'Wonderful. Rose has some very good friends. The stock is better now than before the break-in.'
The cork popped and Alan poured the liquid gold into three glasses. 'Did they ever find out who did it?'
Celine took a sip from her glass and shook her head.
'At least no one was hurt.' Brenda placed the vase of flowers in the window and came to join them. 'This is nice. You are kind, Celine.'
'You look really well, Brenda.'
Brenda put an arm around Alan. 'That's because I'm happy.'
Celine watched the look of pure love that passed between them and felt a pang of envy.
'Thanks for looking after Brenda while I was away,' Alan said. 'You and Frank were wonderful.'
'I can't take any credit but Daddy was great.'
'He gets back from Portugal tomorrow, doesn't he?' Brenda said, going over to the oven to check the roast potatoes.
'Tomorrow night,' Celine confirmed.
'I could collect him from the airport if you like.'
Celine smiled. 'Thanks, Alan, that would be great.'
'No problem. One of these days you girls should learn to drive.'
Celine and Brenda exchanged looks and laughed. 'I suppose we should,' Brenda agreed.
'Rubbish. I don't want to end up eaten up with road rage.'
Alan winked at her. 'Then you'll have to find yourself a permanent chauffeur.'
Celine's smile wavered. 'Don't hold your breath.'
Brenda flashed Alan a look. 'As it's such a nice evening I thought we'd eat outside. Is that okay with you, Celine?'
'Lovely. Can I do anything to help?'
'Just grab the plates and cutlery and take them outside. Alan, would you get some napkins and open the wine?'
Ten minutes later they were sitting out on the deck tucking into the succulent chicken. 'Your gravy is always gorgeous, Brenda,' Celine marvelled. 'What's your secret?'
'Booze,' Alan told her and Brenda laughed.
'I always put a dash of wine in,' Brenda explained.
Alan snorted. 'Dash! More like half a bottle!'
'Then it's a good job I don't drive!' Celine laughed. 'No wonder my dad always falls asleep in the chair after one of your dinners!'
They talked and laughed over the meal and by the time they'd moved on to the coffee the topics of conversation had turned more serious. Brenda spoke about her counselling and Celine told her about Fergus — leaving out of course the whole Mick Garvey situation.
'I can't believe that you've met him again after all this time,' Brenda marvelled.
'Dublin is a small place,' Alan remarked.
'Don't I know it,' Celine muttered. 'If you feel up to it, I'll introduce you sometime, Brenda.'
'Yes, I think I'd like that. Meeting him has obviously helped you.'
'Yes, it has, although I wouldn't have anything to do with him at the beginning. If it hadn't been for the break-in I might never have talked to him.'
'Every cloud has a silver lining.' Alan nodded gravely, making Brenda and Celine burst out laughing. 'What?' He looked at them, confused.
'Nothing, darling, don't worry about it. Has Frank met Fergus?'
'Not yet. Maybe when Rose gets back to Dublin I'll arrange a dinner for the four of us.'
'Ooh, wouldn't it be great if you could fix Rose up with your dad?'
Celine laughed. 'My God, you want to fix everyone up, don't you? I wouldn't mind but you haven't even met Rose!'
'Speaking of love lives, how is yours?'
Celine rolled her eyes. 'God, I think I preferred you when you didn't talk to me. Am I going to get the third degree every time I come here?'
'There's no such thing as a free dinner,' Brenda grinned.
Alan, who had slid down in his chair, started to snore softly.
'There is someone,' Celine admitted, staring into her glass. 'His name is Richard, he's my landlord.'
'So? Tell me about him.'
And Celine did. As she talked, a smile played around her lips and her eyes lit up. Brenda watched, fascinated.
'He sounds perfect for you,' she said when Celine paused to take a drink.
'He wouldn't agree.'
'Why not?'
'He found out about Kevin Gilligan.'
'But how?'
Celine sighed. 'Eileen came after me. She thought I was still seeing Kevin and she came to the shop to warn me off. Unfortunately the nosiest woman in Hopefield was in there at the time and lost no time in telling everyone that I was an adulterous harlot.'
'Oh, Celine, I'm sorry.'
Celine arched an eyebrow. 'I thought you'd say I got what I deserved.'
Brenda winced. 'I've been a judgemental cow, haven't I?'
Celine gaped at her. 'Well, no, you were right—'
'I was not right to turn my back on you.' She sighed. 'It's just that it brought all the sordid details of Alan's fling back into my head. My psychiatrist says that when you are depressed some things take on an importance that they wouldn't normally have. I think that's true. I've been so paranoid and scared for so long. I was convinced that Alan wanted to leave me and I made his life so miserable I nearly drove him away.'
Celine glanced at the sleeping man. 'No chance of that now. He seems very happy.'
Brenda smiled and nodded. 'We've decided to try and adopt a child.'
'Oh, Brenda, that's wonderful!'
'There are no guarantees that we'll succeed, of course,' Brenda said quickly.
'Weren't you able to have children?'
'It never happened, I don't know why. We didn't go for any tests. Then as time went on, we stopped trying. We didn't talk about it but it was always there like a shadow in the background. It's amazing under the circumstances that our marriage survived.'
'You love each other.'
Brenda nodded. 'Yes, yes we do. I haven't met Richard but if he's ready to give up on you based on gossip and your past, then maybe he's not for you anyway.'
'But he's made me happier than I ever thought possible,' Celine said, her voice barely a whisper. 'I never thought it could be like that again.'
Brenda reached over and squeezed her hand. 'In that case, Celine, don't let him go without a fight.'
'Excuse me, I asked for fresh orange juice.'
'Sorry.' Fergus took the grapefruit juice from the woman and poured her an orange juice. He'd been making mistakes all day. It had been more than a week since he'd heard from Mick and he was in agony wondering what the hell was going on. It didn't help that Declan Murphy was on the phone all the time asking what the story was. Fergus knew he suspected that Mick had got to him and he wasn't going to go along with the sting.
'Gotcha!' Sarah crept up behind him and grabbed him round the waist. Fergus jumped.
'Jesus, Sarah, don't do that!'
She scowled. 'For God's sake, Fergus, it was just a joke. Do you remember what a joke is?' she added.
'Sorry.'
'That's okay. You can make it up to me by bringing me for a pizza tonight.'
'Sorry, I can't.'
'Listen, Fergus, if you want to finish with me just say so.'
'I don't! Look, things are a bit difficult at the moment.'
'So you've said, but I'm getting a bit tired of that excuse. You know, if you don't want to take me out there's plenty of guys that do.'
'Yeah, whatever,' Fergus said, only half-listening to her.
Sarah looked stunned. 'Right! Well! Now I know where I stand. See you around, Fergus.'
He watched her flounce off. 'Sarah?' He groaned as he realised that he must have put his foot in it — again but he was finding it impossible to concentrate on anything, including his gorgeous girlfriend. He'd been tempted to tell her what was going on but knew it was too dangerous. Sarah was a great girl but discretion wasn't her forte. Still, he'd make it up to her when life got back to normal. If he survived.
Celine's nerves weren't much better. Fergus had gone to ground and she had pestered Richard for news. He swore he knew nothing and she could tell he was just as worried as she was. She turned on the radio for the news every hour and scoured the papers every morning, but nothing. When the phone rang she pounced on it and when it was Rose at the other end it took all of her will power to hold a normal conversation.
'She's going to kill us if anything happens to him,' she'd said more than once to Richard.
Tonight, they were going out for a meal together at Richard's suggestion. 'It will distract us for a while and at least we can talk to each other. I'm very glad that Dominic is so busy with his building work because I don't think I could go drinking with him and carry on a normal conversation.'
Celine smiled. 'He's so caught up with the deli and his wedding plans that I don't think he'd notice.'
'True. Has anyone noticed your preoccupation?' he asked.
Brenda and Marina had, but put it down to the breakdown of her relationship with Richard though she wasn't going to tell him that. 'I'm avoiding everyone,' she said instead. 'It's easier.'
She was hoping that the fact that he was taking her to the dimly lit Indian restaurant was a good sign. He had been a lot friendlier and relaxed with her so perhaps he was ready to put the past behind him. She was going to do her damnedest to tempt him. Brenda was right, he was too special to let go without a fight. Sadie was looking after the shop today and she was going to treat herself to a hairdo, a manicure — Marina would be impressed — and she was going to buy something very feminine to wow him with.
In the hair salon, she gave in when the stylist suggested some auburn highlights and a softer fringe than she usually went for. The results were amazing and Celine smiled as she examined herself in the mirror. Once her nails were polished a rich plum colour, she set off for Grafton Street and a spot of designer shopping. Though Close Second had some wonderful clothes, it didn't have the kind of funky, sexy piece de resistance that she was looking for this evening. It had to be special but not so special that it looked like she'd made too much effort. After unsuccessfully trawling through all the big shops she finally found what she wanted in a tiny boutique she'd never been in before but would definitely be visiting again. It was a chiffon top in various shades of blue and aquamarine with a frill around the low neck that suggested rather than exposed her cleavage. The colour made her eyes look almost green and she knew that, teamed with her black suede hipsters and high sandals, it would look great. Nipping back into Brown Thomas she found a matching bracelet and necklace of blue stones that would complement the outfit perfectly. 'Okay, Richard, I'm ready for you,' she breathed as she boarded a bus for home. The driver gave her a wink and she smiled. The hairdo was working anyway!
Richard smiled when she opened the door later that night. 'You look good. New top?'
'This?' Celine plucked at her top in an off-hand fashion. 'No, picked it up in a market a couple of months ago.'
'And you did something different to your hair,' he said as he helped her into the car.
'Went to the salon. It was my day off and I had to do something to take my mind off Fergus. I don't suppose you've heard anything.'
Richard pulled out into traffic. 'Just that apparently Mick hasn't been in touch with Fergus.'
'Isn't that good?'
'The police don't think so and I think they suspect Fergus of changing sides.'
'He'd never do that,' Celine protested.
'I told Declan that. So the other theory is that Mick's figured out what's going on and has gone to ground until the dust settles.'
'If that's true then Fergus has to be in danger.'
Richard nodded. 'I know. Maybe we should have let him do a runner.'
Celine put a comforting hand on his knee. 'That wouldn't have been a solution.'
Richard covered her hand and smiled at her. 'I'm so glad we're talking again.'
'Me too,' she said with a shy smile.
'Friends are important at times like this.'
Celine's smile faltered. Friends? 'Yes, they are.'
'Let's try and put this business out of our minds for tonight, shall we?'
She nodded.
'I don't know about you but I'm starving.'
'Famished,' Celine lied.
In an effort to lighten the mood, Celine told Richard about her father's exploits in Portugal.
'He's a terrible man for haggling, I remember Mum used to walk away from him in shops. Anyway, he went to this market and bought Brenda a vase. He haggled for ages and was delighted with himself when he finally got it for half the price. Until he saw it in the airport for a tenner cheaper! He was furious.'
Richard laughed. 'How was the golf?'
'Wonderful. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if he buys himself a place out there. He just loves the weather.'
'Would he leave Ireland for good?' Richard asked, helping himself to another poppadom.
'God, no, not unless I went too. Family is very important to him.'
Richard stared into the distance. 'That's nice.'
'Sorry,' Celine mumbled.
'Why?' He looked surprised.
'I don't suppose you want to be reminded that you don't have any. Family, that is.'
He shrugged. 'I had my uncle up until last year, I can't complain. And I never had a brother or sister so I don't know what I'm missing. How did you feel about being an only child?'
She leaned her head on one side and thought about it. 'I quite liked it. It's nice always to be the centre of attention. I was a very spoilt little girl.'
'I don't believe that.' Richard smiled at her.
Celine's heart lurched. He had that look in his eye, that special look that sent shivers down her spine. 'Just ask my dad.' She gave a nervous laugh.
'He adores you, I can relate to that.'
Celine looked away. 'I adore him. Oh, good, here are our starters.' She pretended more interest in her kebabs than they strictly deserved, licking her fingers in between mouthfuls. 'How's your bhaji?' she asked politely when she looked up and caught him staring at her.
'Fine,' he murmured, not taking his eyes off her.
'Stop it, Richard.'
'Stop what?'
'Staring.'
'I can't help it. I've never seen anyone eat in such a sexy way before.'