Friends Like Us (24 page)

‘I know, dear. Sorry to be such a nuisance.'

‘Not at all… we just want to make sure you are all right. You lie there and we'll take care of you.'

Eilis examined her, checking her eyes, holding her hand. ‘You're freezing,' she said. ‘We need to get you an extra blanket.'

‘Do you know…?' The old woman spoke so quietly that Eilis leaned in to hear her. ‘Do you know…? I was just thinking of politics…'

‘You were? Why on earth?' Eilis almost laughed.

‘You see…' Mrs O'Malley was almost whispering. ‘My father said never to trust the other side. We were Labour, you see, through and through.' She smiled and nodded at Eilis, suddenly animated. ‘And I didn't. I didn't. Even when the man I had agreed to marry was revealed to be from the other side.' She smiled at the memory. ‘He had lied to me. Would you believe it? Lied for months, knowing I wouldn't have anything to do with the likes of him. I thought he was one of us. Until the day he confessed all.'

‘And what did you say?'

‘I was shocked. Of all things! I had no idea what I was going to tell Daddy. I couldn't go through with it. We were in Howth for the day, taking a walk on the hill. And he looked at me, his face as white as his Sunday shirt, the colour all at his feet. I said, no I couldn't and no I wouldn't. I told him never to call on me again. And I walked away.'

‘And you left him there?'

‘Yes. We had been courting for sixteen months and we'd had a fine old time of it. He was handsome, and tall, a beautiful dancer. So light on his feet he was. We loved dancing together. Hours and hours we would dance. But he was one of
them
. I walked all the way to the train station to take me back to town, and I was crying. Tears rolling down my face. And I found a seat. And just… just as the train to Connolly was pulling away, a man sat down beside me and put a bunch of heather on my lap. Picked from the hill.'

‘It was him?' A nurse stood behind Eilis trying to get her attention. She had the sense of this whole hospital, the accidents, the emergencies, the pressure all taking place outside this curtain. She resisted the pull… just for a moment, she would listen to someone, take the time. ‘He followed you?'

‘We were married the following week,' said Mrs O'Malley. ‘I always said we were a mixed couple. We agreed on everything except politics. It was a happy forty-two years. My Sean. He passed ten years ago.'

‘You were lucky.'

‘I was. Sean was a good man. Even though it took me six years to tell Daddy he wasn't Labour and it took him another six years to come round. He did though and the two were great pals.'

‘And you had two children,' Eilis prompted.

‘We didn't think we would,' Mrs O'Malley admitted. ‘We thought that maybe God had other plans for us. Anyway we had each other. And then, our darling Kate was born. And her brother a year later. Sean was a wonderful father. Perhaps you remember my son, Charles. He was with me last time. Kate, you see, was in Cork. But Charles was there that night.'

‘Yes, yes, I do remember him. I bumped into him in his shop. I was buying a tree. Is he…' she tried to be as casual as possible. ‘Is he coming in to see you?'

‘I think Kate will be calling in for me,' said Mrs O'Malley. ‘I'm ready to die, doctor. Join my Sean. I've been long enough without him. I'm ready.'

‘Please don't say such things,' objected Eilis. ‘You are going nowhere. Your family would obviously be lost without you. You are going to be fine.' She smiled, trying to show that she meant what she said and that they weren't just white lies. ‘I'll be back later to check on you, Mrs O'Malley.' She turned to Becca who was just passing. ‘Becca, is there any chance you could get Mrs O'Malley a cup of tea?' It was the least they could do.

‘Consider it sorted,' said Becca.

And then Eilis saw him. Walking down the ward with a bunch of flowers was Charlie.

‘There's my son,' said Mrs O'Malley, sounding surprised.

He saw her and came over. ‘Mam? Are you okay? What happened? You fell again. Was it the path outside the house? I knew I should have swept up the leaves.'

‘Hush now,' she said. ‘I'm alright. Just ask this nice doctor here.'

Charlie looked at Eilis then, who was standing there, wondering if she should go or stay. What would normal protocol be? Stay and have a quick chat or run away and risk being thought of as weird and rude.

‘Hello,' he said, smiling at her. ‘We're making a habit of this, aren't we?'

‘You and me?' she said.

‘Well, that as well but my mam and me. Hospitals. I swear none of us have ever been in and out of hospitals before this year and now we're regulars. Aren't we Mam?'

‘I thought Kate was coming,' said Mrs O'Malley.

‘We just thought it was easier if I came,' he said, looking sideways at Eilis. ‘Kate's so busy and I just thought it made more sense for me to… you know…' he smiled, blushing slightly, ‘so I'm here.'

‘And I'm being looked after by the kindest doctor,' said Mrs O'Malley. ‘She says I'm am ready to go home, as soon as possible.'

‘Well, maybe tomorrow. We just want to keep an eye on you,' said Eilis. ‘I'll ask Mr Kapil and see what he thinks you should do. He's waiting for test results.' She could sense Charlie close to her and she was trying to focus on what she was saying.

‘So, how are you feeling, Mam?' he said.

‘Grand, thank you Charles.'

Eilis looked up at Charlie and their eyes locked in together, like two strong magnets finding each other. She felt this force surge through her body, her whole being charged with a sense of rightness, that something strange and profound and wonderful was happening and as though she had known him all her life, she felt she knew everything about him. He was looking at her as though he felt it too. She looked away, breaking the connection.

‘I don't know who to give these flowers to,' she heard him say to his mother. ‘You or the doctor? For looking after you.'

‘Yes, do give them to her, Charles,' said Mrs O'Malley. ‘This lovely young woman, here. So young
and
a doctor, isn't it wonderful? In my youth, I would never have dreamed of such a thing. None of us would.'

‘Yes, but Mam, you did other things,' said Charlie, taking her hand. ‘Like your garden, your beautiful garden.'

Mrs O'Malley smiled. ‘I wish I could still do what I used to do with it. But my hands…' she held up her un-held hand which was bent with arthritis. ‘It's not so easy these days.'

‘You should have seen it, Eilis,' he said. He looked straight at her and again the electric charge between them was so strong, she could have boiled a little. A remotely controlled kettle at that.

She forced herself to look back at him, desperately trying to seem normal and casual but she was feeling overwhelmed.

‘It was filled with colour, all year round. Nothing ever died when Mam was around, all her plants grew just for her. We had an apple orchard, and a rose garden and a greenhouse where we grew melons.'

‘Hush, Charles,' said Mrs O'Malley. ‘You're making it sound like it was a stately home.'

‘Every inch had something growing. It was such a beautiful place to grow up in. Kate and I loved it. We used to have an open day for the neighbours and people would pay fifty pence to come in and all the money went to the homeless. One year, we made 650 pounds. And everyone had a taste of melon. It was the talk of the neighbourhood for years.'

Mrs O'Malley was laughing. She shook her head at Eilis. ‘That's the way he remembers it but it wasn't always like that. There was the time when the birds got into the greenhouse and ate all the grapes on the vine or when the storm blew down the apple trees.'

Eilis looked up and she saw Charlie was watching her.

‘Will you take them?' he said, holding out the flowers. ‘For you. From me.'

‘No, you've already given me flowers.'

‘Please? I grew them myself.' He smiled at her. ‘In
my
greenhouse.' And he winked at his mother and Eilis found herself smiling back and blushing. This was ridiculous. She felt as though she was skipping through the pages of a Mills & Boon novel… and she was starting to enjoy it.

‘I can't,' she said. ‘I'm sure your mother would enjoy them and the other patients.'

He stood up and put the flowers into the vase on the bedside cabinet. ‘I'll give these to you so, Mam. It's seems that Dr Eilis is too important for flowers.'

He was teasing her, she knew, but she protested. ‘I didn't say that, I meant…'

‘Well, maybe Charles, you could give her some flowers again. What do you think of that? When she's not working.'

‘I could,' he said. ‘I very well could.'

‘Doctor,' said Mrs O'Malley, ‘Do you have a young man in your life?'

‘Um…'

‘Because my son is in need of a young lady. He never seems to find anyone special.'

‘Mam!' Now Charlie was blushing.

‘I'm only trying to help, Charles,' she said, blithely. ‘Aren't you always saying how you would love to meet someone really special? And you're really special and it would be nice if you met someone who deserves you.'

‘Mam, please…' He looked at Eilis. ‘I am so sorry.' He turned back to his Mam. ‘Let's talk about something else, okay? How are you? Feeling better?'

‘But aren't you always saying that all the girls you meet aren't into the things you are?'

‘Mam. Let's move on.'

‘Anyway, I'd better go,' said Eilis, not wanting to leave but realizing she had to. She found herself imagining her and Charlie together, she had been enjoying this fantasy of the two of them. ‘Get on with things. You'll get your results soon but I'll ask Mr Kapil about them as well. Bye, then.' She began walking away.

‘What? I'm only trying to help, put in a good word,' she heard Charlie's mother say.

Later, he was waiting for her at the nurses' station. She had just finished with another patient and was checking to see what was next on her list.

‘I'm so sorry about earlier,' he said. ‘I hope my mother didn't embarrass you.'

‘Not at all,' she said. ‘I think it's nice. She loves you.'

‘And thanks for looking after her. It means the world to me. She means the world to me and Kate.'

‘I know, I can tell. We'll do our very best.' She turned to go, not knowing what else to say.

‘The gardening class,' he said. ‘Will you come? Saturdays at five p.m.'

‘Okay,' she said, turning around. ‘I might see you there.'

He was standing there, smiling, looking so handsome and gorgeous and sexy. She didn't dare make eye contact but she longed to look at him and feel that connection again.

‘Flowers,' he called to her. ‘I owe you flowers.'

She knew she wasn't going to go to the gardening classes because she couldn't, could she? She had a boyfriend and you didn't go round fancying other men when you did. She had to work on her and Rob. It wasn't over yet and maybe they would get through this sticky patch, if that's what it was. She was committed to him. And she was going to see it through. But flowers would have been nice.

Plans for the reunion were still going on. Steph had a notebook and was crossing off jobs done and writing jobs to do.

‘Is this something we should be doing?' asked Melissa. ‘You know a reunion. Forcing people to see each other who, if they wanted to see each other, would have stayed in contact.'

They were eating burritos in a Mexican place that Melissa knew. They were the oldest people there by a good two decades.

‘You make a very good point,' said Eilis. ‘Are we manufacturing fun? And isn't fun something that cannot by its very nature be manufactured. Because then you take the fun out of the fun.'

‘You're getting philosophical, now, Eilis,' said Steph. ‘And I don't think Sister Attracta and the Reunion Committee do philosophy.' She pushed away her burrito.

‘Not eating that?' said Melissa.

‘Not hungry,' said Steph. ‘Just can't eat lately.'

‘We'll share it, so,' said Melissa. ‘Food is the only thing keeping me going these days.'

‘What do you mean?'

‘Well, Liam is being his usual annoying self and I just don't think there's a place for me at the paper. I don't fit in. I am trying but the paper keeps moving further and further away from me, and I can't keep up.'

‘Could you leave?' said Steph. ‘Go somewhere you're appreciated?'

‘I don't know. Jobs aren't leaves.'

‘What?'

‘They don't grow on trees.'

‘What about freelance?' suggested Eilis. ‘Could that work?'

‘What work from home all day?' said Melissa. ‘Make cups of tea and not have to ever see Liam's face every again? Sounds awful.'

‘So, what about it?'

‘I don't think I'm brave enough,' said Melissa. ‘I like the safety of an office, the security of my little desk and not having to make decisions about paying tax or looking for work. I don't think I am brave enough to be out there, like starting my own business or anything.'

She thought immediately of Cormac and wondered how he and the bakery was going. It was coming up to opening day soon, he must be busy and excited. She was hating life without him. It was as though her right arm had been cut off. She missed him more than she could ever have imagined. She woke up every morning with a feeling that something was missing, that there was something wrong and it took her a few moment to realize what it was. And she had to go through that feeling that he had said those things to her, that he didn't want her anymore. And she began each day feeling crushed.