“
Who are all these people?
”
she asked, pointing to the bottom forty or so people on the list.
“
Oh, they
’
re people from work.
”
“
But David, this is not a business thing, it
’
s our wedding
!”
she wailed.
“
I know but I can
’
t ask one and not another. It
’
s very difficult.
”
He looked glum as he saw
her downcast face and Marie-Noelle frowning.
“
Look, why don
’
t you two discuss this later and let me
know the number when you
’
ve decided,
”
Gabriella suggeste
d helpfully.
“
That
’
s a good idea,
”
Marie-Noelle
agreed
,
as she stood
up to take her leave.
Ellie thanked Gabriella and said goodbye
,
promising to let her know the final figure once they
’
d decided
.
Once they were safe in his car Ellie spoke, her voice trembling.
“
David, how could you? I asked for fifty names. That
’
s all I have. How could you do this?
”
“
I have forty from my family
and friends alone
,”
he tried to explain
. “
The other sixty are my colleagues from Buckley Steadman and their partners
.”
“
But I don
’
t even know most of these people,
”
she cried.
“
They
’
re not friends, they
’
re just work people that you
’
ve only met in the past two months
!”
“
These people might be our friends in the future,
”
he insisted.
Ellie was close to tears.
“
My father is paying for the reception. He can only afford to pay for one hundred. I can
’
t ask him to pay for all these extra people
.”
“
Money isn
’
t a problem. I
’
ll pay for it. After all, it is our wedding day and
hopefully it
’
s the only one we
’
ll ever have. Why don
’
t you invite another fifty and your dad can pay for your hundred guests and I
’
ll pay for mine. Let
’
s do it in style and have a big wedding.
”
Somewhat mollified, she thought about it. She
’
d had a problem keeping it to fifty herself and she knew there would be friends and relations miffed at not being invited – and she supposed
,
if David was willing to pay for it, why not? It would also mean that the Great Hall would be filled with people. It wasn
’
t what she
’
d planned but there didn
’
t seem to be anything else she could do.
“
Okay, if that
’
s what you want. As long as you can p
ick up the tab for your guests, then Dad can pay for mine.
”
All in all it was a good solution and
,
both happy, they went for lunch in the Bay restaurant on the Clontarf Road.
Ronan drove down to Blessington on Sunday to visit Fiona and her mother Doris
,
as he
’
d promised. He was certainly being well
fed these days – much better than when he
’
d been married to Louise. He
’
d enjoyed a lovely meal with Rachel on Friday, another at Conor
’
s last night where Betty had cooked a wonderful Indian curry and now here he was en
route for a delicious Wicklow lamb Sunday roast. He
’
d better watch it or his weight would balloon. He planned on going back to the gym the following week
,
so that should help.
He hadn
’
t heard a word from Louise since she
’
d left and he wondered how things were working out for her. He was sure
,
if she needed money, she
’
d have been in touch. Long may it last, he thought.
He received a very warm welcome in Blessington. Fiona
’
s brothers John and Brendan
,
along with Brendan
’
s wife Frances and their five children
,
were also at the lunch a
nd it was a big happy family that laughed and loved around
the table.
Ronan agreed with Doris that Fiona was looking much more content and relaxed as she awaited the birth of her baby.
“’
Tis the good Wickla air,
”
Doris announced in her flat Wicklow accent.
They all laughed at this.
“
Gosh, I don
’
t know how you could want to live in Dublin when you have a beautiful place like this at your disposal,
”
Ronan said to Fiona as they sat having tea later that afternoon.
“
I know,
”
she sighed.
“
Sure, I want her to stay here with me when the little
fella
’
s born,
”
Doris told him.
“’
Tis a much healthier place to bring up a child than the big city.
”
Ronan was inclined to agree with her and he could see that Fiona was not averse to the idea.
“
Yes, and it
’
s important to have family support around you when you have a baby,
”
he
agreed. He left unsaid the fact that the baby
’
s father was nowhere in sight to support her at this time.
“
Yeah, I guess you
’
re right,
”
Fiona replied.
“
We
’
ll see. I
’
ve plenty of time to decide.
”
He hugged them both goodbye
,
making sure that Doris had his phone number so that she could notify him when the baby arrived.
41
Zita had been oddly unsettled all weekend. Carl was on her mind and she couldn
’
t get him out of it. Even Marcus had got annoyed with her when he realised that she wasn
’
t listening to a word he
’
d been saying.
“
What is the matter with you? Don
’
t tell me that Carl Dunne has bewitched you?
”
“
Of course not,
”
she snapped at him, confirming what he
’
d suspected, that Carl had indeed got under her skin.
She
’
d spent Sunday evening working on her The Women Behind Our Successful Men
programme
but she found it hard to concentrate. She checked her phone every ten minutes expecting that Carl might text her, but he didn
’
t. She felt strangely disappointed. She had made an arrangement to film Rachel doing her thing on Thursday week which meant she would get to see Carl then as she would be filming them in their home. However
,
she hoped she
’
d see him before that. She felt a flutter in her stomach at the thought.
The long
-
awaited text finally arrived on Monday
:
Really enjoyed Friday night and not just the fab meal. How about a replay? Carl xx
Zita wanted to play it cool but before the day had ended she had replied
:
Sure. When do you suggest?
He texted her back immediately. Tomorrow night?
She badly wanted to say
‘
No, sorry, I can
’
t make it then
’
but instead found her
self texting back
:
Great, look forward to it.
She was annoyed at herself for being so easy but she couldn
’
t help it. Damn him!
At the wine course everyone seemed in good form. It was obvious that the two youngsters, Keith and Karen
,
were
by now madly in love and Sam found it difficult to capture
their attention as they gazed into each other
’
s eyes. Dave, his other young employee, was turning out to be a very bright student, genuinely interested in wine. Sam felt that he had great potential and saw him as someone who could certainly manage a wine shop in the future. The biggest surprise of all was Hayley who
,
rather than spending her time texting her friends, was now hanging on Sam
’
s every word. He was impressed.
During one of the breaks
,
Ellie found herself standing beside Hayley
.
“
Hi
!
How are you enjoying the course?
”
“
Oh, I love it. Isn
’
t Sam just fantastic?
”
Hayley enthused.
“
Eh, yes,
”
Ellie responded
,
seeing the adoration in the teenager
’
s eyes.
“
I think he
’
s just divine,
”
Hayley continued,
“
and so cool. He
’
s like a film star.
”
Ellie tried not to smile. Poor Hayley! It was obvious she had a major crush on Sam. Well, if it means she learns a lot about wine, she thought, I suppose that
’
s not a bad thing. She felt like giggling, thinking how embarrassed Sam would be if he knew how Hayley felt.
“
Well, I
’
m sure he
’
s very impressed with how you
’
re doing,
”
she said.
“
I hope so. I study every night and I want to go on and do my Higher Certificate Course too,
”
Hayley beamed.
“
Good on you. I
’
m sure Sam will be pleased.
”
“
Oh, I hope so,
”
the young girl said dreamily.
“
He
’
s so fabulous
.”
Luckily Sam had called the class back for the tasting session just then or Ellie would not have known how to continue. Poor little Hayley! Ellie didn
’
t think she had a hope in hell of attracting Sam
’
s attention in that way. Still, you never knew with men. They were the strangest creatures with the weirdest tastes.
They decided to go to The Yacht that night for a change and as they walked there Ellie fell into step with Ronan.
“
How are you, Ronan?
”
she asked, her voice full of concern.
“
I
’
m just fine, sweetie. I had a lovely weekend.
”
He smiled brightly at her to assure her that this was the case and she had to admit he was looking back to his normal self.
“
Oh
.
I am glad,
”
she smiled back, linking her arm throug
h his.
To his surprise she was up way past his shoulder. He
’
d always thought of her as a tiny wee thing. Looking down, he saw the reason why.
“
Holy God, how do you walk in those vertiginous heels?
”
He couldn
’
t believe the height of them.