children from drink, Dad would be holding tutorials on the wine regions in France. Occasionally he held informal tastings, mainly when Mum was out of the house. He inculcated in each of us a healthy respect for wine and other forms of alcohol. The disrespect came later.
We moved out to the conservatory, already drenched in the afternoon sun. Draping myself across one of the loungers I felt sure I was going to fall asleep. It seemed that so much had been accomplished and even more set in motion that I needed to sleep off the effects of the exertion. I felt I needed to sleep for a very long time. But with my mother in the room there was no chance of that.
‘You know that Virginia’s Bridalwear is closing down? I was talking to Eleanor Fitzmorris at the concert hall the other night and she told me there were some irregularities with the accounts. It’s all since the son took over. I mean, I don’t know what kind of a job that is for a man. No wonder he wasn’t any good at it. And I said to Eleanor was he gay and she said, no, he definitely wasn’t, he just wanted to give the business a go. Out of respect for his mother. Well, she’ll be turning in her grave now.’
Lucy topped up her glass but said nothing.
‘You know, Mum,’ Marion said, ‘that’s just gossip. Eleanor Fitzmorris is a nosy bint who likes nothing better than to slag off her neighbours. You should know better than to listen to what she says.’
‘Don’t you tell me who I shouldn’t listen to, lady. She’s a good friend of mine and I know for a fact that every word she says is true.’
‘Oh, whatever!’ Marion also topped up her glass.
‘I’ve heard that Top Man is the best place for men’s dress hire.’
This was Keith. I’d forgotten he was still there.
‘Not any more, Keith, dear. The whole thing has been taken over by a franchise and the service is not the same. No, the only place to go now is McGinty’s. It’s shabby, but they know how to treat you.’ She sighed as she said this, and shot the rest of us a dirty look. As usual, she was the only one willing to keep the conversation going.
I must have actually fallen asleep because the next thing I remember is Daddy putting all the furniture back in place and nudging my shoulder. ‘I think you should go and see to your boy,’ he said.
I wandered off into the house but nobody seemed to be anywhere. Still sleepy, I decided my old bedroom was as good a place as any to look for people. To give Mum her due, she’s never been one to go turning your bedroom into a library or a gym just because you haven’t lived there for a decade or so. She’s kept our rooms ready for use. Maybe some part of her wishes we’d return, tails between the legs we should have kept together. Anyway, it’s a comfort to know that even if I can’t find clean underwear in my flat, there’s always a freshly made bed waiting for me at Mum and Dad’s.
I’ve always loved my room, even when I had to share it with Ruth. Luckily she was the kind of child who had to be always in the middle of everything so I was often able to spend whole afternoons alone there. Of course, there was the odd occasion when I chose to share my room with somebody else. Somebody like Bobby O’Gorman who lived across the road. I might feel ashamed now of the things we did together (oh, just doctors and nurses when we were about fifteen, but still fairly innocent), if it weren’t for the fact that I was deeply in love with him. He had jet black hair and inky blue eyes and the roundest, softest, sweetest smile I’ve ever seen on a boy. He was also extremely reticent but curiosity carried him just far enough to satisfy mine, for a while.
I was about to enter a very comfortable reverie when there was a knock at my door. It wouldn’t be Mum, she was well past the cursory I’m-pretending-to-respect-your-privacy-but-we-both-know-I’m-coming-in-anyway knock, and Dad would never bother you if you were in your bedroom. If it was Keith he could join me for a little sleep. However, it was Marion and Lucy who barged in before I could finish my thought.