Are You Ready?

by Amanda Hearty

  * * *

  The next day at work, as Molly was making homemade Caesar dressing, Eve came into the kitchen.

  ‘You have a visitor!’

  Molly wiped her hands and tried to smooth back her hair, as Eve smiled and pushed her into the café. There stood Scott Williams with a large teddy bear.

  ‘You forgot to take him with you after we massacred those ducks at the funfair,’ he said, passing Molly the fluffy cream and brown stuffed bear.

  Molly was confused for a few moments, then remembered how she had won the Hello Kitty watch and a teddy bear at the Sterling Bank party. She had actually been wearing the watch ever since.

  ‘I tried to find you later on in the night to give you the bear, but you must have sneaked off. Anyway, I thought you might like the little guy, and, besides, a single guy with a big teddy bear on his bed isn’t that attractive!’

  Molly laughed, but also noticed how he had said single. She was sure that that night when she had left he had been deep in conversation with a beautiful girl.

  ‘Thanks, Scott, and as a single girl living at home with her parents, having a big teddy bear on my bed to cuddle up to is perfect, and couldn’t make me any less attractive, so I’ll take him.’

  She thought she saw Scott smile when she said she was single, but she wasn’t sure if he mightn’t have been laughing at her.

  ‘I meant to give him back to you sooner, but I kept forgetting the furry guy, and then I was away all last week surfing with friends in Portugal.’

  Molly now understood why he had a tan and bleached hair, but she couldn’t help looking surprised when he said surfing.

  ‘You look surprised, Molly. Let me guess, you think I’m some boring banker, who eats the same sandwich every day and loves counting numbers and working on spreadsheets? Well, there are plenty of things you don’t know about me, Molly. I’m actually quite like Mr Benn – you know, the old children’s cartoon character.’

  Molly smiled to herself. Maybe he was like that old cartoon she had loved when she was a kid.

  ‘I might wear my banker clothes and look boring all day, but you can’t imagine the adventures I have after hours.’

  And with that Scott, aka Mr Benn, was off, leaving Molly standing flabbergasted in the middle of Heavenly holding a very large bear.

  102

  On Saturday afternoon, with nothing else planned for that night, Molly thought she would give Will one more chance. She put on her jeans, a T-shirt and boots and, with her hair tied back, headed on the bus into Smithfield to where the gig was. As she approached she could see a big group of girls and guys queuing to get in. She had received a text from Will saying he was inside, and to meet him at the bar. The queue was quite large, and while she was waiting Molly looked around and recognized some of the same girls she had seen at Will’s other gigs. One girl kept staring at Molly. Molly didn’t know who she was, so she just ignored her until the doorman let her in and she headed for the bar. Will and the band were all there, drinking and laughing. Will gave Molly a hug and introduced her to another band. Will loved being the centre of attention and was happy sitting around with the big group, while Molly would have liked to have got to know him a little better. When they talked on the phone it was always about his band and their gigs, he never asked about Molly’s job or her life. And every time she suggested they hang out with her friends he always had an excuse, from guitar practice to checking out rival bands. Has he any real interest in me? she wondered. They all had a few beers and just before the music began Molly headed for the bathroom. As she got into another queue, she again noticed the girl who had been staring at her outside. The girl and her friends were all fixing their make-up and chatting. As Molly entered a cubicle she overheard what they were saying.

  ‘Did you see that small girl with dark hair is here again?’ she said to her friends.

  ‘Girl?’ one of the friends laughed. “You mean woman! She looks ancient, she must be in her thirties!’ she said as they all giggled.

  ‘How sad is she? I mean, not only should she get someone her own age, but AS IF she is the only one seeing Will. Lauren said Will brought her to a gig in Eamon Dorans last week, and I know his ex is still always hanging around as well. That dark-haired girl must be deluded if she thinks Will is hers.’

  When she was sure that they’d gone, Molly pushed her way out of the cubicle, trembling. She had never been so embarrassed. Was I just a bit of fun for Will? she asked herself. Was I just like these other girls, a sad groupie for a pretty average wedding band? Well, I’ve got to get out of here, she thought. I’m too old for this. Forget Will, they can have him, he only cares about music, drink and himself, anyway. I just want to be at home. Molly walked as fast as she could from the bathroom to the main door.

  ‘Let me stamp your hand, love, so you can get back in later,’ a bouncer said to her.

  ‘Trust me, I won’t be back, ever,’ Molly said, and with that she legged it to a taxi rank, and climbed into a cab.

  As she sat in the back, she realized Sarah had been right: Will had been the wrong guy all along. Molly texted her mum to say she would be home in time for The Tubridy Show and that maybe they could make some brownies.

  103

  Sarah woke up to the smell of bacon and frying sausages, and for a second she couldn’t remember where she was. Then she heard Hugh snoring and remembered she was in Galway. They had arrived last night, and gone straight to Hugh’s parents’ house. Hugh had his own house in Galway, but as he lived in Dublin had been renting it out the last few years, so he had thought it would be nice if Sarah and himself stayed with his parents. ‘So you can get to know them!’ he had said encouragingly. Sarah had been a bit stressed, and the whole way down hadn’t been able to stop worrying about what his family would think of her, and wondering if living with his mum and dad for a whole weekend would be too intimidating. She had wished they could turn the car around and she could have spent the afternoon painting in her garden, but they had ploughed ahead and arrived down in Galway by 10 p.m.

  Hugh’s parents lived outside Galway city, in a lovely house overlooking the sea. His parents were quite old, but very friendly. Hugh’s mum had had some dinner prepared for them, which they had eaten quickly, as Hugh had wanted to make it down to the local pub to catch up with his brothers and friends – ‘And to show you off!’ he had said proudly to Sarah. Sarah knew Hugh was a good man, and from the brief dinner she had understood where he got his attractive manner from: both his parents were interesting, friendly and not over-the-top. Their house was also full of amazing art, and Sarah had suddenly seen why Hugh had become so interested in it himself. Drinks in his local bar had been fun, too. Sarah had met his brothers before at The Galwegians’ rugby match, so she had been happy to see their familiar faces, but there had been so many other people to meet that her head had spun from all the names and faces. But there had been live music, and between that and the beers Sarah had had a good night. Hugh had promised Sarah that on Saturday he would take her round ‘his Galway’ before they headed off to his friends’ engagement party.

  Sarah heard a knock at the bedroom door.

  ‘I have breakfast ready whenever you want to come down,’ Hugh’s mum said softly.

  Sarah didn’t reply: she felt awkward at sleeping in the same room as Hugh under his parents’ roof. When she heard his mum make her way downstairs she shook Hugh.

  ‘Wake up, your mum is waiting for us for breakfast.’

  Hugh mumbled something, he looked and smelt very hungover.

  ‘You go down, I need more sleep,’ he eventually managed to say.

  No way am I eating breakfast alone with his parents, it’s too early in the day and our relationship for that, Sarah thought. Instead she threw off the duvet and made him get up. They both flung on clothes, Sarah hastily tied back her long blonde hair and applied some make-up, and then they headed down to the kitchen, which smelled of cooking. Hugh’s mum had put on a big spread: the table was covered with
sausages, bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, toast, orange juice and tea. Hugh was suddenly wide awake and tucking into the fry. As his mum poured Sarah tea, she asked what their plan was for the day.

  ‘Well, I want to bring Sarah to Moran’s on the Weir for some lunch, and I want to show her around the city, and we might pop down to the beach for a swim as well, it’s a warm day,’ Hugh said between mouthfuls of toast.

  Once breakfast was over Hugh and Sarah showered, changed and hit the road.

  ‘I must show you the new Kenny’s Art Gallery in the city centre. You know the famous bookshop closed down? Well, it is now this great gallery, you will love it,’ Hugh said, as he drove along beside the water and headed to the city.

  It was a beautiful day and Sarah was really beginning to relax and look forward to the rest of the weekend. As they strolled around the gallery Hugh held her hand: it felt right, he was gentle and yet a man’s man too. Then they headed to a small gift shop to buy a present and card for the engagement party later. Sarah also popped into a Brown Thomas to see if she could find any nice wedding gifts for Ali and Robin. Hugh bought a new shirt, and before long it was lunchtime.

  ‘Wait until you eat at Moran’s! It is this famous pub, about nine miles from the city. It is simply decorated, but as it is right on the water it has the freshest and tastiest fish you have ever eaten. It is always packed at weekends but I booked a table for us so we should be fine.’

  Hugh was right: the pub was jammed, packed with locals, and tourists who had heard good reports about the food and atmosphere. Their table was outside, and was so close to the water that Sarah kicked off her flip-flops and dipped her toes in while they waited for their oysters to arrive. Sarah had a beer while Hugh stuck to Club Orange.

  ‘I feel like I’m abroad. It is so beautiful here,’ Sarah said, admiring the view over the water and sipping her beer.

  Hugh smiled and put his arms around her. ‘So now you can understand why I love coming back here so much?’

  Sarah nodded.

  ‘Galway is great, so stunning,’ Hugh said. ‘There isn’t anywhere like it, it’s my home. That is the reason why I’ve wanted to talk to you about something.’ He took his sunglasses off. ‘Sarah, I’m moving back to Galway.’

  Sarah put down her beer glass.

  ‘I miss the city, the buzz,’ Hugh went on. ‘Dublin is great, but my home is here. I’ve got enough experience in my job to start out on my own. I’ve got some investors and I’m looking at offices in the city. I’ve told the tenants who rent my house that they have two months to find somewhere else, but I’m hoping they might be gone before that.’

  Sarah didn’t know what to say. He seemed to have everything all planned out. When did he make these decisions, and why hadn’t he told her? But before she could ask any questions the waiter served their lunch.

  ‘But, Sarah, the other reason I wanted you to come down here was to meet my family, see my kind of Galway. I want you to move here with me, move to Galway.’

  Sarah almost choked on an oyster. ‘What?’ she managed to splutter.

  ‘Sarah, I know it’s only been months, but I feel like we’ve known each other for years. I knew the first time I saw you in the Stone Studio that you were the one for me, and the last few months have been great. I just know you would love it here, what with the art galleries, the sea, the people – so what do you say?’

  Sarah looked at Hugh. At her age she had begun to think no prince was going to come and sweep her off her feet, that she would be everyone’s ‘single friend’ for ever, but then Hugh had come along, someone she had only seen as a client, and there under her nose had been a prince all along. The last few months had been great: he was kind, enjoyed spending time with her family, was supportive of her art, clever, and a real grown-up man. But to ask her to leave Dublin, leave her friends, family, job and life to come here and set up a new life with him? Sarah didn’t know if she could do it.

  ‘Hugh, I don’t know what to say. You’ve caught me off-guard,’ Sarah said honestly.

  ‘That’s OK, Sarah, I just got a bit over-excited. Of course you need to think about it, but I want you to know I’m already in love with you, and if we could set up a new life here in Galway surrounded by all this beauty I’d be the happiest man in the world.’

  So no pressure, then, Sarah thought sarcastically to herself. He is only saying that I’m responsible for making or not making him the happiest man in the world. Suddenly the world-famous fish didn’t taste of anything, Sarah was in too much shock to eat or drink. She had a dreamboat of a man asking her to move in with him, and that would make any girl delighted – and in part it did, yet she couldn’t stop thinking of her home, of Dublin. What am I going to do? she asked herself.

  104

  Sarah had found it impossible to concentrate all day. She couldn’t, even when Hugh showed her his old school, took her to meet his brothers’ families, pulled her a pint in his cousin’s pub, showed her where his own house was, brought her to where he hoped his new office would be, and finally brought her home to get changed before the big engagement party later.

  ‘I know this might all seem a bit rushed, Sarah, but the time is right for me to start out on my own, and I can get good offices for a great price, and it just feels perfect to me. I know I should have told you sooner, but I thought it would scare you off, and until I knew for sure I didn’t want to say anything to you or anyone.’

  Sarah could understand all of that, and as she dried her hair and put on her make-up she knew she should say something more encouraging to him, but she felt too tired to speak.

  ‘Sarah, I know you may not have an answer for me for a few days, but just remember we are not twenty-one. I’m thirty-six, so moving in with someone after a few months isn’t unheard of. We are no spring chickens but I know we could be happy.’

  Sarah took a breath – her heart was pounding under her ribs. Hugh took her hand.

  ‘God, why do you think I’d been trying to get you to come to Galway for so long? I wanted you to see my life, before I asked you to make the big move. Don’t make me wait too long for my answer, because I just can’t wait to start planning the future!’

  Sarah could see his excitement, and knew she was lucky to have a man who was so open, but for her it was still a shock. She gave Hugh a hug, and tried to steady herself before getting back to her make-up.

  They ordered a taxi, and headed for the engagement party. High hadn’t exaggerated when he had said his friends’ house was amazing. It was right on the water, and when Sarah and Hugh arrived the smell of barbecue and the sound of laughter welcomed them in. Hugh gave his friends Richie and Joanne a big hug and kiss; apparently they had been going out for years, so everyone was relieved and excited to hear they were finally getting engaged. Hugh introduced Sarah, and as Sarah handed Joanne the engagement present she had brought with her for them, Joanne gave her a hug.

  ‘Don’t worry, I know you don’t know anyone, but we won’t bite! We’ve all been dying to meet the girl who has lovely Hugh so smitten!’

  Sarah smiled, and immediately warmed to Joanne. Hugh handed Sarah a bottle of beer and introduced her to more of his friends. Sarah found Hugh’s friends appealing, and as they all sat out, overlooking the sea, surrounded by hundreds of tea-lights and by delicious food, she couldn’t help imagining this being her life in a few months, if she decided to move here. But could I do it? she thought to herself. Could I give up Dublin? She knew Hugh was trying to make everyone and everything seem perfect, in order to make Galway more attractive to her, saying how great his friends were, how much fun they all had, and how great the job market was. But she still didn’t feel sure. It was a big decision to make, and one good engagement party wasn’t going to force her into it.

  After a few beers she knew she had to lighten up and just enjoy the party for what it was, and so when Hugh asked her to dance in the garden overlooking the glistening Galway Bay, with a Damien Rice CD playing in the background, she couldn�
�t help feeling Galway might be the place to be – maybe.

  105

  Ali was in Weir & Sons jewellers on Grafton Street, trying on her wedding ring. Herself and Robin had ordered their matching white gold rings a few weeks ago, and were now just checking they fitted and looked right.

  ‘I still can’t believe I’m going to be wearing this for the rest of my life,’ Robin exclaimed.

  Even Ali agreed it was weird seeing him with a ring on.

  ‘But I’m so glad you decided to get one, too, Robin. I mean, it is so odd when guys don’t wear a wedding ring. It only means one thing when they don’t want to … they want others to think they are still on the market. What a nightmare. I’m glad all girls will know you are taken, very much taken!’

  Ali laughed as she glanced at the ring again. Just then her phone rang, it was her new client, Paddy Fleming. She talked to him for a few minutes, but could see the sales assistant and Robin were getting impatient, so she put him on hold.

  ‘Robin, can you finish up here? I need to get back to the office.’

  Robin looked a little disappointed, but nodded and gave his fiancée a quick hug.

  Ali had been flat out busy in work since taking on Paddy Fleming. Not only had she plenty of other work to be done before she took time off for her wedding and honeymoon, but Mr Fleming’s case was tough and required a lot of extra work. She kept trying to cut down the time she spent on it, but she was starting to feel so passionately about the case. Paddy was a genuine man, who was madly in love with his kids, and had proved how much he cared for them, and his ex-partner was breaking his heart. It wasn’t fair, and Ali wanted to help. She wanted the chance to put things right – not only for Paddy, but for herself – to get back to realizing what her true principles and goals were. Ali knew she had gotten a little obsessed with the wedding over the last few months but now this case was making her understand what was important. Of course the wedding was, but she already knew herself and Robin were going to last for ever, and have a great wedding day no matter what. Mr Fleming had lost his reason for living, had lost everything, and it was this that had made Ali put aside her wedding planner and work late nights all week, in order to get as much done on the case before her own big day. As Ali went into a meeting with a family solicitor and Paddy she knew it was going to be another long night at work.