not carry the burden of the secret any longer. Dympna had travelled halfway across the globe. The least I could do was to be honest in return.
‘There’s no need, because I already know,’ Dympna said in a matter-of-fact manner. Cooing, she melted as Ashling grasped her little finger. ‘I’m your auntie Dympna, yes I am, yes I am.’ Her voice was as soft and gentle as a summer breeze.
‘You know?’ Ashling was lying content after her first breastfeed, and neither of us wanted to wake her up. Her face was pink, soft and beautiful. She was just how I had pictured her, with tiny wisps of blonde hair framing her head.
Dympna nodded, finally meeting my eyes. ‘I’m coming to terms with it. I know it won’t happen again.’
‘Wow,’ I said, feeling the weight of nine months of worry fall away.
‘What’s the point in holding on to all that anger and hurt? You’re the sister I never had. And I’m gonna make a go of this. We both can.’
I stared at my friend with newfound admiration. How could she be so calm? The betrayal must have hurt like hell, but she was right. It would never happen again.
‘And he knows about the baby,’ Dympna said, ‘so you don’t need to worry, it’s all out in the open. We’ll all work together to give Ashling the best start.’ Tears moistened her eyes as her words juddered to a halt. I felt thoroughly ashamed for having hurt the most important person in my life.
‘Does your mam know?’ I said, trying to imagine the kind of reception I’d get back home.
Dympna frowned. ‘No. It’s none of her business. If I split up with Seamus it’s nothing to do with her.’
It was obvious we had crossed wires. She did not know the truth at all.
‘Wait a minute – you think Seamus is Ashling’s father?’
‘I don’t think it, I know it,’ Dympna said, an edge growing to her words.
‘Then you’re wrong.’ I wondered how she would react when she discovered the truth. ‘I wouldn’t sleep with Seamus in a million years.’
‘There is no point in denying it.’ Dympna’s brows knitted in a scowl. ‘I’ve seen how cagey he’s been. I did the maths. When I told him you were pregnant he started acting all weird.’
I shifted in my bed, as after-pains ebbed through my body. I needed to clear the air before I could rest. I remembered how I had been unable to meet Seamus’s gaze, how he had looked at me in disgust.
‘Seamus burst in on us. I begged him not to say anything. I didn’t want you getting hurt.’
‘How, if he’s not the dad?’ Dympna punctuated her words with a sigh. ‘You don’t need to cover it up.’ She leaned back in to Ashling. Like me, she could not get enough. ‘I’m your auntie Dympna, and I’m going to babysit you all night long.’
‘But that’s the thing,’ I said, as a soft knock on the door signalled a new visitor. ‘You’re not her auntie . . .’ I watched as the baby’s father entered, a giant teddy under his arm. My gaze met Dympna’s. ‘You’re her half-sister.’
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
DYMPNA
‘Dad?’ Dympna said, before returning her gaze to Roz.
John had been in the corridor since their arrival, speaking to the police, filling out forms for the medical bills and allowing Roz to get on with giving birth. Dympna watched a flush creep up Roz’s neck as John rested the teddy at the end of her bed. His gaze never left the baby and myriad questions invaded Dympna’s brain. This was why Roz had asked if her mother knew. She should be relieved that Seamus was off the hook, but she could not comprehend what Roz had done. Sleeping with her father? How could she? No wonder he had been so willing to fly over to find her. But where did that leave them now?
Feeling like a gooseberry, she retreated to allow her father a better view of his new daughter.
‘She’s beautiful,’ he said, just as Ashling opened her eyes. Blinking, she stretched in Roz’s arms, and Dympna watched as her father seemed entranced.
‘Her name is Ashling,’ Roz said, slowly offering her up.
John took the baby with confident hands.
‘She looks just like you,’ he said, echoing Dympna’s earlier words.
‘Dad?’ Dympna said again, breaking the spell.
‘Sorry,’ Roz replied to her friend. ‘I wanted to tell you . . .’
‘It’s OK,’ Dympna said, as the news sank in. She could forgive Roz. It was her father who needed to explain.
‘Here