Finishing Touches (48 page)

Nora lay doped to the eyeballs. There was not a flicker of recognition as her daughter lowered the rails and bent over and kissed her mother on her waxen cheek. Sitting down beside the bed, she
took Nora’s hand in hers and rubbed it between her own.

‘I’m here, Mam. You’ll be all right. Don’t worry. Cassie and John are here.’

‘Where’s Barbara?’ Cassie wearily asked John.

‘She was here this afternoon, then she had to go off to some gala. She said she’d ring you tomorrow.’

‘What about Irene and Martin? Have you told them?’

Her brother shook his head. ‘I wasn’t sure whether I should or not. I wanted to tell you first and see what you had to say. What do you think?’

‘I suppose we might as well wait until we see how it goes. Irene will only get hysterical. She can’t handle things like this at all. And there’s no point in having Martin
worrying until we know a bit more.’ Cassie wished someone else could make these decisions but knew that, as the eldest, it would be left to her.

‘That’s what I was thinking too,’ John nodded his agreement.

‘How’s Karen?’ Cassie enquired, as she stroked her mother’s hand.

John smiled. ‘She’s fine, Cassie. She’s the best in the world, you know.’

‘I know that, John. You were dead lucky to find her.’

‘You can say that again. She’s at home in Mam’s, airing a bedroom for you, and giving the place a bit of a tidy-up. She calls in every day and does a bit for Mam ever since she
started to – well, you know . . .’ John couldn’t bring himself to say ‘go a bit peculiar.’

‘I hope she’s not overdoing it, John. She has enough on her hands,’ Cassie said in concern. Her sister-in-law was heavily pregnant with her first child, and Cassie knew that
she and John were very anxious to have the house finished before the onset of winter. Karen also helped John with the paperwork of the business, so giving Nora a hand was more than kind of her.

‘Does Barbara visit much?’ Cassie asked. She knew that Nora was thrilled with her little grandchild. Maybe if her mother had someone like the baby to focus on a bit more it might
help her condition.

‘You know Barbara!’ John said wryly. ‘As far as she’s concerned, Port Mahon is a no-go area, the sticks! She visits about once a month. Irene writes every week. She loves
Washington. She’s staying with Dorothy and of course money’s no object there and Irene’s having the time of her life. She’s minding Dorothy’s baby, but as far as I can
gather, there’s a live-in nanny as well, so I don’t think she has to work too hard.’

‘Well, she can’t do that for ever; her money isn’t going to last. What’s she going to do then?’ Cassie snorted.

‘Search me!’ John grinned. ‘Meet a millionaire and marry him as fast as she can – I think that’s the plan.’

‘That’s as good a plan as any, I suppose,’ Cassie retorted drily. They sat silently for a while, lost in their own thoughts, with just Nora’s breathing breaking the
silence. Cassie felt a lump rise to her throat as she saw how vulnerable her mother looked in her hospital bed. What was to become of her? It was obvious that Nora could no longer live on her own.
There was no point in asking Irene to come home;
she’d
never cope with an ailing Nora. Barbara and John were married and had commitments, although Cassie knew that John and Karen
would bend over backwards to help out. That left her and Martin. And though he was scheduled to come home by the end of the year, Cassie just couldn’t see him agreeing to come back to Port
Mahon to live with his sick and ageing mother.

That left her! Whatever way she looked at it, it was always going to be
her
. Barbara wouldn’t look after Nora, Cassie just knew it. Irene couldn’t. If John and Karen had
their house built, Cassie felt that they would. But why should Karen have to take on the responsibility of her mother-in-law, when Nora had three daughters of her own?

Why should you have to shoulder it either, she argued fiercely with herself, feeling utterly trapped, very resentful and terribly guilty for harbouring such selfish and disloyal thoughts. But
God, things had been going so right for her: the house, the promotion, the interior design, getting on her feet after Robbie. And she had worked hard for everything she had achieved. She had
studied hard and it had paid off. And now, when she was relaxing and enjoying the benefits and having fun in her life, this!

‘Maybe we could get someone in,’ she spoke her thoughts aloud.

‘What?’ John looked at her enquiringly.

‘Sorry, I was thinking aloud,’ Cassie explained. ‘I was just thinking perhaps we should get someone to keep house for Mam when she gets home.’

‘Well, you know
we’d
take her if we had the place fixed up,’ John declared.

‘I know that but that’s not very fair on Karen, and besides Mam would be better off in her own home. Later on, if she gets really bad, she’ll have to come and stay with me, I
suppose. Barbara won’t take her and Irene would be useless.’

‘Mmm,’ John agreed, ‘but that’s not very fair on you either, is it?’

Cassie shrugged her shoulders. ‘Who said life was fair? It stinks, if you ask me, but John, when any of us were in a fix Mam always helped us out. I’m not going to turn my back on
her in her hour of need. I just wish I didn’t feel so goddamned resentful and angry about it. I feel like a lousy daughter and I hate myself.’

‘Cassie, you’re only human, and you deserve the most out of life the same as any of us. You’ve nothing to reproach yourself with. I think we should look at all the
possibilities before you commit yourself to anything,’ John said firmly. ‘We’ll talk to the doctor again tomorrow.’

A nurse came in and took Nora’s pulse. She had cracked a couple of ribs and broken her wrist in the accident but apart from that she had got off lightly.

‘I think you should leave now,’ the nurse said. ‘It’s been a long day for you and, as you can see, your mother is quite peaceful and she’ll sleep for the rest of
the night!’

Cassie looked at John. She hated leaving her mother on her own. Just say she woke up and was looking for them. ‘You go,’ she said. ‘I’ll stay here for a while longer.
Laura told me I could stay the night with them if I wanted and she’s given me a key.’

‘Are you sure, Cassie? It’s just that I’ve got to check up on the temperature in the glasshouses.’

‘Go on, John. Tell Karen I’ll see her tomorrow some time,’ Cassie ordered crisply.

When he had gone, the nurse offered to get her a pot of tea, and Cassie gratefully accepted. It seemed ages since she’d had a cup with the girls after dinner at home. As she sat sipping
the welcome brew, her mother stirred and muttered something inaudible. Cassie flew over to her.

‘It’s all right, Mam, I’m here,’ she whispered consolingly as she tucked the sheets around her mother. Nora’s eyes flickered open for a moment.

‘Cassssie,’ she slurred, and gave the tiniest smile before drifting back to sleep. Cassie felt a fierce surge of joy. Nora had recognized her and been aware she was there. Thank God
she had stayed just for that precious moment. She sat with her mother until long after midnight and then at the nurse’s urging she ordered a taxi to Laura’s apartment, comforted by the
fact that Nora was fast asleep and in no distress.

Although it was the small hours, and Cassie was very careful to make no noise as she let herself into the apartment, Laura had obviously been listening out for her because a few moments later
she emerged from her bedroom, pulling on a negligee, and joined Cassie in the lounge.

‘Well?’ she enquired anxiously.

Cassie burst into tears.

‘Oh Cassie! Cassie!’ Laura drew her sobbing friend to the sofa and put her arms around her. ‘What is it? Tell me what’s wrong with your mam.’

‘Laura, they think she might have Alzheimer’s. Oh God, what’s going to become of her? How do you cope with something like that? I just can’t bear the thought of
it.’

‘Oh, Christ above!’ Laura exclaimed. ‘Oh, Cassie, I don’t know what to say.’ She couldn’t imagine strong, outgoing Nora Jordan losing her mind to
dementia.

Cassie rubbed her eyes fiercely. ‘Oh Laura, I don’t know. It’s going to come to the stage that Mam will need a lot of caring and attention and I feel such a bitch because I
know it’s going to be left to me and I just resent it so much. Barbara couldn’t even stay at the hospital until I came. She had to go off to some gala or other. Irene will fall to
pieces when she hears and probably get an asthma attack. I can’t see Martin coming home. I know John and Karen will help out, but they don’t even have a proper house so that just leaves
me.’ Cassie shook her head, desperation written all over her beautiful face. ‘God, I get so fed up of being the strong, dependable one. It’s not fair, Laura. It’s just not
fair! And I feel disgusting and despicable for thinking such selfish, mean, ungrateful thoughts. Mam did everything for us, but there’s more than me and John in the family. The rest of them
share the responsibility as much as we do.’ She looked at her friend through blurry eyes. ‘Do you think I’m a selfish bitch?’

‘Don’t be daft, Cassie, you haven’t a selfish bone in your body!’ Laura retorted. ‘You’re just being very human, and if you ask me you’ve always taken
on more than your fair share of family responsibilities. Don’t take this on. You’ve been promoted, you’ve a life to live in Liverpool, you have commitments the same as the rest of
them. Don’t make the mistake of thinking
your
commitments are any less important than any of theirs. Believe me, Cassie, going on their past behaviour, Martin and Irene and most
certainly Barbara will be perfectly happy to let
you
take on the care of your mother. You’ve
got
to be strong. You’ve
got
to put your foot down this time.
You’ve
got
to think of yourself and your own future. I really mean it, Cassie!’ Laura warned as she poured out two glasses of brandy. ‘Here, drink this, it will help you
relax.’

Cassie sipped the warming spirits and stayed talking to Laura for a little while before finally going to bed. She found it difficult to sleep and she tossed and turned restlessly, trying to come
up with a solution to their dilemma that would best suit her mother and the family. The best she could come up with was that Nora should eventually come and live with her in Liverpool and the
others could contribute to having someone come in during the day to keep an eye on their mother. Exhausted, Cassie finally slept.

‘Oh noooo!’ Barbara gave a groan of dismay as the insistent wail of a baby disturbed her sleep. Ian was on a drugs stake-out somewhere so she’d have to get up
to Britt herself. She’d called the baby Britt after Britt Ekland, whom she’d always thought exceedingly glamorous and to whom she fondly fancied she bore a striking resemblance.

She was absolutely whacked. She’d been to a charity gala organized by Lorna Smythe, the social queen of the country. If you were invited to one of Lorna’s dos you automatically went
on to everyone else’s guest list. Oh yes! Barbara was on the ‘A’ list now, after years of brown-nosing and sycophantic toadying to all the right people, even though at times it
had nearly killed her. She had finally made it! And she intended to stay on there. She was going to write a wondrously glowing report about Lorna’s gala and all the high-society movers and
shakers who had attended. About some of them, of course, she would write a barbed comment or two, like Mike Boyle, who was the greatest male chauvinist going and who thought he was God’s gift
to women. Pulling ‘birds’ was all he could talk and think about. Thinking about it was probably all he could actually do. A fat, florid, heavy drinker, Barbara doubted if he had made
love to a woman in years despite his boasting. That was a good caption. ‘Boyle’s Boasts!’ Yes, she’d do something with that in the morning.

If only Britt would stop bawling so she could get some sleep. Wearily she dragged herself from the bed and went into her daughter’s bedroom. Britt’s cheeks were roaring red and she
was wet; she was getting teeth. Barbara changed her nappy and gave her a spoonful of Calpol, and when there was no sign of an end to her howls, she went with bad grace to the kitchen to make up a
bottle.

She wondered if Cassie had got home. This thing with her mother was very disturbing. Barbara was shocked to hear that Nora might be suffering from senile dementia or whatever the hell name they
were calling it. She hoped to God it wasn’t hereditary. She’d have to be very careful too that word of it didn’t leak out to anyone she knew. If any of her rivals got wind of it
it would be a disaster. She was already conducting a feud in print with Kristi Killeen, chief hackette of a rival newspaper. Kristi, in Barbara’s opinion, should win the Booker Prize for
fiction, for fiction was all she wrote, pretending to have been at this bash and that do. At least Barbara wrote about things she
went
to, even if she did a bit of embroidery at times.
They had been sniping at each other for ages now but Barbara had really seen red when the bitch wrote about a certain ‘big-ears busybody’ who was spotted buying Babygros in Dunnes.
Surely, said Kristi, someone on her supposedly fabulous salary could afford to shop in BT.

It was unmistakably directed at her and Barbara didn’t know whether she was more annoyed with the crack about her big ears or about shopping in Dunnes. And wouldn’t she love to know
just who had seen her in Dunnes! Mind, Barbara got her own back magnificently, writing about ‘a big-bottomed bore,’ infamous for free-loading – hence the weight problem –
who had told people she was going on a very expensive island-hopping cruise in the Mediterranean on a yacht belonging to a Greek tycoon. Fortunately for Barbara, Noreen Varling, who also happened
to be on holidays in the Greek islands, had spotted her protégée’s arch-rival, looking hot and sweaty and lugging her own luggage up the gangplank of a tourist ferry-boat.
Noreen had been so excited at her discovery she had phoned Barbara from Greece and urged her to use it in her column the next day. Barbara, of course, needed no second urging and it had been the
most gratifying filleting job of her journalistic career so far!