Second Time Around (17 page)

The small house sat in a sprawling estate in Kilbarrack and, as she approached her family home, Jess noticed that the wall could do with a coat of paint, and the grass and flowerbeds were
overgrown. She’d have to nag Noel to do something about it. She pulled out her keys, then hesitated. Given how strained things were at the moment, it seemed inappropriate to let herself in,
so she rang the doorbell. Suzie came to the door, her face lighting up when she saw her. For an instant, Jess thought that she looked like she used to, always greeting her with a welcoming smile.
Instead of the fancy tops and tight trousers she’d taken to wearing, Suzie was dressed in a warm top and comfortable jeans and, like Jess, she wore no makeup.

‘Jess, what a nice surprise. I’ve been calling you.’ There was no reproach in her voice but a wariness in her eyes. ‘Have you lost your key?’

‘No.’

Suzie frowned when she offered no explanation but didn’t comment. ‘Come on in. I’ll put on the kettle.’

Jess didn’t want tea but she went along with the ritual, perching on the edge of the chair. ‘Where’s Noel?’

‘He has his last exam today and then a few of them are going out on the town tonight. I’m so glad it’s finally over. He could do with a rest.’

‘He’ll have plenty of time to rest,’ Jess scoffed, irritated that, while her mother’s personality had changed and she was lashing out at everyone, Noel was still the
blue-eyed boy. Suzie brought the tea to the table and opened a packet of chocolate biscuits. ‘You said you’ve been calling me. What was it you wanted to say?’ Jess prompted.

‘I wanted to say sorry for talking to you like that in the hospital.’

Jess shook her head. What kind of an apology was that? ‘So, you’re not sorry for what you said, just where you said it?’

Suzie looked cross. ‘Why are you trying to trip me up? You know how I feel about your relationship with Louis Healy.’

‘Now you call it a “relationship”? In the hospital I was fucking my way to the top.’

‘I never said that.’

Jess shrugged. ‘The words may have been different but your meaning was clear. It was certainly obvious to all the patients and staff on the ward.’

‘Well, I’m sorry, but I get angry every time I think of you letting that man maul you. You’re worth ten of him – no, twenty. You’re not still seeing him, are
you?’

‘Frankly, it’s none of your business. I’m an adult, Mum, and I’ll do what I want, I don’t need your permission and I have no interest in your opinion.’

Suzie looked gobsmacked. She sat in silence for a long moment. ‘No, you don’t,’ she said finally, ‘but, if you have an ounce of the self-respect or integrity I believe
you to, then you will stay away from him.’

Jess gave a small nod. She was not going to admit she’d broken up with Louis. Maybe it was childish but she wanted her mother to realise that she wouldn’t tolerate her
interference.

‘The reason I came over is to tell you that you can’t lash out like that any more. That behaviour is completely unacceptable and it’s not good for Sharon.’ She saw her
mother’s eyes widen but forced herself to continue. ‘I understand that you are thoughtless and insensitive because of your brain injury, but you have to understand how hurtful it is for
us. In a way, we’ve lost our mum. Well, Sharon and I have. It seems Noel can do no wrong.’

‘That’s not true!’ her mother protested.

‘It is, but that’s fine. We all spoiled him. What’s not fine is the way you talk to Sharon about Bobby and the way you talk to him too.’

Suzie’s expression was stubborn. ‘I speak my mind.’

‘No one wants to hear your opinion,’ Jess said bluntly. ‘This isn’t about you, Mum. It’s not even about Bobby. Sharon’s life and the health of her baby are
all that matters now. We need to work together to keep her calm and’ – she glared at her mother – ‘if that means not speaking your mind, then that’s the way it’s
going to be, okay?’

Suzie stared at her, looking stunned, and finally nodded.

‘Good.’ She stood up to leave.

‘Jess?’ She paused in the doorway and looked back at her mother.

‘I’ll do my best.’

Jess gave her a grudging smile. ‘That’s all I ask.’

Strolling back along Dollymount beach, Jess felt optimistic. That had gone much better than she’d expected. To get an apology was one thing but seeing some understanding
in her mother’s expression of the harm she was doing was worth so much more.

Jess thought of what lay ahead of them and sighed. How she was going to juggle her workload and help look after a child was beyond her. She often boasted that she could work from anywhere but it
was impossible around Bobby. She hadn’t been the best aunt so far. She never knew what to say to the child. Her attempts to engage him were usually blanked and she’d end up putting on a
kid’s movie and watching it with him, although she seemed to enjoy them more than he did.

Noel was the one who seemed best able to reach the child. Perhaps it was because he was still a big kid himself and a bit of a nerd. He didn’t try to charm or impress Bobby. He just hung
out with him. Jess’s thoughts turned to Cal and the promise she’d made to check on Noel. It had gone completely out of her head since Sharon had been rushed to hospital, but she’d
arrange to see him soon. Apart from sussing out if he was worried about anything, she needed to impress on him how important it was that they keep their mother under control. Jess had played down
Sharon’s scare as Noel was in the middle of his exams, but, now that he was done, she could tell him the full story.

Keith had called her after the obstetrician had taken him aside for a private word, leaving him in no doubt of the seriousness of Sharon’s condition. When he’d told Jess she’d
promised faithfully that he had their support and they’d do everything they could to help. She hoped they could rely on Suzie to step up to the plate. She felt more confident now that
they’d talked – or, rather,
she’d
talked and her mother had seemed to listen. They’d cope. It might not be the easiest thing they’d ever done
but, one way or another, they’d cope.

Jess’s phone vibrated in the pocket of her hoody and she tugged it out, groaning when she saw that it was from Louis. She stared at it for a moment, then shoving it back
into her pocket, carried on walking. She didn’t really want to read it. She could always say that she hadn’t received it if it was work-related, and he’d be forced to email her.
On the other hand, he might decide to pay her another visit. Jess left the beach, clambered back up onto the boardwalk and, crossing to her favourite café, ordered a coffee. She took it to a
table overlooking the bay and set the phone on the table in front of her. After a couple of sips, she read Louis’s text.

Her heart skipped a beat at the request and she remembered the early days of their romance when Louis had been sweet and loving. As she sat pondering how best to respond, another message came
through, this time from Keith, asking her if she’d babysit tomorrow night. Relieved that the decision had been taken out of her hands, Jess fired off a text to Keith saying yes and then one
to Louis saying that she couldn’t go to Cork as she had family commitments. Of course, she should have just said no but, if Keith hadn’t asked her to babysit, she knew that she might
have been tempted to go with him. There was no hope for her.

The phone vibrated again: a message from Keith, thanking her; but there was no response from Louis. She shivered, wondering if Louis would make her pay for this. She had managed to avoid him
since the day that Cal had interrupted them but she knew he was annoyed. She shook her head. There was no point in worrying about that now. She checked her emails. There was one from Beth and
another from Dermot, both looking for pieces by Friday. Good. If she was kept busy, she’d have no time to worry about Louis. Jess finished her coffee and headed home to work.

Suzie was getting ready for her ‘date’ when her sister rang.

‘What are you going to wear?’

Remembering that Mandy thought that this was a
real
date, Suzie grinned and pretended to be nervous and excited. The second was true, but not for the reason Mandy
thought. Still, maybe if her sister thought they were dating, she’d back off and let Doug go to Zagreb alone. ‘I haven’t a clue, Mandy. Any ideas?’

‘Something casual and comfortable,’ her sister advised. ‘Douglas will be dragging you round for hours and he certainly won’t bother dressing up.’

Suzie had to smile at that. If Mandy had seen him in his heyday she’d have been flabbergasted by the man’s style. It also occurred to her that her sister didn’t want her to
look her best.

‘He looked smart enough the other day,’ she said to Mandy.

‘Only because I put on a wash and left those clothes out for him.’

Suzie frowned. She didn’t like the idea of Mandy having access to Douglas’s bedroom, let alone his closets. Surely a personal assistant shouldn’t be quite
that
personal. She decided it was time for straight talking. ‘Mandy, do you have a problem with me going out with Douglas?’

There was a short silence on the other end of the line and then a splutter of laughter. ‘Of course not. Once you stick with visiting galleries and leave the four-star hotels to me,
it’s cool.’

Suzie scowled. The one thing worse than Mandy being able to have almost any man, was the fact that she knew it. Suzie hoped Doug wouldn’t take the bait. She didn’t know why she felt
so protective of him. Sure, it would be wonderful to see him happy again but with a nice woman who would be a companion and a friend, not someone who wanted him for his money. Still, remembering
the clever businessman she’d worked for, she knew that she should have more faith in him.

‘I’m on my way out too,’ Mandy was saying. ‘Have a good evening and don’t do anything I’d do.’

There was no chance of that. ‘Bye, Mandy.’

Suzie continued to dither over what to wear, finally narrowing it down to two outfits, which she left out on the bed. Nora was in Dublin and had offered to come round and do
her hair, so Suzie decided to let her choose.

When Nora walked into the bedroom, she raised her eyebrows when she saw her selections.

‘Let me guess. You bought these when you were on your shopping spree with Mandy.’

‘Yeah, why? What’s wrong with them?’

‘Honestly?’

‘Of course, honestly,’ Suzie snapped. What bloody use was an opinion if it wasn’t an honest one?

‘Okay, here goes. You look great, Suzie and you know I love your new hairstyle, but these clothes just don’t suit you. They’re for a young woman, although I’m not even
sure either of your daughters would wear them.’

Suzie looked at the clothes and mentally went through the girls’ wardrobes and realised Nora was right. Jess wore rich but muted colours that suited her colouring, and, though she
didn’t have much money, she always looked classy. Sharon was much more adventurous and adored fashion and pretty colours, but she never wore the short skirts or skimpy tops that Mandy had
persuaded her to buy.

Suzie frowned, trying to figure out what was wrong with the two outfits. One was a simple, above-the-knee black dress and she had to hold her breath in order to zip it up. The effects were that
her breasts were pushed up, giving her an ample cleavage. The other outfit was tight blue jeans teamed with a blue halter neck that again flattered her breasts and made her look and feel young and
sexy. Maybe Nora was just jealous that she was able to wear clothes like this now, but no. She immediately dismissed the thought. Nora was an attractive, confident woman with her own unique
style.

‘Remember what you were wearing the day we met Douglas?’

Suzie frowned as she tried to recall. ‘My blue top and trousers?’ It was the only outfit she’d selected herself and Mandy had dismissed it as frumpy.

‘It brought out the lovely blue of your eyes and you looked relaxed and comfortable. That’s the Suzie Douglas fell for.’

Suzie had to grin at the thought of Doug Hamilton falling for Suzie Clarke!

Luckily, Nora’s attention was still focused on the clothes. ‘Do you think you’re going to look or feel comfortable in either of these outfits?’

She glanced at her new wardrobe and sighed. Few of them were made with comfort in mind but Mandy said you had to suffer to be beautiful.

‘Honestly, Suzie? Dressed like that you just look like an older version of Mandy. But Douglas didn’t ask your sister out: he asked
you
.’

‘I look pathetic trying to pretend I’m younger than I am, don’t I?’

Nora gave a tactful shrug. ‘You’re gorgeous and sexy and look younger than your years. You have nothing to prove, sweetheart. Just be you.’

Suzie wondered about Mandy’s motives. Had she deliberately set her up to look like a silly old fool? Yet, she wore this sort of stuff all the time and could carry it off. But then she was
ten years younger. ‘I spent a fortune on this lot, Nora,’ she said in disgust. ‘I can hardly dump it all.’

Nora smiled. ‘Don’t be daft. You don’t have to dump it. All you need to do is mix things up a little. For example, wear the skimpier tops with a cardigan or wrap and longer
skirt or trousers. And flat shoes and opaque tights will make the short skirts look a lot classier.’

‘And my little black dress? I suppose you want me to put that in the giveaway bag.’

‘No way, it’s good fabric and well made. Wear it with flat shoes and a chunky necklace or a colourful scarf and you’ll look great.’

Suzie looked at her in admiration and smiled. ‘That’s clever. You should go into the styling business.’

‘And compete with Mandy?’ Nora said in mock horror. ‘As if I’d dare!’

‘Mandy wasn’t thinking about what suited me at all, was she? She was just dressing me in the way she dresses and I went along with it because she always looks so bloody sexy.
I’ve always envied her and, once I finally had a figure, I couldn’t wait to show it off.’

Nora hugged her. ‘That’s understandable, Suzie. And, whatever else she might have got wrong, she made up for it with the hair.’