by Cherry Kay
8
As soon as the warmth inside the pub hit her, Marsha's face began to tingle
“I'll put this upstairs and get you a drink,” Finn said. “Sit down, relax, you look half frozen, Marsha.”
Marsha looked around the crowded room and over to where the band had set up. Lorraine was standing in front of a microphone, holding an electric guitar and fronting a four-piece band. The music had started. Lorraine spotted Marsha and waved energetically, before beginning to sing.
She had a beautiful voice, Marsha thought, and the musicians were so tight, she felt like she was at a professional show. They performed a rock song that Marsha recognized. She positioned herself at the bar, but making sure she could see the band. At last she was thawing out and had regained feeling in her fingers and toes.
Finn put a glass of Southern Comfort down in front of her.
“You know, this isn't really my drink,” she shouted over the bar to him.
“What was that?”
Finn leaned towards her, cupping his ear so he could hear her above the volume of the band.
“Never mind,” she called to him and then raised her glass.
“I need to serve a few people and then I'll come round to your side.” He said this using hand gestures and speaking as loudly as he could.
There was a magical feeling in the pub, an atmosphere she had never experienced before. Somehow she felt at one with the room, even though she knew hardly anyone there but when Finn stopped serving and came and sat next to her she had a feeling of being home.
“This is great,” she said as she and Finn moved closer to the music. “Your sister is so talented. You must be very proud.”
“Sure I am. I taught her everything she knows.” Finn put his arm around Marsha and stood very close to her.
“Really? You play?” Marsha raised her eyebrows.
“Only like Jimi Hendrix.”
“I'd love to see that.”
It was at that moment that Lorraine called Finn up on stage.
“This whole evening was made possible by your landlord, Mr. Finn Brady, ladies and gentlemen.” Lorraine extended a hand towards Finn. “And I'm sure he won't take any persuading to come up and play a few tunes with us.”
A loud cheer and a big round applause went around. Marsha looked up at Finn and saw him blushing.
“Go on, Jimi Hendrix.” She pushed him towards the band. “Put your money where your mouth is.”
He took to the stage and used Lorraine's guitar while she sang and soon Finn began singing too. Marsha was impressed. His voice was amazing. It made the tensions of earlier that evening melt away and she was sure there was no other place she should be but right there.
Much later, after the band had finished playing and the crowd started to dissipate, Marsha and Finn sat at a table in the corner.
“Oh Marsha, I'm so glad you checked out of your hotel and you'll be staying here for Christmas,” he said to her.
“Finn, about that...”
“Yes.”
Marsha was not able to finish what she was saying because on the far end of the bar she spotted a familiar face. Jonathan was hugging a drink and he wasn't alone. Sitting next to him and stroking his face as they laughed was Emma. Marsha sat, open mouthed.
“What's wrong?” Finn said, following her eye line. “You know that guy?”
As she watched Jonathan grinning with Emma over some private joke, Jonathan spotted Marsha too. His face turned ashen.
“Is that him?” Finn asked. “Is that the guy you came here for?”
“That's him alright,” she said. “And he told me they had broken it off.”
There were just a handful of people left in the pub now. Lorraine left with the other band members and the barmaid, Janey, was helping the other member of staff clear away.
Marsha stood up and walked over to where Jonathan sat. He was now dumbstruck and looking more and more frightened with every pace she took towards him. Emma noticed the tension and turned to see Marsha just over her shoulder.
“I know you,” she said to Marsha with a big smile on her face. “You're the girl from Jonathan's New York office. I thought he said you were going back, did you change your mind?”
“No,” Marsha said, staring hard at Jonathan. “I decided to stay.”
“Wait,” said Emma. “What's going on here?”
By then, Finn had followed Marsha to where the couple sat and Jonathan, tentatively stood up.
“Um, Emma, this is Marsha...from the New York office.”
Emma, smiling, put out her hand. Marsha looked at it and then back at Jonathan.
“What are you doing here, Marsha?” Jonathan said. “You should be on a plane.”
“And you should be at your parents' house and Emma should be with her new boyfriend.”
“My what?” Emma said, standing up too. “Jonathan do think you could tell me what this is all about?”
“It's simple,” Marsha interrupted. “I'm not only the girl from the New York office, I've been seeing him for months now. Whenever he's in New York, I'm his girlfriend. Now come on, Jonathan, tell Emma. Wasn't it only yesterday you were at my hotel, telling me you were thinking about moving to New York, permanently.”
“What?” Emma's cheeks were burning red. “Jonathan. You better explain this.”
“Look, Emma,” he said, “there's nothing to explain. I hardly know her. She's been chasing me ever since I started working in New York. I told her I was with you and...”
“Jonathan!” Martha was close to exploding. “How could you stand there and lie to us like that?”
She moved closer to him, they were face to face.. “Actually, what am I talking about? Of course you can lie, it comes naturally to you.” She turned to Emma. “Emma, I promise you, when I showed up at your door it was the first I ever knew of him seeing anyone else. I walked away that night and he called and texted me for days. He tracked me down to my hotel and said you and he have been over for months and that you were tagging on until some other guy came on the scene. He said you were leaving today. He said he was going to spend Christmas day with his parents.”
There were tears ready to spill from Emma's eyes.
“His parents?” she sniffed. “His mother died when he was twelve and he hasn't spoken to his father in five years. My family are coming for Christmas. We were going to announce our wedding date to them. Jonathan, how could you do this to me?”
She began putting on her coat. Jonathan tried pleading with her but she was pulling at the emerald engagement ring until it was off her finger.
“You may as well have this back. I knew there was something going on. I should have trusted my instincts shouldn't I? I asked you so many times and every time you lied. You lied to me for months and I hate you.” Emma threw the ring, it bounced off Jonathan's chest and fell to the floor. Emma stomped towards the exit.
“Emma, please wait! You can't just walk out like this.”
Emma turned on him, her eyes were bulging. She lifted her hand and pointed at Marsha.
“Tell me. Did you have an affair with this woman?” Her chest heaved up and down.
Jonathan turned to look at Marsha. Marsha crossed her arms. Janey stood behind the bar with her mouth agape and everyone else in the pub looked at Jonathan.
“If you could only let me explain,” he said, turning back to Emma.
“Don't you dare try to come home. I never want to see you again,” she raged. “You're a liar, a cheat, a bastard and if you ever come anywhere near me, I swear to God, I'll rip your face off.”
That beautiful face turned to a darker version of Emma. The whole place fell silent. Emma opened the pub door, gave one last look over her shoulder at Jonathan and disappeared into the night.
Jonathan, now half way between the door and where Marsha stood by the bar, turned slowly back to face her.
“You happy now?” he asked her, through gritted teeth.
“Do I look happy?” Marsha replied.
“You've ruined everything.” He walked towards her.
“Not me, Jonathan. You managed that all by yourself.”
“You said you were flying back to New York tonight. Why did you lie?”
“I didn't lie. I was on my way to the airport and there was an accident on the road. I ended up here by chance, if you must know. Fate brought me back here to catch you out. You bastard.”
“Whatever, Marsha.” Jonathan knocked back his drink. “You never were much to come back to in New York, anyway. You were so ready to find yourself a rich boyfriend you didn't care if I was seeing someone else. Admit it.”
“That's not true,” Marsha's voice was very soft.
“You're no different from all the others. You're just a user, Marsha.”
Finn marched up to him, his face close to Jonathan's now.
“You take that back. That's no way to speak to Marsha. You know she cared about you. Either you're too arrogant to admit it or too blind to see what you've thrown away.”
“And who the hell do you think you are, talking to me like that? I'll talk to your boss and have you fired.”
“You could try but I know exactly what my boss would do.”
“What?”
“This!”
Finn pulled back his fist and punched Jonathan square in the jaw. Jonathan stumbled backwards and held his face. Janey did a subtle fist pump. Marsha slapped her hands to her mouth. Everyone else in the pub cheered.
“Now get out!” Finn picked up Jonathan's coat and grabbed him by the collar. He dragged him towards the door which one of his punters gladly opened. Finn threw Jonathan onto the street.
“You're barred!” he told him and stormed back in. He did not look at Marsha but went behind the bar.
“Janey, you guys lock up I'm going upstairs,” he ordered, still not meeting Marsha's gaze.
Without another word he went up to his flat.
“Okay, everyone, the show is over, drink up. Last orders was ages ago. We're closing now.” Janey hurried people along, collecting the last glasses and locking the doors one by one. After a while she went over to Marsha who had sunk into a stool at the bar, her head in her hands.
“What's wrong with Finn?” Janey asked her.
“He knows I lied to him,” Marsha said. “He thought I came here to be with him but I should be on a plane to New York.”
“I see.”
“I have to go upstairs and hope I can make Finn see, too.”
9
The lights were all out in the Grange public house and everyone had gone home, except Marsha. As Janey locked up and said goodnight to her, Marsha sat for a long time in the dark, contemplating her next move. Her suitcase and purse were upstairs as well as her coat, passport, money, everything. Sooner or later she would have to face Finn.
She crossed her arms and looked out into the street. It was misty outside, there was not a soul out there and not a sound. The pub was still warm, even though the wood fires had burned down and the crowds had long gone. She pictured Finn's face when he punched Jonathan. She felt no remorse at seeing him fall backwards in pain. He deserved it, she knew that, but she was surprised at how she no longer cared about Jonathan. She was glad to never have to see his face again and she didn't need a period of mourning for the end of their relationship. It was all built on a lie and worth nothing to her.
The pain she felt was because she had not come clean with Finn straight away. He would have understood. In her heart she was sure about one thing, Finn would never treat her the way Jonathan had.
She heard a creak in the dark and became nervous as she was in near darkness on her own. Turning back she saw a tall figure coming towards her.
“Finn, you're here,” she said. “I've been down here trying to find the courage to come to you.”
“I wondered if you'd left but then I remembered, I have all your things upstairs.”
He stood in front of her, a glimmer from a street lamp lit the side of his face. He was sad. She had never seen him look like this. Earlier she'd seen pure anger and she was guilty for putting him through this.
“I'm sorry, Finn. Going back to New York was a spur of the moment decision. I just went with it. It seemed like the right thing to do.”
“So you weren't even going to say goodbye?”
“I took the coward’s way out. It was easier. I had, I have, strong feelings for you and I was confused. I thought going home would help me be clear in my mind what it was I was really feeling.”
“About Jonathan?”
“Yes, that, and what's been going on between me and you. I kept saying to myself, if I'm supposed to be with Jonathan, then why is Finn the one I keep seeing every time I close my eyes. Why is it your face I see when I wake up?”
“Well I know exactly how I feel about you. I love you, Marsha. I can't believe I'm about to lose you.”
“I'm still here.”
“But not for long. I was a fool. You're just passing through here. I didn't know what I was thinking. You know, when I saw you that first night, I knew all I wanted to do was protect you. Wrap my arms around you and tell you that everything was going to be all right. I tried to make it alright. It was too much to expect you to feel the same. You're in a relationship.”
“Not anymore. It's over between me and Jonathan. Don't think for one minute I'm going back to that bastard.”
“That's good to hear,” he said.
“So?”
“So, what?”
“What happens now?”
He looked around the pub and then at his watch.
“This is what happens now.”
He walked Marsha to the side of the bar where a large bunch of mistletoe dangled overhead.
“Merry Christmas, Marsha. It's Christmas day and, no matter how it happened, you're here with me for now and the rest...well, we'll just have to see where it takes us.”
She smiled up at him and slipped her arms around his waist, while he took her face in his hands and bent to kiss her lips.
“You've been so kind to me, Finn. I shouldn't have run out on you like that. I should have said goodbye.”
“Don't say goodbye to me tonight, Marsha.”
He her through the open hatch of the bar by the hand. They walked slowly into the light of the corridor and up the staircase leading to his flat. They took the steps in unison, still holding hands although hers were trembling slightly.
“You alright, Marsha?”
“Yes, I'm more than that.”
Once they'd gotten to the top of the landing, he turned out the light and he walked her towards the living room. She stopped.
“You sure you're alright?” he asked again.
“Just fine,” she smiled and looked over her shoulder towards his bedroom.
He smiled and picked her up.
“Finn, I'm too heavy to carry.”
“I'm the all-Ireland weight lifting champion. No weight is too heavy for me.”
“Cheeky!”
There was a dim lamp on in his bedroom on a side table by the bed. The bed was just by the door and Finn lay Marsha on it. The curtains were open onto the street and Marsha looked out into the misty sky. Finn lay on his side very close to her, held her and then leaned over to kiss her. His kiss was deeper, more expressive than downstairs beneath the mistletoe. She felt a wave of heat pass through her lower abdomen and culminate in an intense feeling just that bit lower.
Marsha pulled his face closer to her, arching her neck to allow a deeper penetration of his tongue which glided with a loving familiarity inside her mouth. She stroked the back of his neck, reaching upwards and clasping locks of his hair between her fingers. She pulled at the t-shirt he wore, working it upwards to reveal a taut stomach and a thin trail of dark hair that sunk below the waistband of his tight fitting jeans.
Rolling off her, he removed the rest of his clothes as she did the same. His eyes never left her smooth, slender body. When she was naked he lunged for her full breasts, p
ulling them into his mouth, sucking and biting as she lost control and let her body make a rippling movement below his.
He slowed the pace by licking the dark area of her nipples. They were erect and expectant as once again he widened his lips and surrounded her breasts with his whole mouth.
Now he kissed the skin on her abdomen. Holding the sides of her body, he positioned his tongue against her waiting body, sending flicks and waves of excitement through her until she was gasping for him to be inside her right then and there.
He pulled her onto him and kissed her with desperation now, their breath loud and heavy, the scenes of earlier that evening long forgotten by both of them.
They were lost in each other.
