Three Women (21 page)

ERIN STARED AT
the jumbled array of food in their fridge. There was hummus, cheese, eggs, rashers and sausages and that awful black pudding that Nikki suddenly liked. Where had her Parma ham and antipasti selection packet gone? She hadn’t even opened it yet! Also, she was sure she had left a portion of gratin potatoes on the middle fridge shelf and that too had just disappeared. She grabbed a tomato and some cheese and two eggs. She’d have an omelette; she was too tired to bother cooking anything else. She diced some onion and gave it a quick turn in the microwave before tossing it on to the melting cheese filling of the omelette.

‘Mmmm, Erin, that smells good,’ murmured Nikki, appearing from the bedroom in her pyjamas. ‘I wouldn’t mind one of them.’

‘Here take this one, Nikki. I’ll make another,’ she offered, placing the perfect golden omelette on a plate and putting it on to the table before her friend.

‘Thanks, Erin. I don’t know why, but I’m constantly starving at the moment. The smell of cooking just seems to make
me
want food. I took that lovely cheesy potato thing of yours. I couldn’t resist it.’

‘It’s okay, Nikki; mine will be ready in a minute or two. Eat it while it’s hot!’

Nikki didn’t need much telling and she had polished off the omelette in a few minutes.

‘You make the best omelettes ever, Erin!’ she sighed appreciatively.

‘Thanks. It’s the one thing I can manage that Mum showed me.’

Erin turned her own omelette on to a plate and sat down opposite her. Nikki was glowing, her skin and hair glossy. Being pregnant finally suited her.

‘What are you doing for the weekend?’ asked Nikki.

‘Luke was meant to come over, but he’s got roped into going to some big work charity thing,’ she explained. ‘But Lilly, one of the girls I work with, is moving into a new house up in Sandyford. She’s having a house warmer, so I’ll probably go to that. If you want to come along, you’re welcome.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Of course. You’ll like Lilly.’

Erin knew that Nikki’s social life had become seriously curtailed with the baby. Nights out in night clubs were a thing of the past, and it wasn’t much fun watching everyone getting hammered around you while you stayed sober.

‘It must be tough for you with Luke away,’ sympathized Nikki.

‘It is, but I’ve booked to go over next weekend. We try to talk or text or email each other every day, but it’s not the same.’

‘You’ll probably have to move over there eventually.’

‘Maybe … but not till after Snoopy B has been born.’

‘Well, I’ve a very busy weekend. I’m going to my ante-natal class – lots of lying on the floor on a mat breathing – and then I’m going shopping with my mum for some baby stuff.’

‘Sounds fun!’

‘Sure!’

Claire and her boyfriend Donal had gone off on a romantic trip to Barcelona for the weekend. ‘If any one says a word about engagement rings, I will personally bash them over the head,’ Claire had threatened. ‘Donal is dead broke and he has another year before he’s finished all his law exams.’

‘
Three Men and a Baby
is on TV tonight,’ announced Nikki as she took a bite of the tomato on her plate. ‘We could watch it later.’

‘Sure,’ laughed Erin.

Erin went into the bedroom to phone Kate. She wanted to see if there was any word or information about contacting her father.

Kate was very distant on the phone. She said she had managed to speak to him but that he had been adamant he would neither see nor talk to Erin.

‘So you do know how to contact him, Kate?’

‘Erin, you are only going to be disappointed,’ warned Kate. ‘He’s not going to change his mind.’

But she pressed her, saying that a search on the internet could probably find him anyway.

‘Okay!’ Kate very reluctantly agreed to give her his phone number in London and his address. ‘Try if you want to …’

Erin couldn’t believe it. Another piece of the puzzle had just fallen into place. She was going to London next weekend, and now she had two good reasons.

ON THURSDAY NIGHT
erin joined declan and monika and a big crew from the office in the Sugar Club for the launch of Lia Sullivan’s breakthrough first album,
Lia
. The ethereal cover design looked amazing; Erin was so pleased with it. The publicity posters, the launch invites, the flyers for record shops and the song words also looked magical.

Lia was stunning, and when she got up on stage to sing a few of the songs from the album there was utter silence as her voice and music captivated everyone. Her tumbling red hair and white skin – her almost fairy look – entranced everyone. Erin had loved working with Lia and her manager, and with the record label that was taking the gamble in investing in this wonderful new talent. Everyone was genuinely excited and she spotted one or two big music industry people there along with people from RTE and TV3.

‘Hi Erin,’ smiled Lia, embracing her. ‘Everyone is saying how good the CD looks and the whole package, how different it is with that old-fashioned spidery writing and the beautiful background. You just captured it all perfectly. Thank you.’

‘Well it was just a matter of listening to your amazing music and getting that right feel for what you’re doing, and of course being able to use the still from your video was brilliant,’ smiled Erin, noticing that the video was being played on a loop system in the background in conjunction with the album.

‘I’m kind of nervous about it all,’ Lia admitted shyly, ‘but in another way excited. I’ve been asked to sing on
The Late Late Show
on Friday night, which is wonderful. My mum and granny are so excited for me and are getting tickets to come along to the show.’

Erin suspected that after Friday night’s live performance Lia Sullivan’s career was going to take off.

She made her way to the bar to join Declan and Lilly for a drink. She was standing at the counter as the barman took her order when she heard a familiar voice.

‘Hey Erin!’ called Matt, coming over to her. ‘How are you? How’s it all going?’

She felt a bit guilty. She had texted him a few times but hadn’t really given him a proper update on how things were with Kate.

Grabbing his hand, she made for the sitting area and told him all about it. He was such a good listener and so bloody kind. She also confided in him that she was going over to London tomorrow morning to try to see her biological dad.

‘Declan always gives us a morning off if we attend a company thing, so I’m just taking the rest of the day off too and heading over on an earlier flight so I can go and see him.’

‘Do you think that’s wise, Erin? He’s made it very clear that he doesn’t want to see you … Maybe you should accept that?’

‘Matt, my mother didn’t want to meet me either and now we have a relationship at least. This might be the same.’

‘I wouldn’t count on it.’

‘Anyway, what are you doing here?’ she asked, trying to get him off the subject.

‘I edited Lia’s music video. We are already in production on her second song. We’re shooting it next week down in Wexford.’

‘Which song is she going with?’

‘“Lover Mine”.’

‘I love that track!’ exclaimed Erin. ‘It’s so beautiful. I listen to her album all the time.’

‘You did a great job on the cover!’

‘I know,’ she said proudly. ‘I’m very pleased with it and grateful to Declan for letting me work on it.’

The launch party continued for hours, with Lia and the band getting up later and playing again. Erin found herself hanging out with Matt and his friends as Monika and Declan had sloped off earlier.

It was after midnight when she realized the time and remembered she was getting a flight in the morning – there was no way she was drinking any more.

‘Good luck tomorrow,’ said Matt, pulling her into his arms and holding her tight. ‘If you need me, Erin, just phone me. I’m just home working on my laptop all day.’

She suddenly sensed his lips brush against her hair and felt momentarily awkward.

‘Matt, thanks for listening and for everything,’ she said, kissing him lightly as she said her goodbyes and headed out on to Leeson Street to get a taxi.

ERIN WAS TENSE
as hell as she boarded the flight to Heathrow. She hadn’t mentioned anything to Luke about trying to see Johnny Devlin; she knew that he would try to dissuade her, but this was something she had to do.

She had left repeated messages on Johnny’s home and office numbers, but he had not bothered to return her calls. Undeterred, she had checked out his office in Ealing and made an appointment with his secretary to meet him. Knowing that if she used her real name he might refuse to see her, she had used the name Maria Armstrong, which was her great-grandmother’s name, and said it was an enquiry about a new young Irish singer that she was working with. Well, she did work with Lia and it was only a ploy to get her through his office door. Hopefully the young singer would forgive her! The meeting was arranged for two p.m.

She took the tube from the airport and, arriving far too early for the meeting, went into a local coffee shop and grabbed a salad sandwich and coffee. She was nervous and apprehensive, but there was no going back now.

At two o’clock she walked towards the rather ugly sixties office building where she saw the name Celtic Connections on the door. She rang the bell and a woman’s voice answered and opened the door automatically for her. The office was on the fourth floor. There was a lift that was in need of a cleaning, and when she got out she went straight through the door ahead of her. A skinny girl a bit older than herself sat talking on the phone in a small reception area and gestured for her to take a seat.

‘Mr Devlin will be with you in a few minutes,’ she said, continuing her conversation with a friend.

Erin looked around the rather grimy office. One wall was covered with photos of various Irish musicians and comedians, as well as with posters of appearances in places such as London, Manchester and Liverpool. She stood up to get a better look at one photo of a well-known traditional fiddle player with a thin, dark-haired man. She wondered, was he her father?

Ten minutes later he emerged from his office. Erin held her breath as Jonathan Devlin introduced himself and shook her hand. Trying to control her nerves, she smiled, followed him into his office and sat down across from him. He was just like Kate had said – and she supposed still very good looking in a kind of trying-too-hard way. He was wearing a tight-fitting grey-and-white shirt and skinny jeans, and was tall and wiry, with his hair to his shoulders. His eyes were dark and he had the longest black eyelashes. His face was narrow with thin lips, and he was one of those men who look like they constantly need to shave.

‘Now, Miss Armstrong – or can I call you Maria?’ he smiled, his eyes running over her face and figure. ‘What can I do for you, or to be more exact for this girl Lia? I have checked her
out
on YouTube and she is very talented. Her record company is fairly new and probably only has a few contacts here in the UK, but I’m sure I could help in terms of arranging a few appearances on this side of the water if that is what you want for her?’

Erin listened as he spoke. He still had a bit of his Irish accent and she could see he was wired and full of energy as he started to list a range of Irish clubs and pubs where Lia could sing. She couldn’t imagine Lia singing in any of them. She wasn’t that type of artist.

‘Well, Maria?’

‘I’m sorry.’ She hadn’t even been listening properly.

‘I was talking about the Irish Club in Manchester—’

‘Listen, Mr Devlin, I’m sorry, but the truth is I’m not here about Lia,’ she admitted. ‘I just wanted to meet you.’

‘Meet me? What is this about?’ he said, instantly suspicious.

‘I’m Erin,’ she said, looking directly at him and seeing the dawning recognition in his eyes. ‘I’m your daughter.’

He said nothing for a few seconds. She could see that he was actually speechless. He was used to being the one in control of situations.

‘I’ve left lots of phone messages trying to arrange to see you or meet you, but you didn’t return my calls. So I decided I had to find a way to get to meet you here. I do know Lia and have actually worked on the cover of her new CD, so I hoped that it might help,’ she explained, trying not to be confrontational.

‘I don’t care who you are, you have absolutely no right to come in here pretending to be someone you aren’t and wasting my valuable time,’ he said, standing up. ‘I should ask you to leave.’

‘I’m your daughter – that’s who I am!’ she exclaimed, not moving.

He stopped for a second, then sat back down.

‘Kate told me about you, but I was very clear that I didn’t want to see you. Didn’t she tell you?’

‘She did.’

‘Then why are you here? What are you looking for? Is it money?’

Erin laughed. It was ludicrous. He thought everyone had to be after something.

‘I wanted to meet you, that’s all,’ she said gently. ‘No other motive. Just to see what my father looks like and sounds like.’

‘I told Kate when we met for dinner a few weeks ago that there was no point to this, that I wasn’t interested in getting involved. I made it very clear to her. I have my life here. All this happened in the past and I have put it behind me.’

Erin swallowed hard. Kate had gone out to dinner with him! Why hadn’t she told her?

But Kate had tried to tell her, to warn her off …

‘I see.’

He was looking coldly at her, silently taking in her clothes, the expensive handbag her mum and dad had given her last Christmas, weighing her up.

‘I’d better go,’ she said, standing up. ‘I’m staying with a friend for the weekend.’

He stood up too. ‘Erin, perhaps it is good that we have got to meet,’ he said, grudgingly. ‘Kate told me a lot about you and what a great girl you are … I can see that now for myself. But it still doesn’t change the fact that I have my life over here and you have your life. I wish you luck in whatever you are doing
and
for the future, but I’m sorry I cannot at this stage become a part of it.’