Friends Like Us
Page 35
Eilis and Steph actually laughed out loud.
‘Talk about slow train coming!’ said Steph. ‘We’ve known for years.’
‘Why’d you wait so long?’ said Eilis. ‘Men like Cormac are thin on the ground. No, endangered. He should be cloned.’
‘I’ve been a fool, I know that,’ said Melissa. ‘I wasn’t ready, I suppose. I didn’t trust myself with him. You know, not to spoil it.’
Eilis and Steph nodded. They knew, they understood.
‘And there’s this.’ She held up her ring. ‘I almost forgot!’
They all squealed.
‘We should order champagne!’ said Eilis.
‘Not for me,’ said Melissa. ‘I’ve decided to lay of the sauce for as long as… maybe forever. I just don’t want to be like… you know…’
Mary hadn’t drunk in two months now and was diligently going to A.A. She and Frankie had met up again and Mary was fretting about what to buy Cara and Caleb for Christmas. Melissa had suggested some books she thought they might like. And something plasticky to off-set the books.
‘Anyway,’ said, Steph. ‘I’m so glad for you. You are perfect for each other.’ She had tears in her eyes.
‘Do you really think?’ Melissa was enjoying the corroboration of her own feelings. It was so lovely to let go and… bask. This was a nice feeling.
‘Yes, I do. Really.’
‘Thanks Steph,’ said Melissa. They smiled at each other. ‘And how are you… how’s it all going?’ They were all suddenly thinking of Nuala.
‘Grand, so. Kind of. You know. One day at a time,’ she tried to smile. ‘Dad’s taking it hardest, but he’s with us most days, me and Rachel. We’re getting him through it, which is helping us. And with Rick…’
‘With a silent P,’ said Melissa, sipping her Elderflower spritzy-thing.
‘Indeed, Mr Silent-P is gone… and it’s so wonderful to wake up and know that the day is mine to be in charge of.’ She shrugged knowing that no one could hurt her ever again, knowing that she and Rachel could look forward to a calm future. She was never going to relinquish control over her life as easily as she had done before. Who ever thought living alone could be empowering? ‘I can do whatever I like,’ she said. ‘No eggshells, no atmosphere. No Miriam.’
‘You mean Mrs Mad McMad,’ said Melissa.
Steph actually thought she was going to laugh. Surely not? This was not a laughing matter. She should have been crying into her glass, planning elaborate revenges or dreading the lonely hinterland of the perimenopause. Instead, she was drinking a glass of Prosecco with her friends and was feeling her mouth twitch into something resembling a smile.
She held up her glass, feeling suddenly unburdened by it all. It didn’t have to be terrible. The thought of Nuala not being here was awful but her mother was the most life-giving person she had ever met. She would want her to live. ‘Here’s to adultery,’ she said, the idea slowly spreading. ‘Thank God for adultery! The escape route for the non-proactive, unhappy wife!’
‘To adultery!’ the other two chorused, clinking and slightly spilling their drinks. ‘And to inaction! And apathy!’ Others in the bar were looking over at them. They all laughed.
‘So Eils, what about you? Any news?’ said Steph, waiting for Eilis to do her usual and not say much. But Eilis cleared her throat.
‘Um…’ she began. How to put it all into words? ‘Well, Rob’s gay and I have embarked on a sordid and immensely satisfying affair with a man who is the handsomest thing ever to walk the planet and brings me out in a cold sweat every time I think of him.’
Steph and Melissa gaped for a moment trying to take it all in, and then the three of them burst into laughter, the kind of gasping for air, flappy-hands, choking laughter which, to all the fellow drinkers in the bar, looked as though they had lost their minds.
In fact, it was just the opposite. It may have taken more than four decades, but minds had been found, never to be lost again.
‘It’s been quite a year, hasn’t it?’ said Eilis.
‘Yes,’ said Steph, ‘It’s been one of the most roller-coasty of my life. I am looking for less drama next year. I don’t think I could go through another year like this.’
‘To us and our continued adventures,’ said Melissa. ‘Together.’
They clinked, all of them with tears in their eyes.
‘You know,’ said Steph. ‘I didn’t realize how lonely I was without you both. I mean, I was just getting on with things, but not to have you, people I could talk to, was awful. It made everything worse.’
‘Me too,’ said Eilis. ‘I missed you both.’
‘Well, let’s make sure it never happens again, okay?’ said Melissa. ‘We’ve got plenty of years left to go. And things will happen to us. The remarkable, the unremarkable. But this time, we’ll do it together.’
‘Okay, gang,’ said Steph.
‘I’m in,’ said Eilis.
‘Jesus Christ!’ Melissa looked at the time on her phone. ‘It’s time! Are you ready to face your past?’ Melissa said.
The reunion was starting.
‘Let’s go!’ said Eilis. And in they walked, the three of them, arm in arm. Life, they had discovered, worked so much better when they were together. They were the perfect fit. The DJ was playing tunes from the 1990s.
Steph looked at her friends on either side. ‘I couldn’t have done any of this without you,’ she said.
‘I’d be in a crumbling heap,’ said Melissa, grinning, giddy on love and life. ‘Weeping in the gutter without you two.’
Eilis grinned at them. ‘Friends like you,’ she said. ‘I don’t know what I’d do if you two hadn’t walked back into my life.’
‘Friends like us,’ said Steph.
‘Jesus!’ said Melissa. ‘I’ve just seen Sister Attracta. She’s waving to us. We’ll have to go over and be nice.’
And they did. They could have been eighteen again, meeting their past selves and lives. But what about the future? Life was better, it was obvious, the future brighter when they had each other.
We hope you enjoyed this book!
Siân O’Gorman’s next book is coming in summer 2017
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Acknowledgements
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Acknowledgments
Evelyn O’Rourke was the kind soul who put me in touch with Emma Dunne, my first reader who gave me the encouragement to keep on going. My agent Ger Nichol is one of the kindest and most encouraging people ever to exist. Her enthusiasm and sensitivity are a joy to behold and receive. To the team at Aria and Head of Zeus, especially the scarily-smart Jade Craddock and the super-powered Caroline Ridding… thank you for taking a chance on me.
A big shout-out to my friends, all so interesting and inspiring and always a privilege to be around: Merlo Kelly, Iseult Hall, Camille O’Sullivan, Denise Doorly, Sarah McNulty, Laura Mahoney and Ella McSweeney. Also to Karen Wilson, Caryl Beynon and Louise Halfpenny who have been my friends for a very long time. I consider myself very lucky to be in your midst.
My family thank yous: my wonderful Irish clan, Ronnie, Regina, Annajoy, Ben, Sally and Boz, my brilliant sister, Sadhbh, and amazing brother in law, Jason, and my best friend and husband, Donal. But most of all, to my daughter Ruby… quite simply, the nicest and loveliest person I have ever met. Thank you for being you.
About Siân O’Gorman
SIN O’GORMAN was born in Ireland, is an RTÉ radio producer and lives in the seaside suburb of Dalkey, Dublin with her seven nearly-eight-year-old daughter, Ruby.
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Addictive Fiction
First published in the United Kingdom in 2016 by Aria, an imprint of Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © Siân O’Gorman, 2016
The moral right of Siân O’Gorman to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN (E) 9781784979560
Aria
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