Two For Joy (36 page)

The restaurant was not busy and he carried his tea and scone up the circular wooden stairs to a table by the window. Shafts of sunlight slanted on to the wooden floor, and outside were signs of spring's exuberance, unmistakable in the budding trees and new growth in the grass and flowerbeds. Hard to believe this green peaceful glade was in the middle of a large city.

Maura would probably be up to ninety, she was about a month early. He hoped the child would be all right. He'd been surprised when Noreen had told him she'd asked her to attend the birth. He thought she would have asked her other sister, they seemed much closer. It was probably because Noreen was a nurse and she'd feel safer, he surmised, buttering his scone. Maura was a bit of a user to say the least. He could understand why Andy didn't want to be at the birth. Oliver wouldn't have fancied it himself, nevertheless it wasn't very manly of his brother-in-law to wimp out and not support his wife when she needed him. Had it been him and Noreen he would have put his own feelings aside and been there if she wanted.

That wasn't ever going to happen now. Maybe he should say it to Noreen straight away and not be letting her go around with false hope. It wasn't fair. She was going to have to deal with their situation one way or the other. He pushed away his half-eaten scone. He had no appetite. First thing in the morning he was going to tell Noreen about his test results. There was no point in putting it off.

*   *   *

‘I'm scared. What if something's wrong?' Maura cried as Andy overtook a lorry at ninety miles an hour.

‘Andy, slow down, we want to get to the hospital in one piece,' Noreen said calmly as she squeezed her sister's hand. ‘Stop worrying, Maura, you'll be fine—'

‘Oooohhhh!' squealed Maura as a contraction enveloped her. Andy nearly had a heart attack.

‘What's wrong? What's wrong? Don't say she's having it?'

‘She's
not
having it, Andrew, keep driving.' Noreen couldn't hide her exasperation. What a useless tool her brother-in-law was. ‘Maura, breathe like they taught you in prenatal. Deep breath now, breathe slowly,' she instructed firmly.

‘They're getting closer,' Maura whimpered.

‘There's plenty of time between them. Stop fretting, Maura. You're not going to have it in the car. Trust me, I'm a nurse.' She smiled at her sister, from whose tear-rimmed eyes streaks of mascara ran down her red sweaty face. Noreen fished a clean tissue out of her bag and wiped Maura's face. ‘You don't want to arrive at Holies Street looking like a wreck,' she soothed, glad to withdraw her hand momentarily from Maura's vice-like grip.

‘The traffic is awful,' moaned Maura as they came to a halt in a tailback at a roundabout.

‘It's not too bad, we made good time from Kilronan to Navan. Stop panicking, you'll be fine.'

‘I hope there's nothing wrong with the baby, four weeks is very early.' Maura's eyes were bright with fear.

‘Not at all, remember our cousin Aideen had twins ten weeks early and look at them now. Blooming. The baby will have to go into an incubator for a while, that's all. Don't be worrying, Maura, just concentrate on your breathing and getting through the labour and you'll be fine,' Noreen encouraged, in her calm, reassuring, professional voice. She hoped everything was all right; obviously there was always some cause for concern when a baby came prematurely.

‘I'm so nervous I think I'm going to puke,' Maura groaned.

‘Don't puke in the car, for crying out loud,' Andy blustered. ‘Do you want me to pull in?'

‘Take deep breaths, Maura,' Noreen encouraged. If she got her hands on Andy she'd flatten him. He was
less
than useless. She didn't envy her sister the rearing of her child. Somehow or another she didn't think her brother-in-law would be a hands-on father.

At least he'd be a father, she scowled. It was so unfair. Oliver would be a very conscientious father if he got the chance. He took his responsibilities seriously. She knew he'd take care of her and be with her at the birth if she was lucky enough to be pregnant. She banished the thought. Daydreams, that's all they were. She'd want to start facing reality that there might be more difficulties ahead. About two weeks after he'd had the test, she'd delicately mentioned the subject and asked if he'd had any word.

‘I've to go for another one,' he'd muttered and she had known better than pursue the matter apart from asking if he'd like her to go with him.

‘I'll be fine,' he'd retorted and walked out of the kitchen. If he was to go for another test it meant there could be problems and that was worrying to say the least. Maura groaned again and Noreen forgot her own situation as she turned to her sister and gave her her full attention.

As it happened it was a smooth, uncomplicated birth, and as she held her baby nephew for a quick minute before he was whisked off to the Special Care Unit, she looked into his scrunched-up little face with his little flat nose and felt a wave of longing that almost crucified her.

‘He's a lovely little fella, Maura, congratulations,' she whispered smiling at her sister, who was totally overwhelmed.

‘Oh my God! Oh my God! I can't believe I did it, Noreen. I thought I'd go to pieces. It was amazing. Andy is a fool to have missed this.' She held out her hands for the baby. Noreen placed the little bundle carefully into the curve of her elbow.

‘You were terrific, you did very well, Maura,' she said warmly, all the years of resentment she'd felt for her sister evaporating as they looked at the baby that had brought them close for the first time in their lives.

‘I want you to be the godmother.' Maura looked up at her.

‘But what about Rita?' Noreen said in surprise. ‘I think she's expecting to be godmother.'

‘She won't mind. I'll explain to her that because you were with me, there's a special bond with the baby, and that's true isn't it?' she asked anxiously.

Noreen's eyes glazed with tears. She nodded. Maura would never know just how much of a bond she felt for that gorgeous little being that the nurse was taking to the Special Care Unit.

‘God, Noreen, I never saw you crying before,' Maura said, shocked. ‘And it's me whose hormones are awry,' she joked awkwardly.

Noreen wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. ‘I'm just glad everything's all right. Do you want to ring Andy and let him know he's got a son?'

‘I suppose so,' Maura muttered resentfully. ‘He could have stayed around instead of going off into town. I'll get him to drive you home.'

‘No, no, let him stay with you,' Noreen said hastily, the thought of being driven to Kilronan by Andy not an enticing prospect. ‘I'll give Oliver a ring. He'll come and collect me. Now I'm going to go outside and let the nurses get on with it and I'll come to the ward with you when you're ready.'

‘Thanks for everything, Noreen. There's just one thing I want to say to you.' Maura looked agitated.

‘What's that? Do you want me to do something for you?'

‘No, no, you've done enough. It's just … just I'm sorry I wasn't more of a help to you with Mam. I feel very bad about it.' She burst into tears. Noreen looked at her dishevelled younger sister and thought of how much she'd despised and resented her when their mother was ill. She'd often wanted to slap Maura's smug face. She remembered Oliver's words about being able to look herself in the eye and actually felt sorry for her sister. She had to live with her regrets about how she'd behaved towards their mother. That was one burden she didn't have to carry, Noreen thought gratefully.

‘Don't trouble yourself about it, Maura. You need to concentrate on your baby and getting your strength back,' she said evenly. ‘Stop crying now.'

‘I used to think you were so hard, and you're not, you're very kind, Noreen.' Maura wept. ‘I'm really sorry.'

‘Shussh, stop now, forget it,' Noreen soothed. ‘You'll be fine after a cup of tea. I'll see you in a little while.' She handed her sister a tissue. ‘Come on now, wipe your eyes or you'll set me off again. Twice in one day would be just
too
much!'

Maura gave a watery smile. ‘Thanks, Noreen, for everything.'

So her sister had finally acknowledged that she had something to apologize for regarding their mother, Noreen thought dully as she walked out into the corridor. Somehow in the light of all that was going on in her life it didn't seem to matter any more, which was probably a good thing. There was no point in being eaten up with bitterness and anger.

She punched in Oliver's number.

‘Hello,' she heard his familiar deep voice at the other end.

‘Can you collect me?' she asked shakily. ‘Maura had a baby boy, four and a half pounds. Everything's fine. I just don't feel like going for the bus.'

‘That's OK. It's Holles Street, near Merrion Square, isn't it?'

‘Yes, I'm in the Merrion Wing. I'll go down to the ward with Maura and wait with her until Andy gets here, and then I'll go and have a cup of tea.'

‘It will take me a while,' Oliver warned.

‘I know,' she said quietly.

‘Are you OK?' Oliver asked gruffly.

‘I'll be glad when you're here,' Noreen admitted. ‘I just want to go home. See you when I see you.'

‘OK, 'bye.'

Noreen heard him click off and felt an ache of loneliness. She longed for Oliver to put his arms around her like the old days. She wanted to pour out her sadness, and tell him what lay behind it, but she knew she would be reluctant to lay her burdens on his shoulders now. If he had asked her to marry him, rather than the other way around, she would have felt more comfortable baring her soul. She would have felt enabled to do it in the knowledge that he had wanted her to share her life with him. The nagging uncertainty that he might never have married her had grown far stronger since their row at Christmas and she knew their relationship had changed irrevocably because of it.

The door to the delivery suite opened and Maura was wheeled out. She looked flushed and tired against the pillows. ‘Did you ring Andy?' Noreen asked as she fell into step beside her.

‘I did. He was having something to eat in the Davenport. It's not far away. He's going to stay the night there. I think he's had a few drinks,' she confided.

‘Wet the baby's head.' Noreen smiled, privately disgusted with Andy that he couldn't have waited until later to start celebrating.
Selfish bastard,
she thought.
Just like Pete.
Funny that she should think of him now. He rarely came into her consciousness. Difficult though her relationship was with Oliver, she completely respected her husband in contrast to the contempt she held her former partner in. She wouldn't mind a trip to London though. The last time she'd visited was just before her wedding and that seemed another lifetime ago. She kept in touch with her friends through email mostly and the telephone. Kay Thomas, her best friend and a nursing sister at St Mary's in Paddington, was always asking her to come for a visit.

Maybe after Maura's baby was christened she'd go for a couple of days. She knew Oliver wouldn't mind – he'd probably welcome the break from her, she thought wryly, as Maura was wheeled into a pretty, sunny, two-bed ward.

Her sister was sleeping when Andy arrived two hours later, full of the joys. The whiff of brandy was unmistakable. He had a bunch of straggly flowers and a blue teddy under his arm.
Full marks for originality,
Noreen thought nastily as she stood up to leave.

‘Hasn't she the life, asleep at this hour of the evening?' Andy boomed, giving her a jovial puck in the arm. ‘Well, what's my son like?'

Too good for the likes of you,
she was tempted to retort, but she restrained herself. ‘He's lovely,' she said shortly. ‘I'm just going to go and give Oliver a call and have a cup of tea. See you later.'

‘Grand.' Andy was ogling the young woman in the bed next to Maura, who was cuddling her baby. ‘Howya doin'? Is he a good grubber?' he leered, and Noreen slipped out of the room before she clattered him.

Oliver was trying to find parking around Merrion Square when she phoned him and he sounded distinctly tetchy.

‘I'll wait for you at the front door. You better pop in and see Maura for a minute,' she suggested.

‘Right, see you – I see a space,' he informed her and then she heard an explosion of profanity and the sound of a car horn as someone else pipped him to the space. Noreen prudently hung up. She walked downstairs to the front hall and sat down to await his arrival. After a while she felt like a breath of air and stepped outside. It was good to feel the breeze cold against her face after the heat of the hospital. Darkness had fallen and the rush hour was in full swing. It reminded her of London. Now that she'd got the idea of going for a visit she was looking forward to it. Life in Kilronan was quiet and uneventful most of the time. There was a sameness about the days that got to her sometimes.

If she and Oliver did more things together as a couple it might not be so bad, but he was immersed in his work and for the most part she was left to her own devices. Some retail therapy, meals out, trips to the theatre and meeting up with old friends and catching up on hospital gossip were just the diversions she needed, Noreen decided as she watched her husband stride towards the hospital with a face like thunder.

‘By God, there's some crazy hoors driving around this place,' he grumbled as he reached her. ‘I bought this for Maura, until you get some baby stuff.' He held out a bottle of champagne.

‘That was kind, Oliver, and thoughtful.' She reached up and gave him a peck on the cheek. The first kiss she'd given him since their row.

He looked surprised. ‘Well, I didn't like to come empty-handed. A bottle of plonk seemed a bit mean in the circumstances.'