The Heartbreak Cafe

by Melissa Hill

  The older woman looked flustered. ‘Nina, such a question!’

  ‘Hey, it doesn’t bother me one way or the other – they’re not together now so why should it make a difference? Seriously.’

  ‘Well,’ Ella sighed, ‘I believe there was some effort to make things… legitimate, but truthfully I think they would have married regardless. She was like a queen to him, he loved her very much and she loved him too. Don’t ever let anyone convince you otherwise.’

  Nina felt guilty for being so harsh to her father. ‘So why did they split up then?’

  ‘Lookit, I really don’t think it’s my place to talk to you about this stuff, it is private after all. Maybe you should ask your mum?’ Ella looked hopeful that Nina wouldn’t press her.

  She sighed. ‘I’ve asked her, but she never gets into specifics. I just feel I have a right to know – they are my parents after all.’

  ‘I suppose sometimes people just can’t work things out. Anyway, what does it matter, they both love you very much, don’t they?’

  If you could call Patrick’s behaviour ‘love’, Nina thought uncharitably.

  ‘I suppose so, but it still doesn’t explain why they split up and –’ but before she could continue the door opened and their first customer of the day arrived.

  ‘Ah hello there, good morning!’ Ella called out in greeting.

  A blush automatically rose on Nina’s face.

  It was Dave.

  ‘Hey there,’ he said grinning flirtatiously at her, as Ella went out back to get something. ‘Told you I’d call in for a doughnut one day.’

  ‘Well, you’ve definitely come to the right place,’ Nina said smiling right back.

  Chapter 21

  ‘So we’re renting a huge villa with its own pool, and plan to have barbecues every night….’ Jess smiled as on the other end of the phone Deirdre was explaining about the family’s upcoming holiday in Tenerife. ‘Oh I really can’t wait Jess, it’ll be great fun and of course we won’t have to worry about babysitters because all the kids will be together and – ’

  ‘What you mean ‘all the kids’?’ Jess asked, puzzled. ‘

  ‘Oh didn’t I mention that Emer and Dave are coming too? And little Amy of course. We have it all planned out and it’ll be great. As I said, barbecues and wine every night – it’ll be bliss.’

  ‘Oh.’ Jess’s heart sank, imagining the two couples sharing wine and food al fresco and enjoying each other’s company while the kids were in bed.

  It would be just like old times, the way the six of them used to get together here in Dublin back in the days before the others had families. ‘That sounds lovely.’

  ‘It does, doesn’t it? Of course Amy is still a bit young for flying, but I’m sure she’ll be fine and if all goes well we’ll probably do it every year, it’ll be great for the kids and of course no better than Emer and Dave for the craic …’

  And Jess was faced once again with the prospect of her and Brian being left out of all this ‘craic’.

  ‘I mean, we’d have asked you and Brian, but I know he’s always off to fancy places so he probably wouldn’t be interested in boring old Tenerife …’ It was as if Deirdre had suddenly become conscious of the fact that Jess might be feeling left out.

  ‘No, no, it’s fine, and actually we’ve already booked something for later this year, remember I was telling you we were thinking about Borneo?’

  They hadn’t actually done anything other than talk about it, but Jess didn’t want Deirdre to feel obliged to invite them. Best to let her think they wouldn’t be interested anyway.

  ‘Exactly, that’s what I thought. And I’m sure you’d much rather see real orangutans that have to put up with Amy’s carry-on! Seriously though, did you notice how brazen she is these days?’ she went on, her voice low and conspiratorial. ‘Always looking for attention and Emer never disciplines her, but I’ll tell you one thing, if she starts throwing those tantrums in our villa then I’ll be sure to say something.’ Again, there was that competitive streak – as in my child is developing faster or is better behaved, and Jess wondered if the holiday in Tenerife would in reality be as heavenly as she was imagining.

  ‘I can’t say I have, although I’m sure it must be a struggle to keep up with her now that she’s started crawling,’ she replied diplomatically.

  ‘Yes,’ Deirdre sounded disappointed that Jess hadn’t taken the bait for a bit of mummy-bashing. ‘Anyway, I’d better go, Kevin will be home soon and the place is in a state and he hates that. Honestly, you’d swear I had nothing better to do all day than dust and clean, but I suppose I’d better make the effort,’ she groaned. ‘Men have it easy I reckon.’

  Jess smiled. ‘They sure do. Anyway, thanks for phoning and I’ll see you soon.’

  ‘Yes, come down and meet us for coffee next week if you can? Would be great to have a proper catch-up to see how things are with you – find out if anything’s stirring,’ she giggled, and Jess rolled her eyes, now beginning to regret she’d ever said anything to Deirdre about trying for a baby.

  Hanging up the phone she checked her watch. It was six-thirty on a Friday evening. Might as well have a glass of wine while waiting for Brian to get home from work. While these days she and her husband were getting on reasonably well, there was still this unspoken rift between them, and the subject of children hadn’t been touched on since their last discussion.

  If only he could understand that this ‘sudden obsession’ as he called it wasn’t about the girls but more about Jess holding up a mirror to her life, to their lives and finding something wanting. While she was prepared to admit, as she had to Nina recently, that the girls’ opinion did have something to do it, it wasn’t all about that. It was more about Jess and Brian and where their lives were headed, and she really felt that if Brian could see how fun and wonderful family life could be he would understand exactly where she was coming from.

  Pouring herself a glass of merlot, Jess went outside to her small patio, thinking about her recent encounter with Nina. She’d enjoyed their little chat over coffee last week; Nina was a nice girl, very approachable and as soon as Jess had spotted her in M&S the penny had dropped. Granted finding her in the maternity wear department was probably a bit of a giveaway, but in truth there was no mistaking the burgeoning tummy, and slightly puffy face, not to mention her immense embarrassment at being recognised.

  Seeing Nina’s obvious discomfort, Jess wasn’t going to say anything until she’d mentioned something about not being able to drink, which suggested the pregnancy wasn’t a secret. Perhaps she shouldn’t have been so forthright, but for some reason Jess really wanted to find out if her suspicions were correct.

  And there it was; a woman with no partner, and no desire to have children was pregnant, while she, who had a loving husband and the ideal life in which to raise a child, wasn’t. Although perhaps the loving husband part was possibly stretching that a bit these days.

  Jess looked around at her and Brian’s beautifully manicured garden thinking that it would be ideal for children to run around in. As it was they rarely used it, except on the odd sunny day like today, and even then they only used the patio for drinks or barbecues and whenever Brian felt like making his ‘world famous pina coladas’.

  She thought about Emer and Deirdre and the fun the families would all have together at the villa in Tenerife. Just like they’d all had fun at Emer’s house that time on her birthday. She recalled the way the couples used to get together for big barbecues in summers gone by; it had been ages since she and Brian had done something like that that wasn’t work related.

  Then suddenly the thought struck her. Why shouldn’t they hold a barbecue or a garden party and invite all their friends, including or perhaps especially those with kids?

  She could invite Deirdre and Kevin, and Emer and Dave along with their children here for a party, and then Brian would be able to see firsthand all the fun and joy that the kids brought to their parent’s lives. He would reali
se how proud Kevin was of his boys and how much enjoyment they had together, and you only had to take one look at Dave with Amy to realise that she was a daddy’s girl through and through.

  Yes, that’s what she would do, Jess thought, feeling almost light-headed at this truly inspired idea. She was convinced that once Brian saw things the way she’d been seeing them that he would change his mind, and begin thinking seriously about starting a family. Especially given the fact that Brian wasn’t sold on the idea because he could so far only think about the negatives.

  Feeling energised, she stood up and went back into the kitchen to grab her BlackBerry. She scrolled through her calendar, wondering what would be the perfect date. She’d have to consult with Brian and the others, but she was sure a couple of Saturdays from now would be good. She smiled to herself and started to go through her address book, trying to find enough people to invite to the party; the only prerequisite for receiving an invitation was to have a child to bring along, Jess decided.

  Now she couldn’t wait for Brian to get home from work. She topped up her wine and took another glass out of the cupboard, ready for her husband upon his return.

  She was sure Brian would agree it was about time they took control of their social life and made more of an effort with their friendships.

  A garden party – how perfect? Jess couldn’t wait to fill him in on all the details.

  Chapter 22

  Weeks passed in the blink of an eye for Ruth, and she seemed to be falling into step with the routine she had established in Lakeview. After finding out about her pregnancy, she had eventually managed to pull herself out of her self-imposed isolation at her parent’s and started getting out of the house and occasionally meeting up for a chat with Nina at the cafe, or going power-walking with her mother.

  ‘It’s good to see you coming out of yourself a bit,’ Breda commented and Ruth knew her parents had been very worried about her in the aftermath of the media scrum that accompanied her arrival.

  ‘Good to see you putting on a few pounds too,’ her dad said, which was somewhat more worrying as it meant that there was little chance of her pregnancy remaining unnoticed for too much longer. ‘You were nothing but skin and bone when you came here first. Lollipop heads – isn’t that what they call them in heat?’ he said to her mother and Ruth had to laugh at the idea of Ollie reading celebrity magazines.

  Then again, her parents had always tried to keep on eye on her; even it was just through the glossy pages. Goodness knows she hadn’t really given them the opportunity to do so in person. She was enjoying spending quality time with them too, reading quietly in the garden with her father, or going shopping and watching TV with her mother. It was a peaceful existence and a massive contrast to the life she’d lived in LA up to now.

  Ruth had been keeping that life at arm’s length too. The cruel treatment she’d experienced from the paparazzi upon her return had stopped when they discovered her going about her days and quietly leading a suburban existence, and in the meantime they’d lost all interest in her and left to chase the antics of Paris Hilton in the Med. What surprised Ruth the most about this was she was certain she’d be somewhat peeved about their lack of interest, but instead she was appreciating the peace and quiet. There had been a couple of polite emails from Erik asking how she was, and a few brief and unimportant messages from Chloe, but other than that nothing. And more to the point, nothing at all from Troy.

  She hadn’t yet mentioned a thing to anyone other than Charlie about the baby. She had accidentally come close to it once or twice with Nina but had checked herself just in time.

  As far as Charlie went, well, she had seen him a few times around town and while something in his eyes changed when he looked at her, he generally kept his distance. She wasn’t sure if she should be hurt by this – in that he had obviously thought about her situation and chosen not to get close to her – or if she should be relieved by the fact that she wouldn’t have to complicate her life further.

  As far as the father of her child went, she couldn’t help but laugh with distaste. Barely a week after she’d told Troy she was pregnant, he was photographed sucking face in public with some new starlet who was being called the next Scarlett Johannsen. All Ruth could do was shake her head at the absurdity of it all and again she was surprised by how distanced she felt from LA and her old crazy lifestyle.

  In the meantime, she’d thought it prudent to see a doctor, and discovered she was in perfect health and her pregnancy was so far totally normal. Although the GP Jim Kelly was local, he was old school, and Ruth trusted that he would honour doctor-patient confidentiality and respect her privacy.

  Actually she prayed he would.

  Tonight she was meeting Nina and Trish for dinner locally, and was looking forward to going out and having some fun. She wouldn’t be able to drink of course, and hoped the girls wouldn’t notice anything, but she’d already thought of a cover story – namely a new diet she was trying.

  She’d agreed to meet the girls at The Steakhouse, and as she was still rather self-conscious of being out and about on her own, her dad had agreed to give her a lift as far as Main Street. She knew she looked good though; she wore her hair up and was wearing a tulip dress from Gwen Stefani’s line, which looked modern and funky but was cleverly designed to hide her now-burgeoning figure. Her frame was so tiny that now, barely ten weeks in, she could already see herself beginning to show.

  The girls were already at the restaurant when she arrived and they waved as she approached the table. While Ruth still hadn’t quite forgiven Trish for some of the remarks she’d made in that article for the paper, she knew Trish probably couldn’t help ramping up the drama for the benefit of her readers. It was how the media worked after all. And Ruth knew better than to let anyone think she’d hit any nerves. First and foremost, she was a professional. .

  ‘Hey there,’ she said, enthusiastically greeting them both with air kisses. To her satisfaction she noticed Trish gazing enviously at her clothes. Her former classmate hadn’t an ounce of style, and tonight she looked boring and ordinary in generic black trousers and a drab lime green top that did nothing for her. Nina by contrast looked beautiful; dressed in a gorgeous pattered shift that highlighted her dark colouring and her hair fanned out prettily around her shoulders.

  ‘I love your dress,’ she said sitting down beside Nina.

  ‘Thanks, it’s new actually.’

  ‘Where did you get it?’ Trish asked. ‘I haven’t seen anything like that in Connolly’s or Kramer’s lately,’ she said, referring to the town’s main clothing stores.

  Nina reddened a bit. ‘Oh I got it in Dublin actually,’ she said almost as if she’d spoken out of turn, Ruth noticed.

  ‘Really? I didn’t know you’d gone to Dublin. When were you there?’ As usual the questions from Trish came thick and fast, and Ruth wondered if it was just force of habit from the journalism, or was she always that inquisitive?

  ‘Um, a couple of weeks ago. I had a few things to do there.’

  ‘You should have told me, we could have gone together and I could do with some new stuff.’

  ‘Ah, it was only a last minute thing, and I knew you were busy with work.’

  ‘How come it was last minute?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You said it was a last minute thing. Was there some kind of emergency or problem or something?’

  ‘Trish really,’ Ruth interjected with a light laugh. ‘Talk about the Inquisition!’

  ‘Oh sorry,’ she replied, with what seemed like genuine chagrin, and Nina gave Ruth a grateful look.

  ‘Truthfully, I had a day off and I needed a couple of things so I decided to take the bus. I couldn’t really find anything I liked here.’

  ‘I know what you mean,’ Ruth said groaning. ‘I’ll have to go on a shopping expedition myself soon, as the stuff I have won’t fit …in – around here I mean.’ She paused, horrified by her inadvertent slip of the tongue and hoped she’d rescued it in ti
me.

  ‘I can imagine,’ Trish said grinning. ‘I suppose designer dresses and fancy shoes are wasted on Lakeview.’

  ‘No, that’s not what I meant. More the fact that all my LA stuff is much more suited to warmer weather.’ She gave a meek smile. ‘It’s been so long since I was home, I’d almost forgotten we don’t really do summers here.’

  ‘You can say that again,’ Nina laughed and the waiter came to take their drink orders.

  ‘Are we all having wine?’ Trish asked and to Ruth’s surprise Nina shook her head. ‘I’m on duty at Ella’s tomorrow,’ she said.

  ‘Ah go on – one glass won’t kill you,’ the other woman replied and Nina shrugged. ‘OK then, maybe just the one but that’s it.’

  ‘Great, a bottle of the house plonk sound OK to you Ruth?’

  ‘Actually …’ Ruth looked at the waitress. ‘Could you just bring me a glass of water with lemon? And at room temperature please, not chilled.’

  The waitress didn’t bat an eyelid and if anything looked delighted with this bona fide LA-style request. ‘No problem,’ she grinned, moving away.

  Trish and Nina were staring at her. ‘What?’ she asked. ‘I don’t drink usually. Way too many calories and I need to keep an eye on my weight.’

  ‘Yes, I noticed you’d filled out a bit since you got back,’ Trish commented in typical forthright fashion, but Ruth was pleased; it merely meant that her diet cover story would work all the better.

  ‘Ruth, she’s joking!’ Nina said hastily, looking sideways at Trish. ‘You’re still only tiny.’

  ‘No, no she’s right. I’ve gone up to a size two since I got here as Mum keeps force-feeding me carbs – and she keeps forgetting that I’m lactose-intolerant,’ she trilled, feeling almost as if she was back playing a part, and she noticed Nina and Trish exchange amused glances.

  ‘So how is everything, Ruth?’ Nina asked, after the drinks were brought to the table. ‘Are you missing the LA lifestyle?’