The House by the Liffey (20 page)

A few months after the explosions in the city centre Izzy went off to the USA for her concert tour, with her first appearance, as planned, being at Carnegie Hall. Originally she was to be accompanied by her parents and Maggie, but Mageen, Sarah, Bill and Harry were so determined to be there for such a special high point in Izzy's career, that they all made whatever adjustments were necessary to their various commitments and arrived in time for the big moment. To her bitter disappointment Aunt May had a nasty dose of flu and wasn't able to attend.

As was expected the concert was a sell-out. The whole family was bursting with pride. Sitting waiting for the concert to begin they chatted quietly.

‘Who would have believed that our unplanned, unexpected child, and the one who was so frail when she was little, would have become an international star? I can't believe that I'm truly sitting here in Carnegie Hall, waiting for her to start playing Rachmaninoff.'

‘It's a weird feeling, Milo, and this is going to sound so silly – but
I
feel nervous and
I'm
not the one who's going to be performing.'

‘I do too, Noola darlin', but don't we always feel that way when we're at Izzy's concerts?'

‘Yes, Mammy, but never quite so much as I do now.'

Milo laughed.

‘And I thought I was just being an over-anxious dad.'

Overhearing him, Harry also laughed.

‘Since you've admitted it, I must say I'm nervous too, I'm certain we all are!'

It was a resounding success and there would be rave reviews the next day. After the concert there were celebrations well into the small hours. Afterwards Milo and Noola, with enormous pride and pleasure, reflected on Izzy's success.

‘It's unbelievable, especially when you consider all she went through.'

‘You know, Noola, I'm convinced that surviving and recovering from that appalling experience has made her into a person who will cope with anything life may throw at her.'

‘Yes, my darling. Just like Mageen, only Izzy's experience was even worse. It's a wonder she came out of it sane and normal.'

‘Well she certainly did and it looks as if this is only the beginning of her success.'

‘Let's hope and pray for that.'

Inwardly he couldn't help reflecting how proud his father would have been of this gifted grandchild. I wish you knew, Dad, he thought to himself. But then, maybe you do – you who, I'm quite convinced, protected her when she so needed you. Maybe I'm becoming a nutter!

Milo, Bill, Harry and Sarah had to return home, but Noola and Maggie stayed with Izzy for the remainder of her tour and revelled in the whole amazing experience. Izzy's last concert was scheduled to be in Minneapolis where she was to play with the prestigious Minnesota Orchestra. For several days leading up to the concert they stayed in a big comfortable hotel close to the concert hall, this allowing rehearsals with the orchestra. Izzy developed an allergic reaction to something, she wasn't sure what, but the old familiar rash broke out. At a small, privately owned pharmacy nearby, recommended by the receptionist at the hotel, she asked for some of the lotion which she knew would help. The pharmacist had difficulty finding exactly what she wanted and called the owner/manager. A good-looking man came to speak to her and looked at her with delight.

‘You're Iseult Butler, the pianist, aren't you?'

‘Yes, I am,' she answered, with pleasure at being recognised, although this was becoming quite a common occurrence. However, she hadn't expected a pharmacist to recognise her, although she couldn't quite think why.

‘I'm going to your concert tomorrow and really looking forward to it.'

‘Thank you. I hope you enjoy it.'

‘I know I will. Now let me see what I can find that will get rid of that rash. Something not needing a prescription.'

He searched around and found a lotion for her.

‘I'm pretty sure this will do the trick.'

‘Thank you so much.'

She got out her purse to pay.

‘No, no. Please, it's on the house. It's not every day I've the pleasure of serving an internationally recognised pianist.'

‘That really is very kind. Thank you.'

He was tall and slim with crew-cut silver hair, blue eyes and a warm smile. He also had a closely trimmed beard and moustache, in colour a little darker than his hair. He had a very sympathetic aura about him and she liked him.

‘We'll be having a celebration after the concert. As a thank you for your generous gesture would you and your wife like to join us?'

‘I'd love that but I have no wife.'

Why did that make her feel pleased?

‘I don't know your name.'

‘I'm Jed Seabourne.'

‘Well, Jed, if there's anyone else you'd like to bring along that would be fine.'

‘No. It'll just be me and I look forward to that.'

Like all her other concerts it was a huge success, with a standing ovation for Izzy. Much to her delight Jed turned up afterwards for the party. They got along like a house on fire and Noola and Maggie liked him too, finding him very sociable and easy to talk to. He seemed almost old fashioned in his manners and attitude generally and he didn't have too strong an American accent which, perhaps, could have made him difficult to understand at times to the untuned ear. However, he was obviously a lot older than Izzy and, in a way, they were quite glad they were going home soon, for she seemed to be more than a little taken with him. Remembering her attraction to Bertie, it occurred to Noola that Izzy seemed to have a preference for older men and wondered if they gave her a sense of security perhaps not given by younger men. It was getting late and the party was winding down. Izzy felt free to spend a little more time with Jed, having been meticulous in talking to all the other guests and indeed revelling in the generous accolade for the final concert of her tour.

‘Sorry I haven't been able to spend much time with you, Jed, but I'm so pleased you came along.'

‘So am I, Miss Butler.'

‘Oh, my friends all call me Izzy and I'd be happy for you to do the same.'

‘Thank you. I feel honoured to be regarded as a friend.'

‘Well, you were so kind to me yesterday how could I regard you any other way?'

‘If you've nothing special planned for your last few days here I'd love to give you a guided tour of our places of interest. Did you know we've strong connections around here with Hiawatha and Minnehaha?'

‘No, although we were very excited at seeing the mighty Mississippi. We've been so taken up with my concert arrangements here that we haven't had much time for sightseeing.' She paused for a moment. ‘But I would
love
to have a guided tour given by someone who lives locally and knows the places worth seeing. I'm sure my mother and grandmother would be delighted too. Give me a few minutes to talk to them. I won't be long.'

He made his way over to the bar, hardly taking his eyes off her, while she spoke earnestly to Noola and Maggie. She put the proposal to them.

‘I really would love to have Jed show us the sights. What do you think?'

They looked at the eager, anxious face. Izzy had worked so hard; had had an exhausting tour and not that much time to do what she really wanted. Concert after concert; rehearsal after rehearsal; daily practice for hours. She wasn't asking much of them and somehow they couldn't refuse. They liked Jed but still had those reservations. However, they'd soon be home and she'd probably forget him quite quickly.

‘You don't want to go and have a quick look at California, perhaps San Francisco for a few days?'

‘I really would rather stay here, Mum.'

‘All right, sweetheart, why not? What about you, Mammy?'

‘I'm just happy to be with you both, wherever it may be in this fascinating country.'

‘Mum, Granny, you're wonderful. Thank you.'

The radiant face was their reward. She hurried back to Jed.

‘Yes, they're happy to accept your offer.'

He gave her a marvellous smile and joined Noola and Maggie.

‘Thank you both. I feel so privileged to be allowed to act as guide to an international star and her family. In fact I'm really excited.'

‘Can you get time off at such short notice?'

‘Well, actually I own the pharmacy and have an excellent assistant manager who I trust. I rarely take time off so I feel quite comfortable asking her to look after things for a few days.'

They were there for their last three days and found it genuinely interesting, with Jed as a wonderful guide. He behaved impeccably and didn't try to push anything with Izzy. They couldn't have faulted him, although he said very little about himself and they didn't want to pry. So on the last evening Noola and Maggie agreed that they would back out of dinner and leave the two of them to have some time to themselves. Izzy felt so comfortable in his company and had longed for a chance to have him to herself, so was highly delighted. Jed felt as if he had been given a million dollars.

Neither would ever forget that evening. He took her to a restaurant in a highly recommended hotel where there was live music and dancing. He wanted to know all about her and in her forthright way she chatted away about her family and Riverside and the family's great love affair with the River Liffey. In turn he told her how he'd been to college, but decided he would like to try running his own business. How hard it was at first and how he had sometimes worked eighteen hours a day to pay off the outstanding loan to the bank, not minding what he did: labouring, working in bars and so on. But now he had almost paid off the debt and would soon own the business outright. He felt quite proud of his achievements. His foster parents had been dead for some years. He had no known relatives and didn't want to pursue any enquiries in that direction in case he found they weren't what he might have chosen.

‘Is that very selfish, Izzy?'

She thought for a moment.

‘No. Actually I can understand. I've heard of people discovering they had relatives who they would have preferred not to know.'

‘Izzy, these have been the most wonderful few days of my life. I can't remember when I've been happier. Would you be willing to keep in touch? I know we live far apart and I'm a lot older than you but I'd be really sad to lose all contact. Could we be penfriends?'

He seemed almost wistful. She didn't hesitate. She'd been hoping he might make some suggestion of this kind.

‘It's been such a happy time for me too. I'd love to keep in touch. The penfriend idea is great. Then if I come back for another concert tour we could meet up again or you might even come to Ireland for a holiday.'

‘Well, you just never know. Now how about a dance?'

‘Yes. That would be lovely.'

He took her in his arms and she had the weird feeling that she had come home, this was where she belonged. They danced slowly around the floor and she nestled her cheek next to his. They didn't speak – words weren't needed and afterwards, in true gentlemanly fashion, he took her back to her hotel and said goodnight, with a brief peck on the cheek. He didn't dare to wait for her to suggest a nightcap, for he wouldn't have been able to refuse and he was frightened where it might lead. There was no way he was going to risk being tempted any further or, more to the point, compromising Izzy.

Next morning he drove them to the airport to see them off, courteous and considerate to the last. They said goodbye reluctantly, but Noola didn't extend an invitation for him to stay at Riverside if he came to Dublin. She was still much too concerned about the obvious age gap between him and Izzy and was relieved there was such a big distance separating them. Moreover, much as she admired the United States, she was rather appalled at the idea of Izzy possibly emigrating to America. She simply didn't want one of her children so far away from her. The UK was quite far enough. Later Izzy would look back on 1973 as such a happy year.