The Women Who Ran Away - Sheila O'Flanagan Page 0,144
about her decision to have an abortion, she didn’t get upset.
‘You might think differently,’ she’d said to Deira the evening they’d discussed it. ‘But it’s my body, my choice and my right to make it.’
Deira would never say that she’d wished it had been different. Because even if her fantasy of raising Bex’s baby had been fulfilled, it still would have changed her god-daughter’s life in a way that she couldn’t know. And so she simply said that she loved and supported Bex and that she’d always love and support her, which made the younger girl finally tear up and tell her that she’d always love Deira too.
They’d grown much closer on that trip, and Deira found that Bex’s quirky sense of humour and determination to do what she wanted matched her own. She told her that she was always welcome to visit her in Dublin, and Bex said that she’d be taking her up on that, because there were concerts scheduled for later in the year that she wanted to go to, and there was always the shopping – and then she laughed and told her not to worry, she wouldn’t land on her unannounced.
Neither Gill nor Bex was staying with her for their time in Dublin now, because although Gill had initially suggested it, she’d then messaged Deira to say she’d got a great deal on a two-night stay at the Clayton that would be better all round given that Deira would surely be busy with the exhibition and wouldn’t have time to worry about them.
Deira was astonished but relieved. Nonetheless, she planned to have lunch with her sister and niece the following day. Not being obliged to do something made it so much easier to want to do it, she thought. And she wondered if she truly was a contrary madam, as Gill had often called her in the past, or if her perception of her relationship with her sister had finally shifted for the better.
‘Deira. Looking amazing.’ Ardal, Arc’s CEO, bounded down the stairs to join her. ‘I couldn’t be happier with it.’
‘Neither could I,’ she admitted. ‘It’s exactly how I visualised it.’
‘OK, I love the exhibition, but I also love that we’re putting the company out there as being part of the community and part of the city,’ said Ardal. ‘And I know we have our corporate motives for wanting to do it, but it really matters to me personally too.’
‘I’m glad,’ said Deira. ‘I’ve loved working on it.’
‘I hope you’ll be working on many more,’ said Ardal.
‘Me too.’
‘Ah.’ Ardal nodded towards the glass doors. ‘Our first visitors have arrived. We’re on.’
Grace was utterly blown away by the exhibition, which was bigger and better than she’d ever imagined. She wished that Ken could be here now to see people marvelling at his collection and talking about the books with such enthusiasm and eagerness. She wished he could have heard the speeches from the Minister and the Lord Mayor and Ardal and finally Deira, who recalled him as a lecturer passionate about words and literature who wanted his students to appreciate the power of the spoken and the written word.
‘At college, he constantly tried to make us strive to use words better, to understand the nuances of language and to appreciate the joy that books can bring us,’ she said. ‘He liked challenging us and being challenged, and that never left him. I’m proud and honoured to have been able to bring his amazing collection to the public, and I’d like especially to thank his wife Grace and their children Aline, Fionn and Regan for being with us here today.’
Grace had been touched by Deira’s remarks and had accepted a tissue from Aline when a tear rolled down her cheek. But after the speeches, she’d been uplifted by the innovative way the books were displayed, and the posters and artwork that Deira had sourced to go with them.
‘I hope you don’t mind,’ Grace said when she got to speak to Deira afterwards. ‘But I invited someone else along. He’s only just arrived.’
‘Of course not. I told you you could bring as many guests as you like,’ Deira said. ‘Who is it?’
‘Duncan,’ said Grace.
Deira frowned. ‘Duncan?’
‘From the restaurant in Spain,’ said Grace. ‘Duncan Anderson.’
‘Grace!’ Deira looked at her in astonishment. ‘Are you and Duncan a thing?’
Grace smiled slowly.
‘I don’t believe it,’ Deira said with delight. ‘Well, I do, I thought he fancied you before, but . . . Oh Grace!’