Something You Should Know

by Melissa Hill

  “But are you sure? I mean, how do you know it’s actually him? Oh God,” she said, as a thought crossed her mind. “Mike doesn’t know who he is, does he? Roan didn’t say anything to him, did he?”

  “No, no, of course not. I don’t think he would know that Mike had any connection with me. Anyway,” she looked away, her eyes brimming with tears, “I doubt that he has given me a second thought since he left.”

  “Jenny, are you absolutely certain that it’s the same Roan? I know ‘Roan’ is an unusual name but must be more people in Dublin with the same name.”

  “With the same surname and from Kildare?”

  Karen grimaced. She poured boiling water into a teapot and stirred it. Then she looked at Jenny and hesitated a second before speaking. “Look I don’t mean to sound harsh, but you and Roan … well, that was a long time ago. His coming home shouldn’t mean that much to you. It’s been years.”

  The tears were by now streaming down Jenny’s face and Karen noticed that she was shaking. She went to put a comforting arm around her friend’s shoulders.

  “Come on, Jenny. You’re not still carrying a torch for Roan, surely? You’ve got Mike now and he’s one of the nicest guys you could meet. You’re getting married in a few month’s time and –”

  “It’s not what you think, Karen and …I know I should have told you this before. To be honest, I didn’t really know where to start but…”

  “Go on,” Karen said, sitting down beside Jenny, disturbed by her over-the-top reaction to her old flame’s homecoming.

  Jenny took a mouthful of steaming tea and looked her friend squarely in the eye. The hot liquid burned her throat as she swallowed but she didn’t care.

  “It’s just … it’s just … Karen, I think I’ve ruined everything. About Roan … well, there’s something you should know – something I should have told you a long time ago…”

  FOUR YEARS EARLIER

  Chapter 4

  Karen groaned when she saw the long line of people sitting on the steps in front of the house. “Blast it, anyway.” she said in disgust. “It’s the same old story everywhere we go. How do they all get here so fast?”

  Jenny took the newspaper from her bag, and examined the page that they had earlier defaced with red ink whilst circling the ads for Flats to Let.

  “It says here that viewing is from five o’clock to seven o’clock and it’s only – what?” She checked her watch. “It’s only four now – another hour before the landlord even gets here. This is hopeless, Karen. Look at all those people ahead of us – one of them is bound to take it before we even get a chance to see it.”

  “But, what else can we do? We have to live somewhere – here, give me a look at the newspaper again.”

  Jenny handed her the well-crumpled evening newspaper, which was the ultimate bible for flat-hunters in Dublin – particularly in Rathmines, where they were at the moment. It didn’t look good, she thought. They had been waiting for ages outside another flat in Ranelagh, and when the landlord finally did turn up, he told the eagerly awaiting group of potential tenants that the flat had already been let to somebody else.

  It was such a waste of time – they could spend days doing this. And she had to get the bus back home to Kilkenny later. It looked as though Karen would be staying on her friend Gerry’s couch for a little while longer, after yet another luckless flat-hunting session today. They had already been through the same situation this time last week, and time would be running out for them soon.

  She had hoped that she and Karen would be able to find a place without too much bother. She certainly hadn’t expected it be this difficult. Since her return from Australia a few weeks earlier, she had been anxious to get settled in Dublin.

  The Personnel Department at Alliance Trust Bank had been happy to allow her return to the bank assistant’s job she had left to spend a year backpacking in Australia. Jenny and her then boyfriend Paul had ended up staying for nearly eighteen months – well over their working visas. Jenny returned to Ireland after she and Paul broke up. The bank told her that they couldn’t take her at the Alliance Trust branch at home in Kilkenny and that she would need to take a post in one of the Dublin branches. Jenny didn’t mind. If anything she welcomed the change. It would be difficult to return home to live and work in the small Kilkenny town in which she and Karen had grown up. She had been delighted when Karen suggested they get a flat together somewhere in Dublin. Karen had been living in a house-share with three others, but apparently one of them, Gerry, was moving in with his girlfriend, and Karen didn’t get along with the other girls.

  “I’d rather live in an igloo than stay in a house on my own with those control freaks.” she had told Jenny, “They’re so bloody tidy. If I leave so much as a wet teabag in the sink, they make me feel like I’ve committed a mortal sin. And you’d swear that the dirty dishes would up and disappear forever if they didn’t get washed right away.”

  Jenny and Karen had never lost touch and since her return the bond between them was even stronger. Now that she was back, she was anxious to get going with her new life and forget all about Australia – and Paul. She was to begin work in the Dun Laoghaire branch of Alliance Trust in three weeks’ time, and she hoped that they would find a flat before then.

  Karen worked as the Assistant Personnel Manager for Acorn Fidelity, one of the larger insurance companies in Ireland, and was based in Rathmines near Portobello Bridge. Until she and Jenny found a place, she was staying with her ex-housemate, Gerry, in his new flat. Jenny had thought it a curious arrangement at first, but apparently she and Gerry’s girlfriend, Tessa, were also very good friends.

  “Hold on a second, here’s one we haven’t circled,” Karen said. “It’s only a phone number, but by the looks of it I’d say the number is from around here somewhere – look, it starts with ‘496’ – that’s a Rathmines number, isn’t it?”

  “There’s a phone box at the end of the road,” Jenny said. “Why don’t we ring and find out? There’s no point in staying here.” She looked back at the growing number of bored-looking flat-hunters gathered outside the flat, all clutching the obligatory newspaper. The phone box was unoccupied, and Jenny called the number out to Karen as she dialled expectantly.

  “Hello, I’m enquiring about the flat advertised in the paper?” Karen said. There was a short pause “It is?” She smiled and gave a thumbs-up signal to Jenny. “Leinster Square? Yes, I know where that is.”

  Jenny felt a tingle of anticipation. It sounded good.

  “We’ll be there in a few minutes. Thanks a million.” Karen hung up. “Guess what? It’s here in Rathmines, and it was in the paper today by mistake. The landlord isn’t due to show it until next week because it’s being redecorated, but he’s there now and he says if we call within the next quarter of an hour he’ll let us have a look.”

  The girls got in a taxi and were outside the house in Leinster Square within five minutes. Karen pressed the buzzer expectantly.

  “It doesn’t look bad at all,” Jenny said, examining the freshly-weeded and obviously well-attended flowerbeds on either side of the path. “And the fact that he’s decorating is a good sign too.”

  Impatient, Karen pressed the buzzer a second time and had just released her finger from the bell when a large heavyset man answered the door with a smile.

  “Hello, you’re the girl I was speaking on the phone just now, is that right?”

  “Yes that’s me,” Karen said eagerly.

  At least he was friendly, which, Jenny thought, made a change from all the other landlords they had met so far – all surly individuals who weren’t exactly great conversationalists. Karen had tried her best to engage in chat with some of them and she had got the odd grunt in reply, if she was lucky. This man, however, with his thinning hair and alarmingly bright blue eyes, had a very friendly face.

  “Is that a country accent I hear?” he asked, as they walked through the hall and upstairs towards the top floor.

  “That’
s right, I’m Karen, and this is Jenny. We’re both from the same area in Kilkenny.”

  “Ah, sure wouldn’t you know it, we’re practically neighbours. I’m from Waterford, not far from ye at all.”

  The landlord opened a dark-blue door on the top floor of the building. “This is the flat. As you can see, the furniture is all over the place while it’s being painted, but I’m sure you get the general idea. One of the bedrooms is through there, and the other is just over that way, beside the bathroom. Have a good look around now, don’t mind me.” He made his way downstairs, leaving the two girls alone in the living-room.

  Jenny and Karen looked at one other excitedly.

  “Karen, this is miles better than anything we’ve seen so far – and a bedroom each. I thought we’d have to share.” Jenny went into the tiny bathroom, which was brightly tiled in blue and green.

  “The place is very clean, isn’t it?” Karen said, opening the kitchen cupboards and examining the workspace. The kitchen and living-room were one and the same, but there was plenty of space.

  “I really think we should just take it. It’s a little over our budget, but I’m sure we could manage. What do you think?” Jenny felt slightly guilty. Maybe Karen would be happier sharing a bedroom if the rent was cheaper. Before returning home from Australia, Jenny had shared a grotty room with three other girls in Sydney, and she was desperate for some privacy.

  Karen grinned. “Of course we should take it. I’ll go downstairs and ask him when we can move in.”

  “Brilliant.” Jenny clapped her hands with delight as she looked around the living-room. It would be gorgeous once they got going on it. They could get some plants and maybe a rug for the middle of the room. That wonderful Ayers Rock print she had brought back from Australia would be perfect on the far wall, and she could fill the place with some of the other knick-knacks from her travels.

  Karen and the landlord came back into the living-room.

  “Ye can move in next weekend, if that suits,” said the landlord, whom they learnt was called Frank. “There’s a bit of painting to be done in the bedrooms, but I should get that finished at the weekend. I’ll be putting a new carpet in the front bedroom too, so the place should be spick ‘n span by the time ye move in.”

  “Thanks a million for letting us see it first – we really appreciate that,” Karen said. “It’s just so hard to find a decent place these days.”

  “Well, to be honest, I’m glad to find some nice respectable girls like yourselves for it. The last crowd I had in here wrecked the place altogether – a crowd of lads they were. Not that they’re all bad,” he added. “I have a few fellas in the flat downstairs that have been there for a few years now, and they’ve never given me a bit of trouble.”

  The girls paid a deposit, and made arrangements to collect the keys from Frank the following week.

  “It’s a lovely flat, isn’t it?” Jenny said elatedly, walking back out onto the street.

  “Perfect. And it’s so close to everything,” Karen agreed. “The shopping centre is just across the road, and we’re within walking distance of my local, which, incidentally, is where we’re going now for a celebratory pint.”

  She linked Jenny’s arm, and the two girls walked up Rathmines Road, thrilled with themselves.

  “How come you didn’t move in with Shane?” Jenny asked, when they were comfortably seated in Boland’s pub. She was hoping that Karen didn’t regret suggesting that they share a flat together, instead of moving in with her boyfriend of eleven months.

  Karen shrugged. “It was never an issue. Shane is happy enough where he is – he shares a flat with a crowd just up the road from here in Rathgar – and anyway, I think we’d end up killing one another. Unfortunately, Shane is the kind of guy who washes your teacup right after you’ve taken your last drop of tea. So, you can imagine what the two of us would be like together. Anyway, why do you ask?”

  “I suppose I was afraid that you might regret asking me so soon. After all, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision.”

  “Not for me,” Karen said, opening a packet of dry-roasted peanuts. “I was delighted when you told me you were coming to work in Dublin. It was perfect timing. Thank goodness Tessa and Gerry let me stay with them until we found a place of our own.

  I’ll tell you what,” she said wide-eyed with excitement. “Why don’t you stay with us tonight, instead of getting the bus back home?”

  “But I couldn’t …” Jenny began.

  “Sure you could. They wouldn’t mind a bit.” Karen was feeling especially magnanimous after her third bottle of Budweiser. “Tessa told me lots of times that you should stay over, instead of travelling all the way home. Nothing fancy – you’d have to sleep on the couch, but she and Gerry would be fine about it. Anyway, she’s dying to meet you.”

  “Are you sure it’d be OK?” Jenny asked, enjoying the drinks and the excitement of finding the flat. She wasn’t at all looking forward to the bus journey back to Kilkenny. If anything, she was anxious to celebrate the beginning of her new life in Rathmines.

  “It won’t be a problem, I promise you,” Karen said. She checked her watch. “Tessa is a nurse and her shift ends mid-afternoon this week, so she should be home by now.”

  Tessa was at home when they called, and Jenny knew – as soon as she saw the girl’s friendly smile welcoming them into the clean and cosy flat – that she was going to like Tessa. Despite the fact that the girl was the skinniest person besides Kate Moss that Jenny had ever seen. She wore a pair of blue denims and a bright pink hooded top that were so tiny, she couldn’t have bought them anywhere other than Baby Gap. Barefoot, and standing no taller than five feet, Tessa looked minuscule beside her – a dainty little shrub to Jenny’s awkward oak tree.

  “Come in and sit down, the two of ye – Jenny how are you? Lovely to meet you finally,” Tessa said in her West Cork brogue. She blushed and ran a hand through her short blonde crop. “Don’t mind the state of me. Karen, why didn’t you tell me you were bringing Jenny? Then I would have changed into something that didn’t make me look like a scruffy old slob.”

  Jenny smiled. She couldn’t imagine someone like Tessa ever looking anything other than effortlessly stylish, but the girl’s genuine self-deprecation made her like her even more.

  “I hope you don’t mind me turning up on your doorstep like this –” she began.

  “Not at all,” Tessa waved her away. “I don’t know how many times I said to Karen, ‘Don’t be sending the poor crature home when she can stay here for as long as she likes’. And,” she added, winking at Jenny, “after putting up with the likes of this one for these last few weeks, I think I could put up with anyone.”

  Karen put her hands on her hips in mock consternation.

  “Well, that’s just lovely, isn’t it? OK, Tessa, if you feel that way, I think I’ll keep the chocolate I bought you all for myself.”

  “Oh, Galaxy Caramel!” Tessa squealed. “Quick, give it here.”

  “And we found a flat, so I’ll be out of your hair soon and you can have Gerry all to yourself,” Karen added, hiding the chocolate bar behind her back.

  “You found a place. That’s brilliant,” Tessa said. “Where? What’s it like? I’ll put on the kettle and the two of you can tell me all about it.”

  They followed Tessa into the tiny kitchenette, situated to the right of the living-room.

  “Don’t mind the state of the place, Jenny, it’s not always like this. I was just about to get dinner organised.”

  Jenny laughed. “I’ve just spent nearly two years living in and out of grotty hostels and overcrowded flats. Believe me, this place is an absolute palace.”

  “Oh, that’s right, you were in Australia. What’s it like? I’d love to go myself but Gerry has no interest.”

  “No interest in what?” said a deep voice from the doorway.

  Jenny looked up to see a smiling six-footer enter the kitchen. He went up to Tessa and gave her a peck on the cheek. Jenny gasped. H
e was so handsome. With his fair hair and darkly tanned skin, he could easily give the likes of Brad Pitt a run for his money. Apart from the fact that he looked a million times more sophisticated, dressed as he was in a navy suit, turquoise tie, and horn-rimmed glasses.

  “Gerry, I didn’t hear you come in. This is Jenny – she and Karen found a new flat today.”

  “So you’re the poor misfortune that’ll be stuck with Cassidy,” Gerry grinned, extending a hand. “I hope you know what you’re letting yourself in for.”

  “I have a fair idea,” Jenny gave a sideline glance towards Karen. “I’ve known the girl since we were both in nappies.”

  He chuckled. “Then you probably know that you’ll be wasting your time trying to keep the place tidy once Cyclone Karen is around.”

  Karen made a face but she had no argument. “What’s for dinner?” she asked Tessa, changing the subject.

  “Chicken gruel,” Gerry said before Tessa could answer. He rolled his eyes at Jenny. “You might have been all over Australia, but I can guarantee that you’ve never eaten anything like this.”

  “Don’t mind him,” Tessa grunted, trying to swipe at Gerry with a tea towel. “The chicken gruel he’s talking about is actually my speciality – creamy chicken and mushroom tagliatelle. Of course, this big man from the northside of Dublin was raised on spuds and cabbage and wouldn’t be at all used to ‘foreign dishes’.”

  “Oh, so they feed them Italian food in the wilds of Cork, do they?” Gerry countered.

  This time Tessa hit him square on the nose, and Gerry yelped in pain, retreating into the living-room.

  Tessa put her hands on her hips. “That’ll sort him out, and hopefully shut him up for a while. Now, Jenny, will you set the table and, Karen, you open that bottle of wine. Hopefully, that’ll disguise the taste of the dinner.”

  Jenny smiled as Tessa pointed out the cutlery drawer. If Karen’s friends were anything to go by, life in Dublin should be very interesting.