‘I am worthy. I am worthy!’ he repeated, walking to his car after the session. ‘I am Jonathan Harpur, the Divine Creation, and I am worthy of love!’
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
‘Look, why don’t you come for a week even, we’d love it, spend two days in the city and then we could go to Nantucket for the other five days. It would be fabulous. We could catch up and have fun just like the old days. Come after Millie’s exams,’ Colette urged as they sat on the Hammonds’ candlelit patio eating dinner on a warm Friday night in late May. Des and Colette were on a rare visit, having spent a few days in London. Colette had phoned Hilary to let her know that she was coming home and had inveigled an invite to dinner. ‘It’s been so long, and we’ve soooo much to catch up on,’ she’d said eagerly, looking forward to seeing her old friend more than she’d imagined. And it had been a fun reunion, hence the spur of the moment invite to visit them in the States.
‘Come on, bud, we’ve been asking you for years,’ Des exclaimed expansively, eyeballing Niall while he scoffed the organic fillet steak Hilary had cooked. ‘The girls would love it.’
‘We’ll think about it,’ Hilary interjected smoothly, offering Des another helping of fried onions and creamy mash.
‘Well it’s just we need to know a little in advance, that’s the only thing. We do a lot of entertaining.’ Colette helped herself to a small portion of baby carrots and petits pois. Hilary eyed the creamed mash longingly but decided not to have seconds. She felt like a horse beside Colette who was looking stunning in a pair of tight white jeans and a red Moschino body-hugging top that clung to her petite curves. Her tan was deep and golden, her blonde hair expertly highlighted, worn in a topknot with tendrils curling artfully to frame her smooth, unlined face.
Hilary was glad she was wearing a loose, floaty, midnight-blue top, which covered a multitude, including the love handles that even the elasticated waist on her white M&S tailored trousers could not hide.
Des had not aged as well as his wife, she observed, noticing the hint of floridity, the bags under his eyes, and the thickening waistline. But the boastful patronizing bombast was as pronounced as ever and she had caught Niall’s glazed-eyed look of utter boredom after a twenty-minute dissertation on the American educational system, and all because Hilary had asked if Jasmine liked her boarding school.
‘I suppose entertaining is part and parcel of your job, Des. Thankfully most of Niall’s is done abroad and doesn’t impact on me or our home life too much.’ Hilary poured a small amount of pepper sauce onto the last piece of her steak.
‘I’m used to it at this stage,’ Colette pouted. ‘We’ve always had to do it, even when we were living in London. We hired a jet and took some guests down to Turks and Caicos in the spring. Of course it’s high season there then. The hurricane season hits around August, September even though technically in the Caribbean it’s June to November. Don’t make the mistake one of Mum’s friends made and go down there in the summer and have a washout for a holiday,’ Colette said brightly.
‘Private jet, wow!’ Hilary exclaimed, knowing that Colette was clearly expecting a response.
‘We’re certainly not in that league, are we, Hil?’ Niall grinned. ‘Although I did once bring a client on a flight simulator.’
Hilary laughed, she couldn’t help it.
‘Funeee,’ Colette drawled, miffed that he was mocking her.
‘How’s the shop?’ She changed the subject and switched her attention back to Hilary.
‘Booming, we’ve more work than we can handle, working flat out actually.’
‘And how’s the decorating going?’
The way she said it, Hilary had an image of herself and Jonathan out with their wallpaper stripper and paintbrushes. ‘Well I’ve taken a step back and employed an assistant but we’re busy, busy, busy. We’re up to our eyes lighting and decorating beauty spas, and revamping hotels, which is how the business has taken off, but we do private clients too. We did a spa for the Grants recently—’
‘Gina Grant?’ Colette’s eyes widened.
‘As in Shaun Grant?’ Des was all ears.
‘Yep.’ Hilary speared a baby carrot and covered it with mash before forking it into her mouth, secretly pleased with the other couple’s reaction. Decorating indeed! Put that in you pipe and smoke it, you pair of posers.
‘So you’re really going places?’ Colette raised an eyebrow.
‘Indeed,’ Hilary said a touch drily.
‘Do you have live-in help?
Niall raised his hand. ‘Me,’ he supplied laconically. ‘Hilary spends more time with Jonathan than she does with me.’
‘Why doesn’t that surprise me? Jonathan likes to have Hilary’s undivided attention,’ Colette remarked acidly. ‘I remember that from the very first time I met him.’
‘You should have warned me, Colette. I wouldn’t have let him get his feet as far under the table as he has.’ Niall flashed a grin at her and she was reminded again of how dishy he was still.
‘Hmm, he’s a pushy boy all right.’ Colette slanted a flirty glance at Niall. ‘Just as well he plays for the other side or you might have something to worry about.’
‘Would the pair of you give over. I could say that your secretary sees more of you than I do, Niall, if it comes to that.’ Hilary suppressed a surge of irritation at them. What did Niall have to go and say a thing like that for, and to Colette of all people who had never liked Jonathan?
‘Listen, Hilary, any chance you could set up a game of golf with Shaun Grant for me?’ Des interjected. ‘I could put him in touch with some of the best in Wall Street and make a fine fat profit for myself. He’d be a five-star client to have. I’d make it worth your while, Hilary,’ he added condescendingly.
‘Thanks, Des, I really appreciate that.’ Hilary tried to keep the sarcasm from her voice but her friend’s husband was so keen on snaring another billionaire for his portfolio he didn’t even notice. ‘However, you more than anyone will understand how important it is to respect a client’s privacy and that’s a boundary I couldn’t possibly cross. Gina’s already put several new private clients our way.’
‘Oh! Well if the opportunity ever arises see what you can do,’ he said, peeved.
‘Sure,’ she said airily.
‘Did you ever think we’d have billionaires in Ireland?’ Colette remarked. ‘The Celtic Tiger’s something else, isn’t it? All the new development. The quays and docklands are really getting a makeover.’
‘The economy’s expanded at an average rate of 9.4 per cent since 1995.’ Niall topped up their glasses.
‘Where are you stashing your loot?’ Des asked bluntly. ‘Property? Stocks and shares?’
‘We’ve a fairly wide spread,’ Niall said non-committally. ‘Eggs in a few baskets.’
‘This Anglo Irish Bank seems to be the leader of the pack. Grant is fairly deep in there.’
‘Everyone’s in Anglo!’ Colette yawned. ‘It’s all Mum and Dad’s crowd talk about. Seánie this, and Tiernan that. Quite the men to play golf with, it seems.’
‘And how are your parents?’ Hilary asked, not because she was particularly interested in Jacqueline and Frank’s welfare, but because she wanted to change the topic of conversation. The cheek of Des asking where their ‘loot’ was stashed. He was as brash and nosy as ever. She’d forgotten how insufferable he could be sometimes.
Hilary was disgusted with Jacqueline and Frank. Hilary and Dee had organized a surprise birthday party for their mother. Jacqueline had accepted the invitation but, on the night, had dropped in for half an hour saying that Frank was tied up because of tribunal work and she was heading off to another event. Jacqueline hadn’t invited Sally and Mick to her big birthday bash two months later, and Sally had been hurt.
‘They’re working all hours.’ Colette shrugged. ‘Dad’s working on the planning tribunal and Mummy’s up to her neck in Moriarty. Couldn’t have chosen a better way to end their legal careers. They’re more than set up for retirement. They�
��re earning an absolute fortune!‘
‘Indeed . . . of taxpayers’ money!’ Niall drawled.
‘Niall!’ hissed Hilary.
‘Sorry!’ he said, totally unabashed, ignoring the glare Hilary gave him. ‘I always felt those outrageous salaries should have been capped.’
Hilary’s mobile vibrated. She had it on silent, but she always kept it close in case her mother-in-law rang. Margaret was recovering from a kidney infection and was finding it hard to tolerate the antibiotics.
She was surprised to see Sophie’s number come up. ‘Excuse me, I need to take this, it’s Sophie. I just want to make sure everything’s OK.’ Sophie had taken Jasmine to her youth club’s disco and Hilary was collecting them at 12.30 p.m. ‘Hi, is everything OK?’ she murmured, walking down the garden.
‘Mam, Jazzy’s smashed! She had a bottle of vodka in her bag and she drank it real fast. She’s pukin’ all over the place and she’s being really aggressive to the bouncers. You’ve got to come and get her. I don’t know what to do with her.’ Her daughter was nearly in tears.
‘For God’s sake! OK, stay calm. I’ll be there shortly. Is Leanne with you?’ Hilary tried to keep the exasperation out of her voice.
‘Yep, she’s holding her head while I’m ringing. It’s gross, Mam! Gross!’
‘Right, I’m on my way.’ Hilary hung up, irritated that she was going to have to drive because she was the only one not drinking and wishing she could get her hands on Jazzy and wring her neck.
‘What’s up?’ Niall cocked an eyebrow.
‘Sorry to have to tell you this, you guys. Jazzy had a bottle of vodka in her bag and she drank it very fast and she’s pissed and puking and being aggressive. We’d better go and get her,’ she said crossly.
‘Aw the little bitch,’ Colette exclaimed.
‘For Chrissake, what is it with her?’ Des exploded. ‘Can’t you get her to behave? First the weed affair and now this!’ He glared at his wife.
‘Excuse me?’ Colette said icily. ‘Might I remind you that you are her father!’ She was furious with him for mentioning the marijuana episode that had nearly got their daughter expelled from boarding school recently. Only a hefty donation towards upgrading the science lab had sorted that hiccup.
‘Well you’d better go and get her,’ Des snapped.
‘And you’d better come with me,’ she snapped back. ‘Sorry about this, Hilary, can you give us a lift?’
‘Of course, I’ll just get the car keys and a couple of plastic bags.’
‘That’s unfortunate.’ Niall stood up and followed them into the kitchen.
‘Kids, who’d have ‘em!’ Des growled, draining his glass and leaving it on the kitchen counter.
‘I’ll murder her,’ Colette fumed as Hilary grabbed some plastic freezer bags. She didn’t want her car covered in puke.
‘Look, these things happen. I’m never, ever smug about Millie or Sophie, believe me. The things you hear about teenage behaviour would make your hair curl. Come on, at least it’s not in town, we’ll be there in ten minutes.’
There was no chit-chat in the car. Colette stared out of the passenger window and Des glowered in the back seat, scrolling down through his text messages as Hilary sped towards Raheny along the Howth Road.
‘You go and get her,’ Colette said tightly to Des when Hilary pulled up outside the youth club. Hilary could see Sophie and Leanne bending over Jazzy who was slumped in a half-sitting position against a wall. One of the bouncers was standing with them. ‘I’ll come with you,’ she offered. She wanted to make sure Sophie and Leanne were OK.
‘Thank goodness, Mam. She’s not puking any more but she’s passed out.’ Sophie ran towards her.
‘It’s OK.’ Hilary gave her daughter a comforting hug.
‘She just needs to sleep it off. I’ll give you a hand to get her to the car,’ the bouncer said matter-of-factly to Des, who bent down and gave his daughter a rough shake.
Jazzy opened a bleary eye. ‘Uuhhh . . . Hi, Dad,’ she slurred and closed her eyes again.
‘Get her under the arms,’ the bouncer instructed, taking up position on one side. Des took the other and between them they dragged the comatose teenager to the car.
‘I’ll drop them home to Sutton and come back and collect you. Is that OK?’ Hilary asked the two riled teenagers standing in front of her.
‘But you said we could stay until half twelve!’ Sophie exclaimed.
‘I know, I just didn’t want to have to come out again,’ Hilary sighed.
‘I can ask my mam to come and collect us,’ Leanne said helpfully. ‘I’ll ring her.’
‘It’s OK, I’ll come back,’ Hilary said. They had a rota going with other parents and it was her turn to collect the girls and it was just her tough luck that Jazzy had mucked up her night. ‘See you later, enjoy yourselves, and no drinking!’ she warned. She certainly wasn’t a hundred per cent sure that the pair in front of her hadn’t had a nip out of Jazzy’s bottle but they were absolutely in control of themselves, and she remembered how when she was in her teens she and her friends had swigged out of a bottle on a few occasions, in the toilets at the Grove.
Colette looked pinched and miserable and Hilary’s heart went out to her as she got into the car. ‘Chin up, it goes with the territory.’ She reached over and squeezed her friend’s hand. ‘We had the odd hairy moment ourselves.’
Colette gave her a weak smile. ‘Yeah, we did, I suppose.’
‘No supposing about it – remember the night you barfed into Darina Ryan’s handbag because you didn’t want to ruin the new Calvin Klein one your mother had bought from New York? Darina was fit to be tied.’
‘Shush, don’t let Jazzy hear you saying that,’ Colette hissed.
‘She’s snoring.’ Hilary glanced over her shoulder to see the unkempt teen lying against the seat, eyes closed, mouth open, out for the count.
‘Thank God the parents are dining out in the Windmill in Skerries. Could you imagine what they’d have to say if they saw this,’ Colette groaned as Hilary reversed out of her parking space and headed for Sutton.
‘Well that’s a bit of luck. Be thankful for small mercies,’ Hilary soothed, relieved that the traffic was relatively light. The sooner she got Jazzy out of her car the better.
‘Thanks so much, Hil, and sorry for the way the evening ended. Let’s try and meet up for lunch before I go back to London next week,’ Colette said gratefully when Hilary pulled up outside the O’Mahonys’ front door.
‘I’ll do my best. I’ll need to check my diary. I’ll call you tomorrow and see how the Sleeping Beauty is. Let me help you get her out. You open the front door.’
‘Right,’ Colette agreed. ‘The sooner she’s in bed the better.’ Between them they managed to get Jazzy upstairs to bed and as she made her way downstairs, Hilary heard the unmistakable sound of noisy retching and Colette yelling at Des, ‘Get a towel or a basin quick! Mum’s Frette sheets will be ruined.’
And that would be a tragedy! thought Hilary sarcastically as she pulled the heavy mahogany front door with the two intricate stained-glass side panels closed behind her.
‘What did you make that daft remark about Jonathan to Colette for?’ Hilary said crossly as she and Niall finished stacking the dishwasher and clearing up after their dinner party. Sophie and Leanne were safely collected from the disco and were upstairs giggling and gossiping over the night they had spent. Millie was staying at a friend’s house, and Hilary was tired and disgruntled.
‘It was a joke,’ he sighed in exasperation.
‘Yeah, well it was a crap joke and I didn’t appreciate you talking about Jonathan like that, and to her of all people. She never has a good word to say about him and I can tell you one thing, Niall, Jonathan’s been a better friend to me in the ten years I’ve known him than Colette has been for most of our lives, and you know that,’ Hilary scowled, collapsing onto the sofa.
‘OK, give it a rest. You’re not serious about going to visit them
in New York, are you?’ he said, changing the subject and handing her a glass of red wine.
‘I wouldn’t mind going to Nantucket for a week and staying in a house on the beach with a swimming pool.’ Hilary yawned.
‘Yeah but remember when Rowena and Pete were invited over and because some of Des’s clients flew in from Hong Kong he made Colette bump them out of the house to stay in a hotel? Trust me, they’d do that to us and it wouldn’t cost them a thought. If you want to go to Nantucket, I’ll bring you to a hotel,’ Niall said firmly. ‘Or we could rent a place ourselves.’
‘Ha! Don’t be daft. You wouldn’t get a place to rent in Nantucket during the summer, not unless you paid out a lot of lolly, and I’d say we’d want to have booked it before now.’ Hilary kicked her shoes off and lay back against the cushions.
‘I don’t think I could spend a holiday listening to them boasting and bragging, and being told where to invest our “loot”,’ Niall said emphatically. ‘Not that he’d be on the island for a week. He’s so important, JPMorgan can’t function without him; he’d be in his corner office on Wall Street dealing with his billionaires.’
Hilary laughed and began to relax. ‘He’s the pits, isn’t he? He’s got even worse than what he used to be. I’d go mental if I was married to him.’
Niall put an arm around her shoulder. Hilary stiffened for a moment. She was still annoyed at Niall for his smart remark, but at least she’d aired her displeasure and she was too tired to stay in a snit. ‘Colette couldn’t wait to let us know about hiring the private jet.’ She leaned in against him and took a sip of wine.
‘They’re way out of our league now.’ Niall smiled down at her, relieved that their spat hadn’t developed into a row.
‘You were bad when you said about the simulator,’ Hilary grinned.
‘Not half as bad as I’m going to be now,’ Niall murmured, sliding his hand under her floaty top and cupping one of her breasts.
‘Stop! The girls might come down.’
‘No they won’t.’ He nuzzled her ear.
‘No, stop, Niall, I’m tired.’ Hilary sat up. ‘I’m going to bed.’
A Time for Friends Page 32
