Three Women (6 page)

‘There have been huge changes since then,’ said Marian. ‘Things have become far more open. Remember, if there is anything that I can do to help, please let me know.’

Back outside in the street, Erin felt relief wash over her. She had finally gone and done it, braved officialdom and all the red tape and begun to get some of the answers she desperately wanted. She was very curious about Kate now – and there was a real possibility that her curiosity would be satisfied.

ON WEDNESDAY ERIN
got a copy of her official birth certificate from Marian Kelly in the post. Her hands were shaking when she opened it and spread it out on the table. This was a legal document stating officially who she was … Her mother’s name, Kate Anne Flanagan, was written in loopy writing in one section, and 15 Granville Court, Rathfarnham, County Dublin, where she was staying when Erin was born, was written in another section.

Erin couldn’t believe it, but her mother had registered her original birth name as Anna Mary Flanagan, whereas her parents had registered her as Erin Grace Harris. She had two totally different names on two birth certificates. It was bizarre. Anna Mary – that wasn’t her … But a bit of paper said that she was Anna Mary Flanagan, daughter of Kate Anne Flanagan of Rathfarnham, County Dublin, and that she had been born on 10 March 1985 in the National Maternity Hospital, Dublin.

Obviously her mum and dad had changed her name when they adopted her … Maybe they didn’t like the name Anna, or wanted to protect her identity in some way – or was it because
her
mum’s brother Harry, who lived in Canada, had a daughter called Anna already? She hadn’t a clue, but it was as if she had a double identity … a double life that she knew nothing about. It was intriguing.

She read and re-read the long certificate over and over again, hoping that it might reveal some other hidden piece of information. When Nikki and Claire came in she showed it to them.

‘Very nice, Anna,’ teased Claire.

‘You must be so thrilled to finally have your proper birth cert – something all the rest of us just take for granted,’ said Nikki, studying it.

‘Yes.’ She nodded dumbly as the girls hugged her. She’d been waiting for years to get this important document.

‘Anna Mary Flanagan … It has a certain ring to it!’

‘Shut up you two!’ she giggled. ‘That’s my real name … well, the one she gave me.’

‘You’re Erin Harris,’ said Claire firmly. ‘This bit of paper can’t change that and don’t let it!’

Her mother’s name was Kate, Kate Flanagan. Erin had no idea where she was living, or if she was even in Ireland. Was she married with a family? Maybe she had brothers and sisters? Erin couldn’t put it from her mind and was distracted, unable to concentrate on anything. She decided to follow Marian Kelly’s suggestion and write to her birth mother.

She spent hours and hours trying to compose a simple letter to Kate, a woman she didn’t even know. Trying to find the right words to fill in for the twenty-six years of her life that this woman knew nothing about was almost impossible. She wanted the letter to be simple and direct and open – an invitation for her mother to establish contact with her if she
wanted
to. So she made it very clear that she felt no animosity or anger towards her and now, as her grown-up child, was ready to meet her. She drafted and re-drafted the letter again and again, trying to get the tone and the sense of it right. She printed it out so many times and then wondered if she should write it out longhand instead.

In it she told Kate about herself, her family and the things that she cared about and that made her happy. If nothing else, this letter would give her mother a good idea of how her life had panned out and the good family and education and up-bringing she had had.

Finally satisfied, she posted the letter on Friday morning on her way to work. She was so relieved that it was gone, and she wondered if she would ever hear back from Kate Flanagan.

Luke had arranged to meet up with her after work and when they met in Kehoe’s pub on South Anne Street she bought him a pint.

‘Drink is on me,’ she smiled, passing him a pint of Heineken. ‘I’m celebrating something.’

‘What?’

‘I’ve done something either very special or very crazy, and now I have to sit back and see what happens.’

‘Now I’m curious!’ he said, slipping his arm around her as she explained that she was initiating contact with her birth mother and had written to her.

‘Erin, do you think that’s wise?’ he said, slightly dismayed.

‘What do you mean?’

‘What I mean is, you could end up with some awful woman landing herself on you and your family and saying she’s your mother!’

Erin had told Luke not long after they met last year that she was adopted. It hadn’t been an issue and she presumed that, because he never mentioned it, he was fine about it.

‘Grant, a guy in my year in school, was adopted,’ he told her. ‘He traced his mother about five years ago and it was an almighty disaster.’

‘They met?’

‘Yes, and he could hardly get away from her and his so-called new family! They literally stalked him. I think they were trying to shake him down for money. He had to change his phone number and move.’

‘You’re exaggerating!’

‘No, I’m not … and another friend of Mum’s, her daughter Suzie traced her mother and discovered she came from a very dodgy background. Half the family were in prison.’

‘Shut up, Luke, it’s not like that. I’m just curious about her and I suppose my background.’

‘Listen, if your mother was from any kind of normal family you would probably never have been adopted! It’s far more likely that there were problems which meant she couldn’t raise a child. Think about it, Erin – do you really want to find out?’

‘Yes, I do,’ she said angrily. ‘I am entitled to know who I am and who my natural parents are. I thought you’d understand, Luke, instead of being so bloody patronizing.’

‘I’m sorry, Erin. I’m just trying to protect you … I don’t want anyone to upset or hurt you.’

‘You’ve hurt me!’ she said softly, staring at the top of her glass.

He could be an arrogant prick sometimes. Luke’s family lived in such a protected, middle-class world. His parents – with their mock Edwardian house in Foxrock, their two cars
and
their apartment in Spain – were full of nonsense and, she suspected, were right old snobs, determined that their two sons would marry well when the time came. A daughter-in-law with any kind of a skeleton in the cupboard would certainly not go down well with them.

‘What do Nina and Tom think of you digging this all up?’

‘Mum and Dad understand, and fully support me. My mother, Kate, was only twenty when I was born. She was a student and probably panicked at the thought of minding a baby, so she did what she thought was best for me,’ Erin said defensively. ‘At least she had the guts to go through with the pregnancy when everyone else was heading off to London!’

‘Okay, okay! She’s probably going to be great and the two of you are going to really hit it off,’ he said, giving in. ‘She’s probably beautiful like you and has a star-shaped freckle on her—’

‘Luke Gallagher!’ She nudged him in the ribs as the two of them burst out laughing.

Luke was just being overprotective of her, that’s all it was.

‘A few drinks here and then why don’t we grab dinner in Milano’s?’ he suggested, pulling her into his arms.

Erin had to admit she was crazy about him. With his dark hair and handsome face, he was such an attractive guy. He was intelligent and assured, and yet had a good sense of humour and got on well with all her friends and all her family too. It made a change from Ben, her gym-obsessed previous boyfriend, who had been more interested in his latest marathon-training speeds than in her and had given her a running kit for her Christmas present which had annoyed her so much that she had dumped him in the New Year!

Going out with Luke had changed things. She’d met him at
a
friend’s party and they had just hit it off straight away. They’d gone to the cinema the next night and had been seeing each other ever since. They felt like a proper couple and she could imagine a future with him.

He was ambitious and a bit of a workaholic, but lots of the guys and girls she knew were just the same. Everyone was trying to impress everyone – that’s the way things worked. Those who were fortunate enough to have a job worked hard and played hard, realizing how lucky they were actually to be employed.

‘Another beer?’ he offered.

‘Sure, and then let’s go and grab a table in the restaurant before they get too busy.’

She’d been so wound up all week that she just wanted to relax and unwind over the weekend and have some fun. Fate would decide if Kate Flanagan would respond to her letter or not.

ERIN STOOD AT
the departure gate. People were already beginning to queue as the ground hostesses checked ticket print-outs and passports. Friday evening was always mega busy at Dublin airport and she had no time even to browse in duty free, let alone buy anything, as she had rushed through Terminal 2’s crowded departure area.

She had been looking forward to a romantic Saturday-night dinner with Luke at their favourite restaurant, but he had decided instead to stay in London for the weekend as he had to be back there for an early Monday-morning business meeting anyway, and he had suggested that she join him there.

‘Come on, Erin, we haven’t been together in London for ages. It’ll be fun and besides, the place I’m staying in is fabulous! Wait till you see it!’

‘Okay,’ she’d agreed and she went online and managed to get a ticket.

She liked London, and so many of their friends were working there. Luke was staying in a plush hotel near Canary Wharf. Tonight they’d grab a quick dinner and meet up with some
friends
, then tomorrow night Luke had managed to get them a booking at Le Cave, one of the city’s hottest restaurants.

The flight was packed and Erin listened to some music as she wound down and tried to relax.

Two and a half hours later she was sipping chilled champagne in one of the fanciest hotel rooms she had ever been in, as Luke organized a taxi to take them to the Thai restaurant where they were meeting Lisa and her boyfriend Gavin, and Damien and his new girlfriend Hope.

London was hopping with restaurants and bars, packed with a Friday-night crowd, and the minute they walked into the restaurant Luke met two guys from the London office.

‘Hey, Emil and Justin – this is my girlfriend, Erin. She’s over for the weekend.’

‘Bet Luke’s glad to have you here, Erin, instead of sitting in his lonely hotel room working!’ they teased, shaking her hand and inviting them to join them.

‘Sorry, but we’re meeting friends. I’ll see you guys on Monday,’ said Luke, steering her towards the back of the noisy restaurant, where Lisa was waving madly at them.

Erin hugged Lisa. She really missed her old college buddy.

‘Wow, you look great!’ she said, taking in the long, glossy hair, perfect smile and sexy but expensive outfit that Lisa was wearing.

‘I’m earning good money here, so I’ve decided to take a bit better care of myself.’ Lisa giggled. ‘It’s the first time in my life my hair has looked really decent and there’s a fancy dental clinic near the office where the staff get a great discount, so now I’ve got a perfect smile.’

‘Lisa, it’s brill that the job is working out so well for you.’

‘It beats being on the dole in Dublin any day of the week!
How
are things going in your office?’ Lisa asked as Erin sat in beside her.

‘Things are pretty tight,’ Erin admitted. ‘A good few clients are gone.’

‘Gone to another agency?’

‘No, just gone – into liquidation or receivership. So many old clients and companies have just shut down or are really struggling, with no advert or media budgets really, so there isn’t that much work and everyone is scrabbling for whatever they can get.’

‘It sounds pretty grim!’

‘I suppose it is pretty grim,’ Erin said. Lisa was probably doing lots of high-end quality graphic work, whereas she was just trying to make ends meet.

‘There are quite a few good jobs here,’ suggested Lisa, glancing over at Luke.

‘I’ll think about it.’

‘Gavin and I would love to have you two over here with the rest of the Irish posse.’

Damien, an old schoolfriend of Luke’s, gave her a big hug and introduced his new girlfriend, Hope.

‘We met in Hong Kong and she followed me back here.’

‘Hey, tell the truth!’ laughed Hope, a petite Chinese beauty. ‘I got sent on a three-month placement in the London office and you begged and begged me to stay on or I would break your heart.’

‘That’s true,’ he admitted sheepishly. ‘I couldn’t let you go. When “the Damo” falls … he falls hard!’

Soon the table was crowded with wine and beer, and everyone was chatting as they ordered a huge mixture of dishes. Erin was so glad that Luke had organized this get-together. They stayed
till
late, then all fell into taxis and Lisa and Erin arranged to meet for brunch on Sunday.

‘Told you that you’d enjoy it!’ said Luke smugly, slipping his arm around her as they took the elevator to their hotel room.

Erin yawned. She was tired, a little drunk, but so happy she’d come over. Falling into the massive bed with its aubergine-coloured throw and crisp white linen, she giggled as Luke flung off his shirt and trousers and joined her.

‘I hate being away from you,’ he said, nuzzling her bare shoulders and neck.

‘And I hate it when you’re not around too,’ she admitted, pulling him closer and sliding her hands along his back.

Saturday was spent tasting and testing delicacies from the local weekend food market down on the wharf, before a quick lunch and heading off to see the big Matisse exhibition at the National Gallery.

That night they went for drinks to a wine bar before eating at Le Cave. Soft jazz played in the restaurant and the menu was divine. Erin opted for scallops to start, followed by the most delicious pan-fried sole with green beans and rosemary-roasted potatoes. Luke was being extra attentive and romantic as they ordered a bottle of Chablis.