Every Time We Say Goodbye (18 page)

Marianne shook her head. ‘Nothing.’

Johnny shook his head in frustration. ‘They should be keeping you informed.’

‘Maybe there’s nothing to tell. Anyway, why should they, Johnny? Dominic ripped them off; his widow is hardly their concern.’

‘You’re too reasonable and understanding for your own good,’ he smiled. ‘Tell me, did you find the deeds to the house?’

‘No. The bank doesn’t have them and I have looked everywhere I can think of.’

‘Did you contact the lawyer who handled the purchase? He’ll have a copy.’

‘He’s retired and nobody seems to be able to find any of our details; every time I phone they give me the run around.’

‘That’s bloody ridiculous! What’s the name? I’ll get on to them—’

‘It’s okay, I can handle it.’

‘But you’ve enough to worry about with the children and the move and looking for work.’

‘Oh, please, don’t remind me.’ She tried to smile.

‘If you want to give yourself a head start, you should think about upskilling. Talk to your lodger about it.’

Marianne stared at him. ‘Rob? I didn’t realize he was in the training business; I thought he installed computer systems for small businesses.’

‘Rob’s a clever guy; he’s got a finger in a few pies. He made a killing when he sold a property website he’d developed and now he’s branched into training; I’m sure he’d give you a good deal.’

‘That’s good to know,’ Marianne laughed. The idea of Rob teaching her was a tantalizing one. ‘But before I can think about training I need to pack away all our belongings. There’s so much stuff that we won’t be taking with us; I’ll just have to put it all up in the attic.’

‘If there are any bits and pieces that you want to sell I know a great dealer who would give you a fair price.’

She looked at him thoughtfully. She’d sold her good clothes but it hadn’t occurred to her to try selling anything else. ‘What sort of bits and pieces?’

‘You name it,’ he shrugged. ‘Furniture, art, jewellery. Frank Power will find a home for it and you couldn’t meet a fairer man.’

Marianne ran through an inventory in her head. She had little expensive jewellery but there were a few items of furniture that had cost a fortune, notably Dominic’s desk and the dining-room suite that sat twelve.

‘Worth every penny,’ Dominic had said at the time when she’d gasped at the price. ‘You wouldn’t believe the amount of business done around a dinner table and we’ll be entertaining a lot more now than we used to.’

They had for a couple of years and then it had tapered off; why had she never realized that before? The only other items worth real money were the crystal, the dinner service and the cutlery and . . . ‘Oh my God!’

‘What?’ Johnny frowned.

‘The paintings!’ Marianne exclaimed. ‘You must have heard Dominic talk about them, Johnny. He bought art for years as an investment.’

‘Now you come to mention it, I do remember him showing me a modern piece that he paid a couple of hundred for; it looked more like a child had been let loose with a paint set, just blobs of colour.’

Marianne laughed. ‘I know the one you mean, I didn’t think much of it either. There’re a lot more like it in the attic.’

‘They could be worth a few bob. You should at least have them valued, what harm can it do?’

‘None at all.’

He clinked his glass against hers and smiled. ‘Great. I’ll talk to Frank.’

Jo had shrunk into a corner of the marquee with her plate of tasty canapés and glass of wine, feeling self-conscious and surplus to requirements. Di and Rachel were off with the other kids, and Greg was in the centre of the marquee in conversation with a couple of other men. Even at this distance she guessed from his expression that they were discussing the economy; did he ever talk about anything else? She was more than happy that he had left her to her own devices; he’d irritated her the minute they’d got here.

‘Some people aren’t affected by the recession, are they?’ he’d muttered as they stood taking in the splendour of the marquee, the extravagant buffet and the small band playing muted blues music in the corner.

Jo hated the way he said it; he sounded so bitter. Yes, it was a bit ostentatious and Johnny and Helen obviously weren’t short of money, but they’d earned every penny; weren’t they entitled to spend it however they wanted? And despite the fact that they had gone up in the world, they hadn’t changed or forgotten their old friends. Jo might not be the best when it came to socializing but she knew most of the people here even if it was only to nod to. Indeed, Helen and Johnny were the perfect example of a couple who hadn’t let success go to their heads and Colm was a grand lad, not in the least spoiled.

‘Jo, what are you doing here all alone?’

She looked up to see Helen standing over her and smiled. ‘Enjoying the lovely food and people watching; it’s a wonderful party, Helen.’

‘Thanks, love. Come and meet my new neighbour, Eleanor. I just know that you two will hit it off; she’s originally from Cabra too.’

Jo could imagine nothing she’d hate more than to talk to someone who may have lived near her family home. ‘I’d prefer not to, Helen. I have a bit of a headache. You don’t mind, do you?’

‘No, of course not. Let me get you some painkillers or would you like to lie down for an hour?’

‘No, really, don’t worry, I’ll be fine.’

Helen eyed her worriedly. ‘You are a little pale, though I must say, I think you look wonderful tonight; that colour really suits you.’

‘Thanks.’ Jo smiled. She was quite pleased with how she looked. The make-up and softer hairstyle made the most of her plain features and even Greg had said that the navy dress was very flattering.

‘Why don’t you go and sit in the garden?’ Helen suggested. ‘It’s stuffy in here and the fresh air will help your head.’

‘I will when I’ve finished eating,’ Jo promised.

‘Can I get you anything else?’

‘I’m fine, go and look after your guests!’

‘
You’re
my guest,’ Helen protested.

‘No, I’m your friend, you don’t have to worry or impress me.’

‘Bless you!’ Helen blew her a kiss and hurried off to check on a group of women sitting nearby.

Moments later Marianne joined her, carrying a plate of food and a glass of water. ‘Oh, good, a seat; my feet are killing me.’ She sank into the chair beside Jo and eased off her shoes. ‘You look great, Jo, that dress is fabulous and your hair really suits you that way.’

‘Thanks; you look stunning too,’ Jo said and meant it. The vivid colour accentuated Marianne’s dark hair and golden skin and was a pleasant change from the drab clothes she’d been wearing these last few weeks.

‘I feel like the merry widow but I’d nothing else to wear, so what could I do?’

‘You have nothing to wear?’ Jo rolled her eyes. ‘Oh, please, you have tons of fabulous outfits.’

Marianne grimaced. ‘Not any more, Jo. I had to sell most of them.’

‘What? Why?’

‘Oh, sorry, that sounds melodramatic; I just sold the dressy stuff that I hardly ever wore.’

‘Is money really that tight?’ Jo asked. She’d thought Marianne’s financial problems were only temporary and would be sorted after the inquest.

‘No, I just don’t know how much money we will have to live on or for how long so I’m not taking any chances. I’m renting out the house, we’re moving into Dot’s and I’m taking the kids out of school; they’ll go to the local primary in Kilbarrack.’

‘Oh, Marianne, I’m so sorry.’ Jo looked at her, horrified. Other than something happening to the children or Greg, she could think of nothing worse than having to give up her home.

‘It’s fine, we’ll cope,’ her friend said with a shrug of resignation. ‘My biggest worry was how the kids would react to changing schools but they seem delighted. All that money wasted on private education. Ironic, isn’t it?’

‘You were just trying to give them a better start than we had. If you need any help, Marianne, just say so.’ She wasn’t much use at anything in particular but she could and would back up her friend. ‘School runs or babysitting, anything. All you have to do is ask.’

‘You are sweet, Jo, but you live in Shankill!’

‘Yes, but we’re only five minutes from the train station and isn’t Dot’s house only around the corner from Kilbarrack Station?’

‘Oh my God, I hadn’t thought of that. How brilliant, Jo. We’ll be able to meet up much more often.’

‘No, we won’t.’

Marianne frowned. ‘Why not?’

‘Because you’ll be off in a fancy office doing a high-powered job.’

‘Ha, I wish!’

‘But it does mean that I can come over and look after the kids or they can come to me; travelling on the DART is so much easier than dealing with traffic jams.’

‘That really cheers me up, Jo,’ Marianne said. ‘We don’t see nearly enough of each other.’

Jo smiled, warmed by the genuine pleasure on Marianne’s face. ‘Well, that’s all going to change.’

Chapter Sixteen

Dot sat in a deck chair, enjoying the feel of the sun on her face as she watched the children play. Kate sat at her feet, pulling grass; in fact the child had been stuck to her like glue since they got here. That chat with the doctor hadn’t seemed to make much difference, not that it surprised Dot.

‘Why don’t you go and play with the other kiddies, luvvie?’

Kate just shrugged.

‘You know, I miss your daddy a lot but when I get down I try to remember the happy times and there were so many.’ At least that was true, Dot comforted herself, a pity most of them were so long ago.

‘Tell me one, Granny.’

‘Well, let me think.’ Dot put a hand on her granddaughter’s silky head. ‘Did I tell you about the first time your daddy met your mummy?’

Kate looked up, a spark of interest in her eyes. ‘It was at a dance, wasn’t it?’

‘Not just any dance, it was called The Grove and the coolest place to go on the north side of Dublin. It started out in Belgrove School, oh, years ago, but there was a fire and they moved to St Paul’s School in Raheny, that’s a boys’ school next to St Anne’s Park; you’ve been there a few times, haven’t you?’

‘Yes, for walks and to play tennis.’

‘I must take you to the rose garden some time,’ Dot mused. ‘It’s very pretty.’

‘What about The Grove, Granny?’

‘Aren’t you impatient, missus?’ Dot teased. ‘Well, it was nothing special really, I’ve no idea why they were all so mad about the place; you’d want to ask your mother that. It was held in an ordinary hall every weekend, from nine at night until one in the morning. Your granda wasn’t at all impressed at your daddy staying out till that hour and only let him go a couple of times a month. You had to be sixteen to get in although I know lots of the younger kids managed to forge membership cards to get in; I know for a fact your daddy did.’ She laughed. ‘He’d say he was off out to play chess with some of the clever young fellas in his class and of course Granda swallowed that, but I knew very well what he was up to.’

‘How could Granda think he was staying out so late to play chess?’ Kate asked, frowning.

‘Ah, your daddy wasn’t stupid, he came home early on those nights; he loved the place. It ran for years and years and it always had the same DJ, now what was his name?’ She paused, frowning, racking her brains.

‘It doesn’t matter, Granny. Tell me about Daddy meeting Mum.’

‘That happened much later. Your dad was nineteen; he’d left school and had started university. He probably wouldn’t have been going there any more at all, only he was always broke and it was cheaper than the clubs and discos in town. It was only years later that he told me the full story of the night he met your mother. It was her first time there and the bouncer was giving her and her friend a rough time.’

Kate frowned. ‘What’s a bouncer?’

‘The person who decides who to let in. From what your daddy said, there was one man who was more interested in making the poor kids suffer than anything else. He’d question them, examine their membership cards while everyone queued up behind. Well, your mum was close to tears, terrified of the bully, she was, and didn’t your daddy step in to sort it out. He’d been going so long, the bouncer knew him well and as soon as your daddy said that she was a friend, he let her in straight away.’

‘But she wasn’t a friend?’

Dot shook her head and smiled. ‘No, but she was after that. Your daddy was smitten straight away although your mum refused to go on a date with him for a long time.’

Kate looked cross. ‘Why, didn’t she like him?’

‘She says she did but she was very young, had only just left the children’s home and the rules at the hostel were quite strict. She wasn’t supposed to go out in the evening without another girl, and when she did go out she had to be home before twelve. So, for a couple of months, Dominic would only see her there once a week and then she was gone by quarter to twelve. Finally he persuaded her to go out with him. They met up for a burger in town and walked around St Stephen’s Green. Well, the state of him before he went to meet her.’ Dot smiled at the memory. ‘He was as nervous and excited as a puppy! After that they met once or twice a week at The Grove or in Bewleys on Grafton Street and when I saw that it was serious, I told him to ask her to tea. Your granda and I loved her immediately.’

‘Here you go, Dot.’ A smiling Helen walked towards them with a plate.

‘Mother of God, girl, how can I possibly eat all that?’ Dot stared at the slice of cheesecake, chocolate cake and generous spoonful of ice cream.

‘I’m sure someone could help you.’

Kate bent her head and said nothing. Helen raised her eyebrows at Dot who gave a helpless shrug.

‘Di and Rachel are making some slush puppies, Kate, why don’t you go and help them.’

Kate hesitated for a moment and then stood up. ‘Okay. I won’t be long, Granny.’

‘You go ahead, darling, I’m grand.’

When the little girl had run off towards the house, Helen smoothed the skirt of her dress and sat down. ‘You’re not socializing much today, Dot. Is everything okay?’

‘Fine, love, I’m just trying to give Marianne a break by looking after the kiddies. Kate wants to be with her all the time yet doesn’t say much; it’s driving the poor girl mad.’