'You and April have been wonderful,' Marge confirmed. 'We have had more emails and texts about diet than about anything else covered on Wednesdays.'
'How many weeks are we talking about?' April asked.
'A further twelve weeks on top of your original contract,' Carolyn said, looking from one to the other. 'Are you both up for that?'
'That's fine with me. Dee?' April said and looked at Dee.
'No problem at all,' Dee said, happily thinking that she should definitely be able to pay a plumber now.
Peggy arrived early at the busy café on Grafton Street and buying a black coffee, she carried it carefully to a table by the window. As she waited, she fiddled nervously with her spoon and when she raised the cup to her lips, her hand shook so badly, she slopped the hot liquid over her hand and into the saucer. She mopped half-heartedly at the mess with the paper napkin and stared out of the window at the passing crowds, wondering what Dee would say.
Neil had noticed there was something wrong with her and when he had observed that she was very quiet she had said she wasn't feeling well. It wasn't a lie. She had been feeling positively nauseous since she had figured out exactly what those papers meant. She had felt like setting fire to the dictionary, irrationally blaming it for revealing her son's lies, but in the end she had tucked it back in the drawer of her bedside table. No doubt she would need it again.
Her very first instinct had been to confront him but then if he left after Dee had decided to let him see Sam, it would be her fault and she couldn't live with that responsibility. No, she had decided, instead she would present Dee with the facts, or the few that she had, and it would be Dee's decision what to do with them. It was a cowardly act but Peggy couldn't think of any way around it. Whatever the outcome was for Neil she didn't want to give up her grandson. It didn't matter if he called her Aunty Peggy until her dying day, it would be infinitely preferable to losing him. She groped in her pocket for a tissue and was dabbing at her eyes when Dee walked in.
'Sorry I'm late.' Dee beamed down at Peggy, her face still made up for the camera, and Peggy thought how beautiful and sweet and honest she looked. 'I'll just get myself a cup of tea. Do you want anything?'
'No, I'm fine,' Peggy told her with a faint smile. She watched as Dee went to the counter, watched her return, and waited as the girl settled herself, opposite and shrugged out of her jacket.
'So, how are you?' Dee asked, looking at her properly for the first time, her smile immediately fading. 'Peggy, is everything all right?'
Peggy shook her head.
Dee grasped her hand. 'What is it, Peggy, are you ill? Is there something wrong with Neil?'
Peggy laughed but her eyes were dead. 'Yes to both questions, really. There is definitely something wrong with my son and I am sick, so sick of him.' She hid her face in her hands. 'Oh, Dee, I'm sorry.'
'Peggy, please, you're scaring me.'
Peggy took her hands away and looked at Dee with red-rimmed eyes. 'I'm sorry.'
'Please, just tell me.'
Peggy nodded silently and clasping her hands together again she began to tell Dee about how she had been stealing into Neil's room on a regular basis over the last few weeks and rifling through his luggage.
Dee looked vaguely shocked but when Peggy paused and looked at her for a reaction she just shrugged. 'I'd probably have done the same thing. He hasn't done much to inspire our trust.'
'That's what I thought. But it wasn't just that, Dee. I thought it was wrong that he wasn't talking to me about his gambling and it seemed to me that there could be only one reason for that.'
'That he hadn't actually stopped,' Dee guessed.
Peggy nodded. 'Or that he had relapsed. Either way I couldn't help him unless I knew the truth. I talked to a counsellor and he told me that gamblers were consummate and very skilled liars—'
Dee nodded. 'They told me that too.'
'So that's why I invaded his privacy, Dee.'
'You don't have to explain yourself to me, Peggy.'
Peggy nodded her thanks and took a deep breath before continuing. 'I found three things. The first was a bill from a garage. That car he's driving? It's just a rental.'
'I suppose there could be reasons for that,' Dee said.
Peggy's smile was grim. 'Yes, except Neil had bragged to me about what a good deal he had struck with the dealer.'
'Oh.' Dee's face fell.
'It gets worse, I'm afraid,' Peggy warned her softly.
'Go on.'
'There was a document about a loan – I'm not sure of the details, it was in Spanish – but I could figure out the words "final notice" and it was printed in red.'
Dee stared at her. 'How much?'
Peggy swallowed hard. 'Seventy-three thousand euros,' she whispered.
Dee put a hand over her mouth. 'Was there a date on it?'
'I couldn't find one, no.'
'So maybe it was an old bill and he's paid it.'
'Oh, come on, Dee, he'd hardly be carrying an old bill around with him and how would he have ever been able to pay off that kind of money?'
'He owns his own business now,' Dee reminded her, clutching at straws.
Peggy frowned, that hadn't occurred to her. 'But it was a final notice,' she said doubtfully.
Dee shrugged. 'Isn't that the way big business works? You don't pay bills until you absolutely have to'.
'I don't know, do you really think so?'
Dee nodded confidently. 'I'm sure there's a simple explanation but you know what? We're going to ask him. You are going to bring him over to my place on Friday and we are going to talk all this through with him. What's more, if he wants to see Sam he's going to have to start going to Gamblers Anonymous meetings on a regular basis. He has to be straight up and honest with me, Peggy, or I can't go ahead with it.'
Peggy nodded hesitantly. 'It could be exactly what he needs or—' She sighed.
'Or what?'
'It may frighten him away for good.'
Dee reached over and took her hand. 'I know that would be very hard for you, Peggy, you've only just got him back, but I don't see what choice I have.'
Peggy squeezed her hand tightly. 'You don't and neither do I. You see, I haven't really got him back, Dee. He doesn't talk to me at all about what's going on in his life either now in Ireland or when he was in Spain. He won't even talk about his time with you.' She smiled faintly. 'The only subject that's not taboo is Sam and even that was out of bounds for a while after he found out about "Aunty Peggy".'
'So, are we agreed? Friday, at my place, we confront him.'
Peggy frowned. 'Will Sam be in the house?'
Dee shook her head. 'Absolutely not. So, what do you say?'
Peggy thought about the crumpled, handwritten note in the bag under the table and then made a decision. She had been saving it for last or maybe she had never planned to show it to Dee at all. It probably wouldn't matter one way or the other. Still, if this was going to work, the truth, all of it, would have to come out. She smiled tremulously and nodded. 'Okay then, Dee, let's do it.'
Chapter 38
'Thank you so much for coming to see us, Emma, it was lovely to meet you.' Lisa shook the girl's hand and smiled warmly. 'I'll be in touch in a couple of days.'
After she had closed the door, Lisa went through to the kitchen, a definite spring in her step. Sitting down at the table, she picked up the folder containing Emma Dawson's details. She was perfect for the job, Lisa thought as she read through the pages once more. Perfect on paper but, more importantly, perfect in the flesh. Lisa and Martha had exchanged delighted smiles when they saw her drop to the floor and start to crawl around on all fours, making the toddlers giggle helplessly. After finding someone as wonderful as Yvonne, Lisa couldn't believe that she'd found another contender who would fit in so perfectly with their little team. Once she got Martha and Dee's okay, she would hire Emma and get to work on bringing Happy Days to the next level.
First, she would advertise a new Mon
tessori school and an after-school service. Yvonne, she'd decided, would be responsible for the school in the morning that would cater for three- and four-year-olds and in the afternoon she would take care of the older children coming home from primary school. Emma would look after the one- to three-year-old children in the mornings, Martha could stay with her beloved babies and Lisa would float between the groups covering for the other girls during break-time or if one of them was on holiday or on sick leave.
She had been working hard on a new floor plan for the crèche and she was dying to run it past Dee. It would be costly, of course, but Lisa thought they could afford it and had put together a spreadsheet to show how. Now all they had to do was find time to discuss it, not an easy thing to achieve at the moment.
They were both running around like maniacs. When Dee wasn't cooking, she was working on her TV programme, in meetings with Lauren, or on the phone to an agency or a government department.
Lisa wasn't much better. Apart from her already busy job and developing her plans for Happy Days, she was a willing slave for Lauren, making phone calls and writing letters to beat the band.
She felt exhausted and was in bed by ten most nights but she was enjoying life more than she had in years. She couldn't believe that less than a month ago she was content to sit in front of the telly most evenings, stuffing her face. That was the other plus about being this busy, she didn't get time to eat as much! That and the fact that Dee had kept to her promise and was making her wonderful, low-fat food, meant that already she'd lost a few pounds and was able to squeeze into some of her old jeans.
Tidying up her papers, Lisa stood up and went to the door. The children would be having lunch soon and she would help supervise while Martha took her break. As she walked out into the hall, the doorbell rang and she changed course to go and answer it. A tall man was standing in the porch with his back to the door. 'Hello, can I help you?' she asked.
He turned around and smiled slowly, his eyes travelling up and down her. 'I certainly hope so.'
Lisa gulped and unconsciously sucked in her stomach. God, he was gorgeous! That curly, blond hair, those amazing blue eyes and just look at that jaw-line! He could have walked straight off a movie set.
'Am I in the wrong place?' He was scratching his head and frowning now.
Lisa realized that while she'd been staring he had been talking. 'Sorry, what did you say?'
'I'm here to fix your loo,' he grinned, 'and anything else that needs fixing.'
She smiled. 'Come on in. I'll show you where the toilet is.'
'Any chance of a cuppa?' he asked with a wink.
'You haven't clone any work yet and you're looking for tea?' She was trying to look stern but it was hard with those twinkling eyes smiling down at her and that incredibly sexy smile.
'I'll earn it, I promise,' he told her.
'Oh! Okay then.' Pointing him towards the loo, Lisa hurried to put on the kettle and then went off to find Martha. 'Can you manage without me for a little bit longer?' she asked. 'Only there's a plumber working on the staff loo and I want to keep an eye on him.'
'You're probably right,' Martha agreed. 'My mam says you should never take your eyes of these tradesmen or they'll sit around doing nothing and still charge you a fortune.'
Lisa smiled happily. 'I've always thought your mother was a very wise woman.'
Dee stared at Lisa. 'You've got a date with our plumber?'
'Yes, great, isn't it?'
'I thought you'd sworn off men for the foreseeable future.'
'Ah, but I hadn't met Freddy,' Lisa said, a dreamy look in her eye.
'Freddy?'
'Fabulous Freddy! Oh, wait until you meet him, Dee, he's a hunk.'
'Oh, Lisa—'
'Don't start, Dee,' Lisa held up a hand, 'you'll understand after you've met him.'
'But looks aren't everything.'
'No, but they help,' Lisa quipped. 'But no, it's not just his looks. He's funny and clever and a great plumber.'
'I'm not sure you're qualified to judge that,' Dee said dryly.
'He fixed the leaky tap in the children's bathroom and that noisy cistern in the upstairs loo.'
'Really?' Dee looked impressed. 'How come he ended up there?'
Lisa reddened. 'I was just telling him about our previous bad luck with plumbers and he offered to help. Honestly, Dee, he's so nice and kind and really, truly gorgeous. And, what's even more amazing is, he seems to like me.' She beamed at Dee and did a little dance.
'I'm very happy for you, Lisa, but—'
Lisa covered her ears. 'No, don't "but", please don't "but".'
'It's just that if he's so gorgeous, he's bound to have a wife or girlfriend already, isn't he?'
Lisa kept her hands over her ears. 'I can't hear you,' she sang.
'Okay, okay.' Dee held up her hands in surrender. 'I won't say another word.' But she decided to talk to Conor later about this 'Fabulous Freddy' and find out exactly how honest and nice and reliable he was.
'I don't know him that well but he seems like a nice guy,' Conor assured her that evening. 'Ask Matthew, they play rugby together.'
Dee shook her head worriedly. 'But Lisa says he's gorgeous, so how come he's single?'
Conor shrugged. 'I don't know, but he's hardly going to get away with two-timing in a small place like Banford.'
She brightened. 'That's true. Where does he live?'
'In the flat over his premises down on Church Road.'
'Oh!' That was indeed good news. It would be impossible for him to have a woman stashed away in a tiny place like that. 'How long has he lived here?' she continued, however. She had to look after her best friend, after all.
'Six months or so.' He grinned. 'Would you like me to ask him for his CV?'
She made a face. 'No, he's coming back in the morning so I'll check him out then.'
'Don't scare him off,' he warned, 'or Lisa will kill you. She positively soared out of here this evening.'
'I know and that's why I'm afraid of her getting hurt again. She's only just getting over Ger.'
Conor put his arms around Dee and kissed her hair. 'I know how much you care about Lisa, Dee, but I really don't think there's anything to worry about. And even if there is, she has to make her own mistakes; we all do.'
Dee sighed. 'Okay, don't worry, I won't interfere but I am going to be here in the morning just to see for myself what he's like. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?'
'Hi, how are you doing?'
Okay, so he was definitely a hunk. Dee smiled and held out her hand. 'You must be Freddy, I'm Dee Hewson.'
He shook her hand. 'Nice to meet you.' He held up a small piece of piping. 'I just need to install this and I'll be out of your hair.'
'Really?' She followed him down the corridor to the staff loo. 'Conor thought you might have to replace the whole toilet.'
'I may have to, but I thought I'd give this a try first. Why spend all that money if you don't have to?'
'I'm all for saving money,' she assured him, 'but at the same time this is a business and we can't really afford to have it breaking down every week.'
He looked slightly shocked. 'Oh, it won't do that. If it goes again, I'll be out within the hour to replace it.'
'Oh, okay.'
'But I'm pretty confident that this will do the trick. Now, I'd better get on.'
'Would you like some tea or coffee?' Dee offered.
'Not for me, thanks. I don't touch the stuff.'
Dee shot him a suspicious look. 'But Lisa said you had tea yesterday.'
He grinned shyly. 'I walked right into that one, didn't I?'
'Yes you did.'
He sighed. 'I just wanted to keep her talking a bit longer. She's gorgeous, she is, and so nice, too. I threw the tea down the toilet when she wasn't looking, but don't tell her, will you?'
'I won't,' Dee promised. 'I hear you're going out tomorrow night.'
He nodded. 'I booked a table at the Pink Elephant in Swords
but then I was afraid she might not like Thai food.'
'She loves Thai food,' Dee told him, 'and she adores the Pink Elephant.' Not that she can afford to go there often, she thought to herself. Ger certainly never brought her; the miserable sod only ran to the local burger joint and even then he'd be rushing Lisa out of work so they could order from the 'early bird' menu. But there was obviously money in the plumbing business and Freddy was out to impress.
'Good.' He smiled happily.
'I'll leave you to it,' Dee said. 'Call if you need anything.'
He hesitated. 'I don't suppose she's around, is she?'
Dee smiled. 'In the garden with the children; she should be coming this way in about five minutes.'
'Great!'
Dee left him to his work, chuckling quietly to herself as he started to whistle 'Love is in the Air'.
'He's here,' she told Lisa as they all traipsed through the kitchen on the way back to the crèche.
'What do you think?' Lisa demanded, searching her face.
'I think he's lovely,' Dee admitted.
'Yes!' Lisa hugged her quickly.
'Lisa, are you very happy?' one of the little girls asked, smiling up at her.
Lisa scooped her up in her arms. 'I certainly am, Rebecca!' she said dancing around the kitchen. The other children started to join in until Dee finally called a halt. 'Okay, children, let's go into the dining room, it's snack time. And you,' she said to Lisa, taking the little girl out of her arms, 'are taking a break. But before you do, could you check up on that plumber for me?'
Lisa beamed at her. 'Consider it done.'
Chapter 39
'We've got it!'
Dee held the phone away from her ear. 'Lauren, is that you?'
'Yes! Dee, did you hear me? We've got a loan. Dee's Delicacies is off the ground.'
'No way!' Dee breathed, dropping into the nearest chair.
'Way!' Lauren told her.
'I can't believe it.'
'It's true. They were very impressed with our business plan; mind you, why wouldn't they be? It was brilliant.'
'It was, thanks to you,' Dee agreed. 'So what do we do now?'
'Take the products to the market place and see what the buyers think.' They had agreed on initially marketing four preserves, three types of muffin and two breads. The second stage of the plan would include soups and full meals but they wouldn't be introducing them for at least twelve months. 'Have you got any chefs on board?'
It's All About Him Page 31
