I picked up my coffee and to my horror a tear splashed down into the cup. Once I had started crying I just couldn’t stop.
Sally was alarmed. “It’s okay,” she said, patting the back of my hand gently. “I’m sure Tanya had personal reasons for leaving.”
I nodded. “Yes. She did have reasons. I just can’t say what they are. I’d feel bad talking about her behind her back. She wasn’t the worst of people, you know.”
Sally was very sympathetic, if a bit puzzled, and handed me a tissue. “Shush now, dry your eyes. Think of Cyprus and all the fun you’ll have. Is your mum going to mind John?”
I nodded. “She is, thank God. I wouldn’t be able to go otherwise.”
“Well then, at least you know he’s in safe hands so you don’t have to worry about him.”
“It’s my first time going abroad since he was born though. I might miss him.”
“I’m sure you will miss him. That would be normal. But you’ll be very busy too. And you’ll be with hunky Dave which will be a welcome distraction.”
“True,” I admitted, blushing slightly.
“Anyway, just think of poor old me back in the office when you’re away.”
I laughed in spite of myself. “I will. You must look after Louise for me when I’m gone – that’s a joke by the way.”
“Louise?” Sally tilted her head. “Oh, where have you been, Missus? I can’t believe you haven’t heard the news?”
I sat upright in the chair and then leaned forward. “What news?”
“Louise has gone. She has been shown the door. Goodbye and good riddance!”
I could hardly believe it! At last some good news!
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
I was really looking forward to getting on that plane as I sat on the Aircoach on the way out to Dublin airport. I really hoped that I would get a seat next to Dave on the afternoon flight to Paphos. It really had been a crazy few days. The model that I had booked to come out had developed some kind of face rash and had to cancel. This had meant me calling a last-minute casting in Dave’s city-centre studio. Thank God I had found a suitable girl for the shoot. Clara was tall and willowy with sallow skin and dark blonde hair. She was also curvy in all the right places which was of the utmost importance for a bikini shoot. You couldn’t
have a stick with the swimsuit falling off her!
Jenny, Diana’s assistant from Galway, who was also coming with us, would be a joy to work with, and this time we would hire a make-up artist in Cyprus for the shoot so as not to go over budget.
I arrived at the airport in plenty of time and decided to go into the Spar shop in the car park for a bottle of water and some crisps to keep me going while I was waiting. Dave had texted me a few minutes earlier to say he was nearly at the airport so I kept an eye out for him.
As I came out of the car park I actually saw him getting out of a silver BMW. He was so tall I immediately spotted him. I was about to call out to him when something happened. A blonde girl got out of the driver seat and ran around the other side of the car to hug him. She was slim, blonde and very attractive and as he leaned forward to kiss her I found myself shrinking away. I definitely didn’t want him to see me.
I turned back into the car park, and took the escalator up to the Ladies’ room. I breathed in and out very slowly. It took me a few minutes to compose myself, I was shaking so much. Then my phone beeped.
“Hey, it’s Dave.Wher u? At cust serv desk.”
I smartened myself up and made my way back into the terminal. I had to remain professional at all times. Dave had never told me he hadn’t got a girlfriend. He had never lied to me or led me down the garden path. I, as usual, had just happened to get the wrong end of the stick.
I made my way to the airline customer-service desk. Jenny and Clara were already there, chatting to Dave. The girl at the ticket desk said she couldn’t put the four of us together so we’d have to sit in pairs. I offered to sit beside Jenny, so Dave and Clara ended up with seats together in another part of the plane.
Jenny was all excited about the trip and talked incessantly about it throughout the flight. I had hoped her enthusiasm would rub off on me but it didn’t really. Suddenly I felt exhausted. So much had happened recently and it hadn’t even really sunk in yet.
On the plane, I had a couple of glasses of wine to relax. They say drink goes to your head much faster when you’re flying and, you know, they’re probably right. I found myself
getting a bit tipsy and pouring my heart out to Jenny. I told her about Louise and how she had been fired after getting caught opening parcels that were addressed to the editor.
When Creea had confronted her about the expensive items that had gone missing from cosmetic giants such as Lancôme and YonKa, Louise had broken down and admitted that she had stolen them and sold them on eBay. Creea had reported her to her uncle and he had quietly told her that things were obviously not working out for her at the magazine and that maybe she should pursue another career that was more suited to her.
Jenny, now that she was over her initial excitement of being on a plane, told me that in her mother’s salon in Galway a receptionist had once stolen two thousand euro from the till over the course of the summer and that they’d had to install security cameras in the salon to try and catch her. Jenny also told me about a very good friend of hers called Darina, from Galway, who was working for a mad crazy family in Foxrock who gave her champagne to drink and could never keep an au pair for more than a month. She said her friend was desperate to find a new family, and that a nicer girl you could not meet. I perked up when I heard this. I wondered if Darina would be interested in working for me. True, I would never be offering her champagne, but I reckoned I was pretty okay most of the time.
I decided not to tell Jenny about what had happened with Tanya, but I did find myself explaining to her that I was a single mum and that it was hard to cope sometimes. I confided that I had cried that morning saying goodbye to my beloved little man. I also told her that I had reluctantly agreed that Clive could come and visit John once I got back from Cyprus, so John could get to know him. I would see where it could go from there.
“I mean, no way do I want him to stay the night with Clive. But he is his dad and no matter how much I dislike him I can’t deny John his own father.”
Jenny was most sympathetic. “I know it will be hard but it’s probably best in the long run,” she said with a maturity far beyond her years. She told me that her parents were separated but that she loved both her mother and her father no matter what and she was glad they were civil to each other for her sake. “It’s easier sometimes just to keep the peace,” she said quietly. “Even if there is always an underlying sense of injustice that someone is feeling. I know my mam did everything for me, and made so many sacrifices for me, but I’m still glad I know my dad too.”
By the time the plane had touched down in Paphos International Airport I was feeling a lot more relaxed. Jenny was a tonic and it was impossible to feel down in her company. If her friend Darina was even half as much fun, I was sure that I’d like her very much too.
The hotel had sent a courtesy mini-bus to meet us and within half an hour we were at the ocean-front hotel. It was gorgeous, with a big airy lounge and huge window looking over the blue sea. It was so nice just be somewhere warm and sunny again.
As soon as we checked into our rooms, the manager phoned us each individually and invited us for cocktails on the balcony. It was fantastic to be able to sit around in the open wearing short sleeves and feel the warmth of the evening sun on our faces and watch it sink into the horizon.
We had an early dinner that evening at the hotel. I sat next to Dave and tucked into a delicious olive, tomato and onion salad with fresh bread. Clara, who was drinking only sparkling water I am glad to say, had the same dish and the others had haloumi with red peppers and capers.
“No nightcaps now,” I warned Dave jokingly, wagging my finger at him as I retired for bed.
“Eh, no chance of that on this trip. I don’t want to incur your wrath again, Missus – I’ll be on my best behaviour,” he grinned.
We agreed to meet in the morning bright and early for breakfast at seven. I ended up having a terrific night’s sleep. I had left my window open and it had been so relaxing listening to the waves crashing gently outside all night long. I woke up feeling fresh and ready to face the world.
Clara was a joy to work with. She had a magnificent body but she was also lively and fun, open to suggestions, even coming up with a few great ideas herself. Jenny did wonders on her hair and Maria, the Cypriot lady from Limassol who had been hired to do the make-up was extremely sweet even though her English was somewhat limited. The hotel manager explained to us that the hotel was very popular for weddings and that Maria had tended to countless very satisfied brides over the years. I had been initially a bit nervous hiring somebody I had never worked with before, but her attention to detail was faultless and she had Clara looking like a goddess.
We did countless shots on the sand, on top of rocks, in the garden of the hotel, on the balcony, even some bikini shots around the pool area intriguing the hotel guests. We worked hard but it was so worth it. The shots we got were exquisite.
That night the manager arranged for us to have a special barbeque by the pool and the area was tastefully done up with fairy lights. We drank local wines and this time Clara was allowed to join in because she didn’t have to get her photo taken the following day. Herself and Jenny were around the same age and had really bonded over the last day couple of days. So when Jenny suggested that they try out a recommended nightclub in Paphos to go dancing, Clara was delighted.
That just left Dave and myself. Neither of us wanted to go clubbing. Instead we sat in close proximity to each other in the bar, looking out over the ocean. He was really easy to talk to and I found myself talking to him about how upset I’d been about Tanya leaving, and about how guilty I’d felt spying on her. I told him about Clive and how he had left me when I was pregnant and that throughout my pregnancy I had cried into my pillow night after night until I thought that I’d drown in my tears. And when he put his hand over mine and squeezed
it, I didn’t budge. I wanted his hand there forever. In fact, I wanted more than that. I wanted to kiss him, and I wanted him to hold me, but he didn’t.
After saying goodnight I went to my room and he went to his. I presumed he would be phoning his girlfriend to say goodnight to her too, and maybe tell her he was missing her. I wanted to phone Mum to see how John was, but it was very late now. I’d have to wait until
morning. Instead I got into my bed and flicked through my phone photos in the dark.
“Goodnight, my sweet darling,” I said to my baby, “Mummy loves you more than anyone or anything in the whole wide world, and I can’t wait to see you soon.”
The next morning it was just Dave and me together at the table that had been reserved for us.
“The girls obviously had a good night,” he laughed as we tucked into our fruit and croissants.
“Yes, obviously they did,” I agreed. “I’d say they had some fun fighting off the Cypriot men!”
“Oh, to be young again!” he said with a sigh.
“Ah, Dave, don’t write yourself off just yet!” I said with mock horror. “You’ve a few years left in you.”
We chatted easily over our coffee. Then Dave asked me what I would be doing for the rest of the day. I said that I would see what the girls wanted to do first. Maybe they would like to go shopping?
“Oh right, yeah, fine. I’ll just do my own thing then. I might do a bit of sightseeing.”
We agreed to meet up later for dinner. I was a little disappointed that he hadn’t invited me to go sightseeing with him. Maybe I should have offered to accompany him. The last thing I wanted to do was go shopping with the girls. I could have kicked myself for opening my mouth without thinking.
In the end I didn’t go shopping, and Dave didn’t go sightseeing. I took myself down to the almost deserted beach with a book. I was reading the latest from Martina Conlon-McKenna. I sat down on a small rock, opened the book at page one and got stuck in straight away. But before long I spotted Dave strolling towards me in a pair of white shorts with his sunglasses perched on top of his head. I had an overall warm fuzzy feeling at the sight of him. “May I join you?”
“Of course. Please do,” I said, glad that I had left my own shorts on. I wasn’t sure that I was quite ready for Dave to see me up close and in a bikini. I’d never quite lost the jelly tummy since giving birth. He lay his towel down very close beside mine. I could actually feel my heart beat faster as he did so.
“So you didn’t go shopping in the end?”
“Nah. Too lazy.”
“I didn’t go sightseeing either. Too hot.”
“Oh. We’re both as bad as each other.”
“Actually, I wanted to spend a little more time with you, Kaylah. We don’t have much more time left here.”
“I know. I’m going to miss this.” My heartbeat was accelerating now. What was all this about? I suddenly felt myself getting very hot and it wasn’t just because of
the sun.
“I really like you, Kaylah. You’re a very special girl.”
“Oh. Oh, thank you. That’s very kind.”
He reached over and touched my arm ever so slightly. “I’m not trying to be kind, Kaylah. I’m . . . the truth is, I’m mad about you. Can’t you see it? Isn’t it obvious?”
I just gaped at him.
“I mean, if you don’t feel the same . . .”
I sat up on my towel, brushing some sand off my thighs. What was going on? I was confused. “B-but what about your girlfriend?” I burst out.
He stared at me or at least seemed to. I couldn’t see his eyes because of his sunglasses. I leaned forward and slowly took them off his face. “I said what about your girlfriend?”
“I don’t have one.”
“But who was that girl who dropped you off at the airport?” I asked in an accusatory tone.
“In the BMW? That was my sister. You didn’t think – oh, come on – did you really think I had a girlfriend? I’m bloody crazy about you, Kaylah. I’ve been crazy about you since I first met you. But I thought you had no interest in me.”
Suddenly a million thoughts were running through my head. I wanted to speak but I just couldn’t find the words. Instead I leaned forward and kissed Dave fully on the lips. They tasted salty, like seawater. I closed my eyes and savoured the taste. I would never forget that moment, not ever. I still remember it like it was yesterday . . .
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Of course we laugh about it now. We laugh at our false starts and how we were so sure the other person wouldn’t fancy us. We are very comfortable with each other these days and tell each other nearly everything. Dave and I work together a lot.
I left the magazine a while ago to work freelance, but mostly with Dave. In the last few months we’ve been to the Bahamas and Fuerteventura on photo shoots as well as doing commercial shoots at home in Ireland around Kerry and Connemara. There is something very satisfying about being our own boss. I feel more confident now about leaving John at home while I work, although sometimes it’s possible to take him with me, and I never
would leave him for more than a few days because I’d just miss him too much. Anyway, Darina is great with him and seems to adore him almost as much as I do.
Darina moved in with me a couple of weeks after Cyprus. She is a gorgeous girl who hails from Galway and she has a lovely temperament. When I offered the job to her she jumped at the chance to leave her old family. She said they were far too eccentric for her anyway, the final straw being when they asked if the cat could sleep in her room at night because he didn’t like to be left alone downstairs and the children already had a rabbit hutch in their room and the parents had a pet parrot who hated the cat in theirs. I think she was very relieved to be able to move in with me. She’s
lovely company and she bonds well with Claudine too. In fact Claudine and Sheelagh came with us to the zoo the other day with the prams and we had a wonderful day out.
Baby John will be a year old tomorrow. My God! So much has happened this year it’s scary. I feel like I am a completely different person than I was before. Dave has had such a calming influence on me. In fact, I’m so relaxed these days that I even find myself being surprisingly pleasant to Clive when he calls every second Saturday to take John off to spend the afternoon at his mother’s house – a privilege I only agreed to after he made frequent visits to our place to make friends with John. They did make friends and now John always looks happy to see him which is the main thing. I love John a lot more than I dislike Clive so I just put up with him for John’s sake. And there’s a bonus to Clive’s presence in our lives: he agreed to pay maintenance . . . after a little pressure from me.
John is growing at an alarming rate. In fact he’s crawling around the place at breakneck speed and is eating me out of house and home too. Soon I won’t even be able to call him Baby John any more. He’ll just be plain John. I kind of miss him being a baby sometimes. When he was small he was easier to handle and I could just put him in the cot if I needed to do something. No chance of that now. I need eyes in the back of my head to watch him!
Dave asked me the other day if I had ever thought about giving John a little brother or a sister. Truthfully, I hadn’t. Not until now anyway. But who knows? Maybe Dave is secretly becoming a bit broody. And maybe, just maybe, his broodiness will rub off on me too! But for the moment I’m just happy out.
Secret Nanny Club Page 23
