City Woman

by Patricia Scanlan

  She tidied up and went outside. In the block to her left, she could see Caroline on her balcony.

  ‘Come on over,’ she called. ‘Mum’s been; I’ve loads to tell you.’ Caroline waved in acknowledgement, and ten minutes later the pair of them were sitting having coffee as Devlin confided in her friend the details of the long-awaited reunion.

  ‘I can’t believe it went so well, Luke.’ Devlin lay back on her lounger and watched the evening sun slant slowly over the Wicklow hills turning the waters of the bay to gold. She had called Luke to tell him all about the meeting with Lydia.

  ‘That’s great news. I’m delighted for you, Devlin.’ She knew he was smiling at the other end of the phone.

  ‘She’s so changed, you know, it’s hard to believe. She’s so much more—’ Devlin searched for an appropriate word, ‘—much more human. I was able to talk to her about Lynn and you know I never talk about my baby.’ Despite herself a tear rolled down her cheek.

  ‘That’s very good, Devlin,’ Luke said gently. ‘That will surely help a lot.’

  ‘It just hurts.’ Devlin’s voice wobbled. ‘But Mum said I should talk about Lynn much more. She’s done counselling and she says it’s very bad to keep things all bottled up inside.’

  ‘I’ve been telling you that for ages and Maggie and Caroline have been telling you too. You should listen!’ Luke urged.

  ‘Luke, will the pain ever go away?’ Devlin started crying, great big sobs that shook her body.

  ‘No, my darling, it won’t, but it will get easier. I promise you. Now that you’re facing it and acknowledging your loss you’re going to cope much better.’ Luke’s reassuring tones made her wish so much that he was there to hug and comfort her as only he could.

  ‘Are you all right, Devlin?’ she heard him ask in concern. She took a deep breath and sat up straight.

  ‘I’m OK. I guess it’s just talking about it that sets me off. That’s why I never talked about it before.’

  ‘You just keep talking as long as you need,’ Luke said. ‘I’ll always be here to listen.’

  ‘I know you will,’ Devlin said, comforted. ‘I love you, Luke.’

  ‘I love you, too,’ he echoed down the line.

  Later that evening, when her doorbell rang, Devlin was working on a speech that she had been invited to give to a women’s political association group. She glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall in surprise. It was nearly eleven o’clock. She wasn’t expecting anybody at this late hour. And she certainly wasn’t dressed to receive guests. She’d had a shower and got into her nightdress and dressing-gown about half an hour previously. Maybe it was Caroline wanting to stay the night. She often stayed when she was feeling a bit down.

  She went over to her intercom and pressed the button. It was a great invention, she reflected, as the screen focused on the entrance area. It gave great security too. You could see who was there and any caller didn’t have the same advantage.

  ‘Yes?’ Devlin ran her fingers through her hair and tied her robe around her.

  ‘Hello,’ said a familiar and much-loved voice.

  ‘Luke!’ Devlin exclaimed in pleasure as she saw him standing smiling into the camera. She pressed the buzzer and went out into the hall and sent the lift down to him. Two minutes later she was in his arms.

  ‘I just wanted to be with you. I hated your being upset, so I took a standby seat and here I am.’ He smiled down at her.

  Devlin was overwhelmed by joy at being loved so much. She hugged Luke tightly. All these years she had been searching for she knew not what. Now at this very moment, Devlin knew her search was over. She had found this faceless, nameless thing that had eluded her for so long. It was like coming home after a long, long voyage. A great peace enveloped her.

  ‘Come in, Luke. Come in,’ she cried, happier than she had ever been in her life.

  Seven

  ‘Well? What do you think?’ asked Arthur, beaming.

  ‘Looks good,’ assented Luke.

  ‘Good! I think it’s fantastic. You’ve got so much done since I was here last,’ Devlin declared, her eyes dancing with pleasure as she walked around the foyer of the Belfast City Girl. ‘And that was only two weeks ago! Arthur, you’re a genius.’ She turned to Luke. ‘Come on, you have to admit it: this man is a miracle-worker. You haven’t seen the place since the summer and look at it now. We’ll be opening soon.’ She rubbed her hands with glee.

  ‘We hope,’ Arthur said cautiously. ‘We’ve still got a problem with the swimming-pool filter and the damn suppliers of the gym equipment went bust, taking our deposit with them. But I’ve organized a new supplier, so we should be taking delivery of the gear next week.’

  ‘Do you think we’ll get our deposit back?’ Luke asked as he ran his hand along the grain of the shiny reception desk.

  ‘Ach, we haven’t a snowball’s chance in hell,’ Arthur grimaced. ‘They’ve left creditors from here to Donegal.’

  ‘You win some; you lose some,’ Devlin said, determinedly cheerful. True, there had been a few setbacks since they decided to go ahead with the project but opening up a new business was never all plain sailing.

  Luke winked at Arthur and grinned at Devlin. ‘Tell you what. You can pay Arthur and me back the deposit out of your share of the profits, seeing as you’re so unmoved by the loss of it.’

  ‘Ha, ha,’ Devlin retorted. ‘Come on. I want to see the beauty salon and the library.’ She led them up the green-and-grey-fern-patterned carpet to the first floor. The small library was an oasis of peace and quiet with plush sofas and easy-chairs arranged around an inviting fireplace. Lamps and vases spread around gave the room a domestic air and Devlin felt that the young Belfast interior designer she had commissioned to decorate City Girl had done a very impressive job. The whole tone of the building was one of discreet opulence.

  The beauty salon, which Aoibhinn had organized, looked superb. While it wasn’t as big as the Dublin City Girl salon, it was very well laid out, and the pretty pink-and-green curtains that fronted the individual cubicles and hung on the floor-to-ceiling windows gave the room a sunny atmosphere. Across the square, Devlin could see the Portland stone City Hall, its imposing Classical Renaissance copper dome the most familiar landmark in the city. The superbly laid-out gardens were ablaze with late autumn colours and Devlin thought they would be a lovely sight for clients as they were pampered by the beauticians and hairdressers.

  They had paid a lot of money for the building that now housed the Health and Leisure Centre but the three partners agreed that it was worth it. It was situated in the city centre, close to the new bus station, the exquisitely restored Opera House and the Europa Hotel. Northern Ireland Rail’s Central Station was less than a mile away. The trio agreed that the money had been well spent if only because of the building’s accessibility.

  After they looked around, chatted to the workmen, and saw what progress had been made, Arthur took them for coffee in the famous Crown Liquor Saloon, the Victorian pub that was in the care of the National Trust. Located at the start of what was known as ‘the Golden Mile’ of restaurants, bars and entertainment centres that led on to the elegant areas around Queen’s University and the Botanic Gardens, the Crown was full of atmosphere and charm.

  ‘Isn’t Belfast a very classy city?’ Devlin observed, as she gazed admiringly at the Opera House through the window.

  ‘The people of Belfast are very conscious of their heritage,’ said Arthur, as he paid the waiter who had arrived with their coffee. ‘You won’t catch them hauling down historic buildings the way they do willy-nilly in Dublin. I mean, how your Corporation got away with erecting those monstrosities they call the Civic Offices, after all the controversy about Christchurch and the sites surrounding it, is beyond me!’

  ‘That was outrageous,’ Devlin agreed, sipping her coffee. ‘The wishes of the people were ignored completely.’

  ‘Well, they wouldn’t have got away with it here. We wouldn’t have been allowed to change one sq
uare foot of the façade of City Girl, even if we had wanted to,’ Arthur said.

  ‘It’s a very elegant building anyway,’ Luke reflected. ‘It suits the ambience of City Girl very well. It’s not brash and brassy as a modern building might be. It’s very soothing, even reassuring, if you know what I mean. The Stephen’s Green building is in the same style. It would be interesting to see how a high-tech, California-style City Girl would do.’ He looked at Devlin questioningly.

  She wrinkled her nose. ‘It might suit the young types. But we have a very broad membership and I think our clients value the sense of leaving their cares behind and being petted and pampered in luxurious surroundings. I’ve seen some high-tech leisure centres. They’re not that relaxing, and I think relaxation is one of our main selling points.’

  ‘I think so, too. I’ve been getting very positive feedback about what we’re doing,’ Arthur said enthusiastically, ‘and the great thing is that I’m having no problem at all promoting it. Everybody’s very eager to get on the bandwagon because it’s new and different, and people think it’s going to work. I’ve three companies prepared to do an advertising promotion with display bins, posters, flyers and so on, and they’ll be stocked in the major multiples like Dunnes, Stewarts and Wellworths as well as the CTNs . . .’

  ‘The whats?’ Devlin had heard the term before but just couldn’t remember what it meant.

  ‘Sorry, lassie, I get carried away,’ Arthur chuckled. ‘The confectioners, tobacconists and newsagents.’

  ‘Oh, right,’ Devlin nodded.

  Arthur continued in his exuberant way: ‘The promotion will be the same in all three cases: there’ll be a competition with a main prize of a day in City Girl sampling all the services. It’s a great way of advertising and getting into people’s consciousness. And I’ve lined up Lynda Jayne to perform the opening and of course she’ll be doing an interview with you on Downtown. I’ve a publicist organizing the rest of the media interviews. We’ll be doing either Anderson on the Box or Kelly as well, and Sean Rafferty’s radio programme. So, lassie, you’re going to be up to your eyes. As we’re going to be opening before Christmas, I’m going to take up your suggestion of gift vouchers too.’

  ‘Maybe you should have special offers for the first month of operation,’ Luke suggested. ‘After all, the idea is to get customers in and talking about the place. We did that with the Dublin City Girl and it worked very well.’

  ‘Definitely,’ Devlin agreed. ‘And I want to get working on the corporate business; it’s really booming.’

  ‘Folks, we can’t fail,’ Arthur said, beaming. He was such an optimist, and Devlin was fond of him. ‘I’ll see you tonight for dinner, then.’ He stood up and held out his hand to Devlin and Luke. ‘Enjoy your lunch with Lynda and Florence. Tell them I’d have loved to come, but some of us have to work.’

  Back in their bedroom in the Europa Hotel, Devlin put her arms around Luke. ‘Well, what do you really think?’

  ‘What do I really think? Hmmm.’ He pretended to ponder. He smiled down at her. ‘Devlin, from the minute I heard you had targeted Belfast, I felt so sorry for the poor citizens . . . they’re not going to know what’s hit them and that’s the truth.’

  ‘Do you think it’s going to work?’ She thumped his chest.

  ‘Well, if it doesn’t it won’t be yours or Arthur’s fault: you’ve done a great job. Listening to Arthur, I can’t see how it can go wrong. But don’t forget, we are in the middle of a bloody awful recession.’

  ‘Yeah, but it hasn’t affected membership of City Girl: there are still people on the waiting list, and Belfast in parts is a very affluent city. Did you see those houses on the Malone Road? Mansions! I believe it’s called ‘‘Millionaires Row’’. There’s money here, Luke, as there is in every city. I think we’ll have no problem attracting customers.’

  ‘Well, the market research has certainly been pretty positive,’ Luke agreed. ‘We’ll know soon enough.’

  ‘It’s exciting though, isn’t it?’ Devlin’s eyes sparkled. She loved this kind of buzz: she was in her element plotting and planning and getting things moving.

  ‘You’re exciting,’ Luke said wickedly, tightening his arms around her.

  ‘We’ll be late for lunch,’ Devlin demurred.

  ‘We’ve lashings of time,’ Luke murmured, bending his head to kiss her.

  ‘My God! I’ll never get through all that,’ Florence exclaimed wide-eyed as a portion of lasagne that would have fed the four of them was placed in front of her.

  ‘I’m starving,’ Devlin declared, as she prepared to tuck into a mountain of scampi. Luke caught her eye knowingly and Devlin blushed. Fortunately Lynda Jayne who was sitting opposite her, at Luke’s side, was smiling at the waitress as she placed a steaming plate of ravioli in front of her. ‘I told you the food here was great,’ she laughed.

  They were having lunch in the Cultra Inn, which was set in the grounds of the magnificent Culloden Hotel, a classic nineteenth-century Scottish baronial palace. It was a beautiful place, recommended heartily by Arthur. Set in the wooded slopes of the Holywood hills, it had stunning views of Belfast Lough and the Antrim coastline. The inn itself was separate from the main hotel and it had a charming rustic atmosphere, emphasized by the black wooden beams and the small lanterns hanging from them. The atmosphere was very convivial and relaxed and Devlin sat back and prepared to enjoy herself. It was Luke’s first time to meet Lynda and Florence and they were all getting on like a house on fire.

  ‘Did you know that the hotel was once the official palace of the bishops of Down?’ Lynda said, as she attacked her ravioli with gusto.

  ‘Wow! Lucky old bishops!’ Devlin exclaimed enviously. ‘How come they always end up with a palace? Our fella in Dublin has one in Drumcondra.’

  ‘The Church must have been loaded,’ Luke remarked, ‘to have been able to afford a pile like this.’

  ‘You should see the beautiful antiques and paintings,’ Florence remarked, ‘and, Devlin, the Louis XV candeliers are out of this world. You and Luke should take a walk in the grounds after lunch and then have a drink in the Gothic Bar . . .’

  ‘. . . and you should take Luke home past Stormont,’ Lynda interjected. ‘At this time of the year it is something to behold. The trees have all turned and the colours are amazing.’

  Lynda and Florence declared that they were dying for the opening of the Belfast City Girl. Devlin knew that in Lynda’s capable hands the opening ceremony would be a great success. After they had gone, Devlin and Luke took their advice and strolled arm in arm through the picturesque grounds of the hotel and then down a quiet country lane that brought them right on to the shores of Belfast Lough.XX

  ‘Isn’t it beautiful here?’ Devlin gazed at the peaceful panorama. ‘You never see this side of the North. It’s always the horror of the Troubles.’

  ‘It’s hard to reconcile this with the sight of the soldiers and the armoured cars. I wonder how people ever get used to them?’ Luke mused. He found it hard to adjust to the military presence on the streets. Devlin, who had been a regular visitor to Belfast, had come to accept it.

  ‘I suppose you get used to anything,’ Devlin murmured. ‘I suppose it’s a case of having to. But it’s such a shame. The people are so friendly and helpful. One man said to me he’s lived here all his life and he’s never even been caught up in a bomb scare. But if it’s not bad news it will never get on TV.’

  ‘Well, that goes for most of the media worldwide. It’s in the nature of the beast, isn’t it?’ Luke expertly skimmed a flat stone across the waves. ‘I wonder would a newspaper that reported only good news sell at all?’

  ‘It could be our next venture,’ teased Devlin as she tried to copy him. But to her dismay her stone sank beneath the water without so much as one hop.

  ‘Let the expert show you how it’s done,’ Luke said smugly repeating his previous success.

  ‘Show-off!’ retorted Devlin, as she tried again and had the satisfaction of tw
o hops before her stone sank. Half an hour later she had mastered the skill, though only after much laughter and teasing.

  ‘I’m really enjoying myself,’ she said, smiling, as they walked back to the car.

  ‘Me too! We’ll have to go away somewhere for a few days that isn’t business.’

  ‘Definitely!’ Devlin agreed. ‘As soon as Belfast is up and running.’

  ‘I meant for Christmas,’ Luke said firmly.

  ‘OK,’ Devlin agreed, leaving her companion speechless.

  ‘Without even an argument?’ he murmured, hiding his amazement.

  ‘I’m a changed person, don’t forget!’ Devlin said with a grin. ‘I think I’d like to go to Bali.’

  ‘I was thinking in terms of somewhere a bit nearer, darling. Paris maybe. But if it’s Bali you want, then Bali you’ll have.’

  ‘I’ll get the brochures,’ Devlin laughed. She wasn’t serious, but it gave her a warm glow to know that if she really wanted to go to Bali, Luke would take her there. He really did spoil her.

  They drove back to Belfast via Stormont as Lynda had suggested and sat for a while admiring the stupendous view of Parliament House that both of them had seen so many times on television. The rolling lawns sweeping up to the bank of steps fronting the elegant white colonnaded building looked like something out of a picture postcard. The trees, green, gold and russet in their autumn glory, were breathtaking, and the sun, sinking in a red-gold orb behind the hills, turned the sky to crimson.

  ‘It’s very very impressive in real life, isn’t it?’ Luke murmured.

  ‘Mmm,’ Devlin agreed. ‘I’ll look at it with new eyes when I see it on the news now and say to myself, ‘‘I’ve been there.’’ I’m really glad you came to spend the few days in Belfast.’ Devlin leaned over and planted a big kiss on Luke’s cheek.