The Perfect Gift

by Emma Hannigan

  ‘I think that sounds like a good deal,’ Brigid said. She lifted each of them onto a chair and stood them at a corner of her workbench and handed them a few buns each.

  ‘Thanks. I’ll get Mum to come ASAP,’ Róisín whispered.

  ‘No bother,’ Brigid said. ‘I obviously can’t sell cakes that have been decorated by licked fingers, so say goodbye to that little bit of profit!’

  ‘Just what I need to kickstart my day, a loss before we even open the doors,’ Róisín said with a wry smile.

  She was totally distracted as she turned the sign to Open and unlocked the main door. The last person she expected to see on the other side of it was Rob Walsh.

  ‘Good morning,’ she said in surprise. ‘What brings you to Ballyshore at eight thirty in the morning?’

  ‘Eh, I don’t suppose you’d believe I was just passing?’ he said with one eyebrow raised. She pulled the door open fully and beckoned him in.

  ‘Coffee?’ she asked.

  ‘Thanks.’

  She made him a cappuccino and called across to Billy and Jess that she was looking forward to seeing the finished cakes.

  ‘What’s the story with the slave labour?’ Rob asked.

  ‘My sister’s kids. She’s not feeling good today, so they’ve come to help out until she’s feeling better.’

  ‘Are you guys icing all those buns?’ he asked.

  ‘We’re putting sweets and flowers and stuff on them too,’ Billy said.

  ‘Can I buy them when you’re ready?’ Rob asked.

  ‘We’ll have to ask Auntie Róisín,’ Jess said with a very serious expression.

  ‘How about I go and sit over there and you could bring me the buns when they’re finished? You won’t sell them to anyone else, will you? I was here first.’

  ‘That’s OK,’ Billy said, making a swift management decision. ‘It’ll cost you ten euros for them though.’

  ‘That’s a deal,’ Rob said. ‘Am I allowed to wait over there?’ He pointed at the window seat.

  ‘I think that’s a good plan. Are you in a hurry for them?’ Billy asked, looking a bit worried.

  ‘Yes,’ Róisín interrupted. ‘He is.’

  ‘Quick, Billy,’ Jess said. ‘Don’t lick any more of those sweets. We need to put them all on now so the man will pay Auntie Róisín all his money.’

  Róisín tried to keep a straight face as Rob played a blinder.

  ‘Do I pay you now or when the cakes are done?’

  ‘Now,’ they shouted in unison.

  ‘Well trained,’ Rob whispered. He handed Róisín a ten euro note.

  ‘Go on with that,’ she said. ‘I’m not taking your money.’

  He insisted and left it on the counter as he took his seat. ‘I’m looking forward to my cakes now,’ he said loudly. ‘I’m so glad I came here early. Someone else might have walked in and taken them.’

  The children loved the banter and squealed with laughter.

  Róisín continued with her usual early morning drill as the children began to deposit the cakes on Rob’s table. She was intrigued by Jess’s reaction to him. She was normally very quiet and almost a suspicious little thing. Yet, she was happily trotting across the shop and back again with cakes for Rob.

  Jill walked in and said hello to the children and Rob. She walked up to the counter and made a face. ‘They look like they’re having a pretty good time with your boyfriend. Are you role-playing at being The Waltons here?’

  ‘Shush, will you?’ Róisín hissed. ‘He’ll hear you. He’s not my boyfriend, as you well know. I have to admit he’s great with the kids, though.’

  ‘He might be good husband material yet,’ Jill said, winking at her.

  ‘So what brings you here at this hour of the day?’ Róisín teased her. ‘I was normally hoovering around you at this time.’

  Jill shrugged. ‘Just missing you, really.’

  The two friends smiled at each other.

  ‘Are you busy?’ Róisín asked.

  ‘Nope,’ Jill said. ‘What do you need?’

  ‘Can you take the two children to the beach for a bit? Liv is having a hard time.’

  ‘Sure.’

  The sun was shining and the village was starting to get busy already. Róisín glanced over at Rob, who was sharing a juice with the children. The deli counter was really busy so she dashed over to him.

  ‘Rob, thanks so much for minding these two little monkeys. My friend Jill is going to take them to the beach for a bit.’

  The kids cheered as they spotted Jill filling a bag of goodies.

  ‘That’s cool. We’re having a great chat here. I’m hearing all about the snoring noises their dad makes. Apparently he sounds like a big pig!’

  The two children giggled and Rob laughed.

  ‘If Jill doesn’t mind, I might go to the beach with them for a bit. I could do with a bit of fresh air.’

  ‘Yeah, no bother,’ Jill said patting him on the back. ‘I know about the teacher thing, but this will be a good trial run at what it might feel like to have a husband and children on a day out. I might have to hen-peck you, though. Are you cool with that?’

  ‘As long as there’s no physical violence in front of the children I think we’ll do nicely,’ he said with a grin. ‘Do I refer to you as Mummy or are you happy to stick with your name?’

  ‘I think Jill is OK for the moment. What about you?’

  ‘I’d prefer if you could call me precious or darling very loudly so the other beach-goers can hear,’ he said, keeping a straight face.

  ‘No bother,’ she said saluting. ‘You kiddies ready? What about you, DARLING?’ she shouted.

  Róisín shook her head and smiled as the unlikely foursome bundled out the door. She was mildly nervous of how Jill would fare with Rob. She realised that she really wanted her best friend to like him.

  As Brigid helped her to clear the backlog at the sandwich counter, they started to discuss Keeley’s birthday party.

  ‘I’m thinking of doing a barbecue with a pig on a spit,’ Róisín said. ‘We could easily hire the community centre and do it up nicely. I can get some of the part-timers to come and help create a festival-type atmosphere.’

  ‘A live band would be good too,’ Brigid said.

  ‘The guys who played at the food festival were fantastic,’ Róisín agreed. ‘Mum is not overly keen on the whole party plan. She keeps coming up with more excuses every time I mention it.’

  ‘Why don’t you do it as a surprise then?’ Brigid said.

  ‘Good plan,’ Róisín said thoughtfully. ‘I can give everyone a little job to do and it would take the pressure off Mum. You know what she’s like. She ends up taking on the lion’s share of everything and knowing her, she’d be too exhausted to even enjoy it. But I’d better get a move on, there’s only three weeks to the big day now and there’ll be so much to do.’

  Róisín was delighted with the idea of a surprise. It would give them all something positive to focus on. If Liv was right about Martin and he did want out, things were going to get a lot worse before they got better. She’d get Liv involved and it would be the perfect way for all of them to show their mum just how much she meant to them. She had so many favours she could call in, so it wouldn’t need to cost the earth either. The idea of spending a pile of cash right now wasn’t feasible. But she knew Keeley would appreciate the gesture.

  Róisín made sure the staff were organised before she ran up to the office. She wanted to make notes on the party idea. As she sat scribbling at her desk, she realised she’d left her box of cards out on the table. She picked it up to put it back on the shelf, then stopped and opened it. She reached in and picked out a card at random.

  Darling girl

  Now that you have left your teens behind and entered your twenties, I hope you are beginning to dream big. The world is an exciting place with so much to discover. But don’t forget one thing. Nothing is more precious than the love of your family. No matter where life takes you and
who you meet along the way, love is the answer.

  Roam the globe if that’s what your heart desires, but always keep those you love close to your heart. Be honest and truthful with your family because they won’t judge you. Have faith in the people who invested their time and energy in your wellbeing.

  Take people as you find them, not as others tell you. Everyone has something to say and often it’s a little nugget of information you’ve never heard before. Getting out and taking chances teaches you so much more than sitting at home alone.

  Do things that scare you. You’ll be glad you did.

  Love and light

  Mam x

  Róisín smiled to herself. She could think of a few things that scared her – should she follow her mother’s advice and go for it?

  She suddenly heard Keeley’s voice downstairs and called down to Brigid to let her know she was on the way. She ran down the stairs and hugged her so tightly, Keeley coughed.

  ‘Hi,’ she said. ‘I thought you were busy so I didn’t call. I’ve sent the kids off with Jill. Liv is having a dreadful morning.’

  ‘I know. I’ve just been with her.’ Keeley looked stricken. ‘I could kill Martin. But more than that, I’m so devastated that Liv felt she couldn’t tell any of us what was going on.’

  ‘I know,’ Róisín agreed. There was something about Keeley that made her look closely at her. She seemed distracted in some way.

  ‘Is everything OK, Mum?’

  Keeley sighed deeply. ‘Not really. Liv isn’t the only one who’s been having marital issues,’ she said. ‘I’m not exactly happy at the moment either.’

  Róisín listened as her mother told her how invisible she’d begun to feel. How pushed aside and surplus to requirements she felt.

  ‘But Mum, we would all be lost without you.’

  ‘Thanks, pet,’ she said. ‘It’s not you girls, of course. It’s your father. I’m wondering if we’d be better apart.’

  Róisín stared at her in utter shock, but before she could answer the children came zooming over.

  ‘Hi you guys,’ Róisín said, forcing a fake smile onto her face. ‘You’re back!’

  Her head was reeling with what her mother had just suggested, but she couldn’t give Billy and Jess any more emotions to deal with at the moment. She had to push it aside for now and then tackle Keeley later, in private.

  ‘We had the best time ever. Jill and Rob were pretending to be our mum and dad. They are the worst at it!’ Billy laughed.

  ‘They buried each other in the sand,’ Jess said clapping. ‘They’re so funny.’

  ‘Hi Keeley,’ Jill said, planting a kiss on her cheek.

  ‘Hello Jill love,’ she said. ‘So it sounds as if you were being a bit crazy?’

  ‘We had a blast,’ Jill said as Rob approached.

  ‘Hi there,’ he said to Keeley. ‘Robert Walsh is my name. I sell Irish craft beers to Róisín. I dropped by earlier on and was lucky enough to be able to buy some special hand-made cakes. Then Billy and Jess minded me at the beach.’

  ‘We licked all the sweets and stuck them on the tops of the cakes,’ Billy said proudly. ‘And Rob was supposed to mind us. But he’s the craziest man in the universe!’

  ‘It sounds as if Rob and Jill were lucky to have you two there to sort them out,’ Róisín said.

  Billy and Jess nodded.

  ‘Well, I’d better get going,’ Keeley said. ‘Would you two like to come with me?’ They nodded. ‘What do you say to Rob?’

  ‘Thank you,’ they chorused.

  ‘It was great to hang out. Maybe we can do it again another day?’ he said. ‘I might be back again soon and I think I need you two to keep me on the straight and narrow. Bye guys,’ Rob said holding his hand up to do high-fives.

  The children waved happily as Keeley took them out to her car.

  ‘I need to run to the ladies,’ Jill said and raced across the shop.

  ‘Hey, thanks so much for doing that,’ Róisín said.

  ‘They’re great,’ Rob said.

  ‘You’re very good with children.’

  ‘I think I’m just on the same wavelength as them.’ As he stood with his hands in his dark denim jeans pockets, she could see the outline of his muscles through his pale blue T-shirt.

  ‘So how’s your day going so far?’ he asked.

  ‘Things are a little precarious for me just at the moment.’

  ‘Why?’ he asked.

  Róisín looked over at Steve who was engrossed in a conversation with the people at the neighbouring table.

  ‘There’s a bit of a problem, but I can’t discuss it here.’

  ‘Want to sit for a quick coffee?’ he asked. ‘I’ve been running around nonstop since I got here.’

  ‘Oh how rude of me,’ she said flushing. ‘Do you want to come up to my office?’ she asked.

  He nodded, and Róisín felt instantly calmer.

  They bumped into Jill on her way out of the loos.

  ‘I’ve got to split,’ she said. ‘Nice to meet you, Rob. Chat to you later, babes?’ she said to Róisín.

  ‘Chat then, and thanks a million.’

  ‘She’s great craic,’ Rob said as he followed Róisín up to the office.

  ‘I know, she’s the best. We’ve been like sisters for years. So,’ she said hesitating. ‘I’m in a bit of a bind.’ Rob sat opposite her. ‘I don’t want you to think I won’t pay for the beer because I absolutely will,’ she said.

  ‘OK,’ he said holding his hands up. ‘Go on.’

  ‘Well, I put in an offer to buy this building, thinking I would have no hassle. But it turns out my landlord received an offer from an investor. One I can’t even attempt to match.’

  ‘So what’s the situation?’

  ‘I’m waiting for official written confirmation, but I’m pretty sure Nourriture is going to be bulldozed and I’ll be out of a job.’

  ‘Who’s the investor?’

  ‘I’ve no idea. I didn’t ask.’

  ‘Why not?’ Rob asked.

  ‘Well … I didn’t think that was any of my business.’

  ‘Of course it is. If you know who it is, maybe you can negotiate. Who knows, maybe whoever is buying the property will continue to rent it to you?’

  ‘From what Mr Grace, my landlord, said, this investor wants to knock the place down and start from scratch.’

  ‘Don’t lose hope, Róisín,’ Rob said. ‘My father is a dab hand when it comes to investments and buying and selling properties. Would you like me to ask him for his take on this?’

  ‘If you think that you or your father can possibly help me to hold onto Nourriture, I’ll take your hand off. I really want to keep it all going and keep building on what I’ve started. So any help you can give me will be very gratefully received.’

  ‘I understand,’ he said. ‘Let me do some homework and I’ll get back to you. Where does your landlord live, by the way? How do I get hold of him?’

  Róisín explained and watched in amazement as Rob jumped up and set off down the stairs.

  ‘Where are you going?’ she called.

  ‘I’ll see you soon,’ he shouted back.

  He saw his opportunity to prove his worth to Róisín, and he was going to grab it with both hands. He wouldn’t leave a stone unturned in his research on Nourriture and the new investor.

  Chapter 35

  Nell was immensely proud of Mouse. She was coming on in leaps and bounds with her driving. They’d made it as far as the outskirts of the village before the young woman pulled over.

  ‘Why did you stop?’ Nell asked.

  ‘I can’t drive into the village. It’s too narrow and there’ll be cars parked on the side of the road. I’ll end up clipping a pile of wing mirrors.’

  Nell tutted and muttered, but she let Mouse move to the passenger seat as she slid over and took the wheel.

  ‘Why don’t you come and pick me up and we could have something to eat this evening?’ Mouse suggested.

 
; ‘No thanks,’ Nell said.

  ‘Why? The food at the pub is good. Or we could go to Nourriture. The woman who runs it is really decent. I’ve been slipping out during my break to buy the chocolate éclairs in there. They bake everything in the back of the shop.’

  ‘I’d prefer the pub,’ Nell said gruffly.

  ‘OK, so will we go there then?’

  ‘Maybe.’

  ‘Ah please, Nell, I’ll pay. It’d be my treat. I’d be so happy to bring you.’

  Nell smiled. ‘OK then. We’ll do it.’

  Mouse ran into work looking so delighted with herself, it made Nell chuckle. She’d never come across another person who was so easily pleased.

  As she drove home to the lighthouse, Nell knew what she wanted to do. The sun was shining on her front garden and the scent of sweet pea filled the air. Grabbing her scrapbooks, she made a mug of coffee and perched on her deck-chair. She thumbed through the pages, gazing at each article and photograph in turn. For the first time, she confronted the question of broaching the subject she’d avoided for decades, turning it over in her mind and looking at it from every angle. Fear gripped her heart as she tried to imagine how the scene could play out. What was the right thing to do?

  She went back into the lighthouse and opened the top drawer of her desk. Sliding the large black cassette out of the box, she found the long-forgotten VHS machine at the bottom of the large cupboard in Laura’s old room. It was still connected to the box-shaped portable television set. With shaking hands, she slid the tape into the machine and held her breath until it whirred into action.

  Using the black handle on the top of the TV set, she lifted it out and set it on the floor. The snowy screen changed to black before a picture appeared.

  Tears soaked her face as she watched Laura blowing kisses and waving.

  The message she’d recorded so long ago seemed all the more relevant today. Nell mouthed the words along with her daughter. Each one was emblazoned on her brain, never forgotten but all the same, never delivered to the rightful recipient.

  ‘You’ll pass it on, won’t you, Mum?’ Laura begged.

  ‘Of course I will,’ she’d promised. ‘Of course I will.’

  Nell curled into a ball on the floor and pressed the Rewind button. As soon as she pressed Play, she rested her head on the carpet and pretended Laura was still with her. It was so long since she’d allowed herself to do this. So long since she’d dared to let her imagination take over in this way.