time. A combination of perfect jumps and the shortest time completing the round decided the winner.
People attending this sporting event usually had a favorite rider they cheered on. A particular rider who had won or had an almost perfect performance in previous years would be guaranteed much support from the crowd. A British rider held the honor for a few years, and people spoke of him as though they knew him well, calling him by his first name.
After the afternoon’s spectacular performance, Rory suggested they go to the stables so that Eoin could see some of the horses up close. They walked through throngs of people to the stables, where they found the horses being rubbed down and fed. Many stalls were empty as the horses had not yet returned to their stalls. They chatted as they looked into the stalls along the way.
Rory suddenly realized that Eoin was not among them. They looked in both directions and not seeing him, Rory backtracked to all the empty stables. As he did so, Kate told Gwen she would walk in the direction they had not yet covered, and they could meet back at the stall where they first discovered Eoin had disappeared.
As she walked, Kate called out her son’s name. Coming to a wooden barrier that bore the sign, “Private—no admittance,” Kate stopped. Deciding that such a sign would not prevent a four-year-old child with a great curiosity from entering, she climbed over the fence that Eoin could easily have climbed under and continued her search.
Eoin, who did not consider himself lost, came upon a beautiful chestnut color horse being rubbed down in its stall. He had been standing there for several minutes admiring the horse before the groom became aware of his presence.
“How did you get here? You’re not allowed in this area,” the groom stated.
Undaunted by these words, Eoin stood in awe of this magnificent creature. Reaching out his hand, he rubbed it along the horse’s shank.
“Can I climb up on him?”
“That’s not allowed,” the groom, answered as another man entered the stall.
“Who do we have here, Mike?”
“I don’t know where he came from, Mr. Fitzgerald, but this young fellow wants to mount ‘Our Own.’”
“What’s your name, son?”
“Eoin Egan, sir. Is this your horse? May I sit on him?”
“Egan!”
“I told him it was out of the question. He’s a stubborn one, he is.”
“Well now, Mike, I’d like to make an exception in this case,” and turning to the child asked, “So you’d like to sit on him.”
“Yes, sir.” Reaching down, Fitzgerald picked the boy up and placed him on the horse. Eoin smiled in delight.
“Do you ride?”
“Yes, sir,” Eoin answered. “I ride a pony on my granduncle’s farm.” Then seeing his mother turn into the stall area, he called out to her. “Look Momma!”
“Mrs. Egan, I presume,” Fitzgerald said as he raised his cap. “I’m Brian Fitzgerald.”
Kate, who had never met Fitzgerald in person, was momentarily taken back.
“Your son has taken a fancy to our horse.”
Yes, she recognized him from newspaper photographs, and memories of Harry’s dispute all came flooding back to her.
“We must go now, Eoin,” Kate said as she reached up for her son who reluctantly slid off the horse into her arms. “Thank you, Mr. Fitzgerald, for your kindness to my son.”
“But, Momma, I want to sit on him.”
“He’s a fine lad, Mrs. Egan. Now, Eoin lad, listen to your Momma.”
As Kate took her son by the hand, Fitzgerald, said, “It’s been very nice meeting you, Mrs. Egan.”
“And in my meeting you, Mr. Fitzgerald.”
As Kate and Eoin walked back to where she had left Gwen, Kate told Eoin he must never wander off from her. To which he replied, “But Momma, I remembered what you said. If I get lost I should ask a policeman to help me find you, and I should tell him my name and where I live.”
“Yes, Eoin, that is correct. However, you must not walk away from me without telling me where you are going.”
This was all very confusing to Eoin who had not left the stable area, and felt he had only to walk back and join his mother, aunt and uncle after he had checked out the remaining stalls.
“You must promise me this won’t happen again.”
“I promise.”
A young woman walked towards them. Kate immediately recognized Kit Fitzgerald from the society pages of the newspaper. She is a much prettier woman in person, Kate thought as they came face-to-face. She is probably wondering what Eoin and I are doing coming out of the area that warns “No Admittance.” Kit smiled and wished them “a good afternoon” as she passed by. Kate answered in kind.
CHAPTER 10
The week they had together had come to an end all too soon. When Eoin discovered his newfound family would be leaving Dublin, he asked why they could not continue to live at the hotel, so that they might all see each other. Rory explained that he and Gwen had to go home and prepare for the new school year that would start in September. Eoin, who was impatiently waiting for the day he could enter school, understood.
It had been a memorable week. While Eoin had come to know his uncle, Kate and Gwen had enjoyed shopping and lunching together. Kate was saddened to say goodbye, but was extremely happy that she had come to know and understand Rory better, and happy also for the lovely relationship that had developed between her and Gwen.
A fortnight had passed since Rory and Gwen had spent a week in Dub
lin. Arriving alone, Rory knocked on the brass doorknocker of his mother’s house. The maid on opening the door smiled and said, “Good afternoon, Mr. McCormack.”
“Good afternoon to you, Sarah. Is my mother home?”
“Yes, sir. I’ll go fetch her for you,” and she hurried to find his mother.
A smile spread over Rory’s face as he wondered what his mother would think of Sarah’s words. “To fetch,” as a dog might fetch a stick or the morning newspaper; but fetch his regal mother! But then, he figured, all Sarah needed do was use the proper wording in his mother’s presence, a task she must have acquired for Sarah had remained for the longest time of any maid in his mother’s employment. All Sarah’s brothers and sisters had married, leaving her, the youngest and unmarried in the family homestead, to keep her widowed father company and tend to his needs.
“Rory,” Kieran said as he stepped into the room where Rory stood. “To what or to whom do we owe this visit?”
“Kieran, have you taken up permanent residence here? If so, why are your wife and children not here with you?”
“I’ve come to visit Mom. That’s something you rarely do.”
Genevieve McCormack on entering the room addressed them.
“Aren’t you boys ever going to grow up to the point of being able to converse in a civilized manner?”
“You’re looking well, Mother.” Looking around him he added, “Have you ever thought of selling this great, big, drafty old house, and getting something smaller?”
“This is my home.” Genevieve answered with the coldness and sharpness of an icicle.
“It was a great house for us to grow up in,” Rory said, “but now that you live alone, I thought, it might be too much for you to take care of. Besides, half of the rooms are closed off.”
“They are dusted and vacuumed weekly.”
“But not used?”
“My brother, who seldom comes to visit, is now telling us the house should be sold!”
“Only a suggestion. Nothing more.”
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