“
Well, you say he
’
s a great worker. He could take over my day-shifts.
”
“
Don
’
t be silly. He works Monday to Friday.
”
“
Not any more he doesn
’
t,
”
she smirked.
Sam stopped what he was doing.
“
What did you say
?”
he asked, raising his voice.
“
He
’
s been made redundant. He finishes up tomorrow and he
’
s distraught about it.
”
“
Oh my God, the poor chap
!
Why didn
’
t he tell me?
”
“
He
’
s a bit embarrassed about it, I think. He hasn
’
t even told his wife yet. He says she
’
ll go ballistic.
”
Fiona
’
s eyes clouded over.
“
Well, that
’
s good news for me. I
’
ll ring him immediate
ly and ask if he can fill in till he gets another job.
”
He beamed at her happily.
“
Problem sorted!
”
“
It
’
s pretty unlikely he
’
ll get another job in this economic climate
,”
she nodded sagely.
“
Please don
’
t tell him I told you.
”
“
And who will he think told me? The fairies?
”
Sam shook his head disbelievingly.
“
He won
’
t mind that you
’
ve told me – not if it benefits us both.”
“
I suppose,
”
Fiona replied hopefully.
Ronan couldn
’
t believe his luck. The call from Sam was like manna from heaven. At least he could face the bank manager now with some kind of hope. He must remember
to buy Fiona a big bunch of flowers. If she hadn
’
t mentioned it to Sam he might still be in a deep hole. Now at least Louise wouldn
’
t have him under her feet all the time.
He went straight from the office to meet Sam and discuss hours and salary before starting his evening shift. He stopped off on the way to buy flowers for Fiona. Thank heaven for small miracles, he thought as he strode to the wine shop
.
Once again, Sam was a lifesaver. He was happy to have Ronan take over all of Fiona
’
s hours which meant he would have every Monday off and would have to work one Sunday in four. He would work the evening shift as before on Wednesday and Thursday and work till five the other days. The salary was more than Ronan could have hoped for. He couldn
’
t believe his luck.
When he had left Sam he took the stairs up to Fiona
’
s apartment two at a time. Fiona
’
s face broke into a huge smile
when he presented her with the bouquet of yellow roses.
“
They
’
re my favourite,
”
she cried, burying her nose in them before giving Ronan a big hug. She barely got her
arms around him as her tummy was in the way.
They both laughed at the incongruity of it. She put the kettle on for tea.
“
Now it
’
s my turn to make you tea,
”
she laughed as she brought out a coffee cake that her mother had made.
“
Mmmm . . . looks great.
”
“
It is. By the way, I
’
ve decided to stay in the flat as long as I possibly can, before going to my mam
’
s
.”
“
If that
’
s what you want to do, you should,
”
he advised.
“
Do you know if it
’
s a boy or a girl?
”
“
It
’
s a boy.
‘
Ronan
’
is actually one of the names I have for him on my shortlist.
”
“
Poor kid,
”
he laughed
and then ventured to ask
. “
What about his father?
”
Her face took on a disgusted look.
“
He did a runner the minute I mentioned I was pregnant,
”
she told him, a hint of bitterness in her voice
. “
I don
’
t even know where he is. Abroad, his mother told me. I don
’
t want anything more to do with him.
”
She stuck her chin out defiantly
.
“
Silly sod! Some men are fools.
”
“
I don
’
t need him in my life. I
’
m better off without him. I can see that now. He
’
s a waster.
”
She sounded strong and determined.
Ronan marvelled at her courage, her being willing to take sole responsibility for this little being she was about to bring into the world. He knew she would be a great mother. He ate two huge slices of the cake which was delicious and
,
as he took his leave
,
Fiona thanked him once again for the flowers
.
He could see that she was genuinely delighted and he was pleased that he
’
d thought to do it.
25
In the office the following day Ronan could sense the despair around him. He supposed he was luckier than most. It was with a heavy heart that they spent their last day working together. Ronan spent his lunchtime at the bank where he
’
d made an appointment to see the bank manager. Mr O
’
Mahony was very understanding.
“
You
’
re not the only one in this position,
”
he
’
d assured Ronan.
“
At least you
’
ve got this wine job to tide you over. However, I do think that your credit
-
card spending is far too high and I suggest that you cancel the card, for the moment at least.
”
“
Yes. I
’
m afraid my wife doesn
’
t see it as spending when she uses it.
”
“
Ah yes, Louise. Charming girl. How is her jewellery business coming along?
”
“
Jewellery business?
”
Ronan asked mystified.
“
She
’
s a wonderful girl. It
’
s great that she
’
s willing to help out by starting this little jewellery business. I hope it
’
s getting off the ground okay.
”
“
Oh, sure,
”
Ronan replied, shocked. He knew there was no jewellery business and suspected that Louise had conned the poor man into lending her money
.
He tried to keep his voice nonchalant as he asked,
“
How much is the interest rate on that loan? Louise couldn
’
t remember.
”
“
Let me see . . .
”
The manager turned to his computer and entered some information.
“
Yes, here it is. She borrowed €
1200
to be paid back within twelve months at 12%
interest rate.
”
Ronan paled as he felt the anger rise inside him. How could she have done this without telling him? Jewellery b
usiness, my arse! He felt like throttling her. Then he remembered the lodgment for €
905
. This explained it. All that glib lying about Melissa borrowing her card!
Ronan f
elt sick to his stomach.
Mr O
’
Mahony saw by his reaction that something was not right.
“
There is no jewellery business, is there?
”
he asked, sympathy in his voice.
Ronan couldn
’
t trust himself to answer and just shook his head numbly.
“
I
’
m sorry. I really do think we should cancel the card immediately – to prevent any more of this over-spending.
”
It was obvious from the tone of his voice that he was angry at having been conned and that
he understood the situation perfectly.
Ronan nodded his assent and reached into his wallet for his credit card.
“
That won
’
t be necessary,
”
Mr O
’
Mahony told him gently.
“
But the next time someone tries to use it, it will not be accepted.
”
The meaning of this was left unspoken between them. With a heavy heart, Ronan left the bank and trudged back to the office for his final afternoon there. There would be some fur flying tonight when he tackled Louise about the lies she
’
d told and the money she
’
d borrowed without telling him.
At three o
’
clock the managing director wrapped things up and all the staff headed to the local pub for a final drink together and in truth to drown their sorrows. Ronan was looking for Dutch courage to go home and face Louise.
They finally said their last farewells and Ronan trudge
d home
,
rehearsing how he would handle things. Besides tackling her over her lies, he had also to break the news to her that he was now officially unemployed – as a draughtsman at any rate. He didn
’
t think Louise would be too happy about the idea of him being a full-time off-licence salesman. Thank God his parents weren
’
t alive to see it. They
’
d struggled financially to keep him in Bolton Street College for the four years it had taken him to qualify as an architectural draughtsman. They
’
d been so proud on his graduation day. He wouldn
’
t have wanted them to see it come to this.
He knew the moment he opened the door that the house was empty. A waft of a perfume that he didn
’
t recognise enveloped him.
Where the hell was Louise? Just what did she do all day that she could never be there when he arrived home? His anger, coupled with the few drinks
,
had made him irritable. There was a message for him on the kitchen table:
Decided to go with Mel to visit her sister in Galway. Your dinner is in the microwave. Will be back Sunday night. Louise.
Ronan slumped down in the chair. Could she not have called him to tell him this person to person instead of leaving this cold, impersonal note? He shook his head sadly. It was time to face facts. His marriage was heading down the tubes – just like his career. A chasm had opened up in their relationship that he now felt
couldn
’
t be bri
dged. Apart altogether from the problem of her profligate spending and lies
,
they just seemed to have no life
together any
more.
He remembered something that his dad had said to him around the time he
’
d met Louise
: “
Life is too short, son, to spend it with the wrong person
.”
He wondered now if his father had thought that she was the wrong person. Perhaps he had
,
and Ronan was now beginning to think so too.
26
Zita had never been pursued with such zeal. Text and voice messages were flowing from Carl like the Niagara Falls. It amused her and the more she ignored him, the more persistent he became. On Friday, he bypassed her mobile phone and rang her in the office. She wondered idly how he
’
d got her number. No doubt he
’
d charmed it out of the receptionist. Grudgingly
,
she had to admire his determination. She was so taken aback that she finally gave in and agreed to meet him.