Positively Yours (12 page)

‘We just couldn't wait until breakfast to see you, pet. Yes, it was hard to persuade these two lazy brothers of yours to get out of bed and meet us here. If I could drive I would have collected them myself. Instead I had to just keep on ringing them.'

‘Yeah, after the thirtieth phone call I knew it wasn't safe to stay in bed,' said Colm, who looked a little rough, and Grace suspected he hadn't even showered. But she didn't mind. All that worrying about Ireland seemed to fade away as she looked at her family, and realized how much she had missed them.

‘Anyway, your Aunt Mary is driving, so we will meet you back in my house. I have Esther from next door keeping an eye on the oven while I'm here.'

Grace was surprised at how much effort her family had gone to for her arrival. She hadn't realized what a big thing it was for them all, especially her mum. Patsy had gotten everyone involved, even her poor neighbours. Grace was suddenly dying for her mum's food. She and Ethan said goodbye to everyone, and then headed to collect their rental car.

Grace and Ethan had a rocky start to their trip to Dublin city centre. Ethan insisted on driving.

‘I need to get used to driving on the left, and there is no time like the present to learn,' an enthusiastic and ever-confident Ethan said as they piled into the fancy blue BMW that he had rented. Grace had barely buckled her seat belt when they almost crashed. Ethan had swung out of the rental company showroom and on to the wrong side of the road. A large truck had to swerve to avoid them, and the driver bellowed his horn, almost making Ethan crash again. Twice more Ethan swung on to the wrong side, before finally allowing Grace to drive the rest of the way to her mum's.

Grace felt like a tourist and a stranger pulling up outside her mum's small red-brick house. The fancy rental car stuck out a mile on the small road. Patsy didn't even drive, and a lot of the residents didn't. Being so close to the city meant they didn't need to, and some couldn't afford a car, either. Grace met two of the neighbours on the way in. They had heard about her arrival home, and been told by Patsy all about her great life in America.

‘And is it true you've a swimming pool?' asked one.

Grace nodded.

‘Good work! It's far from that you were raised. And what a lovely car! Fair play to you,' they said, all the while taking in handsome Ethan.

Grace had enjoyed driving the comfortable car, but now she
hurried in to the house. She suddenly felt awkward. She didn't want people thinking she was showing off.

The minute she walked in the door of No. 32 St Joseph's Road, with its porch bursting with plant pots, and its hall full of family photos, she felt like she was a child again. She was home. It was tiny compared to the house she had left in San Diego, but it felt so cosy and warm.

‘You made it! We were getting worried,' said Patsy, as she stood in the kitchen with every pot, pan and baking tray full of food. She had on her old red apron. Grace laughed as she looked at it. Some things never changed! Grace had given her mum that apron when she'd been a teenager, and it was very worn and torn, yet Patsy refused to wear any new one she was bought.

‘Mum, that old thing has seen better days!' said Grace, as she gave Patsy another hug, all the while taking in the smell of cooked rashers, sausages, eggs and black pudding.

‘You bought me this with your own hard-earned cash. I'll never forget the summer you slaved away in that horrible hot shoe shop. But I was so proud of you, earning enough money to help pay for insurance on your dad's car, and buying us some gifts, too. Your dad always wore those lovely cufflinks. I still have them in a drawer upstairs.'

Grace was surprised her mum had remembered the gifts, and that she had kept them. It made her realize how different she and her mum were. Grace had become very cut-throat about keeping old things. In America people didn't hoard stuff like they did in Ireland. Sure, on Christmas night you could often see Christmas trees being put out for the trash. It was awful, but Grace had gotten used to it. But as she watched her mum fix her apron, she felt a little guilty. She realized that sometimes it wasn't about the age of an item, but the thought behind it.

She also felt uncomfortable because she had worked so hard that summer to get insurance on her dad's car simply so she could get out of the house. She'd wanted some freedom. Patsy had never been able to drive, but she didn't seem to mind. ‘Sure, everywhere I need and want to go is nearby!' she often said. But Grace had always had the urge to move, go away, travel. She had adored her home, and had always known she was lucky to have such loving parents, but it hadn't stopped her wanting to be able to get into her dad's old Nissan and go to other parts of the city, to see how others lived. To go visit friends, and just get out of St Joseph's Road. And Grace had felt that urge to be somewhere else until she'd met Ethan and fallen in love with him and sunny San Diego.

‘Anyway, Ethan, sit down, get yourself comfortable. It's been a long time since you ate in this house,' said Patsy, pointing at her son-in-law.

Ethan squashed in between Colm and Aidan, and began helping himself to toast.

Grace got the milk from the fridge, and took her favourite old mug from the cupboard. She had been looking forward to a cup of Barry's Irish tea for weeks! Soon Grace, Ethan, Colm, Aidan, Patsy and Grace's two aunts – Mary and Joan – were all sitting around the table helping themselves to fried sausages, rashers, potatoes, tomatoes, black pudding and heaps of toast. Grace noticed Ethan limiting his intake of the meat. He had never quite got used to the amount of oil used in an Irish fry. She knew it was unhealthy, too, but she still dug in.

Hours later, after handing out gifts to the whole family, Grace and Ethan had to go to bed. They were wrecked from the move and long flight. For the next few weeks Ethan's company was going to put them up in a hotel until they could find a nice house to rent. But tonight Patsy had insisted they stay with her, and sleep in Grace's old room. Ethan knew not to go
against the wishes of his kind mother-in-law, but Grace sensed he would have liked more space. She had to stand on the bed while Ethan got changed, there was so little room to move. She laughed watching him try to balance his wash bag on top of the big pile of Care Bears that Grace used to collect. She had told her mum to give them away to charity years ago, but Patsy had wanted to keep them for her grandchildren. ‘You can't get good quality toys like that any more.'

Ethan fell into a deep sleep the minute his head hit the pillow, but it took Grace hours to relax. It felt weird to be sleeping in her old room with her husband. As she looked around her room, and took in all the old memories, she felt like she had two different lives. The old Grace, who with her red hair and pale skin and love for her mother's cooking was as Irish as you could get – and the new one, who looked at Ethan and thought of the exciting life they had together. It was completely different from anything she had experienced here in Ireland. Grace wondered how these two very different parts would mix, now that she would be living back at home. She walked over to her chest of drawers and grabbed her old Good Luck Care Bear. She took him into the small bed and hugged him. She could do with some sleep, and some of his comfort and luck.

‘
THIS HOUSE MIGHT
well be the one for you both,' said the young real-estate agent to Grace and Ethan Miller. ‘It's close enough to the city for work, yet right in the heart of the best Southside bars, restaurants, parks and shops. And this group of houses have a twenty-four-hour monitored security gate.'

The girl kept chatting as she showed Grace and Ethan around the empty four-bedroomed house in Donnybrook, South Dublin. They had only been in Dublin for a week, yet had already seen four houses, two penthouse apartments and one lovely, yet very small, townhouse. And they still couldn't decide where to live. Ethan had hit the ground running in his new firm, and had spent all week interviewing for new computer analysts, design engineers and programmers. Grace was still very tired from the journey, yet had also been busy, trying to search for a house for their year's stay, and at the same time catch up with her family. Her mum rang her about twenty times a day.

‘Mum, I've been home lots of times before. It's not that unusual to see me in Dublin. You don't need to keep ringing me to see if I'm OK,' Grace had protested, the night before.

‘But it's different this time. Before you've only been home for flying visits that have passed too quickly, but now I have
you all to myself. I've missed you so much. Those brothers of yours are grand, but they don't care about the neighbourhood gossip, or your aunt's new hairdo. I've no one to talk to about the little things.'

Grace didn't care too much about the little things either, she had more important concerns, like finding a new home and job, and making sure Coco was doing OK without them, but she promised her mother she would call in the next day, after viewing the house in Donnybrook.

‘But why would you live there?' Patsy had asked, surprised. ‘Sure, that's nowhere near me or the boys. Does Ethan not want to live beside us?'

Grace had to handle the situation delicately. She didn't want to upset her mum, but she was reluctant to admit that both herself and Ethan wanted to live it up while in Dublin, and since their home in San Diego was being rented out, and Ethan's new firm were paying his rent here, they could afford to splash out on somewhere fancy. And unfortunately that did rule out living in a very small house in St Joseph's Road.

‘Anyway, I wanted to ask, could Ethan lend you the car tomorrow? I haven't been up to your father's grave in weeks, and I thought we could both visit him. I'm sure you've been meaning to go.'

Patsy left Grace stuck for words. She felt awful admitting she hadn't been up to visit the grave yet. She had no excuse. She had adored her dad. Being the only girl of the family she had always been his pet, but the last week had flown by and she just hadn't given a thought to visiting St Augustine's Cemetery. But the next afternoon, after dropping Ethan back to his new office, which was on Mount Street, she picked up her mum.

Grace laughed when she arrived in St Joseph's Road. Her mum was outside the house chatting to her two neighbours. Patsy could chat for Ireland. As Grace pulled up outside the
house she saw children running around the small front garden of her house.

‘Get out of the car!' said Patsy excitedly. ‘Come and meet some of the children I was telling you all about. Now this is Tara, Jade, Michael. Say hello, children, this is my daughter, Grace.'

‘Are you the one with the swimming pool and the dog who has his toenails painted?' asked the young boy, staring at Grace's big car.

‘Do you know Paris Hilton?' asked the elder girl.

Grace answered the questions while Patsy picked up the youngest child, who was wrapped up warm in big pink earmuffs.

‘This is Jade. She's only one, but would you look at her, Grace. Isn't she like a young Shirley Temple? Honestly, she's so cute.'

Grace agreed with her mum that the little curly-haired child was very cute, but tried to remind Patsy that it was getting dark, and that if they didn't go soon they wouldn't make it to the cemetery on time.

‘OK, sure, you'll be meeting the kids a lot more now that you're home. I mind them every second afternoon, and the odd morning. Sure, you can give me a hand. If little Jade doesn't make you want to have kids, no one will.'

As Patsy's neighbours were there Grace held her tongue. She would have to tell her mum to stop putting pressure on her to have children. Being a mum was just not something she had ever craved after. Although she did feel slightly guilty at depriving Patsy of being a grandmother, Grace had to do what she felt was best for her and Ethan.

Finally Grace managed to say goodbye to Patsy's neighbours, but not before they made Grace promise to call in for a cup of tea soon.

‘Patsy never stops talking about the great life you have made
for yourself in America. Honestly, she has us all jealous, with the tales of your great job, husband, house and lifestyle. We'll have to get you to talk to our children. Encourage them to be as successful as you!'

Patsy was smiling, and looked as proud as Punch as the neighbours admitted their jealousy of Grace's fortune. Grace glanced at her mum, realizing again that Patsy only meant it for the best. She was always proud of Grace, Aidan and Colm. For Patsy her children were her life. Which is why it was probably hard for her to understand why Grace wasn't interested in having kids herself.

‘Are you OK?' said Patsy as they walked to the car. ‘You look so pale and washed-out.'

‘I'm fine, Mum. Just still a bit jet-lagged, and it's tiring trying to find somewhere to live. It's hard to find somewhere half as nice as our house back in America.'

Patsy didn't say anything, just stared at Grace's pale complexion and the dark circles under her eyes. But once in the car Patsy forgot about Grace and started a running commentary on all of St Joseph's Road. She seemed determined to bring Grace up to speed on everyone in the neighbourhood.

‘Slow down, Grace. Have a look left. What do you think of that awful extension Mrs Maguire has on the house? Honestly, it's an eyesore. But then I suppose she had to, what with those two lazy lumps of children still living at home and sponging off her.'

‘Jonathan Maguire still lives at home?' Grace said, surprised. Jonathan had been one of her first boyfriends.

‘Oh yes, you had a lucky escape there. He's trouble. Poor Mrs Maguire has been driven demented by his bad debts and string of jobs. Anyway, if you look left now, you can see Suzi Murphy's new man. He's a good bit older, isn't he? She's after his money, no doubt!'

Patsy made Grace drive all around their neighbourhood so she could see how well the area was coming on, and catch up on all the gossip.