Second Time Around (7 page)

‘Strong parenting? Is that what I just witnessed? Sitting on top of our son, terrifying him?’

Keith sat back, sulking. ‘I didn’t touch him. I was restraining him so that he couldn’t hurt himself.’

‘You frightened the living daylights out of him. He wet himself, Keith. Is that the way you’re going to get him to behave? By making him scared of you?’

Keith remained implacable. ‘He needs toughening up and to learn some manners. We should send him to a boarding school. He wouldn’t get away with this crap in one of those
places.’

Sharon sat staring at him for a long moment and then stood up, realising she was wasting her breath when he was in this mood. Without another word, she went upstairs and got ready for bed. She
was pulling the duvet cover back when she froze. No, she couldn’t sleep with Keith. Not tonight. Going out to the linen cupboard, Sharon took a quilt and pillow and, going into Bobby’s
room, curled up on the twin bed next to him. ‘I’ll look after you, sweetheart,’ she whispered. ‘I’ll never let anything or anyone hurt you. Promise.’

Nora Browne put down the phone after she got Suzie’s answering machine yet again. Of course she was glad that her friend was well enough to be out and about so much, but
disappointed that, any time she suggested getting together, Suzie had blown her off. After a few weeks of this, Nora decided to call Jess and make sure that everything was okay.

It wasn’t. Suzie had changed and the girls weren’t handling it too well. Jess tried to explain the sort of behaviour and comments and Nora settled in her chair by the window and let
the girl pour her heart out.

‘She’s changed so much, Nora, and we’re all treading on eggshells, pretending everything is the same and trying to hide our feelings when she says something nasty or
cruel,’ Jess finished with a heavy sigh.

‘Perhaps it’s time that you stopped pretending,’ Nora suggested. ‘The three of you should sit her down and tell her how her behaviour is affecting you. Maybe you should
go with her when she goes for her next check-up and tell them what’s going on. I’m sure there must be some way they can help her.’

‘I wish I shared your confidence, Nora, but I’ve been reading up on this and I don’t think there’s a pill or even an operation that can change the way things are. The
consultant as much as said so at the time. We just weren’t listening.’

Nora’s heart went out to her as she heard the sadness in Jess’s voice. ‘Don’t give up on her, sweetheart. Doctors don’t know everything. If nothing else she can get
some sort of therapy. If they can help people with anger-management issues, then they must be able to teach your mum to be more tactful.’

‘True. It’s hardest for Sharon. Mum is, at best, indifferent to Bobby and sometimes she’s really horrible to him.’

‘Oh, Lord.’ Nora said, shocked to hear this. Suzie had always been besotted with her grandchild. ‘probably best not to leave them alone together for the moment,’ she
suggested.

‘Sharon keeps him away from Mum as much as possible, and at least, Bobby being Bobby, he doesn’t seem bothered.’

‘I wish there was something I could do to help. I’ve told her I’ll come to Dublin any time to see her – Limerick’s only a couple of hours on the motorway –
but she doesn’t seem interested in meeting up.’

‘She’s spending a lot of time with Mandy.’

‘Mandy?’ Nora exclaimed and then cursed herself for reacting in such a horrified way. She forced a laugh, hoping Jess hadn’t noticed. ‘That’s odd, they never seemed
that close.’

‘They weren’t.’

Jess sounded unimpressed, making Nora wonder what exactly she knew about her infamous aunt.

‘Mandy took her shopping the other day and bought clothes that, well, really don’t suit her.’

Nora felt anger bubble up inside. ‘Be more specific.’

‘Er, well, I wouldn’t have the nerve to wear some of them.’

That evil cow, Nora seethed. There was no doubt that Suzie needed a new wardrobe but she’d expected her to go shopping with the girls or even ask for her help. It was a real slap in the
face to think she’d turned to her sister. Nora’s eyes filled with tears. It seemed their friendship was another casualty of Suzie’s accident.

‘She’s thrilled with her new look, so I don’t have the heart to say anything. I honestly think Mandy did it just for a laugh. She has a warped sense of humour.’

‘Bitch,’ Nora muttered.

‘What was that?’

‘Nothing.’

‘I should get some work done,’ Jess said. ‘Sorry for crying on your shoulder.’

‘Don’t be. I’m always here for you, Jess, you know that.’

Jess thanked her and rang off.

Feeling a little lost and sad, Nora sat down with her laptop in her sunny kitchen to work. She designed greeting cards for a US Internet company and also supplied a few local artisan shops. Nora
stared at the screen in front of her and waited for the inspiration to come, but she found it hard to concentrate, images of Mandy sniggering at her newfound friendship with her big sister filling
her head. What to do? Hop in the car and drive to Dublin and remind Suzie what Mandy was really like? Even if she did, would Suzie believe her? Despite her being out of hospital nearly a month, the
ripple effects from Suzie’s accident continued relentlessly. Nora settled down to work on a Get Well card and prayed that Suzie would get better too.

Jess wandered around her small flat, too preoccupied to focus on the eight-hundred-word article she should be writing on the issue of vending machines in schools. She had been
giving her mother a wide birth, not that it seemed Suzie wanted anything to do with her, either. Jess felt relieved. Mum was so hard to be around right now and she knew her sister felt the same.
Her phone gave a toot and she groaned when she read the message from Louis.

So he was back. She sighed at the thought of confronting him but what choice did she have? Jess typed a reply.

Louis had never been one for long or elaborate texts and now she knew why. If his wife happened to read this she would probably believe him if he said he was meeting a colleague.

Jess had gone over and over in her head what she would say. Sometimes she felt like punching Louis for leading her on. Others, she was overcome with sadness that this man she’d thought she
was falling for turned out to be a lying rat. She seemed to have a knack for collecting bad guys. Ed, her last boyfriend, had actually come on to Katie one night when Jess was away. Her friend had
told him in no uncertain terms where to go, before telling Jess about her cheating boyfriend. Jess sometimes felt there was a neon sign over her head saying
GULLIBLE
FOOL
.

The pub Louis had suggested was off the beaten track, where, hopefully, they wouldn’t meet anyone they knew. Despite her threats, Jess knew that her mother wouldn’t tell
Louis’s wife, no matter how much she disapproved. She hadn’t been completely honest with her mother. She’d found out quite soon that Louis was married but he’d assured her
that he was only still with his wife for the sake of the kids. If it all came out, perhaps it would force Louis’s hand. Maybe he’d leave his wife. Oh, who was she kidding? They’d
only known each other a few months and he’d made no declarations of love or talked about a future together. But when he’d held her in his arms, murmuring how he couldn’t get
enough of her, she’d allowed herself to believe they had a future and it was more than just a fling.

Jess sat in the corner of the bar, keeping an eye on the door and glancing at her watch. He was an hour late – an hour, and not a word. She’d tried to call him but it went straight
to voicemail and she was afraid to leave a message. Something must have happened. Perhaps one of the kids was sick; maybe he’d been in a car accident. And then, just as she was really
starting to worry, he walked in.

‘Hey, babe.’ He slid in beside her and kissed her neck.

‘Where were you?’

‘The boss invited us for drinks.’

‘Drinks?’ She blinked. ‘And you couldn’t call?’

‘Don’t be mad, darling.’ He put his hand on her thigh and nuzzled her neck.

Jess steeled herself to resist him and moved away, fixing him with a glare. ‘Where do you tell Maeve you are when you’re with me?’

His smile disappeared. ‘Let me worry about Maeve. I have it all under control.’

‘Exactly what have you got under control? Are you going to separate?’

‘No, I told you. We agreed to stay together until the children were older. Surely you can understand that?’

Jess toughened herself against his reproachful look. ‘So you have separate lives, sleep in separate beds?’

‘We have an understanding.’

‘What kind of understanding?’

‘It’s you that I’m interested in, Jess, that’s all you need to know.’ He smiled, stroking her arm.

Jess pulled away, grabbed her bag and stood up. ‘And what you need to know, Louis, is that it’s over.’ She walked away, not giving him a chance to reply, and was surprised and,
admittedly, disappointed when he didn’t follow her.

As she drove home, Jess fought back tears, telling herself she was doing the right thing. What kind of a man behaved like that? How could he make love to her and then go home to his wife and
maybe even make love to her too? She felt a wave of nausea at the thought and wondered, What now? Would Louis move on or would he try to woo her back? And, if he did, would she be strong enough to
say no?

Jess wasn’t the only one having man trouble. Mandy opened one eye and glared at Jeff, whose snores were becoming progressively louder. He had turned out to be yet
another disappointment. So suave, sexy and rich, he had told her all about his high-powered job that took him all over the world, dropping names of the politicians and famous people he hung out
with and describing the Porsche he had on order; the Ford he’d driven her home in was just a rental. Once he was asleep and she’d had a chance to glance through his wallet, she found
that, rather than being VP of the company, he was a salesman, and a tiny photo tucked in the back showed a smiling woman and two surly-looking teenagers, confirming she’d been taken for a
ride. Granted, the sex had been good, but not
that
good. Mandy, unlike her niece, was not interested in a man with ties. She wanted one who was free to spend his money on
her and her alone.

She was starting to doubt that she would ever find him. Her thoughts, inevitably, turned to the only man who had ever held her attention completely for the duration of their relationship, and he
hadn’t even been rich. He had talked about them building a new life together and she believed he’d meant it. Certainly, no one had made her feel the way he had, not that she really gave
them a chance. He had ruined her for anyone else. She didn’t need or want love now. She just needed a relatively affluent, single or widowed lover who would take care of her. That
wasn’t much to ask for, was it? She was willing to play the part of the adoring girlfriend. Nothing in life was free, after all.

An even louder snore prompted her to give the man beside her a sharp prod. ‘Time to go, lover boy. I have an appointment.’

‘Can I see you again, darling?’ he said as he was leaving.

She gave him a wide smile. ‘I’ll call you.’

After he’d gone, Mandy flopped back on to the bed and retrieved her laptop from underneath it to check her emails. There was one from her boss.

‘You could say please,’ she muttered. Still, it would be nice to have Douglas back. She missed the banter. When she applied for the job as personal assistant to a travel writer
she’d imagined herself seeing the world, staying in glamorous hotels and mixing with clever, witty people. But, except for his trips to London to meet with his publisher, Douglas Thornton
rarely went anywhere. As for her accompanying him, two years in the job and she’d never got further than Dublin airport. Nor did he entertain. His infrequent visitors were taken for a pub
lunch and he’d return home alone. He had a cool, indifferent manner that Mandy figured was a deliberate ploy to keep people at a distance. She’d had a good look around for signs of a
wife and kids but had come up with zilch. She was reasonably sure he was straight but there was no woman on the scene and he showed no interest in Mandy, which was an entirely new experience for
her. Any man with a pulse usually gave her the eye.

Despite Douglas’s peculiarities, though, he had a dry humour she enjoyed and it was actually relaxing not having to fend off male attention for a change.

In the past, Mandy had tired of most jobs within six months or had to leave because she’d got involved with a colleague and it became awkward once she tired of them, as she always did.

Douglas was different, though. He fascinated and frustrated her in equal measures and, in doing so, managed to achieve what only one man had before: he held her interest. They’d fallen
into an easy relationship and rubbed along quite well together, their conversation peppered with teasing and sparring.

‘How can you write travel books if you don’t travel?’ she’d asked one day over lunch in the kitchen.

‘I assure you, I’ve visited all these places.’

‘Yeah, years ago, but places change. You need to keep up.’

Douglas had shaken his head and given her a patronising smile. ‘They’re not holiday brochures, Amanda. They’re a description of a country, its culture and its people, and those
things rarely change.’ He’d tapped the manuscript between them. ‘Don’t you ever read what you type?’

‘I try not to,’ she quipped. ‘I’m sorry but it all sounds a bit pretentious to me. It’s like people who rant on about a painting of a triangle that costs millions,
arguing about what it’s trying to “say” to us. I’ll tell you what it’s saying. The so-called artist is laughing all the way to the bank.’

He’d laughed, really laughed, at that, and she’d caught a glimpse of the man he could be, perhaps once was.

‘I won’t argue with you. I’ve had to listen to my fair share of so-called authorities on art over the years and wanted to punch them for being so damn pompous and
boring.’