Something You Should Know

by Melissa Hill

  Chapter 21

  “Jenny, guess what? Gerry proposed. We’re getting married before the end of this year!” Tessa squealed elatedly down the telephone line.

  “That’s brilliant, I’m really pleased for you. When did this all come about?”

  “He just popped the question out of the blue, although I thought it might be on the cards – remember I was telling you that I thought we might get engaged for my birthday last month? Well, we went out to dinner at the weekend for no reason at all and he completely surprised me.”

  “That’s great news. What’s your engagement ring like? Did Gerry pick it out himself?”

  “He wouldn’t dare. No, we’re going into town to pick it out together on Thursday evening, so I suppose it’s not entirely official yet.” she giggled. “Anyway, we’re all getting together on Friday night to celebrate. I’ve booked a place in Temple Bar for food, and then we’ll go on a bit of a pub-crawl in town. What do you think?”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Jenny said warmly. “What time are you going out?”

  “Well, we’ve agreed to meet up at about eight o clock outside the Central Bank. Is that all right with you and Roan? If not, I’ll have my mobile on, and you can give me a buzz on that?”

  “No, that’s fine by us, we should be there by then. Tell Gerry I said congratulations, won’t you? I can’t wait to see the ring.”

  “Me neither! See you Friday then, I’ve a few more people to phone.”

  Tessa rang off, and Jenny slowly went back up the stairs. Not another one. Everyone she knew seemed to be getting engaged these days. Olivia had announced her engagement months back, her boyfriend having proposed on holiday. And one of her sister’s friends from home had got engaged only last week. Was there something in the air lately? First Karen, then Olivia, and now Tessa. Why was it that all her friends were planning their future with eager partners, and she was in a relationship that at the moment, seemed to be in a bit of a rut?

  Things had started to get a little strange soon after her promotion, Jenny reflected. She couldn’t believe that she had been put forward by the bank so quickly, and then to have got the Senior Bank Official position soon after. It had all happened so fast – she hadn’t really had the time to consider what it would all mean. If she had known how hard it was going to be, she might never have agreed to put her name forward so readily. The way things were, she didn’t know whether she was coming or going at work. When she got the SBO position, Marion had taken her off the Foreign Exchange desk, and practically dumped her into the Customer Services, with little or no experience. It had been an absolute nightmare. They had been so busy that Amy, the regular Customer Services official, didn’t have a chance to answer Jenny’s questions or give her a hand with any difficulties. Jenny discovered very quickly that the Customer Services desk was a completely different ball-game to working on the cash desk. She remembered walking out of the branch one day in tears. Something like that had never happened before – Jenny rarely let work get on top of her. Then there was the short stint she had in the Accounts section on her own after just a few hours’ training, and she was expected to deal with the accounts of some the branch’s biggest customers.

  Jenny hadn’t realised how tiring it could all be. What with trying to take in everything she needed to do as part of the day-to-day tasks, as well as coping with the dozens of phone calls from customers – that seemed to be coming through by the second – Jenny could barely keep her eyes open on the Dart going home in the evenings.

  It was getting a bit too much for her even then, but today, Marion had announced that she was about to be trained as a replacement for Olivia, who had been earmarked for a Lending role before her departure. Jenny had been shocked upon hearing this. How could she go from being a simple cashier to a Lending Officer in just under twelve months? But she couldn’t say anything to Marion about it. After all, Marion had been the one who had been behind her promotion in the first place. She couldn’t start whinging and whining about it now. She had soon realised that her promotion came about more from a staffing shortage than anything else, but didn’t they realise that they were bombarding her with too much?

  Jenny moaned to herself as she caught sight of Roan asleep on the sofa, the dirty dishes from the dinner piled high on the counter. Could he not make the effort to help out – just once in a while?

  Things hadn’t been that great between them lately, she reflected, rinsing the dishes under the tap. He didn’t seem to understand the pressure she was under, couldn’t see why she went on at him to give her a hand with the housework. He still insisted that he worked too hard without having to come home and do all that ‘woman’s stuff’ as he called it. Jenny had learned from a few weeks of living with him, that Roan had never done a tap of housework. His mother had obviously let him get away with murder. He was lucky he hadn’t been born in the Hamilton household. Her brothers Eric and Thomas had been well trained by their mother in everything from making beds to cooking stew.

  Roan moaned loudly, obviously annoyed that she was making so much noise with the washing-up. Tough, Jenny thought, scraping the leftovers into the bin with a little more enthusiasm that was strictly necessary.

  “Do you have to be so noisy doing that?” Roan growled.

  “No, I don’t have to be so noisy – maybe you’d like do it instead for a change?” she said, waving the washing-up-liquid bottle at him.

  “Ah, don’t start, Jenny, I’ve had a balls of a day,” he said, rolling his eyes to heaven. “The insurance company is putting the pressure on, and we need to get everything finished before the end of this month. I get enough hassle at work, without having to put up with it when I come home.”

  Something snapped. She’d just about had enough of Roan and all the hassle he was supposed to be under. “Well sorr-y. But you’re not the only one under pressure at work, you know. Not only that, but I have to come back to this pigsty, and clean up after you and – ”

  “Jesus, if it’s that much hassle to do the feckin washing-up, give it here.” He jumped up and nudged in beside her at the sink. “Talk about a bloody nag,” he whispered under his breath.

  “Roan Williams, I am not a nag,” Jenny retorted, “but even if I was, I don’t have any choice. You make as much of a mess around here as I do, and yet you expect me to clean up after you – why is that? I’m not your personal slave, you know.”

  “What? What are you on about? Wasn’t I the one that did all the shopping last week?” Water splashed out of the sink and onto the floor as he scrubbed the saucepan vehemently. “Anyway, the place is never that bad – you just have some kind of a cleanliness obsession or something.”

  “It’s not that bad, Roan, because I make sure it doesn’t get that bad.” Jenny was getting angrier by the minute.

  Roan threw a handful of cutlery into the water, then turned and glared at her. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you lately. Since you got that bloody promotion you’ve become really up in yourself.”

  “What? What are you on about?”

  “It’s true. You act like you’re the bee’s knees, thinking you can boss me around like you do everyone else in that job. Well, I’ll tell you one thing for nothing – you won’t treat me like some nerdy office boy.”

  Jenny opened her mouth but no words came out. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How dare he accuse of her of bossing him around, when all she wanted was a bit of help with the tidying-up.

  “Roan, you’re being very unfair here. I hardly ever ask you for help, unless I’m very tired. And I’m very tired tonight. Coming in here and seeing you all tucked up and snoring on the couch doesn’t exactly improve my mood, you know.”

  “Well, Jenny, I’ve had enough of your moods lately. I don’t know what’s got into you. You’re no crack any more. It’s like you’ve aged about twenty years since you got promoted.” He looked at her disdainfully. “You’ve let yourself go too.”

  Jenny looked back at him thro
ugh narrowed eyes. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “Oh, come on, Jenny – you dress like a dowdy schoolteacher these days, you hardly ever wear make-up, and you haven’t bothered getting your roots redone in a very long time. It’s like living with my mother.”

  Jenny’s heart sank. How could he say those things to her?

  When he saw her expression, Roan’s voice softened. “Look, I’m sorry, Jen, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just lashed out at you because I’m tired, and you were ranting on at me for being lazy.” He came across the room and pulled her towards him. “I’m not trying to be hurtful, hon – I’m only telling you these things for your own good.”

  Jenny looked behind Roan to her reflection in the mirror over the fireplace, as he held her. Maybe he was right. She had been so keen to do well at work, and so tired lately that she hadn’t really bothered with the things she used to love doing. She had been putting off a visit to the hairdresser. She was just too bloody tired all the time.

  Roan had told her some home truths, however hard they might have been to hear. No wonder he had lost interest in sex lately. At the beginning, they had been tearing each other’s clothes off at every available minute – these days, they were lucky if they managed it once a week. Maybe it was all her fault, Jenny reflected. After all, Roan worked hard too but he still managed to keep himself in order.

  Roan hugged her tightly once more, before releasing her and kissing her softly on the forehead. “I’m sorry again, Jen. Look, I know you’re under pressure too, getting used to having to work hard and all that. I tell you what, why don’t you sit down and put your feet up while I finish this, and then I’ll make you a cuppa, alright?”

  She hesitated for a minute. “I’m sorry too. I probably have been difficult to live with lately.”

  “It’s OK, babe.” He patted the sofa cushions. “Go on, sit down and take it easy.”

  Jenny looked at him gratefully. “Are you sure? I’m really wrecked, Roan – I wouldn’t mind a chance to sit down for a minute.”

  Then, I’m putting on my tracksuit bottoms, and going for a good long jog, she thought, wondering if any of the salons in Dun Laoghaire might fit her in after work the next evening. She’d make sure she was looking her best for Tessa’s engagment party on Friday night. After all, Tessa rarely looked anything other than stunning. Which was probably why Tessa was the one shopping for engagement rings, Jenny thought glumly.

  Chapter 22

  Tessa hugged Karen and Shane enthusiastically when they entered the restaurant in Temple Bar. “What do you think – isn’t it gorgeous?” she said, proudly displaying the large, almond-shaped solitaire on her engagement finger. “Gerry wanted to get something smaller, but once I had seen it, I knew it was the one for me.”

  “It’s fabulous,” Karen said, trying it on her own finger, and wondering how on earth Gerry could afford such an expensive ring on his salary. The setting on her own engagement ring looked tiny in comparison.

  Not that it mattered, she thought, looking lovingly at the back of Shane’s head. He could have done a Homer Simpson on it, and bought her an onion ring for all she cared.

  She waved at the others, who were sitting at the bar with some girls that Karen didn’t recognise – probably work friends of Tessa’s, she decided.

  “Where are Jenny and Roan?” Tessa asked, looking anxiously towards the door. “Everyone else is here, and I thought they’d be coming with you two.”

  “Don’t ask,” Karen said dryly.

  Tessa raised an eyebrow. “Trouble in paradise – again?”

  “Paradise it ain’t, not these days, anyway. We arranged to call for them tonight in the taxi, and when we got there, Jenny came to the front door and told us to go on ahead – that Roan wasn’t yet back from work, and that they’d meet us here later.” She shook her head. “It was obvious that she was lying, Tessa. I’d say your man was upstairs and they were having an argument.”

  “It’s happening a lot lately isn’t it?” Tessa said. “Since they moved in together, I mean.”

  Karen lit a cigarette, hoping there were no non-smoking signs anywhere.

  “Jenny’s not the same girl at all these days.” She shook her match and took a large drag from the cigarette. “She’s been under a lot of pressure at work, and he’s not giving her a lot of support, from what I can see.”

  “I haven’t seen them out together in ages. I really hope she comes out tonight though, for her own sake as well as anything else.”

  “We’ll see,” Karen said, “but I’d be very surprised if he’s with her. After all, he doesn’t exactly make much of an effort where Jenny’s friends are concerned, does he?”

  “Tell me about it. He hasn’t said more than two words to me since the day I bawled him out. Remember? The day you went home after … ” Tessa inclined her head towards Shane.

  “Don’t remind me.” Karen said. She winked at Shane who was making his way over to her.

  “What are you two nattering about?” he asked, putting his arm around her waist. “Discussing wedding dresses, I suppose?”

  “Nothing of the sort,” she said shortly, taking a mouthful of wine. Tessa looked at her questioningly.

  “No, we were wondering if Jenny and Roan were coming,” Tessa said, checking her watch. “Our table should be ready soon.”

  “Well, wonder no more,” Shane said, pointing to the door behind her, where a harassed-looking Jenny had just come in.

  “Told you he wouldn’t come,” Karen murmured under her breath, as Jenny approached them.

  “Hi, everyone.” Jenny waved.

  She didn’t look at all well, Karen thought, studying her friend, as Jenny examined Tessa’s engagement ring. For an occasion like this, the old Jenny would have dressed up to the nines. Instead, she wore a long black shirt, black trousers and very little make-up. Her hair seemed lighter than usual, too. As they were led towards their table, Karen wondered if Jenny had changed her hairdresser.

  Jenny smiled at Karen from across the table as they took their seats. “Before you ask – I don’t know where he is, he hasn’t come back from work yet, and I haven’t been able to contact him. He hates mobile phones.”

  “Jen, it’s none of my business.” Karen looked down at the menu, and tried to bite her tongue. Typical Roan. He had obviously ducked out of going to the party at the last minute, letting Jenny down again. She could kill him.

  “Jenny, your hair looks different, did you get it cut? Ow.” Shane felt the full force of Karen’s kick, and a low blush appeared on Jenny’s face.

  “I know – it looks awful,” she said, touching her hair self-consciously. “I got one of those home hair-colouring kits and coloured it myself yesterday. I usually get it done at the hairdresser’s. That’s why it looks a bit off.” She smiled shyly around the table.

  “No, no, I meant it looked nice.” Shane was relieved when the waitress appeared beside him to take his order.

  “It’s unusual for you to do things by half, Jen,” Tessa said, trying to make light of the situation, “but I tell you, for a home kit, it’s not bad at all.”

  Karen’s heart went out to Jenny – she looked so embarrassed. Jenny had to resort to a home kit because she obviously couldn’t afford to have it done at the hairdresser’s. And probably for the same reason, she hadn’t bought anything new to wear out tonight. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen Jenny in anything new for a long, long, time. Damn it – the bastard still wasn’t paying his share of the rent, and Jenny was making up the difference. He must owe her a fortune.

  Her friend wasn’t particularly talkative throughout the meal, and it seemed to Karen as though her mind was totally elsewhere. Probably wondering where that shit Roan is, she thought sourly.

  When the last plate had been cleared away, and they were tucking into dessert, Tessa announced that she wanted to do a pub-crawl in Temple Bar starting with Buskers.

  Shane groaned. “The last time I was in that place, I ended up getting
thrown out.”

  Karen looked at him curiously. “Why – what did you do?”

  “I remember that,” Aidan laughed from the other end of the table. “He fell fast asleep while sitting on the bog. They threw him out because it was nearly three o’clock in the morning, and they were trying to clean up. Some poor bugger had to climb over the door to wake him up. Imagine the sight – Quinner snoring away with his kaks around his ankles.’

  Shane looked mortified and everyone else roared laughing.

  “Hmm. I hadn’t heard that one before,” Karen said, feigning sternness. “What else don’t I know about you and your drunken antics?”

  “None of that tonight, Shane, please,” Tessa scolded, catching sight of Shane’s mischievous grin. “I don’t want you getting my fiancé in any trouble.”

  “See – you’re a bad influence, Shane Quinn,” Karen said, laughing. “I’d better keep an eye on you tonight – you’d never know what you might do.”

  Chapter 23

  Jenny looked wistfully at both couples walking hand in hand in front of her. They were so lucky she thought, watching Shane put his arm around Karen, and plant a kiss on the top of her head. And from the looks of it, Tessa and Gerry were just as happy, and had everything to look forward to.

  Watching them all together just made her feel worse about Roan. She had told him about tonight earlier on in the week, and he had said he would come, so where was he? He had told her that they were a little behind on their current project, but surely they weren’t expected to stay there until all hours on a Friday night? Then again, his boss was supposed to be a bit of a slave-driver – maybe he had no option but to stay late tonight. He could have let her know though.

  Tessa looked really gorgeous tonight, she thought, admiring her friend who was wearing a backless, silver-grey, chiffon dress under a fake-fur jacket. There wasn’t a bulge to be seen on her anywhere, and for a figure-hugging dress like that, it was no mean feat, Jenny thought enviously.