City Woman (10 page)

‘Oh Devlin, to think that every time he sees me he asks after you and he’s so sweet and charming. I could kill him,’ Lydia said fiercely.

‘It wasn’t all his fault,’ Devlin sighed. ‘I was flattered by his interest and very smitten. I was a silly young girl playing with fire and I got badly burnt. He’s
a bastard but he’s the loser. At least I can look myself in the eye.’

‘That’s very true, dear,’ Lydia agreed. ‘And you’re right to put the past behind you.’ She put the photograph in her bag and held out her arms to her
daughter. ‘Thank you, Devlin, for today, for lunch, for talking to me and for putting our past behind us. It means more to me than you’ll ever know.’

‘You’re welcome, Mum. It means a lot to me too.’ Devlin kissed her mother’s cheek. She went down in the lift with her and walked her to her car.

‘This is a beautiful complex, darling, and I’m mad about your penthouse. You’ve decorated it beautifully, and those views . . . Aren’t they magnificent?’

‘I like it here very much,’ Devlin smiled, holding the car door open for her mother. ‘Tell Dad I send my love. We’ll get together soon about the shop?’

‘Of course, dear . . . ’ Lydia hesitated. ‘I was wondering if you’d like to have lunch with us on Sunday?’

‘I’d love to,’ Devlin said and was rewarded by a smile of pure happiness on her mother’s face.

‘Lovely; we’ll look forward to that, so.’ Lydia was clearly delighted and as she watched the car going down the drive, Devlin was heartily glad that everything had gone so
well. It was incredible how changed her mother was. Even in her readiness to cry and the warmth of her affection, she was so unlike the brittle, tense woman she had been. Seeing her as she was now
had banished any lingering resentment that Devlin had felt. She had been able to talk to Lydia in a way never possible before and reflected that it was probably because for the first time Lydia had
treated her as an adult. They had met as equals. She’d be able to tell Luke that it hadn’t been an ordeal at all. The worrisome lunch had been a real success, Devlin decided with
immense satisfaction, as the lift travelled swiftly upwards to the penthouse. It was as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders and she was sure the same was true of her mother.

She tidied up and went outside. In the block to her left, she could see Caroline on her balcony.

‘Come on over,’ she called. ‘Mum’s been; I’ve loads to tell you.’ Caroline waved in acknowledgement, and ten minutes later the pair of them were sitting
having coffee as Devlin confided in her friend the details of the long-awaited reunion.

‘I can’t believe it went so well, Luke.’ Devlin lay back on her lounger and watched the evening sun slant slowly over the Wicklow hills turning the waters of
the bay to gold. She had called Luke to tell him all about the meeting with Lydia.

‘That’s great news. I’m delighted for you, Devlin.’ She knew he was smiling at the other end of the phone.

‘She’s so changed, you know, it’s hard to believe. She’s so much more—’ Devlin searched for an appropriate word, ‘—much more human. I was able to
talk to her about Lynn and you know I never talk about my baby.’ Despite herself a tear rolled down her cheek.

‘That’s very good, Devlin,’ Luke said gently. ‘That will surely help a lot.’

‘It just hurts.’ Devlin’s voice wobbled. ‘But Mum said I should talk about Lynn much more. She’s done counselling and she says it’s very bad to keep things
all bottled up inside.’

‘I’ve been telling you that for ages and Maggie and Caroline have been telling you too. You should listen!’ Luke urged.

‘Luke, will the pain ever go away?’ Devlin started crying, great big sobs that shook her body.

‘No, my darling, it won’t, but it will get easier. I promise you. Now that you’re facing it and acknowledging your loss you’re going to cope much better.’
Luke’s reassuring tones made her wish so much that he was there to hug and comfort her as only he could.

‘Are you all right, Devlin?’ she heard him ask in concern. She took a deep breath and sat up straight.

‘I’m OK. I guess it’s just talking about it that sets me off. That’s why I never talked about it before.’

‘You just keep talking as long as you need,’ Luke said. ‘I’ll always be here to listen.’

‘I know you will,’ Devlin said, comforted. ‘I love you, Luke.’

‘I love you, too,’ he echoed down the line.

Later that evening, when her doorbell rang, Devlin was working on a speech that she had been invited to give to a women’s political association group. She glanced at the
clock on the kitchen wall in surprise. It was nearly eleven o’clock. She wasn’t expecting anybody at this late hour. And she certainly wasn’t dressed to receive guests.
She’d had a shower and got into her nightdress and dressing-gown about half an hour previously. Maybe it was Caroline wanting to stay the night. She often stayed when she was feeling a bit
down.

She went over to her intercom and pressed the button. It was a great invention, she reflected, as the screen focused on the entrance area. It gave great security too. You could see who was there
and any caller didn’t have the same advantage.

‘Yes?’ Devlin ran her fingers through her hair and tied her robe around her.

‘Hello,’ said a familiar and much-loved voice.

‘Luke!’ Devlin exclaimed in pleasure as she saw him standing smiling into the camera. She pressed the buzzer and went out into the hall and sent the lift down to him. Two minutes
later she was in his arms.

‘I just wanted to be with you. I hated your being upset, so I took a standby seat and here I am.’ He smiled down at her.

Devlin was overwhelmed by joy at being loved so much. She hugged Luke tightly. All these years she had been searching for she knew not what. Now at this very moment, Devlin knew her search was
over. She had found this faceless, nameless thing that had eluded her for so long. It was like coming home after a long, long voyage. A great peace enveloped her.

‘Come in, Luke. Come in,’ she cried, happier than she had ever been in her life.

Seven

‘Well? What do you think?’ asked Arthur, beaming.

‘Looks good,’ assented Luke.

‘Good! I think it’s fantastic. You’ve got so much done since I was here last,’ Devlin declared, her eyes dancing with pleasure as she walked around the foyer of the
Belfast City Girl. ‘And that was only two weeks ago! Arthur, you’re a genius.’ She turned to Luke. ‘Come on, you have to admit it: this man is a miracle-worker. You
haven’t seen the place since the summer and look at it now. We’ll be opening soon.’ She rubbed her hands with glee.

‘We hope,’ Arthur said cautiously. ‘We’ve still got a problem with the swimming-pool filter and the damn suppliers of the gym equipment went bust, taking our deposit with
them. But I’ve organized a new supplier, so we should be taking delivery of the gear next week.’

‘Do you think we’ll get our deposit back?’ Luke asked as he ran his hand along the grain of the shiny reception desk.

‘Ach, we haven’t a snowball’s chance in hell,’ Arthur grimaced. ‘They’ve left creditors from here to Donegal.’

‘You win some; you lose some,’ Devlin said, determinedly cheerful. True, there had been a few setbacks since they decided to go ahead with the project but opening up a new business
was never all plain sailing.

Luke winked at Arthur and grinned at Devlin. ‘Tell you what. You can pay Arthur and me back the deposit out of
your
share of the profits, seeing as you’re so unmoved by the
loss of it.’

‘Ha, ha,’ Devlin retorted. ‘Come on. I want to see the beauty salon and the library.’ She led them up the green-and-grey-fern-patterned carpet to the first floor. The
small library was an oasis of peace and quiet with plush sofas and easy-chairs arranged around an inviting fireplace. Lamps and vases spread around gave the room a domestic air and Devlin felt that
the young Belfast interior designer she had commissioned to decorate City Girl had done a very impressive job. The whole tone of the building was one of discreet opulence.

The beauty salon, which Aoibhinn had organized, looked superb. While it wasn’t as big as the Dublin City Girl salon, it was very well laid out, and the pretty pink-and-green curtains that
fronted the individual cubicles and hung on the floor-to-ceiling windows gave the room a sunny atmosphere. Across the square, Devlin could see the Portland stone City Hall, its imposing Classical
Renaissance copper dome the most familiar landmark in the city. The superbly laid-out gardens were ablaze with late autumn colours and Devlin thought they would be a lovely sight for clients as
they were pampered by the beauticians and hairdressers.

They had paid a lot of money for the building that now housed the Health and Leisure Centre but the three partners agreed that it was worth it. It was situated in the city centre, close to the
new bus station, the exquisitely restored Opera House and the Europa Hotel. Northern Ireland Rail’s Central Station was less than a mile away. The trio agreed that the money had been well
spent if only because of the building’s accessibility.

After they looked around, chatted to the workmen, and saw what progress had been made, Arthur took them for coffee in the famous Crown Liquor Saloon, the Victorian pub that was in the care of
the National Trust. Located at the start of what was known as ‘the Golden Mile’ of restaurants, bars and entertainment centres that led on to the elegant areas around Queen’s
University and the Botanic Gardens, the Crown was full of atmosphere and charm.

‘Isn’t Belfast a very classy city?’ Devlin observed, as she gazed admiringly at the Opera House through the window.

‘The people of Belfast are very conscious of their heritage,’ said Arthur, as he paid the waiter who had arrived with their coffee. ‘You won’t catch them hauling down
historic buildings the way they do willy-nilly in Dublin. I mean, how your Corporation got away with erecting those monstrosities they call the Civic Offices, after all the controversy about
Christchurch and the sites surrounding it, is beyond me!’

‘That was outrageous,’ Devlin agreed, sipping her coffee. ‘The wishes of the people were ignored completely.’

‘Well, they wouldn’t have got away with it here. We wouldn’t have been allowed to change one square foot of the façade of City Girl, even if we had wanted to,’
Arthur said.

‘It’s a very elegant building anyway,’ Luke reflected. ‘It suits the ambience of City Girl very well. It’s not brash and brassy as a modern building might be.
It’s very soothing, even reassuring, if you know what I mean. The Stephen’s Green building is in the same style. It would be interesting to see how a high-tech, California-style City
Girl would do.’ He looked at Devlin questioningly.

She wrinkled her nose. ‘It might suit the young types. But we have a very broad membership and I think our clients value the sense of leaving their cares behind and being petted and
pampered in luxurious surroundings. I’ve seen some high-tech leisure centres. They’re not that relaxing, and I think relaxation is one of our main selling points.’

‘I think so, too. I’ve been getting very positive feedback about what we’re doing,’ Arthur said enthusiastically, ‘and the great thing is that I’m having no
problem at all promoting it. Everybody’s very eager to get on the bandwagon because it’s new and different, and people think it’s going to work. I’ve three companies
prepared to do an advertising promotion with display bins, posters, flyers and so on, and they’ll be stocked in the major multiples like Dunnes, Stewarts and Wellworths as well as the CTNs .
. .’

‘The whats?’ Devlin had heard the term before but just couldn’t remember what it meant.

‘Sorry, lassie, I get carried away,’ Arthur chuckled. ‘The confectioners, tobacconists and newsagents.’

‘Oh, right,’ Devlin nodded.

Arthur continued in his exuberant way: ‘The promotion will be the same in all three cases: there’ll be a competition with a main prize of a day in City Girl sampling all the
services. It’s a great way of advertising and getting into people’s consciousness. And I’ve lined up Lynda Jayne to perform the opening and of course she’ll be doing an
interview with you on Downtown. I’ve a publicist organizing the rest of the media interviews. We’ll be doing either
Anderson on the Box
or
Kelly
as well, and Sean
Rafferty’s radio programme. So, lassie, you’re going to be up to your eyes. As we’re going to be opening before Christmas, I’m going to take up your suggestion of gift
vouchers too.’

‘Maybe you should have special offers for the first month of operation,’ Luke suggested. ‘After all, the idea is to get customers in and talking about the place. We did that
with the Dublin City Girl and it worked very well.’

‘Definitely,’ Devlin agreed. ‘And I want to get working on the corporate business; it’s really booming.’

‘Folks, we can’t fail,’ Arthur said, beaming. He was such an optimist, and Devlin was fond of him. ‘I’ll see you tonight for dinner, then.’ He stood up and
held out his hand to Devlin and Luke. ‘Enjoy your lunch with Lynda and Florence. Tell them I’d have loved to come, but some of us have to work.’

Back in their bedroom in the Europa Hotel, Devlin put her arms around Luke. ‘Well, what do you really think?’

‘What do I really think? Hmmm.’ He pretended to ponder. He smiled down at her. ‘Devlin, from the minute I heard you had targeted Belfast, I felt so sorry for the poor citizens
. . . they’re not going to know what’s hit them and that’s the truth.’

‘Do you think it’s going to work?’ She thumped his chest.

‘Well, if it doesn’t it won’t be yours or Arthur’s fault: you’ve done a great job. Listening to Arthur, I can’t see how it can go wrong. But don’t
forget, we
are
in the middle of a bloody awful recession.’

‘Yeah, but it hasn’t affected membership of City Girl: there are still people on the waiting list, and Belfast in parts is a very affluent city. Did you see those houses on the
Malone Road? Mansions! I believe it’s called ‘‘Millionaires Row’’. There’s money here, Luke, as there is in every city. I think we’ll have no problem
attracting customers.’