Divided Loyalties (7 page)

Kathryn nodded.

‘Are you hungry?’

Another nod.

‘Would you like sausages for tea?’

‘Can I have three?’ Kathryn perked up. Biscuits and sausages in one day? She couldn’t believe her luck.

‘Please,’ Shauna said firmly.

‘Please,’ Kathryn echoed.

‘Me, me too.’ Chloe was not to be left out.

‘Yes, you too. Stay and watch the video and I’ll go and make your tea.’ Chloe should have been getting ready for bed with a bottle, not watching videos and eating sausages, she
thought ruefully. Still, it was nice for her to have some company, even if it was her spoilt cousin. She wondered how Kathryn would cope with the new arrival. Badly, she predicted, as she heated
the frying pan and opened a packet of sausages.

At least she’d be well away from the Keegans out in the Emirates. That in itself was worth living abroad for. The sausages started to sizzle and her thoughts turned to the bed in the guest
room. Gemma, her babysitter, had been the last to sleep in it but Shauna was damned if she was going to change the sheets. She had enough to be doing. Ten minutes later, as the children sat eating
sausages and bread and butter, she ran upstairs with the iron, plugged it in beside the double bed in the guest room, poured a drop of lavender oil into the steamer and, throwing back the duvet,
began to iron the creased bottom sheet. There was a mascara mark on one of the pillowcases so she simply took off the pillowcase, ironed it, and put it back on with the marked side facing down.
‘That will do the pair of you,’ she muttered resentfully as she tucked in the sheet and shook out the duvet.

She was damned if she was going to go to any more trouble for the bloody freeloaders. As soon as the kids were in bed she’d ring Carrie to tell her the latest.

Della sipped her white wine spritzer, enjoying the hum of chat and laughter that permeated the bar. It was good to relax. It had been tiring shopping and Kathryn’s
whinging was very wearing. Still, life was good, she reflected. She was enjoying her drink. They were having an Indian takeaway later, something she only allowed herself as a rare special treat
when she came to Dublin. All those additives were a nightmare, but tasty. She’d get a lie-in in the morning and allow herself a slice or two of bacon for brekkie. She never cooked a fry-up at
home, much to Eddie’s dismay. He loved coming to his in-laws for the food alone. Fat lump, she thought, glancing over at him. He was guzzling a pint like there was no tomorrow. He was
so
unhealthy! At least she took care of her body.

They’d have a walk on the beach and inhale all those healthy ions and then have lunch. They’d probably have to leave after lunch. Shauna would hardly extend an invitation for another
night’s stay-over. Pity.

Best of all, Christmas was sorted. The relief of not having to worry about turkey and stuffing, and all the palaver that went with Christmas dinner, was tremendous. It would be a most relaxing
Christmas, actually, she decided. They’d arrive on Christmas Eve and have mulled wine, one of Greg’s specialities. Carrie would help Shauna in the kitchen on Christmas Day. Della would
offer her assistance, of course, but she knew it would only be for form’s sake. They wouldn’t let a guest help out. Especially a pregnant one, she thought happily. They’d stay for
Stephen’s Day as well, and meander home late the following afternoon. A nice little mini-break, and why not? Shauna was dead lucky, heading off to a warm, sunny country with maids to wait
upon her hand and foot. She really fell on her feet marrying Greg. He’d provided her with a big house and a fabulous lifestyle. She had gorgeous clothes, and Chloe wore nothing but the
best.

Della and Eddie lived in a dormer bungalow near Virginia in Cavan, where he worked as a systems analyst for a large IT company. It was a nice bungalow, tastefully decorated, but not nearly as
big as the Cassidys’ house. Della didn’t have an en suite in the guest room, nor a utility room, nor an island in her kitchen, which was on the small side.

She worked part time in a local health store, the Organics Experience. Her salary paid for their second car and a foreign holiday each year, but it couldn’t quite bring her up to the level
of her sister-in-law’s lifestyle. It was hard not to be jealous sometimes. Shauna always wore expensive clothes and her accessories were perfectly coordinated. Even in a tracksuit, the other
woman looked effortlessly elegant, and when she’d been pregnant with Chloe, she’d had only the tiniest bump.

Della caught sight of her reflection in a mirror behind the bar, and scowled. She was birdlike and wiry when she wasn’t pregnant, but now she was puffed and bloated. She had a problem
retaining fluid, just as she’d had in her previous pregnancy. It was annoying because she was very careful about her nutrition. Her fine, mousy hair fell down to her shoulders and she had a
high forehead, a dumpling of a nose, and thin lips. Her brown eyes looked bulgy, rather than heavy-lidded and sexy like her brother’s. Greg had inherited the good looks gene in the family,
she reflected discontentedly. She looked down at her swelling bulge and felt like an elephant. It was very disheartening. She turned away from the mirror and took another sip of her spritzer. It
wouldn’t take long to get her figure back after the birth, she assured herself.

Greg and Shauna were going out to the Gulf for a few years and she was determined to make the most of it. Holidays in the sun, lazing around turquoise pools, swimming in the Arabian Sea. Maids
to wait on her and mind the children. Trips to the desert, shopping in the designer malls. Jewellery shopping in the souk. Barbecues and picnics. Bliss. She might be jealous of Shauna, but she had
her uses, for sure.

‘She’s invited herself for Christmas. Oh,
Shauna!
’ Carrie yelped down the line. ‘Look, we won’t come. I’ll do Christmas here for
Dad and Bobby.’

‘You will not, and leave me all alone with that cow, and lardy Eddie?’ Shauna exclaimed. ‘Don’t be so mean.’

Carrie laughed. ‘No, honestly, Shauna, I don’t mind.’

‘Well,
I
do. I asked you all for Christmas and you’re coming and that’s that. You can eat and run if you want to. Far be it from me to inflict the Keegans on
you.’

‘Did you tell her that we were coming? Why didn’t you just say no to her?’ her sister asked, clearly taken aback at the news.

‘Listen, it all happened so fast, I’m still gobsmacked
myself
,’ Shauna retorted. ‘Della was just so devious about it, though. She didn’t ask me directly,
she sort of suggested it in front of Greg and put me in a bloody awkward position. If I’d have said no it would have looked so churlish, especially as I was having my family.’ Her voice
trailed off.

‘That was low, the sneaky witch. I can just see her doing it, too. It’s so much her style. I told you she’d wangle a stay-over before Christmas too, didn’t I?’
Carrie couldn’t hide her I-told-you-so tone.

‘Well it’s a pity you didn’t foresee the Christmas catastrophe, Madam Psychic,’ Shauna said glumly.

‘Look, we’ll make the best of it. We’ll get pissed, and it will wash over us like water off a duck’s back,’ Carrie comforted her.

‘You can’t get pissed, you’re pregnant,’ Shauna pointed out.

‘Oh!’ There was silence at the other end of the phone. Shauna grinned.

‘Got you there!’

‘Forgot about that,’ Carrie said ruefully. ‘Just means you’ll have to drink for the two of us.’

Shauna giggled. ‘I might just do that.’

‘No might about it,’ her sister retorted.

‘It’s going to be bad enough trying to keep Dad from having a go at Bobby, without having to deal with that lot. If he and Bobby manage to get through Christmas under the same roof
without having a bust-up, it will be a miracle.’ Shauna sighed.

‘I know,’ Carrie agreed gloomily. ‘Put Della sitting beside Dad for dinner.’

‘Oh, Carrie, you’re wicked.’ Shauna guffawed.

‘See, it’s not going to be so bad after all,’ Carrie teased.

‘I did something awful,’ Shauna confessed.

‘What did you do?’ Carrie was still laughing.

‘Della told me that Kathryn likes brown bread and tuna or fruit salad and yoghurt for tea, so I gave her sausages. Honest to God, even though she can be such a brat, the poor little mite
thought all her Christmases had come together. I hope to God she doesn’t get sick, or at least, if she does, that she waits until they get home. She’s sleeping with them
tonight.’

‘Were they organic sausages?’ Carrie asked dryly.

‘My ass,’ drawled Shauna.

‘Well at least you’ll have organic potatoes and veg for Christmas, so that should suit Madam. I’ll tell Dan to get you the cream of the crop.’

‘Thanks. I love Dan’s vegetables.’ Shauna yawned. ‘I’m knackered. I opened a bottle of wine when the kids went to bed and I’ve had three glasses. I
don’t care if it’s rude. I think I’ll go to bed.’

‘You go, girl,’ Carrie encouraged her. ‘I’ll talk to you tomorrow. What time are they going at?’

‘The sooner the better, but knowing them it will be evening time.’

‘I’d suggest you come up to us for lunch, but knowing Della and Eddie, they’d say they were coming too,’ Carrie said.

‘We won’t risk it. Thanks for the offer, though. ’Night, Carrie. I’m going to leg it up to bed before they get home. Greg can entertain his family on his own
tonight.’

‘Sleep well,’ Carrie told her and hung up.

‘I will.’ Shauna yawned again as she switched off the TV and turned off two of the lamps. She left one on so that the others would have some light and slipped upstairs to check on
the toddlers. Kathryn lay sprawled across the double bed in the guest room, thumb in her mouth. Shauna’s heart softened as she looked at the sleeping child. She couldn’t help her
parents; in fact she was very unfortunate in the pair she had, she thought caustically as she gently pulled the duvet over her niece. Fortunately, she’d been worn out after her long day and
had gone asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, so there had been no more whining for ‘Mommy’.

Shauna went into her bedroom and rooted out one of Greg’s T-shirts for Della. She was so big now one of Shauna’s nightdresses wouldn’t fit her. She left it on the dressing
table along with some bath towels. More washing that she didn’t need, she thought crossly. She’d hardly get away with leaving the same sheets on the bed for Christmas.

Chloe was fast asleep, her hand under her cheek, looking adorable, and it took all her willpower not to sweep her up in her arms and kiss and cuddle her. A wave of longing swept through her.
She’d
love
another baby. Chloe and Kathryn had bonded over their sausages and played happily for an hour before she’d put them to bed. Chloe loved playing with other children.
She needed company, she needed a sibling. Shauna sighed. Perhaps this time next year she’d be pregnant, she thought optimistically as she closed the door and slipped into the sanctuary of her
own room. It was a horrible night out, the weather had broken and she was glad to lie in bed snug and cosy, hoping that she’d be asleep before Greg and the Freeloaders got home.

Noel made himself a cup of cocoa, took a goldgrain biscuit from the packet and sat down at his kitchen table. He allowed himself one biscuit every night. It was his little
treat. His knee ached and he rubbed it as he sipped his hot drink. He was starting to show his age, he thought, a little depressed. Sixty-five sounded so much older than sixty. He didn’t like
being old. He hated becoming dependent on people. He was finding his parish work taxing but didn’t want to say it to poor Father Doyle, who, although a few years younger than himself, was
crippled with arthritis.

It was bad enough that Theresa Clarke had taken over as chair of the parish committee. Noel hadn’t liked giving up the prestigious position, but he couldn’t be seen to be ungracious.
He’d had a couple of stints as chairman over the years. He wasn’t even treasurer, either, which carried some power and responsibility. No, he was reduced to being the secretary, taking
orders from Madam Theresa, and she was relishing her power. It was all very upsetting. He wasn’t looking forward to Christmas either. Since Anna had died, life hadn’t been the same. He
was terribly lonely without his wife. The house was empty, a shell since she’d gone. Bobby had taken off to London to live a degenerate life, and Noel could only hand him up to the good Lord
and hope that he would come to his senses and change his ways. His son was coming home for a few days at Christmas and he didn’t know whether he was glad or sorry. He didn’t like to
think of Theresa and her ilk whispering and gossiping about his family’s business. If only Bobby would make the effort to tone it down. He was so flamboyant in his clothes and manner, almost
inviting people to look at him and see how different he was.

And then there was Shauna, always ready to argue the toss. They were going to her house for Christmas this year. He would have preferred to go to Carrie’s. He felt more comfortable there
and Davey was a grand little fellow. A real little man, just like his father. He smiled, thinking of his grandson. He wanted to teach him the Stations of the Cross this year. Carrie was a little
lax in that regard, but he’d say nothing. He’d just bring him round the church himself and explain each station.

Twiskers, his little black and white cat, rubbed her head lovingly against his leg. Noel bent down and lifted her onto his lap. She’d originally been called Whiskers as a kitten but Olivia
hadn’t been able to pronounce it and her best effort had been ‘Twiskers’. It had stuck.

He supposed he should make out a list for his Christmas shopping. He wanted to get some presents for a few of his committee members. Not Theresa, or Vera Donoghue; he didn’t like them. But
Mrs O’Neill, his next-door neighbour, and Harriet Kelly were nice women and kind with it. He’d need gifts for Shauna and Bobby as well as Carrie, and presents for the grandchildren.
He’d do out a list for Carrie and she could look after it. He’d start it now, and write some Christmas cards. That would keep him occupied for an hour or so and then he’d say his
rosary and go to bed.