The Heartbreak Cafe (31 page)

‘
Charlie, I’m sorry that you got roped into all of that, it
wasn’t fair and –’

‘
No, don’t apologise. I thought it was amazing
actually.’

She
nodded. ‘Wasn’t it? I must admit, I never thought I’d be that
excited; after all, it’s just a couple of white blobs but …wow,’
she shook her head. ‘Talk about a hell of a screen
debut.’

He
laughed. ‘Do you think he or she will follow in their mother’s
footsteps?’

‘
What – you mean be a complete disaster? I certainly hope
not.’

‘
That’s not what I meant – and really you shouldn’t say that in
front of it,’ he admonished almost like an over-protective
father.

Ruth’s
eyes widened in shock as at this she felt some movement in her
stomach. It couldn’t be a kick, not that this early stage, but it
was definitely something. . ‘Oh my goodness!’ she cried, grasping
his hand. ‘Feel that.’

‘
Feel what?’ Charlie replied and sure enough, the baby seemed
to move again. ‘Oh.’

They both
looked at one another in amazement and Ruth laughed. ‘It’s kind of
cool, isn’t it? I’m thinking Baby must like you.’

She saw
something in his eyes that she couldn’t read. ‘Yes, it is very
cool. And I very much hope this baby likes me,’ he went on.
‘Because I think I’m already crazy about it, almost as much as I am
about its mother.’

Ruth
stared at him, not sure if she’d heard right. ‘What …?’

‘
You heard me.’

‘
Oh Charlie.’ She turned to look at him, not sure what to
think. ‘I … don’t know what to say.’

‘
You don’t have to say anything really. Except of course
whether or not you feel the same way,’ he said with a nervous
laugh.

‘
But what about …all of this?’ she asked, her gaze flickering
again to her stomach.

He
shrugged. ‘It is what it is. The little blob already has me, so who
knows what it’ll be like when it’s born.’

Ruth
stared at him, flabbergasted. Was he actually saying that he didn’t
mind she was carrying another man’s child? That he could still love
them regardless? ‘So where do we go from here? I must say …this is
a little strange – great but strange …’

‘
Me too, so why not just try and figure it out as we go? After
all, neither one of us has ever experienced anything this before,
so I suppose it’s perfectly fine to be scared.’

‘
You really want to be involved in this?’

He looked
hesitant. ‘As long as you’re OK with it.’

‘
Oh yeah, I’m fine with it.’

Charlie
reached across and kissed her on the lips, this time slow and
gentle with none of the urgency of last time. Ruth kissed him back,
amazed that after all these years and all that had happened; here
they were sitting together in the car on the same laneway in
Lakeview. Had they learned anything in between? Ruth certainly
hoped so. Because this time it wasn’t all about her; this time it
was all about the new life she had growing inside her; one that
today Charlie had clearly fallen for just as fast, and just as hard
as she had.

‘
Hello there. I’m delighted you could come,’ Jess smiled as she
escorted Nina into her house.

‘
Thank you for inviting me.’ She looked around the uber-stylish
South Dublin townhouse, thinking it suited Jess to a tee. ‘Do you
need a hand with the food?’

‘
Not at all, I think everything’s pretty much under control and
anyway, you’re a guest!’

She
smiled self-consciously not entirely sure why she’d agreed to come
to this party, but she liked Jess and sensed that she needed a
friend. Anyway it was another excuse to get out of the house and
all too easy to get a lift to Dublin with Ella’s son Dan, who’d
dropped off the party nibbles. ‘Well, if you do need help with
anything, don’t hesitate to ask.’

‘
Honestly no.’ Jess insisted. ‘Come inside and meet my husband.
Are you feeling OK? Can I get you a glass of water or anything?’
She seemed especially solicitous, probably because she knew about
the pregnancy, and while Nina wasn’t used to such a to-do, she
suspected Jess’s friends must have demanded it in the past, which
was why she was fussing over her now.

‘
Well, lemonade would be nice if you have it,
thanks.’

‘
Of course. And how is … everything?’ Jess asked gently,
referring no doubt to their conversation of before.

‘
Still a bit all over the place really, but I’m sure I’ll be
fine.’ She gave a tight smile, hoping that Jess wouldn’t push it
too much. It was strange talking to someone who actually knew the
truth, and Nina knew it wouldn’t be much longer till she would have
to go public with it all, exposing her real reason she was in
Lakeview and not what she had been telling people.

‘
Of course you will.’ Jess led the way to the kitchen where a
man, presumably her husband was standing at the countertop cutting
up vegetables. ‘Brian honey, come and meet Nina Hughes, a friend
from Lakeview.’

Brian
looked up and smiled. He was tall, very handsome and had a kind
face.

‘
Ah, nice to meet you.’ He wiped his hands on a dishtowel, and
extended one to shake hers.

‘
You too,’ she replied. ‘Great to get the weather, isn’t it?’
She nodded towards the open patio doors and the beautiful summer’s
day.

‘
I know – it rarely happens when you plan something like this,’
he laughed, his brown eyes twinkling and Nina decided immediately
that Jess was a very lucky girl. Brian was lovely.

Then his
eyes rested on her stomach and something in his face
changed.

‘
I’d better get these on to the barbecue,’ he said, turning to
look at Jess, and was Nina imagining it or was there a slight edge
to his tone now?

‘
Yes, better not keep the hungry hordes waiting.’ Jess trilled,
but her smile looked forced.

Nina
looked outside to the garden where the other guests were gathered.
Wow, there were a lot of kids out there. She immediately recognised
Deirdre’s two, and Emer’s Amy, but there were a few others she
didn’t know.

‘
Jess I’ll say it again; it’s really brave of you to open up
your house to so many children,’ she joked.

Brian
brushed past them with an uncooked tray of chicken kebabs. ‘Yes
well, when Jess gets an idea into her head, she tends to run and
run with it,’ he said and again Nina detected some bitterness in
his voice. She realised that Jess was making herself busy in
another area of the kitchen and no longer talking part in the
conversation.

‘
I suppose there’s something to be said for spontaneity,’ Nina
replied cheerfully.

There was
clearly some kind of atmosphere here, and despite their gracious
welcome she was starting to feel awkward being in the company of
her new friend and her husband.

‘
Well, it a party, and there’s always a mess after a party,
isn’t there?’ Jess piped up brightly.

Soon more
guests started to arrive and Jess welcomed each one (as well their
children) with open arms. Nina noticed that Brian and Jess were
having little contact with each other and there was obvious
discomfort.

For her
part, she felt herself tense up every time a child spilled
something or caused a mess in her host’s beautiful house, and
continuously found herself helping Brian clean up carpet stains, or
running to pull a valuable looking ornament out of reach of little
hands. Jess seemed oblivious to it all – as did the mums of the
little ones in question.

‘
Nina, honestly, you really don’t have to help me clean this
stuff up,’ Brian said scrubbing a Ribena stain from the oatmeal
coloured carpet. ‘Frankly, I have no idea what’s got into my wife
for encouraging these kids to run amok.’

‘
Oh, it’s no bother honestly, and I know Jess is up to her eyes
being the hostess.’

In truth
Nina didn’t mind keeping an eye on the mischievous children; it was
better than having to spend time with the adults some of whom –
namely Deirdre and Emer – were downright rude.

‘
Can you take this into the kitchen for me?’ Emer had said
earlier, handing Nina a plate of her leftovers. Because she was
used to Nina being at her beck and call at Ella’s, she seemed to
expect the same treatment here, and despite Jess’s kind invitation
Nina was beginning to regret coming to this party.

Not that
Jess was behaving like anything other than the perfect hostess, and
Nina knew would be horrified to learn that shortly after her
arrival, Deirdre had come up and asked Nina if she could ‘use her’
for an upcoming get-together she was planning at her
house.

‘
I’m not actually here as a caterer,’ Nina pointed out, but
knew her words had fallen on deaf ears when another of the mothers
later asked if she could fetch some fruit juice for her
daughter.

‘
Something unsweetened preferably, Saffy can get a bit hyper on
sugar,’ and Nina couldn’t help but wonder what the already manic
little girl was on now – speed perhaps?

She found
it hard to believe that these fussy indulgent women had anything in
common with Jess, but at the same time it was easy to see why she
was feeling browbeaten by their child-centric
obsessiveness.

Which was
why Nina almost welcomed the opportunity to stay in the background,
keeping an eye on the kids and cleaning up after their exploits.
Hell, it would be good practice for her, wouldn’t it?

Once
again she felt a knot in her chest at the notion of having a child
of her own to look after. She just couldn’t see it; and the truth
was it would never be like this, like these other mothers who all
had partners and husbands to share the workload. She looked around
at Jess and Brian’s wonderful house, considered their steady
marriage, good jobs and great lifestyle. They were the kind of
people who should be bringing children into the world; not
penniless singletons who had nowhere to live, and little to offer.
But as Jess herself had admitted before, sadly this often wasn’t
the way life worked.

Just then
Brian walked into the kitchen to find her at the sink washing out
some glasses. ‘Nina, what are you doing? Come outside and have a
drink and enjoy the sunshine.’

‘
Oh I don’t mind. It’s warm out there today so really, I’m
enjoying being out of the sun.’

‘
Well, come and sit under the parasol then. Can I get you a
glass of wine, or some champagne maybe?’

She
smiled. ‘Thanks, you’re very kind but I’m sort of …not drinking at
the moment.’

‘
I see.’ Again, a quick glance towards her middle.

‘
I’m not sure if Jess told you but –’

‘
Ah I understand,’ he said uncomfortably. ‘Well, in any case,
you really shouldn’t be doing our washing up. You’re a guest, and
more to the point we have a dishwasher.’ He chuckled and Nina
smiled.

Just
then, a noise sounded from outside, soon followed by almighty
toddler screams. Brian grimaced. ‘Then again, maybe you have the
right idea hiding away in here.’

‘
They are a bit … feisty, aren’t they?’ she ventured
delicately.

‘
Feisty? Brazen is the word I’d use. I don’t know what the hell
is wrong with Deirdre and Kevin but if any child of mine behaved
like those two boys they’d get a swift kick up the backside for
themselves. But of course, these days it’s all about letting them
‘express themselves’, isn’t it?’ He shook his head, and Nina was
finally able to put her finger on why things seemed so strained
between Jess and husband; clearly she and she alone was the one
driving the children thing.

And she
wondered now if this party had also been solely Jess’s idea. It
would certainly explain Brian’s reaction to the playfulness of the
kids and his weariness about having to clean up after
them.

‘
I guess you guys weren’t quite sure what you were letting
yourselves in for,’ she said trying to be diplomatic.

‘
You can say that again. Anyway, please do come outside,’ he
insisted, gesturing towards the garden. ‘I think the noise has
stopped, so it looks like the coast is clear, for a while at
least,’ he added with a wink.

Nina duly
followed Brian outside to where the other guests were either
sitting at the patio table, or standing around in small groups on
the lawn.

Looking
around to try and find Jess, she saw that she was sitting on the
bench at the bottom of the garden in conversation with Emer and
Deirdre. The girls looked to be in deep discussion, but while Emer
and Deirdre looked animated, Jess’s face was pale.

Then all
of a sudden Deirdre stood up and threw her arms around Emer,
hugging her fiercely.

‘
Oh wow! Oh my goodness! Everyone … great news!’ she exclaimed
and all conversation stopped as everyone else turned to see what
was going on. She nudged her friend. ‘Emer … tell them.’

Emer
stood up too. ‘Well, I know my husband will kill me for saying this
when he’s not here today but…’ She grinned proudly. ‘I’m kind of …
expecting again.’