Tara Road (65 page)

'I think Greg's brother sort of fancies you, Mam,' Annie said after the party.

Annie and Hubie had been a delightful double-act filling the wineglasses and serving huge slices of the mouth-watering cake that had been such a success.

'Nonsense, we're geriatric people. There's no fancying at our age.' Ria laughed, admiring the sharp young eyes of her daughter.

'Dad was able to find someone elseGCowhy wouldn't you?'

'What a matchmaker you are. Now don't go encouraging me or I might stay over here cooking and fancying old men. What would you do then?'

'I suppose I could stay here studying and fancying young men,' Annie said.

There was no time for Andy to meet Ria properly on her own. 'I could come back another weekend?' he said.

'It wouldn't be fair to ask you, Andy. I'll be up to my elbows in cooking and children and I couldn't concentrate on you.'

'You didn't, even when you could.' He was reproachful.

'I was very flattered to be invited to concentrate.'

'I'm not giving up, I'll think of something.'

'Thank you, Andy.' She looked around to make sure there was nobody in sight and kissed him playfully on the nose.

'I wish you weren't going off to that hicksville town to see the Maines,' Hubie said to Annie.

'No, it will be fun, they're nice people.'

'And Sean's a good-looking guy,' Hubie said gloomily.

'Is he?' Annie pretended to be surprised.

'RememberGCa I'm in Westville, he's in the boondocks,' Hubie said.

'I'll remember,' Annie promised. Kitty wouldn't believe all this. Two men fighting over her. But then Kitty would ask, 'Which of them did you sleep with?' And Annie wasn't going to sleep with either of them.

'What did Mona say?' Danny asked.

'Nothing at all.'

'Nothing?'

'Total silence,' Barney said. 'It was much worse than any words. And Ria?'

'I haven't told her yet.'

'But Danny, you'll have to tell her. She'll hear.'

'I must tell her face to face, I owe her that much.'

'You're going to get her home?'

'No, I'm going out there.'

'On whose money, might I ask?'

'On your money, Barney. You've got my house, for Christ's sake. You can give me a lousy air ticket.'

They were sitting by the pool planning what to pack to go to the Maines.

'Are you still into lists, Mam?'

'I think so,' Ria said. 'It makes life easier.' The telephone rang, Ria went to get it.

'Sweetheart, it's Danny.'

'I did ask you not to call me that.'

'Sorry. Force of habit.'

'IGCOll get the children.'

'No, it's you I want to talk to. I'm coming out there tomorrow.'

'You're what?'

'I'm coming out to see you all for the weekend.'

'Why?'

'Why not?'

'And is Bernadette coming too?'

'Of course not.' He sounded irritated.

'Forgive me, Danny, but you do live with each otherGCa'

'No, I mean, I'm coming to talk to you and Annie and Brian. Is that all right or has America been put off-limits?'

He sounded very edgy. Something in her throat began to constrict. Was it over with Bernadette? Was he coming to ask her forgiveness? A new start. 'When do you arrive? Do you know how to get here?'

'I have all the details you gave the children about the buses and everything. I'll call from Kennedy.'

'Yes but Danny we were going away for the weekendGCa up to Gertie's sister.'

'Gertie's sister! That can be changed surely.' He was very impatient.

'Yes,' she said.

'See you tomorrow,' he said.

Ria went slowly back to the pool. This was too big to blurt out. The new Ria nowadays thought before she spoke. She wouldn't tell them until she had thought about it. She wouldn't cancel Sheila Maine either. Perhaps the children could go for one night. And leave her alone with Danny.

It was her that he was coming to see. That's what he had said on the phone. 'It's you I want to talk to.' He was coming back to her.

Chapter
EIGHT

The doorbell rang in Number 16 Tara Road. It was Danny Lynch. The smile was very warm. 'I hope I'm not disturbing you, Marilyn?'

'Not at all, won't you come in?'

'Thank you.'

They went into the front room where Marilyn had been sitting reading. Her book and glasses were on the table.

'You like this room,' he said.

'Very much, it's so peaceful.'

'I liked it too. We didn't live here enough, it was always down in the kitchen. I'd like to have sat here of an evening reading too.'

'Yes, well of course it's easy for me, I'm on my own. When there's a family it's different.'

True,' he said. She looked at him enquiringly. 'I'm flying to New York tomorrow, I'll be staying in Tudor Drive. I thought I'd pay you the courtesy of telling you.'

'That's very kind of you, but not at all necessary. Ria's free to have whoever she likes, but thank you anyway.'

'And I need some documents to take with me.'

'Documents?'

'Yes, they're upstairs. I wonder if I can go and collect them?'

'Ria didn't say anything aboutGCa'

'Look, I appreciate your caution, but pick up the phone now and call her. This is kosher, Marilyn, she knows I'm coming.'

'I don't doubt it for a moment.'

'You do. Call her.'

'Please, Danny, please don't speak like that. Why shouldn't I believe you? You've given me no reason to think you might be deceiving Ria in any way.' Her voice was cold and her eyes were hard.

He seemed to flinch a little. 'You can come with me, I know where they are.'

'Thank you.'

They walked up the stairs in silence to the bedroom. Clement lay asleep on the bed. 'Hey, how did you get up here, fellow?' Danny said, tickling the cat under the chin. Then he went to the chest of drawers, and opened the bottom one. There was a plastic envelope called House Documents. He picked out four sheets of paper and returned the rest.

Marilyn watched him wordlessly. 'And if I'm talking to Ria tonight what shall I say you took?'

'Some correspondence about the ownership of this houseGCa she and I need to discuss it.'

'She'll be home in under three weeks.'

'We need to discuss it now,' he said. He looked around the big airy bedroom with its high ceiling and long window. Marilyn wondered what he was thinking about. Did he remember fifteen years spent here with Ria or was he in fact working out what price the house would go for?

Marilyn hoped that in this complicated network of friends Ria had a good lawyer. She was going to need one. It was only too clear why Danny was going out to Westville to ruin the rest of Ria's visit. He was going to tell her that they had to sell Tara Road.

Ria was singing as she made breakfast.

'You never sing, Mam,' Brian said.

'She is now.' Annie defended her mother's right to croon tunelessly.

'Bernadette sings a lot,' Brian said.

'That's so interesting, Brian, thank you for sharing that with us,' Annie said.

'What kind of things does she sing?'

'I don't know. Foreign things.' Brian was vague.

'She only hums, Mam,' Annie said. 'Not real singing.'

Ria poured another cup of coffee and sat down with them.

'You'll be late for work,' Brian said disapprovingly.

'Well, at least Mam and I do go out to work,' Annie said. 'Unlike some people who throw a ball with Zach all day.'

'I'd go out to work if there was a job,' Brian said earnestly. 'Honest I would.'

'I think you're safe enough for the next twenty years, Brian. I mean who'd want to close down their business by employing you?' Annie consoled him.

'I have something marvellous to tell you,' Ria said. 'Something you'll be very pleased to hear.'

'What is it?' Brian asked.

'You have a boyfriend?' Annie suggested.

Brian looked appalled. 'Don't be disgusting,' he said to Annie. 'Mam wouldn't do anything like that.' He felt that somehow he had said the wrong thing as he looked at their faces. Slowly to his mind came the notion that his father after all had a new girlfriend and everyone was going along with that. Perhaps he shouldn't have said it was disgusting. 'Without telling us, I mean,' he said lamely.

'Your dad is coming to stay for the weekend,' she said.

Their mouths were open with shock.

'Here, here in Westville?' Annie said.

'But he said goodbye to us and he didn't say,' Brian said. 'Isn't that fantastic? When does he get here? Where will they sleep?'

'They?' Annie said.

'Well, isn't Bernadette coming too?'

'No, of course she's not, eejit,' Annie said.

'Does that mean he's left her and he's coming back to us?' Brian wanted to be clear about what was happening.

'Oh Brian, we've been through this a thousand times. Your dad didn't leave you, he went to live in another place, he'll always be your dad.'

'But has he given her up?' Brian insisted on knowing.

'No, of course not. He wanted to come out and see you both and he got a chanceGCa through work.'

'So they can't be broke after all,' Annie said with relief.

'He'll be here about five o'clock. He didn't want us to go and meet him, he said he'd take a taxi from the bus station.'

'But we're going to the Maines this weekend,' Annie remembered in horror.

'I've spoken to Sheila. You're going up on the bus tomorrow just for one night then come back on Sunday and we'll all have a big goodbye dinner for your dad.'

'I can't believe it. Dad coming here. He'll even meet Zach.'

'Well worth flying thousands of miles for,' Annie said.

'Dad could well put a stop to you and Hubie and your goings-on when he comes,' cried Brian, stung by the attack on his friend.

'Mam, there are no goings-on,' Annie appealed.

But Ria didn't seem interested in whether there were or there weren't. 'Let's think what we'll do tonight when your dad comes. Will we drive him around Westville and show him the sights? Would he like a barbecue here by the pool? What do you think?'

'Dad's got much quieter, you know,' Annie said thoughtfully. 'He sits and does nothing a lot nowadays.'

For some reason that made Ria feel uneasy. The picture of Danny sitting still wasn't an easy one to create. Danny who never sat down, who was always on the go. What was making him quiet these days? Annie was observant, she wouldn't have imagined that. And from what Ria had heard, Bernadette was no ball of fun at keeping the conversation going. It seemed to be a silent house just as it had been an eventless holiday on the boat. So different to what the energetic quick-moving Danny Lynch had wanted all his life.

But she gave no hint of her anxiety. 'Well, if your dad would like to be quietGCa then hasn't he picked a great place for it? Now I'm out of here, as they say at the shop, while I still have a job to go to. See you lunch-time.'

When she had gone the children looked at each other across the table.

'You're a little thug, a combination of a rat and a thug and that's saying something.'

Brian looked at her mutinously. 'And you're nothing but a jeer, a horrible old scornful jeer. What has Zach done to annoy you? Nothing at all, and you're always making fun of him.' His face was red and upset.

'Okay, peace?'

'No, not peace. It's only peace until you see Zach again and start groaning.'

'Okay, not peace, but it's going to be great to have us fighting when Dad arrives.'

'Why do you think he's coming?' Brian asked.

'I have no idea. But I don't think it could be anything bad,' Annie said reflectively.

'No, like he's given all the bad news already. It might be something good though, mightn't it?'

'Like what?' Annie wondered.

'Like he's leaving Bernadette?' Brian sounded hopeful.

'Didn't look much like it, did it though?' Annie said. 'They're very lovey-dovey.'

'Do you think Dad will sleep with Mam when he's here?' Brian asked suddenly.

'I don't know, Brian, but can I beg you on bended knees not to ask them if they're going to? Either of them.'

'What do you think I am?' Brian asked indignantly.

Ria came home from the gourmet shop with two big brown paper bags. 'Now we've lots of work to do, will I make a list?' she asked them.

They exchanged glances. 'What needs to be done?' Annie asked.

'We want to clean the place up and show Dad what a great house this is, scoop the leaves off the pool, make a super meal, and make up the bedGCa'