Foreign Affairs (19 page)

‘I hope you weren’t intending leaving Jenny in Kathy’s for the afternoon. Her mother has enough children of her own without having to look after one of mine.’

‘I wasn’t going to,’ Brenda fibbed sulkily. So far, she had used the Holy Name, cursed and fibbed, and it was only a few hours since her Confession.

‘Good,’ said her mother. ‘Enjoy yourself.’

Kit watched her daughter’s retreating back with a frown. Honestly, you’d think she’d been asked to do something dreadful instead of bringing her sister to
town. Jenny hero-worshipped her older sister but Brenda treated her like the greatest nuisance and wouldn’t give her the time of day, the poor little mutton.

Kit sighed. It wasn’t as if she wanted to get rid of Jenny this afternoon. Normally she wouldn’t mind any of them coming to Ellen’s with her. But today was different. Today she
wanted to get things settled about Mr Myles. After all, Ellen was his daughter. All right, there was bad blood between them, but that would have to be forgotten and put aside. The man was disabled
after his accident at work. He was having a lot of difficulty walking. He just couldn’t fend for himself.

Ellen only had two children to look after. Kit had four. Ellen also had more room than she had. They had bought a bigger house on Canice’s Road when John got that great job in an
advertising agency. In all honesty, Kit reasoned with herself, as she slipped a linen jacket on and applied a bit of lipstick, Ellen and John were in a much better position to take care of Mr Myles
than she and Jim were.

‘I’m sorry, Kit,’ her sister-in-law declared emphatically when Kit put it to her. ‘In this case blood is not thicker than water. I don’t care if the bastard rots in
a poorhouse. I’m having nothing to do with him and that’s final. And if you’ve any sense, you’ll put your foot down and have nothing to do with him either. He’ll take
over your household. He’ll make the kids’ life a misery. Well he’s not going to do that to mine and I mean it, Kit, even if we have to fall out over it.’ Ellen was shaking
with emotion.

She supposed she couldn’t blame her sister-in-law, Kit reflected as she walked slowly up the Ballymun Road. She was taking the long way home. She needed time to think. And she needed to
gear up for the arguments that faced her. Ellen was right. She’d have to put her foot down if she wasn’t going to get lumbered with her father-in-law. And why should she be stuck with
him? she thought fiercely. He wasn’t her responsibility. But he
is
Jim’s, she thought glumly. And Ellen’s too. Fair was fair, after all. Why should she have to shoulder
the burden? For two pins, she’d go into the Slipper and get pissed, she thought furiously as she passed the pub. And to hell with the whole bloody lot of them. Kit gave a wry laugh. She
wouldn’t have the nerve to go into a pub on her own in the middle of the afternoon. The trouble with her, she decided, was that she let people walk all over her. Well no more. With a
determined tread, Kit turned up St Pappin’s Road towards home, rehearsing in her mind what she was going to say to her husband.

‘Huh!’ snorted Brenda as she raced back to Kathy’s after her encounter with her mother. ‘Enjoy yourself. What a laugh! Fat chance.’ Hastily she
reapplied her lipstick and pointed a warning finger at Jennifer. ‘Don’t you dare say one word.’

‘I won’t,’ her young sister said solemnly. ‘Can I have some lipstick?’

‘No, you can’t. Come on.’ Brenda’s heart felt like lead as they crossed The Green and headed for the terminus. Eddie and Kenny were already there and they greeted the
girls enthusiastically.

‘I have to bring her,’ Brenda muttered shamefacedly, glowering at Jennifer.

Eddie shrugged his shoulders. ‘No big deal. Hi.’ He smiled at Jennifer.

Jennifer smiled back.

‘Hello,’ she said shyly.

Brenda was gobsmacked. He didn’t mind. After all her worry and stress, Eddie didn’t seem to mind that Jennifer was coming along as well. A distressing thought struck her. Maybe he
didn’t consider this a real date. Maybe it meant nothing to him and that was why he didn’t mind about Jenny being with her. Her heart sank to her toes. She felt like crying.

‘Cheer up,’ Eddie instructed. ‘You’ve a face on you that would curdle milk. We’re going to have a bit of a laugh.’ Brenda did her best to cheer up but her
heart was heavy. Nevertheless, when they got off the bus at the end of O’Connell Street, her spirits lifted. Town was buzzing. Buskers on O’Connell Bridge played a jaunty tune. A street
artist was drawing a picture of the Ha’penny Bridge and they stopped to look, impressed by his talent. They strolled on towards Grafton Street laughing and chatting. Jennifer walked quietly
behind, eyes wide as she watched all that was going on around her. Soon, Brenda almost forgot that she was there. They walked the winding length of Dublin’s poshest street. Peered in through
shop windows, commenting on this and that. The gorgeous fashions greatly impressed the girls.

As they got nearer to the top, Brenda really started to enjoy herself. She was not used to this end of town. It seemed much more exciting than Henry Street and O’Connell Street. She could
see Stephen’s Green. The famous Gaiety Theatre where Maureen Potter played in her famous pantos at Christmas was nearby. They’d gone to the panto last Christmas and it had been
brilliant. Suddenly, Brenda felt very grown-up sauntering along past theatres and restaurants and expensive department stores on a Saturday afternoon with two fellas. Cora Delahunty, eat your heart
out, she thought happily. When they left the twisting claustrophobia of Grafton Street behind, Brenda drew a deep breath and gazed around her in pleasure. To her left she could see the stately
Shelbourne Hotel, and to her right, down a lane, was the famous Dandelion Market. Hundreds of people crowded around the stalls hunting for bargains, and with a happy smile at Kathy she followed
Eddie and Kenny through the traffic.

The five of them had a ball. They pored over the records. They examined the jewellery displays. They rummaged through clothes rails. They viewed the bric-à-brac with interest, she and
Kathy picking out goodies they would love to have in their bedrooms. They watched an old man dancing, and enjoyed the music of the buskers. They bought ice cream and chocolate. Brenda bought her
beads, Kathy bought nail varnish. Jennifer bought a second-hand Enid Blyton mystery book. Eddie bought a penknife and Kenny bought a second-hand army jacket and insisted on wearing it, although it
was very warm.

After a couple of hours of absolute enjoyment, they bought crisps, cream buns and Coke and headed for Stephen’s Green, where they had a lovely picnic in the late afternoon sun.
Regretfully, Kathy and Brenda told the lads they’d have to go home. Kenny and Eddie were going to go to a picture in the Green Cinema later, they told the girls.

Eddie drew Brenda aside on the pretext of feeding the ducks and as they hunkered down together throwing bits of the top of her mother’s almond ring to the eagerly awaiting ducks, he said
offhandedly, ‘There’s a Céilí in school next Thursday, d’ya fancy coming with me?’

Brenda felt her heart soar with happiness. So he
was
interested.

‘Yeah, I’d love to,’ she mumbled. Eddie grinned and leaned over and gave her a hasty peck on the cheek.

‘See you on the bus on Monday morning.’

Brenda couldn’t speak, she was so happy.

‘Don’t you dare say one word about anything,’ she warned her sister as they reached their front door an hour later.

‘I won’t,’ Jennifer promised, eyes shining at the excitement of it all. ‘Are you going with him?’

Brenda smiled happily and put her finger to her lips.

‘Yes I am, but not a word, mind.’

She knocked on the door, because she’d forgotten her key, and it was opened a few minutes later by a subdued Sean. ‘Somethin’ awful’s happened,’ he blurted out.
‘Mammy an’ Daddy’s after having an awful row an’ Mammy’s crying up in her bedroom an’ Daddy’s gone off in a temper.’

‘What did they have the row about?’ Brenda was horrified. Her parents rarely exchanged cross words. If her mother was crying and her father had gone off in a temper, it must have
been something bad.

‘Come on, Sean. Tell me,’ she said worriedly.

‘Well Mammy went to visit Auntie Ellen about Grandpa Myles, an’ Auntie Ellen said she was havin’ nuttin’ to do with him,’ her brother explained breathlessly.
‘An’ Daddy said Grandpa Myles will just have to stay here when he comes out of hospital, until he gets better. That’s if he ever gets better,’ he added glumly.

Brenda felt her cloud of happiness evaporate into thin air.

Chapter Fifteen

‘Jennifer, I want you,’ she heard her grandfather call. God Almighty, I’ll be dead late, she thought in exasperation. Why is he always annoying me? She was up
to ninety. It was her first day in secondary school. She’d had a row with her mother, who wanted her to wear Brenda’s blazer, which even she had only worn once or twice. And Jennifer
couldn’t blame her. Blazers were ultra-hickey. Beth was waiting for her at the gate and now here was her grandfather bellowing at her from what used to be their dining-room, but which was now
his bedroom. Swallowing her frustration she popped her head around the door. The fug of tobacco smoke nearly made her cough. Her grandfather smoked a pipe and the house reeked of the smell of it.
It drove Kit mad.

‘Good morning, Grandpa,’ she said politely, feigning cheeriness.

‘Come in here until I have a look at you,’ he ordered, his grey bushy eyebrows drawing together as he scrutinized her. She looked at the elderly bald man sitting in his bed. Although
he was disabled and was only a small wiry man, he had a very commanding air about him. Ever since he’d moved into their home three years ago he’d made his presence felt. Interfering in
everything. Bossing them all about, even their father. He commented on everything even though Kit told him to mind his own business. Since Grandpa Myles had come to live with them, there
wasn’t a bit of peace in the house. Her mother was always narky. Her father was much stricter with them than he used to be and the pair of them were always arguing. Jennifer sometimes had the
horrible thought that it was a pity the accident that disabled him hadn’t killed him and saved them all from a life of hassle. Her cousins Susie and Pamela couldn’t call any more
because of the feud with Auntie Ellen. And Kit wasn’t too keen on Jennifer going to stay the night with Pamela any more because she was a bit annoyed with Auntie Ellen for lumbering them with
Grandpa. There was a coolness that had never been there before and it was all because of the grumpy old man in the bed.

‘You look very smart, Jennifer, although it’s a pity you don’t do something about that fringe of yours. It’s bad for your eyesight hanging down over your eyes like that.
Your mother should know that.’

‘I have to go, Grandpa, I’ll be late,’ Jennifer said politely, although she was furious at the way he criticized her mother.

‘Oh always in a hurry. Never a minute to spend with your poor ailing grandfather,’ he moaned. ‘All of you, you’re all the same. If only God had spared your poor
grandmother to look after me.’

Oh no! Not the poor grandmother bit, Jennifer thought in desperation. This speech she had heard a thousand times.

‘Grandpa, I really have to go now. I’ll miss the bus.’

‘Go on with you, and here.’ He held out sixpence to her. ‘Here’s a tanner for your first day at your new school. I’ll be waiting for you to tell me all about it
when you get home,’ he said brusquely. Jennifer felt like a heel. Here she was thinking all these dire thoughts about him and he’d gone and given her sixpence to spend because it was
her first day at her new school. Brenda was always jeering her and saying that she was his pet, and maybe she was. Brenda hardly ever spoke to him. And when she did she could be a bit rude.
Jennifer would like to be rude as well sometimes but she just couldn’t bring herself to be.

She knew her grandfather was lonely. He loved to talk about the old days, but the boys were usually out playing football on The Green and Brenda ignored him completely so that just left her.
Sometimes she felt sorry for him so she would sit and listen to his tales and actually enjoy them now and again.

She looked at the sixpence in her hand and felt her heart soften. Impulsively she leaned over and kissed his stubby lined cheek. ‘Thanks, Grandpa.’ Although he didn’t let on,
Jennifer knew he was pleased.

‘G’wan out of that now, all the same you’ve a bit more feeling for me than the rest of that lot put together. I know I’m a great thorn in their sides. And that Brenda
lassie is an ignorant young madam.’ He waved a knobbly forefinger in the direction of the hall to indicate Brenda and the rest of the family.

‘I’ll see you later, Grandpa,’ Jennifer said wearily, resentment surging again at the criticism of her family.

‘What did he want?’ her mother enquired, her voice a trifle cool after the contretemps over the blazer.

‘He gave me sixpence because I was starting in secondary,’ Jennifer explained. She was in a frenzy to be off but she wanted to try and make up for their previous argument.

‘Huh!’ Kit snorted. ‘Aren’t you the lucky one? All I get from him day in, day out, is impudence. I wish I was able to go to secondary school and get out of here for a
while. I wouldn’t mind having to wear a blazer if I could get some peace from that fella.’ Jennifer sighed deeply, it was obvious her mother was still in a bad humour.

Kit, noting the sigh, looked at her and threw her eyes up to heaven. ‘Don’t mind me,’ she said, in a softer tone. ‘I’m getting my period and I’m like a demon.
I shouldn’t be taking it out on you. I’m sorry, Jenny. Off you go and have a lovely first day in secondary school. You look smashing in the uniform. I hope you and Beth will be in the
same class. I’ll be dying to hear all about it when you get home.’ She held out her arms and Jennifer moved close for her embrace. Kit hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head.
‘Bye lovey.’

‘Bye Mam, I’ll see you later and tell you all about it,’ Jennifer promised. She felt sorry for her mother. It was bad enough having to put up with her grandfather but she was
getting her period as well. That was the pits. Jennifer had got her first period several months ago, and their subsequent appearances had not changed her attitude to them. She was not the slightest
bit impressed by them and thought the whole palaver a dreadful messy nuisance. ‘If you like I’ll go for a walk with you this evening,’ she offered generously, knowing that her
mother enjoyed a walk but not on her own because she was afraid of dogs.