by Maeve Binchy
Brian had been sick at the christening. He said it was bad enough to let him off school. He was pretty sure that Myles and Dekko would have kinder, more understanding families who wouldn't force invalids to go out when they were feeling rotten. Annie said that it was just a punishment since they had all been drinking champagne and obviously they were sick. Brian, red-faced with annoyance, said that she had no proof of this at all. That she was only trying to make trouble to take attention away from the fact that she and Kitty had been out so late and caused such alarm.
'I was talking about my career, about the future, jobs and things, something a drunk like you will never have,' Annie said coldly to Brian.
Ria tried to keep the peace, looking in vain for any support from Danny who had his head stuck in brochures and press releases about the new apartment blocks. He had been tired when he came back last night. Too tired to respond when she had reached out for him. It had been a long day, he said. For Ria too it had been a long day, pushing a heavy sanding machine around the floor, but she hadn't complained. Now they were back in familiar territory, a big noisy breakfast, a real family starting the week together in the big bright kitchen.
And everything had simmered down by the time they were ready to leave. Brian said he thought he could face school, possibly the fresh air would do him good and there was no proof that a court of law would accept that any alcohol had been taken. Annie said that possibly, yes, she should have telephoned to say that it was all going on longer, but she hadn't thought that anyone would be waiting. Honestly.
Danny dragged himself out of the world of executive apartments. 'You couldn't give away anything with carpet wall to wall nowadays,' he said. 'Everything has to have sprung oak floors or they won't consider it. Where did all the money come from in this society? Tell me that and I'll die happy.'
'Not for decades yet, I have great plans for you first,' Ria laughed.
'Yes, well none for tonight, I hope,' he said. 'There's a dinner, investors, I have to be there.'
'Oh, not again!'
'Oh yes, again. And many times again before we're through with this. If the estate agents don't go to the promotions then what confidence will they think we have in it all?'
She made a face. 'I know, I know. And after all it won't be for long.'
'What do you mean?'
'Well, eventually they'll all be sold, won't they? Isn't that what it's about?'
'This phase… but this is only phase one, remember we were talking about it on Saturday with Barney?'
'Did Barney get you yesterday?'
'No, why?'
'He got delayed, I told him he'd find you at the development.'
'I was with people all day. I expect someone took a message. I'll get it when I get into the office and ring him then.'
'You work too hard, Danny.'
'So do you.' His smile was sympathetic. 'Look, I brought home that sander and you had to do most of it as it turned out.'
'Still, if you think it looks nice?' Ria was doubtful.
'Sweetheart, no question. It adds thousands to the resale value already and that's only in one weekend. Wait till we get those children of ours working properly, nice bit of slave labour, and do the upstairs as well. This place will be worth a fortune.'
'But we don't want to sell it,' Ria said, alarmed.
'I know, I know. But one day when we're old and grey and we want a nice apartment by the sea or on the planet Mars, or something…' He ruffled her hair and left.
Ria smiled to herself. Things were normal again.
'Ree-ya?'
'Hallo, Mam. Where's Pliers?'
'I see. You have no interest in seeing your own mother any more, only the dog.'
'No, I just thought he'd be with you, that's all.'
'Well he's not. Your friend Gertie's taken him for a walk, that's where he is. Gone for a nice morning run down by the canal.'
'Gertie?'
'Yes, she said that she heard dogs like Pliers needed a run now and then to shake them up. And of course though I have been able to keep myself reasonably trim, I'm not really able to do anything like that for Pliers any more, so Gertie offered,' Ria was astounded. Gertie didn't run, she barely walked these days, living in such dread of her drunken husband. Ria's mother had lost interest in the conversation. 'Anyway I only came in because I was passing to tell Annie that it's seven o'clock tonight.'
'What is?'
'They're coming down to St Rita's with me this evening, Annie and her friend Kitty. We're teaching Kitty bridge.'
Ria's mind was churning. 'But that will be during supper.'
'I suppose they manage to think that some things are more important because they're nice and normal and they actually like people,' said Ria's mother. She sat at her daughter's table waiting for coffee to be served to her, her face thunderous with the heavy implication that Ria was neither nice nor normal and positively hated meeting people.
The washing machine had just begun to swirl and hum when Rosemary rang. 'Oh Lord, Ria, how I envy you, relaxed in your own home while I'm stuck at work.'
'That's the way things are.' Ria knew there was an edge to her voice. She was becoming sharp with people for no reason. She rushed on to take the harm out of her words. 'We all think the grass is greener in the other place. Often when I'm picking up things from the floor here I envy you being at work and out of the house all day.'
'No, of course you don't.'
'Why do you say that?'
'Because, as I keep telling you, if you did feel like that, cabin fever and everything, then you'd get a job. Listen, what I rang to say is that I saw Jack being taken off in a Garda car this morning, some disturbance outside a pub. I thought you'd want to know. If you have nothing to do you might check whether Gertie's in bits or anything.'
'Gertie's not in bits, she's out walking my mother's dog.' 'You're not serious, aren't people amazing?' Rosemary sounded pleased at this surprise news. 'She didn't ask for a dog-walking fee, did she?'
'No, I don't think so, my mother would have said.' 'Oh well, that's all right then. It's not as if she's doing it to get a couple of quid to buy him more drink when the fuzz lets him go.'
'Mrs Lynch?'
'Yes, that's right.' All day odd things had been happening,
'Mrs Danny Lynch?'
'Yes?'
'Oh, oh I'm sorry. No, I think I may have the wrong number.'
'No, that's who I am, Ria Lynch.' The phone went dead.
Her sister Hilary rang just then. 'You sounded like the Mother of Sorrows on the answering machine,' she said.
'No I didn't. I just spoke and said it didn't matter. We both say that people who don't leave messages should be hanged.'
'I keep saying that the answering machine was a sheer waste of money. Who ever calls? What messages are there that you'd want to hear?'
'Thanks, Hilary.'
Hilary was unaware of any sarcasm. 'What was it you wanted to talk about anyway? Mam, I suppose?'
'No, not at all.'
'She's really going loopy you know, Ria. You don't see that because you don't want to. You always want to believe that everything's fine in the world, there's no famine, no war, politicians are all honest and mean well, and the climate's great.'
'Hilary, did you ring up just to attack me in general or is there anything specific?'
'Very funny. But going back to Mam, I worry about her.'
'But why? We've been over this a dozen times, she's fit and healthy, she's busy and happy.'
'Well, she should feel needed by her own family.'
'Hilary, she is needed by her family. Isn't she in here every single day of her life, sometimes twice a day? I ask her to stay to meals, I ask her to stay the night. She is out with Annie and Brian more than I am…'
'I suppose you're saying now that I don't do enough.'
'I'm not saying anything of the sort, and she's never done talking about you and Martin and how good you are to her.'
'Well, that's
as may be.'
'So what is it really that's worrying you?'
'She's trying to sell her house.'
There was a silence. 'Of course she's not, Hilary, she'd have talked to Danny about it.'
'Only if she was selling it through him.’
'Well, who else would she go to? No, Hilary, you've got this all wrong.'
'We'll see,' said Hilary and hung up.
'Sweetheart?'
'Yes, Danny?'
'Was anyone looking for me at home, any peculiar sort of person?'
'No. Nobody at all, why?'
'Oh, there's some crazy ringing up about the apartments, she says she's being refused as a client… total paranoia. She's ringing everyone at home as well.'
'A woman did ring, but she didn't leave any message. That might have been her…'
'What did she say?'
'Nothing, just kept checking who I was.'
'And who did you say you were?'
Suddenly Ria snapped. It had been a stressful weekend, filled with silly unrelated things that just didn't make sense. 'I told her that I was an axe murderer passing through. God, Danny, who do you think I told her I was? She asked was I Mrs Lynch and I said I was. Then she said she had the wrong number and hung up.'
'I'm telling the Guards about it, it's nuisance calls.'
'And did you say that in the office… you know who she is?'
'Listen, honey, I'll be late tonight, you know I told you.'
'A dinner, yes I know.'
'I have to run, sweetheart.'
He called everyone sweetheart. There was nothing particularly special about it. It was ludicrous but she would have to make an appointment with her husband to discuss having a baby, and a further appointment to do something about it if he agreed that it was a good idea.
Ria had a mug of soup and a slice of toast for her supper at seven o'clock. She sat alone in her enormous kitchen. The blustery April wind blew the washing on the line, but she left it there. Brian had gone to Dekko's house to do his homework. Annie was going to have a pizza with her gran after bridge at St Rita's, hugely preferable to spending any time at all with her mother obviously. Even sharing space with an unwelcome baby seemed like a better bet for Brian than his own house. Colm Barry had waved to her from the vegetable garden before he left for his restaurant. Her friend Rosemary was at home no doubt cooking something minimalist. Her other friend, Gertie, had been avoiding a drunken husband by walking that ridiculous dog all day, or so Ria's mother said. How had it happened… the empty nest? Why was there nobody at home any more?
They all came back together when she least expected it. Annie and her grandmother, laughing as if they were the same age. There was over half a century between them and yet they were relaxed and easy together. The ladies had been great fun, Annie said. They were going to lend her some genuine fifties clothes, even one of those fun fake furs. Some of them had come with them to the Pizza House.
'They're allowed out?' Ria said in surprise.
'It's not a prison, Ria, it's a retirement home. And people are very lucky who can get in there.'
'But you're too young to go to a place like that, much too young,' Ria said.
'I was speaking generally.' Her mother looked lofty.
'So you're not planning to go in there yourself?'
Her mother looked astounded. 'Are you interrogating me?' she asked.
'Oh Mam, for heaven's sake don't always cause a row about everything,' Annie groaned.
Brian came in. He seemed pleased but not surprised to see his grandmother. 'I saw Pliers tied to the gate, I knew you were here.'
'Pliers? Tied to the gate?' Ria's mother was out of the house like a shot. 'Poor dog, darling Pliers. Did she abandon you?'
They heard the sound of a car. Danny was home. Early, unexpected.
'Dad, Dad, do you know where we'd find the colours of the flags of Italy and Hungary and India? Dekko's father doesn't know. It would be great if you knew, Dad.'
'That friend of yours is even more scattered than you are, Ria.' Nora Johnson was still smarting over the dog. 'Imagine, Gertie left poor Pliers tied to the gate. He could have been there for hours.'
'He wasn't there when we came in a few minutes ago, Gran,' Annie reassured her.
'No, I saw Gertie running up Tara Road. It could only be a couple of minutes at the most.' Danny was reassuring too. 'Hey, where's supper anyway?'
'No one came home.' Ria's voice sounded small and tired. 'You said you had a business dinner.'
'I cancelled it.' He was eager, like a child.
Ria had an idea. 'Why don't we go to Colm's restaurant, the two of us?'
'Oh well I don't know, anything will do…'
'No, I'd love to, I'd simply love to. It would be a treat for me.'
'It would be a treat for anyone to go to Colm's,' Annie sniffed. 'Better than a pizza.'
'Better than sausages in Dekko's,' Brian grumbled.
'Wish I'd been able to go out to four-star restaurants when I didn't feel like cooking,' said her mother.
'I'll phone him and book a table.' Ria was on her feet.
'Honestly, sweetheart, anything… a steak, an omelette…'
'It wouldn't do you at all. No, you deserve a treat too.'
'I eat out too much, being at home's a treat for me,' he begged.
But she had the phone to her ear and made the booking. Then she ran lightly upstairs and changed into her black dress and put on her gold chain. Ria would have loved the time to have a bath and dress properly but she knew she must seize the moment. This was the very best chance she would have to talk to her husband about future plans. Ria moved swiftly before she could be sabotaged by either her mother or daughter putting sausages and tinned beans in front of Danny.
They walked companionably down Tara Road to the corner. The lights of Colm's restaurant were welcoming. Ria admired the way that it was done. You couldn't really see who was inside but you got the impression of people sitting down together. She was glad that Colm seemed to have tables full on a Monday night. It would be so dispiriting to cook for people and have shining glassware and silver out there and then for nobody to turn up. That was one of the reasons she would never like to run a restaurant, you would feel so hurt if people didn't come to it.
'Very few cars outside,' said Danny, cutting across her thoughts. 'I wonder how he makes any kind of living.'
'He loves cooking,' Ria said.
'Well, just as well that he does because there can't be much profit in tonight's takings from the look of the place.' She hated it when Danny reduced everything to money. It seemed to be his only way of measuring things nowadays.
Caroline took their coats. She was dressed in a smart black dress with long sleeves and she wore a black turban covering her hair. Only someone with beautiful bone structure could get away with something as severe, Ria thought to herself. 'You look so elegant tonight, the turban's a new touch.' Was she imagining it or did Caroline's hand fly to her face defensively?
'Yes, well I thought that perhaps…' She didn't finish her sentence.
She had been so odd on the telephone yesterday Ria had wondered if there was anything seriously wrong. And even tonight, despite the serene way she smiled and seemed to glide across to show them to their table, there was something tense and pent-up there. They were a strange pair, the brother and sister: Caroline with her overweight husband Monto Mackey, always in a smart suit and an even smarter car; Colm with his discreet relationship. He was nowadays involved with the wife of a well-known businessman, but it was something that was never spoken of. Colm and Caroline seemed to look out for each other, as if the world was somehow preparing to do one of them down.
Ria would have liked that kind of loyalty. Hilary was a complicated sister; she blew hot and cold, sometimes envious and carping, sometimes surprisingly understanding. But there was never this united front that Colm and Caroline wore.
'You're miles away,’ Danny said to her.
She g
lanced at him, handsome, tired-looking, boyish still, puzzling over the menu. Wondering if he would go for the crispy duck or be sensible about his health and have the grilled sole. She could read the decisions all over his face. 'I was just thinking about Hilary,' she said.
'What has she done now?'
'Nothing, except get the wrong end of the stick about everything as usual. Burbling on about you and about Mam wanting to sell the house.'
'She told you that?'
'You know Hilary, she never listens to anyone.'
'She said I wanted to sell the house?'
'She said Mam wasn't even asking you, that she wanted to sell it herself.'
'I don't understand.'
'Would anyone? The whole thing is nonsense.'
'Your mother's, house! I see.'
'Well you see more than I do, it's totally cracked.'
Colm came to the table to greet them. He made a point of spending only forty seconds and putting a huge amount of warmth and information into that time. 'There's some very nice Wicklow lamb, and I got fish straight off the boat down in the harbour this morning. The vegetables as you know come from the finest garden in the land, and if you're not sick of eating them yourselves, I suggest courgettes. Can I give you a glass of champagne to welcome you? And then I'll get out of your way and let you enjoy your evening.'
Colm had once told Ria that too many restaurant owners made the great mistake of believing that the guests enjoyed the Mine Host figure spending a lot of time at the table. He always felt that if people had come out to dine then that's what they should be allowed to do. Tonight she valued it especially.
She chose the lamb and Danny said that because he really was as fat as a fool these days he must have plain grilled fish with lemon juice and no creamy sauce. 'You're not fat, Danny, you're beautiful. You know you are, I told you the other night.'