Frank took the bunch of daffodils and climbed out of the car. He walked up the path but before he had a chance to ring the bell, Brenda had opened the door.
'Hello, Frank, this is a nice surprise.'
Frank bent to kiss her cheek. 'I just finished working on the garden and I thought you might like these.'
Brenda's cheeks flushed as she took the flowers. 'Oh, Frank, they're lovely!'
'I know daffodils are your favourite.'
Brenda laughed as she led the way into the kitchen. 'I wish you'd give Alan a few lessons. I always have to return his gifts.'
'I'm afraid my talents just apply to flowers,' he admitted. 'Ann loved lilies, Celine's mad about pink roses and you love your daffodils. I do too, I must admit. They make me think of the long summer days to come.'
'And the fact that winter is finally over,' Brenda added. 'How about some tea? I've just taken a batch of scones out of the oven.'
'I don't have much time, Celine is expecting me, but a quick cuppa won't hurt.' Frank rubbed his hands together and pulled up a chair.
They talked companionably for a while and as Brenda seemed more relaxed than she had in weeks, Frank decided to risk mentioning Celine again. 'I'm going over to Hopefield later.'
'You said.'
'Why don't you come with me?'
Brenda lowered her cup and looked at him. 'I don't think so.'
'She's sorry for all the trouble she caused, Brenda. She isn't seeing Kevin, she's started a new life, what more can she do?'
'Probably nothing.'
'Well then, come with me,' he urged.
Brenda stood up and began to clear the table. 'Sorry, Frank, I can't.'
Frank sighed. 'Right, then. I'd better go.'
Brenda moved forward to hug him. 'Thanks for the flowers.'
'You're welcome.'
'You will come and see me again?' she asked, her eyes full of anguish.
'Of course I will, love. Take care of yourself.'
'You too.'
Celine answered the buzzer immediately and Frank ran up the stairs. 'Hi, love.'
'You're late, I was worried.'
Frank drew back to look at her. 'I'm here now.'
Celine forced a smile.
'You look lovely. I'd forgotten what your legs looked like.'
Celine laughed. 'My work clothes. I left them on just for your benefit.'
Frank chuckled. 'I'm honoured. So where shall we go?'
Celine walked in behind the kitchen counter. 'I thought maybe we'd phone for a takeaway.'
'No way, not with you dressed up like a dog's dinner. Why don't we go across the road?'
'No!' Celine knew how often Fergus and Rose used the café. She looked at her father's bemused expression. 'I had lunch there today,' she explained. 'How about the Chinese?'
Frank shrugged. 'Fine by me.'
Frank chatted away as they strolled down the street, but Celine was glancing around her all the time. The shop was closed, Rose was gone home and it was highly unlikely that
he
would be around but she couldn't help herself.
'Is everything all right, love?'
'Sorry, Daddy, I was miles away.' She smiled reassuringly and led the way into the warm restaurant.
'I dropped in to see Brenda on the way over,' Frank said when they were sitting down and their drinks had been ordered.
Celine looked up from her menu.
'Well, I just wanted to make sure she was okay,' he hurried on. 'No harm in that, is there?'
Celine shrugged 'None at all. So is she okay?'
He nodded. 'Yes, well, on the surface anyway.'
Celine gave up the pretence of studying her menu. 'Maybe I'm missing something, Daddy, but exactly what is wrong with her?'
Frank looked away from her cold stare. 'She's upset, love, it's understandable.'
'No it bloody isn't,' Celine hissed. 'I used to be married to her brother. How I live my life now is none of her business.'
Frank patted her hand. 'Of course it isn't, love, but Brenda is very conservative, you know that.'
'Narrow-minded, more like!'
Frank paused as their drinks were put in front of them and shook his head when the waiter asked if they were ready to order. He took a grateful drink of his pint and smiled at his daughter. 'Let's enjoy our evening. Forget about Killmont.'
'Gladly,' Celine snapped and picked up her menu. She couldn't believe it but she was remarkably close to tears. In part she felt hurt that her father was spending so much time consoling Brenda — he wasn't even related to her!
'Beef Chop Suey sounds good,' Frank was saying.
Celine smiled despite herself. 'Have you ever tried anything else, Daddy?'
He closed the menu and smiled at her. 'Why would I when I've found something I like?'
The waiter arrived back and Celine ordered Kung Po Chicken.
'Hah!' her father said. 'The words kettle, pot and black spring to mind!'
Celine laughed. 'Okay, okay, so I'm not feeling adventurous tonight. I need comfort food.'
'And why's that?' Frank asked.
She shrugged. 'Who knows. Tell me about Brenda.'
Frank looked wary. 'I think it would be better if we talk about something else.'
'No, really, it's okay. I promise not to shout or throw your dinner over you.'
Frank smiled. 'Thank God, I'm starving!'
Celine's eyes narrowed. 'Are you trying to tell me you didn't eat in Brenda's?'
Frank's eyes twinkled. 'You know me too well. Just one scone.'
'So, how is she?'
Frank sighed. 'I know you don't want to hear it, love, but she's quite upset. I'm not sure why. Like you say, you're barely related now. Maybe knowing there's another man on the scene means she has to accept Dermot is gone.'
Celine softened. 'I had no idea you were into amateur psychology.'
'Huh!'
'How's Alan coping with all of this?'
Frank frowned. 'Well, that's what worries me. I think he's had enough. He's been very irritable lately, even on the golf course.'
'Really?' Celine was surprised. Alan was the most laid-back, easy-going character she'd ever met. He was a solid, reliable man that you could always depend on.
Their food arrived and Frank waited until they were alone again before answering. 'Yeah, I know, I've never seen him like this.'
Celine piled rice onto his plate. 'Do you think it's serious?'
'I really don't know.'
'I hope they work things out. I can't imagine what Brenda would do without Alan. I'd offer to have a word but I'm the last person she'd want to talk to.'
Frank nodded. 'I asked her to come with me tonight but she wouldn't.'
Celine sighed at the sadness in his eyes. 'Don't worry about it, Dad. You can't make it happen. If she doesn't want to know me, that's her decision. It does bother me, you know. She's Dermot's only sister. We never had much in common but I thought we'd always be friends.'
'I'm sure you will be. Just give her a chance to calm down. Now, tell me about you. How's the job going?'
For all of ten seconds Celine considered telling him about Fergus but decided against it. 'Okay,' she said instead.
'Silly question, I suppose, when you're only a few days in the job.'
'Yeah.' Celine wondered what she would tell him if she decided to leave Close Second and where she would go.
Frank didn't seem to notice her preoccupation and was happily tucking into his food.
'Have you ever met anyone else, Daddy?'
'What do you mean?' Frank looked up at her.
'Another woman?'
'No, of course not!'
'Why "of course not"? You were only fifty-six when Mum died. That's very young to be alone.'
Frank raised his eyebrows. 'That's good coming from you.'
Celine smiled. Her father and Marina had been trying to set her up with a man for years. Kevin Gilligan wasn't quite what they had in mind though. 'Seriously, Daddy.'
He put down his knife and fork. 'Seriously? I got some offers and there were times when I was tempted. Like you say it can be very lonely. But I'm afraid the woman hasn't been born who can take the place of your mother.'
Celine smiled. 'She was pretty special, wasn't she? So many of my memories of her are funny ones.'
'She could always make people laugh,' Frank agreed, 'even at the end.'
'I miss her so much. Even after all this time.'
Frank cleared his throat. 'Time makes it easier but it doesn't make you forget. And I wouldn't want to.'
'No.' Celine shook her head. 'Me neither.'
'So was Gilligan a replacement for Dermot?' Frank ventured.
'No! God, no!'
Frank grunted. 'You're better off without him, Celine. I wouldn't trust Gilligan as far as I'd throw him.'
Celine kept her head down and said nothing. Her dad had never had much time for smooth operators like Kevin and she knew now that he felt his suspicions were entirely justified.
'You know what they say about every cloud has a silver lining? I think that's true. And I bet that you'll be happy here in Hopefield. Maybe you'll even meet someone special.'
Celine felt sick. She hated lying to her father and the nicer he was to her, the lousier she felt. 'Maybe you're right, Daddy,' she said, forcing a smile. 'Who knows?'
Fergus finished unpacking the newspapers, opened all the shutters and switched on the lights. Within minutes, the early commuters were arriving, en route to the train station and the bus stop. This was the one time of day when Dominic's customers were loyal — the book store didn't open until nine. It was nearly eight before Fergus got a chance to grab something to eat. He'd just slipped two slices of bread into the toaster when he heard someone in the shop. He went back into the shop to find Richard scanning the headlines on that morning's
Irish Times.
'Hi, Fergus, how's it going?'
'Okay. Did you want anything else?'
'A bottle of milk please and a quick word if you have a minute.'
'Sure.'
Richard handed over the money. 'It's about a job that's going across town. I wondered if you'd be interested.'
Fergus brightened as he handed Richard his change. 'Go on.'
'A friend of mine, Vincent Bourke, has just opened a new leisure centre and he's looking for people.'
'I'm fairly fit but I'm not trained—'
Richard laughed. 'Oh, sorry, no, he doesn't want you to work as an instructor. He wants you to run the snack bar. Well, obviously he'd want to interview you first.'
Fergus stared at him. 'Are you serious?'
'Yeah. He'd be looking for references but that's not a problem. I'll give you one and I'm sure Dominic will too.'
'Cheers. What kind of hours are we talking about? Do you know how much money he's paying?'
Richard held up a hand. 'Haven't a clue, you need to ask him all that yourself. So you're interested?'
Fergus nodded. 'Absolutely. This is great, Richard, I really appreciate it. Where exactly is this health club?'
'Sandhill.'
Fergus froze.
'Here's his phone number. He's expecting to hear from you today.'
Fergus looked at the card in Richard's hand. 'Yeah, well I'll ring him if I get a chance.'
'What?' Richard shook his head. 'A minute ago you thought it was a great idea!'
Fergus shrugged. 'Maybe I've had enough of standing behind a counter.'
Richard slammed the card down in front of him. 'I don't know what the hell is going on in your head, Fergus, but you'd better sort yourself out for your mother's sake.'
Fergus frowned. 'What's Ma got to do with it?'
'If you're going to be around on a regular basis, Celine will leave and that means your mother will be without a manager. So do everyone a favour, Fergus, phone Vincent.' Richard left, banging the door after him.
Fergus picked up the card and looked at the address. The sports centre was less than a mile from where he had grown up. His old school was nearby and the park where he'd first bought drugs was just around the corner. Even if he decided to go for the job, he knew his ma would be dead against it. She had sold their place while he was still in rehab and brought him home to the small house on the outskirts of Hopefield. She had told none of their neighbours where she was going, promising to get in touch when they'd settled in. She never had. Rose had left her life and her friends behind in an effort to protect him from the people who had dragged him down. Fergus had pointed out that drugs were available in every town and drug pushers were part of every community but Rose was adamant.
'They don't know you,' she'd said, 'and you don't know them. And that's the way I like it.'
He'd ran into Mick and some of the other lads occasionally but so far they'd left him alone. He wasn't sure how it would be if he was working close by, though. His thoughts were interrupted by Dominic's arrival.
'Hi, Fergus. How are things? Have you been busy?'
'Not bad.'
'Right. You go and get some breakfast. I'll keep an eye on things.'
Fergus slid the card into the pocket of his jeans and went into the back.
Richard crossed the road and went into the café. 'Black coffee and a muffin, Tracy.'
'And a very good morning to you too,' Tracy replied as she reached for a large mug.
Richard smiled. 'Sorry. It's one of those days.'
Tracy rolled her eyes. 'What's wrong with everyone this morning?'
Richard followed her gaze to where Rose sat by the window staring across at her shop.
'I'll try and cheer us both up,' he promised and took his breakfast over to Rose's table. 'Can I join you?'
'Of course.'
Rose smiled at him but he noticed the dark circles under her eyes. 'Should I ask what's wrong or will I guess?'
Rose sighed. 'I think you probably know.'
'Well, your manager hasn't buggered off yet, has she?'
'Yet being the operative word,' Rose told him. 'I'm sure it's only a matter of time.'
'Don't be so pessimistic. Celine strikes me as a level-headed sort of girl. Once she's got over the shock I'm sure she'll decide to stay.'
'I'm not so sure but if she does, Richard, keep an eye on her for me, will you?'
'I'll keep an eye on both of them,' he promised. 'Tell me, does Dominic know what's going on?'