Two For Joy (29 page)

‘I think it's a great idea. Who could we get to do the opening?' Heather enthused.

‘I could ask Fintan Cullen—'

‘No. Not a politician, Neil. I really don't think that's a good idea because it might put people off, thinking you were associated with a political party. How about Lorcan Kelly from the Chamber of Commerce? He might have some good contacts for you.'

‘Good thinking again,' Neil agreed. ‘Look, Oliver Flynn's just pulled into the pumps. It's time he changed his car, I'm going to work on him. I'll leave you to organize the launch,' he declared airily and then he was gone, leaving Heather a tad taken aback. He'd come up with the idea of the launch and she was the one left organizing it. Typical, but her adrenaline was flowing and she sat down at her desk and began to make out a list of calls she'd have to make. Lorcan Kelly being the first. She should ring around a few caterers to get quotes, and then she should organize invitations. And she had the brochures to send out. She'd get some invites printed up as fast as she could and include them with the brochures. Existing customers had to be looked after and made a fuss of.

The day flew by. January was Neil's busiest month with new car sales and by the time she closed her office and went upstairs to cook dinner for them she was tired. Neil always kept the showrooms open until eight, but came up to the flat long enough to have dinner.

She chopped some onions and garlic and sautéed them in the pan before adding thinly sliced pieces of chicken. She let them sizzle away before adding a carton of cream and turned the heat down low. Thirty minutes later, Neil was sitting down to creamed potatoes, carrots and sweetcorn and tender chicken in a creamy sauce. He shovelled it into him. ‘This is scrumptious,' he said, between mouthfuls. ‘Why don't we invite Lorcan Kelly and his wife to dinner some night? He'd be someone to be well in with. It was a good idea to get him to do the opening. It shows the town we mean business.'

Heather made a face. ‘You want me to cook? Couldn't we go to a restaurant?'

‘Lorcan's wife's a bit odd. She doesn't like eating out. So he has to entertain on his own a lot. But she might like a home-cooked meal. It would be worth making the effort to stay on side with Lorcan. You're a great cook,' Neil assured her. ‘This is very tasty.'

‘That's only because you lived on chops and peas,' Heather laughed. ‘I'm a very plain cook, Neil, I don't know any fancy dishes.'

‘Do this. It's lovely,' he said. ‘We'll wait until he's done the opening and invite them.'

‘We'll see,' she demurred, hoping he'd forget the notion. Hosting dinner parties for strangers was not something she'd bargained on. Neil looked out the window when he heard a car draw up on to the forecourt. ‘Better go, I'll have dessert later. Bring me a cup of coffee, would you?' He jumped up, gave her a kiss on the cheek and left her to finish her meal alone with a sink full of dirty saucepans and dishes awaiting her attention. She finished her meal, did the washing up and made a pot of coffee which she brought downstairs.

‘That was a bloke looking for a second-hand Polo, I told him I'd look out for one for him. I'll make a few calls tomorrow and see what's on offer. The banger he's trading in isn't worth a damn, but it would be a new customer on file for us. The next time he's buying he'll be trading up, once I've finished with him.' Neil grinned at her. ‘Give us a kiss, Heather,' he said, grabbing her.

Heather giggled. ‘Stop, people will be able to see.'

‘So what?' Neil kissed her soundly until she was breathless. ‘The coffee will be cold,' she chided, pushing him away, aware that they could be seen from the road by all the passing traffic and anyone who was walking past. She poured their coffee and perched on the side of his desk, sipping the welcome brew. She always enjoyed drinking her coffee with him, talking about the day's events and making their plans. Then when the showrooms were closed they'd stroll up to the Haven and have a couple of drinks before racing home to fall on each other in bed. Sex was a joy to her. The novelty of being able to have it whenever she wanted, in the privacy of her own place without worrying about flatmates or parents, was exhilarating.

She'd invited her parents to dinner soon after she'd moved in. They weren't stupid and Heather was sure they'd realized that Neil was more than her boss, but they'd made no comment at any time other than to say how glad they were that she was back home in Kilronan, happy with her life. They'd never been the kind of parents that gave her hassle, she thought gratefully, knowing of the ordeals of some of her friends who still lived at home and could only have furtive, hurried sex when the occasion arose. Heather had landed on her feet, was the general consensus and she happily agreed with them.

She was engrossed at her computer a couple of weeks later when a familiar red car scorched on to the forecourt. She saw Lorna slide elegantly out of the front seat and sashay over to one of the mechanics, who pointed her in the direction of Heather's office.

‘Shit,' she muttered, diving under her desk to look for her bag. She slipped into the back office, closed the door and redid her lipstick. She was wearing black trousers and a lilac chenille jumper which looked presentable enough, but nothing as glamorous as the suede skirt and jacket that her cousin was wearing. What the hell did she want anyway, she wondered as she heard Lorna call sweetly, ‘Anybody in?' Heather took a deep breath, composed her features and opened the door.

‘Can I help … oh, hello, Lorna,' she said coolly, pretending she hadn't seen her cousin arrive.

‘What are you doing here?' Lorna chirruped as though nothing had happened between them.

‘I work here,' Heather replied, sitting down behind the desk.

‘Lucky old you,' Lorna drawled and Heather wanted to slap her.

‘Can I help you?' Heather raised her eyebrows.

‘Well, it was Neil I wanted to see, actually,' Lorna said slowly. ‘Is he here or when will he be back?'

‘He's at a meeting, but he'll be here after four I should imagine. Can I take a message?'

‘Not at all, I'll call back later. See you.' She turned her back dismissively on Heather and swung out the door.

Heather glared at her cousin's retreating back. What on earth did she want with Neil? She was hardly going to buy a car from him. She had never had a good word to say about him when he and Heather had been dating before. Maybe she was just being nosy. Aunt Jane must have told her that Heather was working for Neil. It certainly wasn't like her cousin to come home to Kilronan for a weekend. She wondered if Lorna would call back.

‘Take no notice of her,' Neil ordered when she told him of her cousin's visit. ‘I'll deal with her if she comes back.'

Heather was upstairs cooking the dinner at six thirty when her mobile rang. It was Lorna. ‘Hi, Heather, I was just wondering was Neil back.'

‘I'm not at work,' Heather said shortly.

‘Oh don't be silly, Mum told me you're living over the garage, just tell me if he's there or not,' Lorna commanded.

Just who did she think she was? Heather thought furiously. ‘Hold on a minute,' she snapped. She knew full well that Neil was downstairs waiting for her to call him for his dinner. She dawdled downstairs. Let it cost Lorna for the phone call, she thought nastily. ‘Lorna's on the phone, she wants to know if you're here,' she told her boyfriend. He grimaced.

‘Better get it over and done with, tell her I'll be here for the next fifteen minutes.'

‘Yes sir,' Heather grinned. ‘I'm dying to see what she wants.'

‘A good kick in the ass,' scowled Neil. Heather laughed and ran upstairs light-heartedly. Lorna could get lost, she wasn't going to get into a bad humour over her.

‘He'll be here for fifteen minutes,' she said airily into her mobile. ‘'Bye, 'bye.'

Twenty minutes later, Lorna drove up in her Honda Civic. Heather peeped through the curtains. She'd kept the light off in her sitting-room so she wouldn't be seen. Her cousin was still dressed in her suede outfit, but this time she was wearing a pair of high-heeled suede boots. Heather sighed enviously. Her cousin looked the height of fashion. She looked like a model. In the bright lights that illuminated the forecourt she could see that Lorna was made up to the nines. She saw Neil walk out to greet her. He didn't shake hands as he usually did, she noted with satisfaction. She saw them converse for a while and then Neil walked around the car and had a look at it. He opened the driver's door and peered inside. She must be selling, Heather surmised from her darkened vantage point. Why had she come to Neil? Probably thought that she'd do well out of him because she was Heather's cousin. Typical!

She saw Lorna throw back her head and laugh and then touch Neil on the arm. Heather's jaw dropped. What was that witch up to? Trying to flirt with him to get a good price? What a hypocritical cow. She felt like going down to the forecourt and kicking the shins off her.

She saw Neil shake his head and saw her cousin put her head to one side flirtatiously. Heather gritted her teeth. He'd better not start flirting back, she thought furiously. Surely he could see through her. They strolled into the showrooms out of view and Heather went back into the kitchen in a temper. She banged pots and pans around. He'd better not be late for his dinner. She could ring down and tell him it was nearly ready. She rooted in her bag for her mobile, and couldn't find it. That bloody phone drove her mad, she could never lay her hands on it when she needed it. She rummaged around the sofa and found it between the cushions. She keyed through the directory until she came to the garage number. She pressed call and heard it start to ring. Hastily she pressed cancel. It would look childish, she thought ruefully, and Neil might not appreciate her behaving like a possessive ‘wife' in front of Lorna. She swallowed her resentment and went back to her cooking.

Today he was having fried plaice, mushrooms, peas and chips. The chips were sizzling away in the oil – if he didn't hurry up they'd be cremated. Ten minutes later Neil bounded up the stairs. ‘That smells good.' He inhaled appreciatively.

‘What did she want?' Heather couldn't contain her curiosity or her irritation. Did he not realize that she'd be dying to know? Men were hopeless.

Neil loosened his tie and sat down at the table. ‘She's selling the car. She's going to New York.'

‘New York! It'll suit her down to the ground. Did you do a deal?'

‘She's a gas artist, even though I don't like her I have to admire her style. Do you know what she asked me?'

‘What?'

‘She wanted me to give her the cash for the car but to let her hold on to it for another two weeks until she goes. She didn't want to be stuck in Kilronan without a set of wheels, as she said herself.'

‘The cheek of her!' Heather exploded. ‘Did she think you came down in the last shower? I hope you told her where to get off.' She placed Neil's dinner in front of him.

Neil shrugged. ‘I told her I'd give her a cheque at the end of next week—'

‘And?' Heather stared at her boyfriend. ‘Don't tell me you're letting her keep the car. What happens if she crashes it?'

‘Didn't think of that,' Neil admitted sheepishly.

‘But why?' Heather demanded. ‘You don't even like her. She's often been very rude to you.' Privately she felt her boyfriend could have shown
her
a bit more loyalty. He knew all about Lorna doing the hot potato act on her.

‘Look, she's a potential client, you don't let personal feelings interfere in business,' Neil explained patiently. ‘She's talking about buying a soft-top when she comes back—'

‘And you believe her? She saw you coming, Neil,' Heather scoffed.

‘Don't be like that, Heather,' Neil reproached. ‘Have you no faith in my business acumen?'

‘I just know her, that's all,' Heather said sulkily.

‘We'll see, Heather, we'll see,' Neil retorted.

Indeed we will,
thought Heather but she remained resolutely silent.

24

‘Are you sure that you're not going to New York because of … er … after our talk at Christmas?' Jane inquired delicately.

‘No, Mum. Will you forget about that?' Lorna was embarrassed.

‘It plays on my mind,' Jane said quietly.

‘Well, don't let it. I'm going to New York because I have the chance to go and I'm really looking forward to it,' Lorna declared firmly.

‘I envy you.' Her mother smiled at her. ‘I would love to have gone to New York when I was young.'

‘For God's sake, Mum, you talk as if you were Methuselah. Come over when I'm there, why don't you?'

‘Will I?' Jane said eagerly.

‘Yeah, give me a month or so to settle in and get to know the place. You'd love it, Mum, I know you would. You could buy a whole new wardrobe.' Lorna's eyes sparkled at the thought. ‘The only thing, you'd probably have to stay in a hotel. Carina says we're going to live in Yonkers or some place. She has a friend looking for a place for us. Do you think Dad will come?'

Jane chewed her lip. ‘I think if I'm going to go I might go on my own. He wouldn't be into shopping and the like. I think I'd like to do my own thing just once in my life.'

‘I think you're right, Mum. There's nothing worse than going shopping with someone who doesn't want to be there. And what else would you go to New York for except to shop?'

‘Well, I wouldn't mind going to see some of the museums. I was reading about an exhibition they had of Jackie Kennedy's clothes when she was in the White House, I'd
love
to have seen that,' Jane said wistfully.

‘Oh, one of the girls at work saw it, she said Jackie was tiny. She saw the pillbox hats and everything. It was quite moving, she said. We could go and see her apartment on Fifth Avenue.' Lorna felt another wave of excitement hit her. She couldn't believe she was going to New York.