The Heartbreak Cafe (11 page)

‘
Oh no, just a couple of the newcomers from Dublin, dreadful
mumzilla types, you know yourself.’

Nina
smiled at the description, wondering if Trish would classify her in
the future as one of those ‘dreadful mumzilla types’.

In the
meantime, Ella had gone over to greet them. ‘Emer, Deirdre. How are
you both? And all the lovely little ones?’

As the
commotion grew ever louder, Trish turned to Nina and rolled her
eyes, ‘I’d better get to work. See you tomorrow?’

Nina took
this as a clear indication that her friend must not like kids very
much, to not even want to be in the same room as them. As her
friend stood to go, noisily clicking her high heels on the floor of
the café, one of the women looked up and noticed her.

‘
Hey, Trish, how are you?’ she said in a very warm tone for
someone who’d been dismissed as ‘just a newcomer’.

‘
Hi Emer, fine thanks, nice to see you,’ Trish replied in a way
that was million miles away from her usual chatty self.

‘
Have you time for a coffee? I’m not sure if you know Deirdre
and –’

‘
Sorry, can’t, I’m on a deadline,’ Trish tapped her watch. ‘But
maybe Nina might like to?’ She motioned to Nina, who smiled at the
women, even though she was mortified. Why had she put her in a
position like that?

‘
Yes, well, maybe next time,’ the woman said, turning her
attention back to her baby.

‘
Sure. Have a lovely breakfast. Anyway, better get going, bye!’
Like a flash Trish was gone.

The woman
called Emer looked up and smiled kindly at Nina. ‘Join us for a
coffee?’

‘
Oh I don’t want to impose…’

‘
Not at all, please do,’ she insisted and Nina reluctantly
assented, not sure what to expect, given that Trish had given this
woman a definite brush-off.

‘
So are you new in town?’ Emer asked when introductions had
been made.

‘
Not exactly. My father lives here, and I’m staying with him
for a while.’

‘
Oh right. Who’s that? Maybe we know him; our families only
moved here last year but it’s such a small place you sort of get to
know everyone, don’t you Deirdre?’ she said and the other woman
rolled her eyes.

‘
The joys of small-town living!’ she joked.

‘
Patrick Hughes,’ Nina told them and was she imagining it, or
did the two women exchange a surreptitious look?

‘
Oh yes, that’s the TV repair guy, isn’t it?’ Emer replied.
‘I’ve heard of him but don’t think we’ve ever met, and hope we
don’t have to.’ Seeing Nina’s expression, she added hastily, ‘I
mean that plasma that Dave bought cost a packet, so I sincerely
hope it doesn’t need mending any time soon!’

The three
of them laughed and Nina was immediately put at ease; for a second
there, she’d worried that Patrick had done something to offend one
of them, or that his ‘odd’ reputation had preceded him. But
apparently not.

The kids
were noisy and full of fun, and while the table quickly became
messy and slightly chaotic, it was a nice atmosphere to be involved
in. Emer and Deirdre seemed like nice women and their children were
enjoyable to be around. She couldn’t understand her friend’s quick
departure upon the women’s entrance. Some people just didn’t being
around children of course, but wasn’t her friend’s reaction a
little extreme? Oh well, she thought, not everyone was going to
mesh, but she did worry what Trish would think if she learned about
her own situation.

Thinking
about this, in the other mums’ company, she felt for the first time
ever a slight twinge of excitement and allowed herself to enjoy it.
Although, listening to their conversation did worry her somewhat.
Babies sounded very expensive, what with nappies, clothes and
buggies, and she couldn’t believe some of the numbers they were
throwing out. Maybe she should think about getting a job while she
was here.

‘
Well, goodness, look at the time, I’d better get Amy home for
her nap,’ Emer said after a while. Her little girl Amy was indeed
was rubbing her eyes and looking sleepy. ‘Nina, it really was
lovely chatting with you, and no doubt we’ll see you
around.’

‘
Lovely talking to you too,’ Nina said, pleased she had made
some new friends and soon after, Deirdre and Emer left the café
pretty much the same way that they’d arrived, in a whirlwind of
kids, toys and noise.

Nina
settled back in at the counter, happy thus far with her morning and
in no real hurry to go home. ‘Would you like another cup of coffee,
love?’ Ella offered, on her way in to the kitchen with another
order.

‘
I’d love one, but since I’m here propping up your counter all
morning, I should probably get it myself.’ Nina laughed.

‘
Well feel free,’ Ella said smiling. ‘The place is a bit mad at
the moment.’ She paused as she watched Nina deftly negotiate the
coffee-maker. ‘Actually, I was wondering…’

‘
What?’

‘
Well, I’m not sure how long you’re staying, but I could do
with an extra pair of hands round here for the summer months. My
usual baker, Colm – do you remember him? - is off on a career break
for a few months, travelling around the world. This place gets
crazy with the tourists and everything. I normally get one of the
school-leavers but what do you think – only part-time mind, but
would you fancy it?’

‘
I’d love to,’ Nina said, liking the idea. A part-time job at
the café would be a godsend. As well as giving her something to do
and keeping her out of Patrick’s way, it would also give her a
couple of quid towards some baby things, should she need
them.

‘
Fantastic. Well then, grab an apron and like that Donald Trump
fella says, ‘you’re hired.’

Later
that same evening, Ruth paced the floors of her suite at the Four
Seasons. While she’d tried her utmost to get some rest in order to
get over the jetlag (and the hangover), proper sleep was
impossible.

Which
wasn’t good considering her big TV interview was coming up in a
couple of hours and she wanted to look her absolute
best.

Ruth
kneaded her forehead and took another look at the newspapers she’d
had sent up to her room; she couldn’t believe what the Irish press
were saying about her, and still couldn’t quite comprehend how the
news had travelled so fast. More to the point, how on earth had
news of her and Troy reached the media at all, let alone so
quickly?

After the
debacle at Dublin airport in the early hours of the morning, she’d
immediately got Chloe on the phone, whereupon her assistant had
blearily explained that a security guard at the Beverly Hills Hotel
had leaked the CCTV footage from the lobby. Then following press
investigations, the remainder of the story had been backed up by an
unnamed source at the Chateau Marmont.

‘
An unnamed source? What kind of operation is the hotel running
that they’re so willing to leak personal information about their
guests?’ Ruth demanded.

‘
Well, I kinda get the impression the source was a guest,’
Chloe said sheepishly. ‘Someone who was peeved about not getting
any sleep?’

Ruth was
mortified that her sex life was the subject of such public
discussion and even more embarrassed that such discussions had
followed her all the way across the Atlantic

‘
Ruth Scream-more shows Tinseltown how to party!’ announced one
of the more restrained headlines, and while it was bad enough for
her to take, Ruth couldn’t even begin to imagine what her parents
were making of all this.

The
Seymours were travelling up from Lakeview this evening to catch a
few minutes with Ruth at the hotel before the PR people whisked
them all away to the TV studio. As was customary for guests of the
show, the family were given complimentary audience tickets and
would be in studio while she was being interviewed.

Ruth had
been looking forward to the bit where the TV cameras turned to the
delighted parents in the audience while the show’s host asked them
just how proud they were of their offspring’s achievements. Now she
wasn’t so sure if that was such a good idea.

Casting
the papers aside, she decided to bite the bullet and call home to
let them know that she’d arrived in Dublin safely and was up and
about. It was a call that she was especially nervous about now,
given the circumstances.

For weeks
she’d been looking forward to making the call announcing her
arrival from the plush hotel, but now she was less than excited,
especially if they’d read all those horrible headlines. So much for
returning in a blaze of glory; now it seemed she’d be cowering
beneath a cloud of shame.

Sadly,
Ruth thought that she could somehow deal with other people saying
bad things about her (she’d been doing it for years after all) but
the one thing she’d find hard would be the idea that her parents
were ashamed of her. As it was, it had been hard enough trying to
prove to them for all these years that she wasn’t wasting her
time.

Sitting
back on the comfy bed, she turned the newspapers face down so she
wouldn’t have to look at them and dialled her parents’ number.
Typically, her mother answered on the first ring.

‘
Mum? Hi, it’s me.’ Ruth’s mouth went dry as she waited for
Breda Seymour’s reply.

‘
Oh hello, love, you’ve arrived safely then?’ Thank goodness,
Ruth thought to herself, realising that her mother’s tone seemed
normal so perhaps they hadn’t seen the papers.

‘
Yes, the flight got in about five this morning, and I’ve just
been catching up on some sleep. How are you all? I can’t wait to
see you. You and Dad still OK to come up for the show
tonight?’

‘
Of course, looking forward to it. Will we be able to see you
beforehand?’

‘
Yes, absolutely. I’ll be here at Four Seasons until five; I
think they’re sending a car to bring us to the studio so we should
have plenty of time for a chat.’

‘
Great, we’re really looking forward to seeing you,
love.’

Ruth felt
elated; they were looking forward to seeing her, which must mean
that they hadn’t seen the headlines.

‘
Um love, just so you’re prepared… I tried as long as I could
to keep the papers away from your father, and I thought I might be
able to until this whole mess passed over, but well, he turned on
the television and they were talking about the TV appearance and
how you’d be putting the record straight on the scandal. Needless
to say, he fished out the papers I’d put in the bin.’

The blood
drained from her face, and she shook her head, trying to shake away
the thought of her father reading those lurid headlines…seeing that
awful picture …everything. She should have guessed that her mother
would have tried to cover for her and equally guessed that her
father would have found out in the end. Ollie was wonderful, but
he’d always been very strict, always demanding Ruth behave like a
lady. When she was a teenager he used to waiting up for her to get
home every time she went out, and always interrogated at length any
of the guys she went out with. Well almost all of them, she thought
sadly.

Then as a
teenager, when she was offered the part in the TV soap, he’d taken
it upon himself to ensure that filming didn’t interfere with her
schooling, or that she never went out to parties with the older
cast members.

Ollie had
believed, perhaps even more than Ruth herself that she was destined
to be a star and he wasn’t going to let anything ruin that for
her.

Ironic
then Ruth thought, that after taking so many years to finally
achieve her dream, she’d gone ahead and ruined it
herself.

‘
Our next guest has been on the radar since her first
appearance as a lovesick teenager on The Local. And now after a
long hard slog, Hollywood have finally recognised her talent and
she stars in one of the biggest TV hits States-wise. Tonight, she’s
back in Dublin to talk about her new hit show Glamazons, and we’re
delighted to welcome the very talented Ms. Ruth
Seymour!’

Ruth
waved at the audience as she walked onto the set of the Late
Tonight studio. Her smile was dazzling and thanks to the
professional make-up artist the station had arranged back at the
hotel, she knew she looked every inch the Hollywood
star.

She
walked gracefully across the set and extended her hand to the
show’s host, former DJ Eamonn Kennedy, who much to her
disappointment was standing in for the show’s regular host who
apparently had broken his leg earlier that week. While the older
interviewer was famous for his soft-touch questioning and
sycophantic approach, the same couldn’t be said of Kennedy who,
from what little Ruth knew of him, was a man who had made a name
for himself by being controversial. Tonight though, he seemed just
warm and welcoming as he took Ruth’s hand, and kissed her on both
cheeks before offering her a seat.

Smoothing
down her Catherine Malandrino jade-coloured satin dress, which she
knew set off her bouncy bright blonde locks, Ruth crossed her long
legs in such a way so as to show off the telltale crimson soles of
her elegant (and self-bought) Christian Louboutins.