From Here to Maternity (26 page)

Sean stood nervously at the top of the aisle, looking very handsome in a navy blue suit. The organist began to play and Shadee walked down the aisle with her father. She was stunning in a simple knee-length cream dress, with a single flower in her hair. Everyone oohed and aahed. Auntie Doreen tried to throw holy water over her as she walked by but, thankfully, Dad managed to grab her hand in time and Babs ended up being drenched instead. When she squealed, Dad glared at her and muttered that she needed it a lot more than Shadee did.

During the ceremony two of Shadee’s friends brought up a variety of gifts, each of which had a specific meaning. They included decorated flat breads, which symbolized prosperity, wild rue for good health, a candelabrum, which represented a bright future, a mirror, in which they were supposed to see the truth of love, a vase with coloured eggs and another with coloured nuts, for fertility.

‘We could have done with one of those at our wedding,’ I giggled to James. It felt really good to be able to laugh about it all now. I looked down at my beautiful son and my pregnant stomach and silently thanked God.

The ceremony was short and sweet. Dad and Shadee’s father both read poems chosen by the bride and groom. Sean and Shadee made their vows, everyone cheered when they said, ‘I do,’ and we all headed back to the hotel for the reception.

After dinner and a few drinks, everyone relaxed and began to mingle. I made a beeline for Shadee’s father to try to make up for my embarrassing
faux-pas
the night before. I cornered him and bombarded him with what I felt were probing questions about his country. After half an hour he said how delighted he was that I had such an interest in Iran and he’d be sure to send me a book that would satisfy my thirst for knowledge. With that he sprinted in the opposite direction and avoided eye-contact with me for the rest of the night.

It was about midnight when I went to the loo for the zillionth time. Babs was in the bathroom fixing her makeup and telling one of Shadee’s cousins about her nose job. ‘You should definitely get one done. Your nose is nearly as bad as mine was. Seriously, I’ll give you the name of the plastic surgeon.’

‘Is mine really that big?’ the poor girl asked.

‘Is the Pope Catholic? Yes, it is,’ said the plastic-pusher.

As Shadee’s cousin scurried out, holding her hand over her nose, I rounded on Babs. ‘For God’s sake, the poor girl doesn’t need a nose job. You’ve just given her a complex.’

‘She wants to work in TV and, believe me, there’s no way she’ll get a job with that hooter. I was doing her a favour.’

‘Why don’t you sort out your own life before telling everyone else what to do?’

‘I’m sorted, Emma. I have a great nose, a great job and a boss who thinks I’m the best thing ever.’

‘I doubt that.’

‘He does, actually.’

Well, I wouldn’t get too cocky. Those media types are so fickle – one minute they love you, the next they fire you.’

‘He’ll never fire me.’

‘What makes you so sure?’

‘Because he’s sleeping with me, and if he fires me, I’ll tell his wife.’

I must have misheard her. There was no way she had just said she was having sex with her married boss. Not even Babs was that bad. ‘What did you just say?’

‘Lighten up. It’s a winner for me, I get to live rent-free in his apartment and he takes me out to great restaurants and clubs. Besides, it’s only temporary. I’ll be moving jobs soon.’

‘Oh, my God, Babs. Have you gone
insane
? He’s married. Have you no morals? No heart? What about his wife? What’s wrong with you? It’s practically prostitution!’

‘Shut up, fatso. Go and nag James – he’s used to it.’

I grabbed her arm. ‘Listen to me. You’re behaving like a slut. You have to stop this. Why can’t you go out with someone your own age, someone single? Jesus, first you sleep with Donal and now this!’

‘Donal wasn’t married,’ she snapped.

‘He was engaged,’ I hissed. ‘It’s pretty bloody close.’

‘I presume we’re talking about a different Donal?’ said a voice I knew too well.

My heart stopped. Please, God, no. I turned to see Lucy glaring at me. She had been in the cubicle and heard it all.

‘Don’t start freaking out. You’d broken up when it happened,’ said Babs, putting on her lipstick.

Lucy moved so quickly that Babs didn’t have time to react. She grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her up against the wall. ‘No big deal? No big deal that you shagged my fiancé? Newsflash – it is a big deal. A very big deal. Now, you listen to me, you little slut, if I ever see you near Donal again, you’ll need a facelift to repair the damage.’ She sounded like something from
The Godfather
. Babs actually looked a bit scared.

‘OK, I’m sorry. But it was nothing. He was so drunk he didn’t even remember the next day.’

‘Great! I feel so much better now. Thanks for sharing that.
Now get out of my sight before I kill you
,’ roared Lucy.

As Babs slunk out of the door, Lucy turned to me. ‘Were you ever going to tell me?’

‘Lucy, it was the night you’d broken up and he was so drunk and upset he didn’t know where he was, not to mind what he was doing. You know what Babs is like – she probably hopped on him. He felt so awful the next day and he was so riddled with guilt and you two make such a good couple that I didn’t think it was worth telling you because you would have broken up over it and it was just a stupid thing.’

‘Would you think it was stupid if James slept with someone else?’ she asked, voice shaking.

‘Lucy, I agonized over whether to tell you or not and when I saw that Donal was so utterly devastated by it I knew he truly loved you so I decided not to say anything.’

‘I’ll never trust you again,’ said Lucy, tears streaming down her face. ‘You’re supposed to be my best friend. How could you let this happen? How could you let that little slut near him?’

‘Lucy, I wasn’t there. Of course I would have stopped it otherwise. The only reason I know about it is because I found Babs in the house when I went over to get your suits for work.’

‘In our house? In our bed? Oh, God, I think I’m going to be sick,’ she said, and turned back to the toilet to retch.

‘Are you OK? Lucy, please, listen to me. It’s not as bad as it sounds. Donal was comatose. He didn’t even know where he was or what had happened. I thought it best not to say anything. I’m sorry.’

‘Well, it’s a bit late for that,’ she sobbed, and stormed out.

Donal was talking to Shadee’s brother, who turned out to be a huge rugby fan. The two men were dissecting the English team when Lucy came over.

‘Ah, here she is, let me introduce you to my beautiful wife,’ said Donal, as Lucy punched him in the face.

He lay on the floor dazed, as Lucy screamed at him, ‘You stupid bastard! How could you sleep with that slut? We were
ENGAGED
. You’ve ruined everything! I’ll never forgive you for this!’

She ran out, followed by Donal, who was staggering slightly due to his bloody nose and mild concussion.

Chapter 29

Donal got to the bedroom door just in time to stop Lucy locking him out. He pushed his way into the room and closed it behind him. Lucy ran at him and beat her fists against his chest. She was crying so much she was having difficulty breathing. Donal held her arms and gently sat her down on the bed.

‘You’ve no idea what you’ve done,’ she sobbed.

‘Lucy, please, listen to me,’ he begged. ‘I was so devastated we’d broken up that I went out and got blind drunk. I know it’s stupid and, believe me, I really regret it. I don’t even remember meeting Babs, not to mind… well, not to mind the rest.’

‘Is that supposed to make it better? You have sex with someone else and because you say you don’t remember it it’s all right. I can’t do this, Donal. I can’t be with someone I don’t trust. You’ve ruined everything,’ she cried.

‘Lucy, I love you. I’ve loved you since the first time I set eyes on you. Please don’t let one stupid mistake ruin what we have. I’m a gobshite. Hit me, thump me, kick me, do anything, but please don’t leave me.’ He begged, kneeling down and kissing her hands. ‘I’ll do anything to make it up to you.’

‘It’s too late,’ she said.

‘It’s not too late. Come on, Lucy, we’d broken up and I did a stupid thing. I’m sorry about that, but don’t tell me you’re going to let one mistake ruin what we have.’

Lucy pulled away her hands and stood up. ‘You cheated on me. If you did it once, you’ll do it again.’

‘I will never do it again. I swear to you. I swear on my life. Come on, I’ll take you away on a romantic weekend and we’ll forget about it. We’ve our whole lives ahead of us. Lucy, please, I’ll –’

‘I’m pregnant,’ Lucy whispered.

‘What?’

‘You heard me. I’m pregnant. You begged me to have children so I stupidly came off the pill and now I’m pregnant, Donal. Seven weeks pregnant with your baby. So now we have a child and no marriage. Isn’t it great? I was trying to find the right time to tell you and I thought this weekend would be perfect. It looks like I was right. What better time to tell your husband you’re expecting than ten minutes after you’ve found out he cheated on you?’

‘But, Lucy, that’s amazing! Oh, my God, we’re going to have a baby.’

He went to hug her. She jerked away. ‘Don’t touch me. I can’t bear the sight of you. I’ll be raising this child on my own. Now get out, you lying bastard,’ she sobbed, and locked herself in the bathroom.

After talking through the keyhole for twenty minutes, Donal finally agreed to leave Lucy alone for the night. When he came out of his room, James and I were waiting for him in the corridor. He looked devastated.

‘What happened?’ I asked.

Donal’s eyes were filled with tears. ‘She says she can’t forgive me and she’s just told me she’s pregnant,’ he croaked.

‘Oh, mate,’ said James, putting his arm round his friend.

Pregnant? Such happy news to come out at such a rotten time. Oh, God, poor Lucy. ‘Can I go and talk to her?’ I asked. I couldn’t bear the thought of her alone. I was worried about her being so upset – it might be dangerous for her pregnancy.

Donal shook his head. ‘She said she wants to be on her own and I don’t want her getting any more upset. It’s bad for the baby. Leave it till the morning. I’m going to stay here in case she changes her mind and wants to talk to me later,’ he said, sitting down outside the door.

‘I’ll stay with you.’

‘No, darling,’ said James. ‘You’re going to bed. You need to calm down and rest. You’re pregnant too, remember. I’ll stay with Donal.’

I waddled back to my room and paid the babysitter. Yuri was sleeping soundly in his little cot. I was struggling out of my green frock when someone knocked on the door. It was Mum. ‘What’s going on? I heard Lucy thumped Donal and said he cheated on her. Who was he with?’

‘Look, Mum, just leave it. Don’t be asking questions.’

‘It wasn’t you, was it?’

‘Jesus, Mum, of course not! What do you take me for? Thanks a bloody lot.’

‘Your auntie Doreen said she heard Lucy roaring at you so I had to ask. Was it Jess?’

‘Mum! Jess would never do something like that.’

‘Do I know the girl he was with?’

‘Drop it, Mum. I’m warning you. Just leave it.’

‘No need to get so touchy. I’m only asking.’

‘I’m tired and upset. Can you leave now and let me get some rest?’

‘OK, I’ll go,’ she grumbled. Just as she was about to leave she turned. ‘Didn’t Sean look handsome today? Shady’s a lucky girl. The suit was gorgeous on him, but sure he’s such a good figure everything looks well on him.’

‘Yes, he did. Now, please, go.’

‘I don’t know about Shady’s dress. It was a bit simple. It could have done with a bit of lace or a frill, don’t you think? And what, in God’s name, was that nonsense with the friends bringing up the bread and mirrors? Your aunties were all asking me about it. I said it was some kind of a tradition over there. Most peculiar, I must say. Still, by and large her family seems quite normal.’

‘Which is more than you can say for ours,’ I muttered.

‘What’s that?’ she asked. ‘Anyway, didn’t I look well? I think the outfit worked. Your auntie Maeve said I was the belle of the ball,’ said Mum, twirling.

‘Out. Now,’ I said, nudging her out of the door. I really wasn’t in the mood to discuss her outfit.

‘Lord, you’re very narky. I suppose it’s the hormones. I’ll leave you to it. Sleep well.’

I sat down on the end of the bed and sighed. What was I going to do about Lucy? She had always said that trust was the most important thing to her. When her father had cheated on her mother she had seen the hurt and humiliation it caused and she always said that once the trust is broken there’s no going back. And now she was pregnant. I wanted to talk to her, hug her, congratulate her, explain that I had genuinely thought I was doing the right thing by not telling her about Donal and Babs. I truly believed that he would never cheat on her again. My mind swirled about. I felt sick. Would she ever forgive me?

*

The next morning I woke up early and went to Lucy’s room. Donal was asleep in the corridor. I stepped over him and knocked gently on the door.

‘Go away, Donal, I’m not going to talk to you.’

‘Lucy, it’s me, Emma.’

‘Judas!’

‘Lucy, please, let me explain,’ I begged.

‘Go to hell.’

‘Can I come in and talk to you? Please. I heard about the baby. It’s great news.’

‘Yeah, it’s great, now that I’ve found out my husband’s a cheat and my best friend’s a liar. I can’t wait to go through it all alone.’

‘Lucy, I’m sorry, really, really, sorry, but I thought I was doing the right thing.’

‘Well, you weren’t.’

The door opened and Lucy stepped out fully dressed, bag in hand. She tripped over Donal, who woke with a start.

‘Lucy, sweetheart, let’s go for breakfast and talk this through,’ he said, jumping up.

‘I’ve a better idea. Why don’t you go to breakfast with your fellow conspirator here and have a chat about how you deceived me?’

‘Lucy, come on,’ I pleaded. ‘Hear us out.’