know, it wouldn’t have been good for the children to be hanging around the village, like the rest of the locals. I had always known that they would have to go away. I’m sure Matt, when the time comes, will probably do the same.’
‘Matt wasn’t that happy in school,’ Kerrie said softly. ‘I think he must have missed home a lot.’
‘Well, he never said much to us,’ said Maureen. ‘He was always a quiet type of boy … he needed to toughen up like his older brother, Ed.’
Kerrie said nothing. Over her dead body would any of her children be packed off to boarding school. Her childhood might have been chaotic and a lot less financially comfortablethan Matt’s, but she could remember walking in from school and feeling the warmth of the kitchen. Her mam would be in her apron, either cooking or cleaning or washing, but stopping whatever it was she was doing to ask how Kerrie’s school day had gone, and what the teacher had said, and what she had learned. Her parents had been great encouraging them all to study and do well.
After lunch on Saturday Maureen had gone to visit a sick friend in the local retirement home. Kerrie had opted to explore the Hennessys’ fields and gardens, ignoring the pleas of the dogs, who wanted to come with her. As she walked around the grounds of Moyle House she couldn’t help but be impressed by what Maureen and Dermot were doing there: there were compost heaps and organic vegetables, and even some hens scratching in an enclosure. There was an orchard with old apple trees and a pear tree, a run-down tennis court with a bedraggled looking net, an old paddock that was now overgrown, and what looked like stables and a yard in the distance. The lawn up around the house was immaculate, and the main flower beds were well pruned and neat and tidy. She couldn’t help but compare it to the small suburban garden of her parents’ house, with its concrete patio, patchy lawn, scanty shrubs and bushes, and her dad’s attempts to grow scallions and a few heads of lettuce and carrots.
Afterwards she had made herself some coffee and grabbed one of the lovely pecan slices she had bought that morning, and curled up on the couch reading the papers in the garden room.
The sun was streaming in on her, and somehow she must have dozed off and fallen asleep as she woke to find a rug overher. Since Matt wasn’t due home till 6 p.m. she realized that Maureen must have discovered her.
Upstairs she had freshened up and was blow-drying her hair when Matt returned.
‘Nice day?’
She was about to moan about him leaving her on her own, but realized that she had literally relaxed most of the day, and that all the fresh air had wiped her out.
‘I feel so tired.’ She laughed, unable to stop yawning. ‘I don’t know why, as I hardly did anything.’
‘I’m the same.’ He laughed too. ‘The old man is after beating me hands down at the golf.’
‘I hope it’ll be OK at the golf club. I don’t know anyone, and you know I haven’t a clue about golf, either!’
‘It’ll be fun,’ he promised. ‘It’s kind of low key and relaxed there.’
The bar of the club had been packed, and after a few minutes Kerrie had totally lost track of all the names of the people she had been introduced to. Gerard Mullen, Dermot’s business partner, and his wife Gail were at their table, plus Maureen’s best friend Anne and her husband Kevin, who were great fun. Anne kept trying to find out information about Kerrie’s upcoming wedding, and Kerrie tried to put her off. Anne’s daughter Ciara had got married only the previous year, and she was full of wedding tips and advice. They were awaiting the birth of their first grandchild and Anne was really looking forward to being a granny.
‘I’m not like Maureen,’ she said, laughing. ‘I’ll be ahands-on granny and give Ciara as much help as I can when she has the baby.’
Kerrie wondered how on earth two women who seemed so different were even
‘Matt wasn’t that happy in school,’ Kerrie said softly. ‘I think he must have missed home a lot.’
‘Well, he never said much to us,’ said Maureen. ‘He was always a quiet type of boy … he needed to toughen up like his older brother, Ed.’
Kerrie said nothing. Over her dead body would any of her children be packed off to boarding school. Her childhood might have been chaotic and a lot less financially comfortablethan Matt’s, but she could remember walking in from school and feeling the warmth of the kitchen. Her mam would be in her apron, either cooking or cleaning or washing, but stopping whatever it was she was doing to ask how Kerrie’s school day had gone, and what the teacher had said, and what she had learned. Her parents had been great encouraging them all to study and do well.
After lunch on Saturday Maureen had gone to visit a sick friend in the local retirement home. Kerrie had opted to explore the Hennessys’ fields and gardens, ignoring the pleas of the dogs, who wanted to come with her. As she walked around the grounds of Moyle House she couldn’t help but be impressed by what Maureen and Dermot were doing there: there were compost heaps and organic vegetables, and even some hens scratching in an enclosure. There was an orchard with old apple trees and a pear tree, a run-down tennis court with a bedraggled looking net, an old paddock that was now overgrown, and what looked like stables and a yard in the distance. The lawn up around the house was immaculate, and the main flower beds were well pruned and neat and tidy. She couldn’t help but compare it to the small suburban garden of her parents’ house, with its concrete patio, patchy lawn, scanty shrubs and bushes, and her dad’s attempts to grow scallions and a few heads of lettuce and carrots.
Afterwards she had made herself some coffee and grabbed one of the lovely pecan slices she had bought that morning, and curled up on the couch reading the papers in the garden room.
The sun was streaming in on her, and somehow she must have dozed off and fallen asleep as she woke to find a rug overher. Since Matt wasn’t due home till 6 p.m. she realized that Maureen must have discovered her.
Upstairs she had freshened up and was blow-drying her hair when Matt returned.
‘Nice day?’
She was about to moan about him leaving her on her own, but realized that she had literally relaxed most of the day, and that all the fresh air had wiped her out.
‘I feel so tired.’ She laughed, unable to stop yawning. ‘I don’t know why, as I hardly did anything.’
‘I’m the same.’ He laughed too. ‘The old man is after beating me hands down at the golf.’
‘I hope it’ll be OK at the golf club. I don’t know anyone, and you know I haven’t a clue about golf, either!’
‘It’ll be fun,’ he promised. ‘It’s kind of low key and relaxed there.’
The bar of the club had been packed, and after a few minutes Kerrie had totally lost track of all the names of the people she had been introduced to. Gerard Mullen, Dermot’s business partner, and his wife Gail were at their table, plus Maureen’s best friend Anne and her husband Kevin, who were great fun. Anne kept trying to find out information about Kerrie’s upcoming wedding, and Kerrie tried to put her off. Anne’s daughter Ciara had got married only the previous year, and she was full of wedding tips and advice. They were awaiting the birth of their first grandchild and Anne was really looking forward to being a granny.
‘I’m not like Maureen,’ she said, laughing. ‘I’ll be ahands-on granny and give Ciara as much help as I can when she has the baby.’
Kerrie wondered how on earth two women who seemed so different were even
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