Denis had never given her the silent treatment before and if she could turn back the clock and stop herself from having slapped him she so would. How on earth was she ever going to get this back? How was she going to convince him that although she’d never forget Fergal he’d never been the King of her heart like Dennis was.
‘No’ said Dennis. ‘I want to be by myself’.
‘Dennis, please, you’ve got to let me explain’.
‘I don’t have to let you do anything’ Dennis replied without looking at her. ‘I’ve never been that kind of husband. We’ve always been a partnership. Or so I thought’.
‘But we still are!’ she insisted. ‘Nothing about what’s happened today need change anything about us unless we let it. Dennis, please!’
‘I need some time on my own, Patty. I’ll see you later’.
A couple of hours later when Dennis had walked round the local neighbourhood which was mainly to do with highways and open countryside, he got back to the hotel and found Patricia in the bar making what looked like light work of a bottle of shiraz.
‘You think that’s going to solve all this?’ said Dennis, gesturing to the bottle which was on a small table in front of her.
‘I don’t care whether it does or not’ said Patricia. ‘But it’s helping me right now especially when you look at me like that’.
‘I’ll get another glass’ said Dennis. It was getting on for eight o’clock and he was getting pretty hungry. But dinner would have to wait. There were more answers he needed and when he came back from the bar with a glass he poured himself some of the wine and gulped some down. It tasted good but there wasn’t much left. He ordered another bottle.
‘Getting stuck in for the night?’ said Patricia. ‘Or do you just want to block it all out?’
‘Patricia, how did they know where to find you?’
‘That’s what I’d like to know’.
‘So it is true that you’ve never had any contact with your family since you left Ireland?’
‘Yes, Dennis. I swear to you that’s true’.
Dennis wondered if she was still lying to him. ‘But the police constable said they’d been contacted by your sister Josephine?’
‘I know’.
‘So how did she know?’
‘I don’t know, Dennis, I really don’t know’.
‘And what would they think was so special to you about Padraig’s death? I mean, I presume there’ve been other deaths in the family the last forty years? Like your mother for instance? Why didn’t they let you know about any of those? Why did they wait till now, Patty? That would seem to be the most significant thing we need to know. I mean, do you have any idea?’
‘Can we take this back to the room, please? I don’t want to discuss it in the bar here’.
‘Did you ring any of the kids?’ asked Patricia once they were back in room 26 on the second floor of this very modern three-storey hotel. She slumped down in the IKEA style dark blue armchair and glanced out of the window. It was still fairly light. The countryside seemed to go on for infinity. That’s what she’d fallen in love with about Australia. It was a vast, open space where people could get lost and never have to return to the source of their pain. It was so different from her days back in West Belfast where nobody could make a move without the whole bloody neighbourhood knowing about it. A shiver went down her spine. She suddenly felt vulnerable. Was someone out there watching her? Is that how they’d managed to track her down? Had they always known where she was and had just been waiting for their chance to reach out and get her?
‘No, I didn’t ring any of the kids’ said Dennis almost exasperatedly. ‘Why would I do that? We’ve got to work it out between ourselves first. Or rather you’ve got to tell me the truth’.
‘Don’t you think I’ve done that already?’
‘No I don’t’ said Dennis who sat down on the end of the bed.
‘Thanks’ said Patricia who sounded more
‘No’ said Dennis. ‘I want to be by myself’.
‘Dennis, please, you’ve got to let me explain’.
‘I don’t have to let you do anything’ Dennis replied without looking at her. ‘I’ve never been that kind of husband. We’ve always been a partnership. Or so I thought’.
‘But we still are!’ she insisted. ‘Nothing about what’s happened today need change anything about us unless we let it. Dennis, please!’
‘I need some time on my own, Patty. I’ll see you later’.
A couple of hours later when Dennis had walked round the local neighbourhood which was mainly to do with highways and open countryside, he got back to the hotel and found Patricia in the bar making what looked like light work of a bottle of shiraz.
‘You think that’s going to solve all this?’ said Dennis, gesturing to the bottle which was on a small table in front of her.
‘I don’t care whether it does or not’ said Patricia. ‘But it’s helping me right now especially when you look at me like that’.
‘I’ll get another glass’ said Dennis. It was getting on for eight o’clock and he was getting pretty hungry. But dinner would have to wait. There were more answers he needed and when he came back from the bar with a glass he poured himself some of the wine and gulped some down. It tasted good but there wasn’t much left. He ordered another bottle.
‘Getting stuck in for the night?’ said Patricia. ‘Or do you just want to block it all out?’
‘Patricia, how did they know where to find you?’
‘That’s what I’d like to know’.
‘So it is true that you’ve never had any contact with your family since you left Ireland?’
‘Yes, Dennis. I swear to you that’s true’.
Dennis wondered if she was still lying to him. ‘But the police constable said they’d been contacted by your sister Josephine?’
‘I know’.
‘So how did she know?’
‘I don’t know, Dennis, I really don’t know’.
‘And what would they think was so special to you about Padraig’s death? I mean, I presume there’ve been other deaths in the family the last forty years? Like your mother for instance? Why didn’t they let you know about any of those? Why did they wait till now, Patty? That would seem to be the most significant thing we need to know. I mean, do you have any idea?’
‘Can we take this back to the room, please? I don’t want to discuss it in the bar here’.
‘Did you ring any of the kids?’ asked Patricia once they were back in room 26 on the second floor of this very modern three-storey hotel. She slumped down in the IKEA style dark blue armchair and glanced out of the window. It was still fairly light. The countryside seemed to go on for infinity. That’s what she’d fallen in love with about Australia. It was a vast, open space where people could get lost and never have to return to the source of their pain. It was so different from her days back in West Belfast where nobody could make a move without the whole bloody neighbourhood knowing about it. A shiver went down her spine. She suddenly felt vulnerable. Was someone out there watching her? Is that how they’d managed to track her down? Had they always known where she was and had just been waiting for their chance to reach out and get her?
‘No, I didn’t ring any of the kids’ said Dennis almost exasperatedly. ‘Why would I do that? We’ve got to work it out between ourselves first. Or rather you’ve got to tell me the truth’.
‘Don’t you think I’ve done that already?’
‘No I don’t’ said Dennis who sat down on the end of the bed.
‘Thanks’ said Patricia who sounded more
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