Secrets in the Snow - Emma Heatherington Page 0,48
him being here rather than Mabel’s house lying empty, plus we’ve had some nice times together so far, but I’m also, for the first time, quickly trying to digest just how bad things have been in America for him. ‘Well … well, you take your time and do what’s best for yourself, Aidan, and you know Ben and I are right next door if you need us.’
His face breaks into a wide smile of relief, I assume at getting some sort of reassurance that he’s doing the right thing.
‘Thank you, Roisin, that means a lot,’ he says, his frown disintegrating and his voice a lot softer than the gruff arrogance I was first met with only days ago.
I walk away, trying to answer Ben’s flurry of questions at Aidan’s announcement as we slip and slide in the snow back home.
‘Is Aidan our new neighbour? That’s so cool! Does he love it here like we do? I wonder could we go sledging again. What do you think, Mum?’
I have so many thoughts running through my head, mostly of how Mabel has guided us all lately, and so I secretly acknowledge thanks on what has been a surprisingly pleasant Thanksgiving Day to her for watching out for the three of us in more ways than she will ever know.
‘Just for a little while,’ I tell my son who is wide-eyed and eager at the thought. ‘He will have to go back to America one day, but not just quite yet.’
SPRING
17.
‘Would Aidan like to come to the beach with us, Mum?’ Ben asks me on a bright, sunny Sunday in March.
With the weather picking up, Ben and I make an effort every Sunday morning to continue a tradition we had with Mabel where we walk on the beach in Dunfanaghy at the beautiful Killahoey Strand after breakfast, putting the world to rights, or at least our own little world to rights, as much as we can.
Aidan has been settling in well next door, keeping to himself when he wants to sometimes for days at a time, but popping by for the odd coffee or a chat over the fence.
‘I suppose it might be nice to ask him,’ I reply, touched at Ben’s kindness. I’m not sure how Aidan spends his Sundays, but I do know that it can be a very long and lonely day for many, so I take the bull by the horns and go across to Mabel’s house to ask him.
He opens the door, a bit more taken aback than I expected, and I get the impression I’ve landed at exactly the wrong time as he has his phone in his hand and looks as if he was in the midst of quite a heated discussion.
‘Thanks all the same,’ he says in response to my invitation, with just enough edge to make my face flush. ‘I’m in the middle of something really important, Roisin, so not today, sorry.’
I leave, feeling rejected and a bit embarrassed, and vow I’ll never ask him again, telling myself that Aidan Murphy’s purpose for being here is not to fill the gap that Mabel has left behind in our lives and never will be.
Some days I find myself wondering what on earth he gets up to next door, but then I remember how small the world is now, especially in his line of business where everything can be coordinated and managed online or by telephone. Some days I forget he is even there at all, but as the new season settles in, so does Aidan, and eventually he does take up the offer for a Sunday walk on the beach when Ben puts him on the spot as I am fetching my coat.
‘You really should come with us. It’s really good to blow the cobwebs off the week before and get ready for the week ahead,’ I hear him say over the fence to Aidan, who has just come back from his morning run. ‘That’s what my mum says anyhow. I have a Frisbee. It’s brand new, but Mum isn’t really good at catching it. She tries her best, but I just end up giving up and kicking my ball instead.’
The lonely only-child’s remark is enough to at least guilt Aidan into joining us this time.
‘OK, I’ll meet you down there,’ he says to Ben, catching me listening in from my position at the front door. ‘My grandparents weren’t very good at Frisbee either when I was your age, so I’ll see you there and