Positively Yours (21 page)

‘She just loves all the kitchen appliances. She could stare at the washing machine all day,' said Sharon. ‘And she adores helping me unpack the dishwasher. You're a great help, aren't you?' she said to Chloe.

As Sharon started slicing the bread for lunch Chloe went hell for leather trying to grab the clean plates. Grace watched in horror as the scene played out like a Greek wedding. Chloe systematically picked up every plate from the dishwasher rack and flung them on to the ground. The first two just rolled on to the floor, but the third smashed. Grace ran to grab the fourth out of her hand but she wasn't quick enough. Chloe held it high, and then smashed it on to the brand-new wood floor. Grace looked at Sharon, expecting her to give out to Chloe, but instead Sharon just smiled.

‘She's a lively baby, isn't she? Always wanting to be into everything!'

Grace didn't know what to do. As she sat among broken china she wondered whether she should reprimand Chloe herself. Chloe needed to learn rules. But eventually Sharon picked Chloe up and asked her to not break mummy's plates again. Although she hugged Chloe as she said it, which Grace thought made it less likely that Chloe would learn that she'd done something wrong.

As the two friends caught up over the rest of the afternoon, Grace began to realize how much work a baby was: with mixing bottles, feeding, nappy changing and playing it was all go. Chloe was a cutie, but at the same time Grace was surprised how lenient Sharon was. The toddler chewed books, ripped up the newspaper, broke a cup and spilt water everywhere. Grace
knew she didn't mean any of it, but still, she remembered Sharon as a tough-talking hard-working career woman, and couldn't get used to seeing her so soft and easy to walk over. Finally Grace knew she should go. She had enjoyed catching up with her oldest friend, but the conversation kept becoming one in which Sharon tried to make Grace understand how lucky she was, and to tell her how much she would love being a mum. Chloe and Sharon walked Grace to the door.

‘You know, it took us three rounds of IVF to get pregnant with Chloe. It was awful. And as much as we'd love to have more kids, we couldn't go through it all again – the stress, worry, cost, medication and pressure. No, Chloe will be our only child.'

Grace didn't know what to say. After seeing how Sharon idolized Chloe she could imagine how unbearable she must find it, not being able to have another baby.

‘I know I'm too soft on Chloe, but she's a great child, and she is the only person who is ever going to call me Mama. And that is worth more to me than any amount of china plates.'

Grace looked at Sharon, who had her arms wrapped tightly around the baby. Chloe had been her one chance at having a family. Grace leant forward and hugged both Sharon and Chloe at the same time. She wasn't converted, but as she watched little Chloe wave goodbye, she thought she felt her heart start to melt. Just a little.

‘
OK, HOLD YOUR
hand steady. It won't work if you don't stop moving.'

‘What is it, Mary? I can't see properly without my glasses. What will it be?' asked Patsy Slattery excitedly.

Grace groaned, but at the same time watched with interest, as her Aunt Mary held a needle and thread over her right hand.

‘It's a circle,' cried Grace's other aunt, Joan. ‘A circle!'

‘Oh my God, that means a girl. A little girl. I knew it!' exclaimed Patsy, as she hugged Grace.

‘Mum, holding a bit of thread over my hand isn't hard science! It's an old wives' tale, so let's not start painting the nursery pink just yet.'

‘Grace Slattery, how dare you!' said Patsy.

‘It's Grace Miller, Mum.'

‘OK, Grace Miller. Your Aunt Mary has been holding this “bit of thread” over women's hands for years. She has predicted every child in this road correctly for as long as I can remember. She kindly offered to let us know what Baby Miller will be, and I'm telling you now: if she says it's a girl then it is.'

Grace looked at her aunt.

‘It's true. The needle doesn't lie!'

‘Congratulations, pet,' said Joan. ‘We've all been dying for a
girl! Girls are just great! I mean, of course, I love my boys, but God what I wouldn't do for a bit of pink in the house. Every wash is black, grey or blue. And I swear if I have to watch any more football I'll explode! To have a little girl in the family would just be perfect. Imagine the clothes!'

Grace pretended she wasn't totally buying into her aunt's old-fashioned way of predicting the sex of the baby, but as her mum and aunts chatted about baby clothes she did start to imagine a little girl. She would have Ethan's fair hair and her own pale skin. She would be so cute.

As Grace allowed herself to fantasize about having an all-pink gorgeous daughter, Patsy was on the phone to Colm.

‘OK, if you want to come home for dinner that's no problem. We'd love to see you! Sure I'm cooking Grace's favourite food tonight, don't I have to keep this baby healthy? What? Oh yes, Colm, the washing machine is free to use after dinner,' Patsy said, her voice changing. ‘God, is that the only reason you ever come to visit me? To have your dirty T-shirts washed? Well, I'm telling you enjoy it while it lasts, because once this baby girl arrives it will be every man for himself. No, I'll be too busy with Grace and the baby to be washing your clothes. Anyway, we will see you tonight.'

Grace was staying with her mum for a few days while Ethan was away. He was on holiday with his parents in Italy. Sally and Bill Miller were lovely. Like Ethan they were healthy, full of energy and kind. They lived in San Jose, which wasn't too far from San Diego, so it had been easy for Ethan to visit them. Bill had retired last year, and once they'd heard about Grace and Ethan's trip to Ireland they'd decided it would be a great time for them to do the big holiday to Europe that they had always dreamt of. They started in Dublin, and after two weeks in ‘Eire' they planned to head to France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Croatia and Poland. Their trip had been mapped out well in advance of Grace's pregnancy news, but they'd been delighted
to get a chance to see the bump, their future grandchild, while in Dublin.

Patsy had been very nervous about their visit. She had met them at the wedding, of course, and seen photos of their big house in America, and knew they enjoyed a superb lifestyle. And she wanted to impress them. Bill and Sally had stayed in Foxrock with Grace and Ethan, but when they had arrived two weeks ago Patsy had decided to cook a big meal for them all, to celebrate Grace's pregnancy. Patsy, and Grace's two aunts, had spent all week cleaning, decorating, fixing the small garden and cooking – and Patsy had even got her hair done. Unfortunately the meal had gotten off to a bad start once Bill had arrived.

‘So this must be your city house,' he had said as he'd walked up the short driveway. ‘Yes, we keep a small place in the city, too. In San Fran it just makes more sense to keep the city home small. Like yourself, it's easier to keep.'

‘Oh, what a cute townhouse!' Sally had said as she walked into the modest hallway.

Oh crap, had thought Grace. She had turned to see her mum's face flush with anger.

‘Our “city house”? Our “townhouse”?' Patsy had said quietly to Grace. She'd been furious. ‘This is our family house, where we raised three children. Teddy worked hard for this house and family home. My God, if he could hear them now!' Grace tried to persuade Patsy that Bill and Sally hadn't meant to be unkind. They came from very fortunate backgrounds, and they just weren't used to such small family houses. Eventually Patsy had calmed down and started cooking the dinner.

The small kitchen had been crowded as they'd all sat down to one of Patsy's famous home-cooked meals: a chicken and broccoli bake with white wine and cream.

‘Oh, Patsy, I'm lactose intolerant,' Sally had said, as she'd eyed up the plates dripping with cream.

Grace had panicked; this wasn't America, they didn't have a healthy alternative. Patsy's face had shown annoyance and distress, too. Suddenly Aunt Mary had come to the rescue by offering to make Sally a chicken salad instead. Grace had sat down, and hadn't been at all surprised to see the size of her plate. Ever since Patsy had heard that Grace was pregnant with her grandchild, she had taken it upon herself to make sure that Grace ate for two, although it actually felt like three. She was being force-fed all day long.

‘You just have to eat well. We want to make sure this baby is healthy and happy.'

‘Happy or fat?' Aidan had asked, on more than one occasion.

While making sure Grace ate plenty, Patsy had also done novenas for her grandchild. Half the road had been forced to join Patsy on her quest for the safest ever delivery of a child.

As Grace tucked into her food, Bill and Sally had told everyone about their trip. From Rome to Berlin, they wanted to see it all.

‘God, sure, I haven't been to most of those places myself,' Patsy had said, as she'd poured everyone, apart from Grace, some wine.

‘Well, Patsy, we've been all around the world, from Africa to Australia, but really we've been meaning to do this big European trip for years, and now that Ethan and Grace are in Ireland it felt like the right time. But we would really love for the kids to join us, even for a part of it.'

Grace had looked at Bill, and then at Ethan. Bill and Sally had been asking Grace and Ethan to join them on their trip for months. Initially Ethan had said he couldn't ask for time off work, and then once Grace got pregnant he had told his parents he just wanted to stay with her, but Grace had realized they would love to have their son and daughter-in-law with them.

‘Mom, you know I can't take that long off work,' Ethan had replied.

‘We're not expecting you to come for the whole trip, but you've always wanted to see Rome and Pompeii, could you not even join us for a few days?'

Grace had seen Ethan weaken. He'd always longed to see where the Roman emperors had ruled, and where pizza originated, and marvel at the once-buried city of Pompeii. But Grace had been adamant that she didn't want to go away. She didn't feel that well, her back and legs hurt, and even though she was five months' pregnant she was still suffering from morning sickness. She was just too tired to spend hours walking around the streets of Rome and Pompeii. As she'd watched Bill explain the trip in detail she'd seen Ethan's eyes light up; he would love to go. All Americans dream of one day visiting Europe, and her husband had been no exception.

‘Listen,' she'd said to Ethan, ‘why don't you join your parents on the Italian leg of their holiday? I'm sure work could survive without you for a week.'

‘How can I leave you and the baby?' he'd replied.

‘I've a few months left until this baby pops out! So there's no fear of you missing the birth. Just go on the trip and me and our bump will still be here when you return.'

Ethan hadn't needed any more convincing, and before long he'd been talking itineraries, hotels and sightseeing with his dad. Patsy had also seen this as a golden opportunity.

‘And Grace can stay with me,' she'd said proudly. ‘In my townhouse,' she'd added. Colm and Aidan had sniggered.

‘Mum, I've my own house now.'

‘I know, but what would you be staying on your own in that fancy house in Foxrock for, when you could stay with me? I'll look after you.'

Grace hadn't felt like committing to staying with her mum immediately, but as the whole table had gazed at them, she'd
realized her mum only meant well, and she hadn't wanted to embarrass her in front of their guests.

‘I'd love to stay with you, Mum,' she had said quickly, much to the amusement of her brothers.

‘Oh, that will be lovely for you,' Sally had said to Patsy as she'd passed around the water. ‘I've no daughters, but I can only imagine what a wonderful relationship it is, especially when they are as nice as Grace. You'll miss her when they go back home. Especially with the baby. But you'll just have to visit us all in California more!'

‘Oh yes,' said Bill. ‘We can't wait to have Baby Miller visiting us at the weekends. He or she will just love our pool. I'll teach him how to swim!'

Neither Grace, Ethan or Patsy had responded. The issue of what they would do after the baby was born had been a sore subject for them all. Naturally Ethan wanted to return to San Diego, while Patsy was adamant her grandchild would be raised in Ireland, under her close eye. Grace didn't know what to do or say, she was still trying to get her head around the thought of being a mum, without worrying about what continent she'd be on.

‘Oh well, we'll just have to see about that,' Patsy had said. Despite her best efforts she had spent the night being insulted or upset at every turn.

Luckily Bill and Sally had been tired from their long transatlantic flight, and everyone had decided to head off early. Grace had known Patsy was ruffled, but she had seemed to mellow when Bill and Sally had insisted on taking photos ‘of this gem of a house', that was so close to the city, to show their friends back home. Sally had also brought some beautiful crystal as a gift, and soon Patsy had been insisting they visit again.

For the next fortnight Ethan's parents had used Grace and Ethan's place as a base as they travelled around from West Cork to Blarney. Grace had known Ethan loved having them there, and their kindness had been never-ending: from meals out to gifts from all their trips, they had never stopped showing Grace how much they cared. But she hadn't been able to face another awful touristy Irish souvenir. All the gift shops had to have been sold out of their baby wear. From Babygros with leprechauns on them, to little hats covered in shamrocks, Grace had been amazed at how tacky and embarrassing the gifts were. She'd known Ethan's parents meant well, but there was no way her baby could hold its head high wearing a Blarney Castle snowsuit. Maybe in America, but not here. Also, after two weeks of explaining about the famine and other injustices, and marking on a map where Irish heroes like Michael Collins had died, she had been a little worn down. Their endless energy had made her realize she was right not to go to Italy with them. They might be double her age, but Grace and her ever-growing bump hadn't been able to keep up with them. Finally Ethan had packed his bag, and after hugging Grace and their bump tight, he had headed off to live out his Italian dream. Grace was a little worried he might be expecting Rome to look exactly like in the film
Gladiator
; she didn't have the heart to tell him it had probably been modernized since then.