Pieces of My Heart (2 page)

He put his hand in and patted it. ‘Well, Catherine, I hope they’ve restocked the bar for you up there.’

‘Hey, Charlie, you know what would have been hysterical? If you’d played “Another One Bites The Dust” in the church.’ Sarah giggled.

‘Or the Jam’s “Going Underground”.’ Paul grinned.

‘No, no, Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing”,’ said Sally.

‘ “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life”?’ Ali piped up.

‘I think Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” is more apt.’ I laughed.

‘No,’ said Charlie. ‘There’s only one song that sums up how I feel. It’s Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”.’

2

As the mourners began to take their leave, Charlie turned to us. ‘I’d like to invite you all for lunch and some drinks. Let’s give Catherine a good send-off.’

‘Sounds good to me,’ Sally said.

‘I’m in.’ Sarah tucked her iPod into her pocket.

‘Ali?’ he asked, as Ali sent her twentieth text of the day.

She smiled. ‘Sorry, Charlie, yes, I’d love to come. I’m not meeting David until later.’

‘Looks like you have a full house,’ I said to Charlie.

‘Uhm, I’m afraid I’ll have to pass,’ Paul said. ‘I need to get back to work. Sorry, but lunch hour on a Saturday is manic. I’ll see you all later.’

I bit my tongue and fixed a smile on my face as Paul strode towards his car.

‘Right then, follow me,’ Charlie said. ‘It’s a little Italian place just around the corner here.’

Sally linked my arm. ‘You OK?’

‘Yeah, fine. I really wasn’t close to Catherine – I hardly knew her, to be honest.’

‘I mean about Paul not coming with us,’ she said gently.

I shrugged. ‘His priority is work. We always come second.’

‘Come on, Ava, you know he loves his family.’

‘He’s got a funny way of showing it,’ I muttered.

Sally squeezed my arm. ‘He’ll come around.’

‘Come on, you two,’ Sarah called back to us. ‘Get a move on – I’m starving.’

The little bistro proved to be very nice. We were seated at a cosy round table and Charlie ordered a bottle of Prosecco.

‘Bubbles, fantastic!’ Sally said, holding out her glass.

‘Can I have some?’ Sarah asked.

‘Of course you can,’ Charlie said, pouring her a large glass before I could object.

When we all had our glasses filled, Charlie raised his. ‘I’d like to propose a toast. To new beginnings. After years of misery, Charlie Hayes is getting back in the saddle.’

‘I’ll drink to that,’ Sally said. ‘Here’s to you meeting a sober sex-bomb and me meeting a gorgeous Spanish billionaire next week when I’m sunning myself in Marbella.’

‘That Lily woman at the funeral looked like a sure thing, Charlie.’ Sarah took a large gulp of her Prosecco. ‘And I’d say you’ll definitely get lucky in Spain, Sally. You’re pretty hot for an oldie.’

‘Oldie!’ Sally exclaimed. ‘I’m not old, thank you very much. Your mum and I are still young. We discovered leggings, micro-miniskirts, Madonna and Demi Moore long before you did.’

‘Did you really wear micro-minis?’ Sarah looked at me doubtfully.

‘Your mother had the best legs in college. How do you think she attracted your dad?’ Sally laughed.

‘You should show them off, Mum,’ Ali said. ‘They still look good.’

‘No way!’ Sarah chimed in. ‘I do not want my mother walking around in minis up to her arse.’

‘You don’t need to worry,’ I assured her. ‘My legs only look good from the knee down now. Cellulite has taken over my thighs.’

‘They’re still bloody good.’ Sally winked at me.

‘I think you’re both great for your age,’ Ali said.

‘Thanks, Ali,’ I smiled at her, ‘but everyone thinks Sally’s younger than me.’

‘But I’ve had a lot of work done.’

‘You should have Botox, too, Mum. Your wrinkles are getting bad.’ Sarah pointed to my forehead.

I put my hand up and felt the deep lines. Maybe she was right.

‘Spanish ladies are very sexy. I might have to take a little holiday there myself,’ Charlie mused.

‘You should,’ Sally enthused. ‘I use a great company that does good packages for single people. They always recommend nice places that aren’t full of families or loved-up couples. It makes going away on your own a lot easier.’

‘I hear those 18–30 clubs are good.’ He grinned.

‘Groooosssssss!’ Sarah squealed.

‘I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Charlie, but you might be a year or two too old for that.’ Ali giggled.

‘I’ll keep an eye out for some suitable
señoras
for you.’ Sally patted his hand.

‘
Señoritas
, please, Sally!’ Charlie chuckled.

Ali’s phone beeped. She started texting back immediately.

‘Seriously, Ali, do you and David
ever
stop?’ Sarah rolled her eyes. ‘You must text each other, like, fifty times a day.’

‘We like to keep in touch.’

‘Ah, first love … I remember that. Enjoy every minute, Ali,’ Sally said, while Sarah made vomiting noises.

‘How long are you going to Spain for?’ Charlie asked Sally.

‘Two weeks. Fourteen glorious days of sun, sand and … who knows what else?’

‘You’re so lucky. I wish I was going away to the sun.’ Sarah groaned. ‘I can’t bear the thought of going back to school.’

‘You’ve still got two weeks’ summer holidays left. Try to enjoy them instead of moaning all the time,’ I said.

‘I’ll think of you getting your books and uniforms ready while I’m sipping
piña coladas
on the beach,’ Sally goaded her.

‘Catherine was fond of
piña coladas
. When we went on our first holiday together, she used to knock back four at breakfast,’ Charlie said.

‘Why was Catherine such an alco, Charlie?’ Sarah asked.

‘She was just an unhappy person,’ I said quickly, trying to be kind to the memory of my recently deceased stepmother.

‘That’s Ava, always looking for the good,’ Charlie said. ‘The truth is that Catherine was one of those people who think life owes them something. Her father walked out when she was a child and she felt hard done by because of that. But I couldn’t see it as an excuse. I grew up in an orphanage and got the holy shit beaten out of me regularly by the older boys, but you don’t see me crying into a bottle of vodka to drown my sorrows.’

I always felt so sorry for Charlie when he talked about his childhood, which he didn’t often. It was heartbreaking to think of a little five-year-old boy losing both parents and then sent off to be raised in an orphanage. My mother always used to say that the experience had made him incredibly open-minded and generous to people from all walks of life. He knew what it was to be an outcast, to be at the bottom of the pile. He had faced loss and heartache at a very young age, but instead of making him bitter or hard it had left him with his love for life and people.

‘If I’d known what Catherine was really like,’ Charlie continued, ‘I’d never have married her. She was nasty and bitter when she drank, which was all day.’

‘You certainly rushed into it,’ I said, remembering how he’d announced his engagement three months after my mother had died. I had been devastated to lose her so suddenly and when Charlie had got married so soon after, it had caused a rift between us. Luckily it hadn’t lasted long, but I had been really upset for a while.

‘With you off in college, I was lonely and desperate, Ava. I didn’t know what I was doing. I was heartbroken when Moira died.’ To the girls, Charlie added, ‘Let me tell you something. Never make big decisions when you’re unhappy. By God was it a mistake. I ended up being Catherine’s nursemaid for years. I should never have married anyone. I should have gone to Hollywood when I was seventeen and pursued Ava Gardner or Marilyn Monroe instead.’

‘But if you hadn’t stayed here and married Granny Moira, you wouldn’t have had Mum,’ said Ali.

Charlie looked at his granddaughter, his face softening. ‘You’re absolutely right, Ali, as always.’

‘Charlie!’ a man called from across the restaurant.

‘Bollox,’ Charlie cursed. ‘It’s Billy Norman, Catherine’s cousin. I’ll have to go over and say hello. He’s an almighty bore.’

While Charlie made polite – or, in his case, not so polite – conversation, Sally asked me how long he would be living with us.

‘I don’t know. Until he feels ready to leave, I suppose,’ I said, trying to sound breezy.

I had asked him to move in two weeks ago, after Catherine was placed in a hospice. I wanted him to have his family around when she died. We had the space and I was worried about him getting depressed on his own. But he was like a man escaped from captivity. On the one hand I was delighted to see him so carefree after having been weighed down by her drinking for so many years, but on the other, he was becoming increasingly inappropriate and erratic and I was worried he’d get himself into trouble.

Still, it was a temporary arrangement. Charlie was only due to stay until the new apartment he had bought was ready. It was due for completion in a couple of months. The funny thing was, I liked having him around. Paul owned a gastro-pub, which meant that he worked irregular hours and was often out at night. I liked having Charlie’s company – as an only child I’d always been close to him, and the girls adored him.

‘I hope he stays for ever,’ said Sarah. ‘He’s a riot. Was he always this much of a live-wire, Mum?’

‘Not as bad as he is now. He always had a slightly mad streak in him, though. I think it comes from growing up in the orphanage where he really had to fight for attention. When I was young, he’d sometimes collect me from school dressed as Superman. He’d put on a pair of red Y-fronts over his suit trousers and a red towel on his shoulders. The other kids thought he was great, but I was mortified. Now that he doesn’t have to look after Catherine, he’s just letting go and enjoying his new-found freedom.’

‘Did you have a hard time with her, too? I mean, I know we didn’t see her much, but you must have had to deal with her?’ Ali asked.

‘It wasn’t so bad. I was already in college and living on campus when he married her, and Charlie always made sure she was either sober or out of the way when I called in. Then I met your dad, got married at twenty-two and my own life took over.’

‘There’s no way I’d get married that young,’ Sarah said. ‘Didn’t you want to travel and go wild in your twenties?’

‘Not really. After my mum died and Charlie married Catherine, I felt a bit lost. I was angry with Charlie, and because I didn’t have any brothers or sisters to talk to about it, I felt really lonely. I was desperate to create my own family unit and your dad was so solid and sane. I felt very safe with him. I couldn’t wait to get married and have a family of my own. It was all I wanted.’

‘I’m not going to have kids till I’m at least thirty,’ Sarah said, reapplying lip gloss for the zillionth time that morning.

‘Actually, that’s a good idea. Sometimes I think I had you guys too young. I was clueless.’

‘But, then, if you don’t get married young and focus instead on your career, like me, you might never get married,’ Sally mused.

‘Did you ever come close?’ Ali asked.

‘Twice,’ Sally admitted. ‘But neither worked out for different reasons. It just wasn’t meant to be.’

‘Do you mind being on your own?’ Sarah wanted to know.

‘Most of the time it doesn’t bother me.’

‘I think I’d like to get married young,’ Ali said. ‘I’d like the security of it.’

‘You’re just nauseatingly in love,’ Sarah said. Then, to me, she added, ‘Although I’m glad you had us when you did. It’s cool to have a young mum. Some of my friends’ mothers are so old and frumpy.’

I was thrilled with this rare compliment from Sarah. ‘Really? Do you?’

‘Yeah, but it’s time for Botox. It’s all beginning to sag, Mum.’

‘You look gorgeous, Ava.’ Sally laughed, poking Sarah in the ribs. ‘Don’t mind this cheeky cow.’

As Ali’s phone beeped yet again, Charlie arrived back at the table. ‘What a boring old fart that fella is. I need a drink.’ He grabbed a passing waiter and ordered another bottle of Prosecco.

3

I stirred the porridge and breathed a sigh of relief that school was starting again. It had been nice having the girls around all summer, but it had been difficult trying to juggle work with keeping them occupied and out of trouble.

I heard the kitchen door open and turned to see Ali, immaculately dressed in her uniform. Her blonde hair was perfectly blow-dried and I could see she had put on a little makeup. Her face was glowing with happiness. She looked beautiful.

‘Big day!’ I smiled. ‘Everyone’s going to see you and David together.’

She blushed. ‘I’m a bit nervous. I think a lot of people’ll be surprised that he’s going out with me.’

‘Ali, for the zillionth time, you’re stunning and he’s the lucky one.’

‘I know, but everyone fancies him, so it’s a really big deal.’

‘I’m sure lots of the boys in your class fancy you, too.’ I couldn’t understand why Ali was unable to see how gorgeous she was. If I had been that good-looking at seventeen, I would have strutted around town like a peacock.

‘They don’t, Mum, but thanks anyway. Can I help with that?’

‘No, thanks, it’s nearly ready. Sit down and have some juice.’

Paul came in, reading the newspaper. ‘Well, Ali, big day today, your final year in school. You’ll be out in the big bad world soon.’

She groaned. ‘Don’t remind me, Dad. I’m not going to have a life this year. It’s going to be non-stop studying.’

‘Well, don’t work too hard. Enjoy yourself as well, have fun with David,’ I said, worried that Ali would wear herself out. Most mums had to beg their kids to study, but I had to drag Ali away from her desk.

‘No problem to a straight-A student like our Ali,’ said Paul, patting his daughter’s arm. ‘I know she’ll do brilliantly.’

‘Ah, but all work and no play make for a very dull life,’ said Charlie, shuffling through the door in his slippers and dressing-gown.

‘Morning, Charlie,’ said Ali.

‘Hello, my angel,’ he said, kissing his granddaughter on the forehead.

‘Good morning, Charlie,’ said Paul.

‘What’s good about it? It’s lashing rain, I didn’t sleep a wink last night and I haven’t had sex in years.’