City Woman

by Patricia Scanlan

  ‘I half-expected you to be gone, you know,’ Adam said, half-seriously, half-joking, as he placed the glass of shandy in front of her.

  ‘It was touch-and-go,’ she admitted, taking a satisfying draught of the cool tart drink.

  ‘What made you stay?’

  ‘I was thirsty,’ she said flippantly and met his steady gaze. ‘I stayed because I wanted to, more than anything in the world.’ The look in his eyes made her catch her breath.

  ‘I missed you like hell: all I could think of was coming home to see you again.’ Adam gave a deep sigh. ‘Maggie, I don’t know what you’ve done to me. All I know is that I’m as confused as bedamned.’ He sat down, took a gulp of his beer and put his glass down. His eye caught the cover in front of him.

  ‘Hey! Hey! What’s this?’ A stunned look crossed his face and then he was leaping out of his chair and pulling her to her feet. ‘You’re being published! You did it! Oh Maggie, Maggie, Maggie, I’m so proud of you.’ She was enveloped in a bear-hug that squeezed the breath out of her lungs and she hugged him back, wishing the moment would never end.

  ‘I want to hear everything,’ he said, his eyes dancing with delight. They sat down again and Maggie, unable to keep the grin off her face, told him all that had happened from the moment she had sent off her precious manuscript to Enterprise Publishing until her lunch meeting that day with Sandra and Carol.

  ‘This is unbelievable,’ he kept saying over and over. ‘You’re going to be published. I always knew you could do it, Maggie, you’ve got real talent. It’s just great.’

  ‘I feel I’m in a bit of a dream myself,’ Maggie confessed. ‘I shouldn’t really be here at all, you know. I’ve still got rewrites to do and my editor is screaming for them.’

  ‘The famous deadline strikes again. It’s a different ball-game when contracts are signed, isn’t it?’ Adam reflected. ‘You’re not doing it for fun any more, Maggie; it’s big business now.’

  ‘Yes, it’s a bit scary when you think of all the money that’s being spent.’

  ‘Ah, scary nothing, Maggie Ryan. You’re well able for it. Publishers aren’t the St Vincent de Paul, you know: they don’t do these things for charity. They know bloody well they’ve got a bestseller on their hands and of course they’re going to spend a lot of money promoting it and you. Otherwise they would never publish so soon after taking it on. And why? Because there’s money in it for them – that’s what they’re in business for.’

  ‘Mmm, maybe you’re right, I hadn’t thought of it like that,’ Maggie said cheerfully. ‘I know nothing about publishing.’

  ‘Well, lady, it’s time you learned because it’s going to be your scene for quite some time to come.’ He drained his glass. ‘Would you like another drink?’

  Maggie shook her head. ‘Oh look, Adam,’ she said, pointing, ‘look at the bride. She must be having her pictures taken in the Botanic Gardens. God, I haven’t been there since I was a child.’ They watched a bride in a flowing white gown step out of a white Rolls-Royce. Her veil fluttered and the lemon-gowned bridesmaids fussed around, their laughter carried on the summer breeze.

  ‘Come on and we’ll go for a stroll before we have something to eat.’ Adam stood up and reached out a hand to pull her to her feet. Lightheartedly, Maggie stood up. What a lovely way to spend a summer’s afternoon, she thought happily. They crossed the busy road and walked towards the big dark green wrought-iron gates. ‘I must bring the children here some day,’ Maggie said as she watched a child in front of her skip excitedly towards the little drinking-fountains. They had always been a source of great fun when Maggie and her brothers had been brought to the gardens as part of their annual visit to the city. Immaculate beds of flowers and shrubs dotted the lush emerald lawns and ahead of them the great domed curve of the glasshouses glittered like diamonds in the afternoon sun. The bridal party stood under a magnificent oak tree as the photographer arranged the bride’s train to his satisfaction and one of the bridesmaids sneaked a quick puff of a fag.

  Adam and Maggie stood with other onlookers admiring the scene for a time and then, taking her hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world, Adam led her along the winding path towards the river. Maggie smiled as she saw a sign outside one of the glasshouses saying that perambulators were not allowed. ‘Look, Adam, even the signs are still the same. It’s so Victorian, isn’t it?’

  ‘You should bring the children here in the autumn; they’d love it! The trees are glorious and the leaves underfoot are so crunchy and crisp. I’ve often seen red squirrels collecting nuts.’

  ‘It’s shameful, really, not making the most of the amenities we have in the city. I’m always a bit wary in the Phoenix Park, which isn’t that far from us. This is much nicer: there’s no traffic, it’s really peaceful and it’s free! Definitely, when we come back from Wicklow, I’m going to bring them here for an afternoon.’

  They walked on under the leafy trees as Adam told her about his work in the UK and how Telecom were offering yearly contracts for people who wanted them. ‘The money’s great, but I missed my friends and I missed you.’ They had reached the rose-garden and the heady scent of the hundreds of blossoming roses enveloped them. Maggie leaned her head on his shoulder.

  ‘I missed you too, Adam. I tried hard to put you out of my head. I couldn’t. I know I shouldn’t be here with you but I don’t care any more. It’s like hitting my head off a stone wall with Terry: he has no idea of the emotional support I should be getting from him. He has never given it and he never will – marrying him was a big mistake in my life. I care for him; anybody who knows Terry couldn’t but. But I don’t love him any more. When I got the news about being published, you were the first person I wanted to tell. I don’t know what it is about you, Adam, but you seem to know what’s in my mind; you understand about my writing – you just seem to understand me.’ She smiled up at him. ‘And, boy, am I confused . . .’

  ‘Don’t ask me to explain it, Maggie, because I can’t. We just clicked that first time we met. You do that with people sometimes. With you I feel free to be totally myself and that’s a rare thing. I feel we’ve known each other for a lifetime and I wish to God you weren’t married.’ Adam looked dejected.

  ‘Well I am, and there’s nothing can be done about that. I have three children to think of, but, Adam, I’m entitled to some happiness! We all make mistakes but that doesn’t mean we have to stop living or that we’re never entitled to another moment’s happiness. I’m making a fresh start in my life today. I want you to be in it. You know how I’m fixed; you know the constraints I’ll be under. What you decide is entirely up to you, Adam.’ Maggie looked him straight in the eye.

  For answer, Adam bent his head and very gently kissed her on the lips. A light, soft, sensuous kiss that took her breath away and made her long for more.

  ‘Let’s go home,’ he said huskily.

  ‘Oh yes,’ Maggie murmured against his mouth, opening her lips wider as his tongue teased her lips and the soft inside of her mouth before flicking gently against the moist velvet of her own tongue. They parted, dazed. ‘You know where the house is; so follow me in your car and drive carefully,’ Adam instructed.

  ‘I’ll do my best,’ she said shakily. His kiss was unlike any other she had ever had and it shook her to the core of her being. Terry was always a very passionate aggressive lover and she had forgotten how erotic a very gentle, exploring kiss could be.

  They walked across the weir and back up between the glasshouses towards the exit. When they reached the car-park, Adam opened her door for her and before she got in he drew her to him. ‘Be happy,’ he breathed softly against her lips, making her want to taste him all over again. But he wouldn’t let her. Pressing his index finger softly against her mouth, he said, ‘Soon,’ and went over to his own car. Maggie was so aroused she had to calm herself by taking several deep breaths. Adam lived in a two-up-two-down redbrick house in Drumcondra, only five minutes away, which was just as well as Maggie drove in
a haze of desire, intent on being with him as soon as she could, and with scant care for the rules of the road. She parked behind him and followed him into his hall, aching to have his arms around her.

  ‘Do you want to eat first?’ he asked and she gave him a dig in the ribs.

  ‘Oh, Adam, stop teasing me,’ she said breathlessly.

  He laughed and, taking her hand, led her up the stairs. ‘I never do anything on the first date,’ he joked as he led her into the bedroom. ‘You’re an awful bad influence on me. I hope you’ll respect me in the morning.’

  ‘I will. I will.’ Maggie pulled him to her, hungry for him.

  They kissed again, a long slow lingering kiss that made her heart thud against her ribs as she arched herself against him. Very slowly he began to undress her, easing her dress off, brushing aside her bra straps with butterfly-light kisses as his mouth followed the wisps of lace down to the hollow between her breasts.

  ‘Oh Adam!’ she moaned in a frenzy of impatience, as she pulled off his shirt and, unbuckling his belt, drew his jeans down over his hips.

  ‘We’ve all the time in the world,’ he murmured as he unclipped her bra and let it fall to the floor. He tenderly caressed her breasts, his tongue flicking her nipples. The warmth of his breath made her burn with desire. He eased her down on the bed and lay down beside her, stroking and caressing her whole body. His lips following his fingers, under her breasts, over her belly, down along her inner thigh. Gently he stroked a finger inside the lacy wisps of her briefs and Maggie gasped with pleasure. He slid them down her legs with one hand, his other fingers tantalising her with feathery touches and caresses that made her groan in mindless pleasure. For a long time he kissed and caressed her so sensually and erotically, until the sensations were almost unbearable. Only then did he enter her, bringing her quickly to the most powerful orgasm she had ever experienced. Then he came too, his face buried in her hair, calling her name over and over.

  ‘I’d forgotten it could be so good,’ Maggie murmured, as she lay in the circle of his arms a little while later, totally relaxed and contented. As well as being such a generous lover, Adam was also very responsible when it came to contraception.

  Adam raised his head and gazed down at her, his hazel eyes warm as he studied her, glowing and flushed after their love-making, her tousled auburn hair so striking against the white of the pillow, her green eyes heavy-lidded and slumberous and sensual, her full red lips just asking to be kissed. ‘Maggie, you are so beautiful. You taste like honey, so sweet and wet and warm. We’ll just have to spend tonight reminding you of how good it can be, now won’t we?’ Bending his head, he parted her lips in a kiss that brought all those wondrous sensations rushing back.

  Twenty-Six

  ‘I can’t believe I did it; I can’t believe I went to bed with Adam but oh girls . . . it was lovely.’ Maggie was having lunch with her two friends and Devlin and Caroline were agog as she told them of the events of the previous day. ‘Do you think I’m awful?’ she asked a little uncertainly.

  Devlin shook her head. ‘No, Maggie, of course not. Just be careful. You could be letting yourself in for a lot of heartache.’

  ‘Well, Devlin, at least I’m prepared to take that chance,’ Maggie said calmly. ‘Adam cares for me a lot and I’m not pushing him away the way you’re pushing Luke away. Better to have loved and lost and all that. Loving and being loved is the most precious thing in the world.’

  ‘Don’t lecture me, Maggie,’ Devlin snapped.

  ‘OK.’ Maggie turned her attention to her Caesar salad.

  ‘I think it’s nice the way he is so supportive about your book.’ Caroline reached across and gave Maggie’s hand a squeeze. She bit her lip. ‘Richard and I are going for an annulment. Charles is dying of cancer and he’s going to Boston to be with his brother. Richard is going with him and will stay with him for as long as he’s needed; so I’m going to be on my own. Maggie, I think you’re dead right to have your affair with Adam. If someone loves you, make the most of it: grab it with both hands. There’s nothing worse than being alone, and you can be married to someone and be utterly lonely. I know; I was.’

  ‘Caroline, I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you tell us before now?’ Maggie was shocked. ‘You hadn’t made any decisions like that before we went away for our weekend and that was only a couple of weeks ago.’

  ‘I found out only when I came back from Wexford. Charles told Richard that very day. I think he’s right to go with him. Charles and he love each other and at a time like that you need all the love you can get. Poor Charles, he’s a lovely man. I’m going to miss him,’ Caroline said sadly.

  ‘What are you going to do?’ Devlin asked in concern.

  Caroline shrugged her shoulders and smiled. ‘Who knows? Grab life by the throat in my usual adventurous fashion,’ she said dryly.

  ‘If you need us, we’re here,’ Maggie said firmly. ‘Aren’t we, Devlin?’ She looked her friend in the eye.

  ‘Of course we are,’ Devlin said warmly. ‘And Maggie . . . I’m sorry I snapped.’

  ‘You should try and lighten up a little bit, Devlin, just for your own sake. Don’t let your business affairs overwhelm you. There’s more to life than work.’

  Devlin gave a wry smile. ‘Well, looking at you, that’s obvious. You arrived here grinning from ear to ear, whatever you were up to last night!’

  ‘Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it,’ Maggie said tartly. ‘Believe me, Devlin, a couple of long lustful nights with Luke is just what you need.’ She laughed as her friend’s jaw dropped. ‘Look, it’s not just about sex,’ Maggie explained. ‘Don’t think that for a minute. Even though that was terrific because Adam was totally concerned with my pleasure – which is a change for me, I can tell you. It’s the sharing and the support and the emotional sustenance that mean so much, especially when you haven’t had them for so long.’ She smiled at Caroline and Devlin. ‘It’s like being reborn. You probably think I’m as mad as a hatter. Maybe I’m not explaining it very well but for the first time in a long while I feel that I have some control of my life. There is happiness of a sort for me.’

  ‘And you deserve it more than anyone,’ Caroline affirmed.

  ‘Maggie, do you know something,’ Devlin laughed, ‘you’re an incorrigible romantic. Isn’t she, Caroline?’

  ‘One of us has to be,’ Caroline replied with a hint of a smile. ‘One of these days I’m going to go looking for a bit of romance myself – anything has to be an improvement on my experiences.’

  ‘Now that would make a novel for sure,’ Devlin murmured wickedly. ‘Could you imagine the reaction of the glitterati. The gossip columnists would have a field-day. The things they write about people. Mind, if they heard some of the things I’ve heard since opening up here, they’d be gobsmacked. Do you see your one over there in the pink-and-grey leggings? She’s married to Hugh McHugh the financier and they’re absolutely loaded. She spends her time shoplifting. She was caught trying to slip a silk camisole into her bag without paying for it down Grafton Street, and she’s notorious in town for it. And the one she’s talking to, Leslie Delahunty – she’s only six weeks married and she was caught by her husband in bed with her father-in-law. Maggie, I’m telling you: you need step no further than City Girl for inspiration for your novels.’

  ‘Whoever said “truth is stranger than fiction” sure knew what he was talking about,’ laughed Caroline. ‘Did you hear about Rita Dillon?’

  ‘Noooo!’ exclaimed the other pair. ‘What’s she done now?’

  The rest of the lunch was devoted to a very satisfying gossip as the three of them caught up on all the news that travelled like bushfire around the luxurious environs of Dublin’s most exclusive health and leisure complex. Finally, Maggie had to call a halt as she had told her mother she wouldn’t be too late in collecting the children. Nelsie had been very gracious about keeping her grandchildren overnight when Maggie had phoned her the previous evening to say she was unavoidably delayed in the city
. Knowing her mother, Maggie had no doubt that she would demand her pound of flesh at some date in the future. Nevertheless, she was grateful to her and didn’t want to take advantage.

  She hummed to herself as she sped down the Bray dual carriageway. There wasn’t much traffic and she was in Rathnew in less than an hour. She stopped at the supermarket and bought a box of Black Magic for Nelsie, who had a weakness for the dark chocolates, and some jelly babies and Smarties for the children. As she drove towards Brittas, she was sorry the journey was almost over. She had enjoyed it, particularly the solitude which she never seemed to have much of these days. It had been nice and relaxing listening to Ronan Collins on the radio playing romantic music, which brought back vivid memories of the passion and pleasure of the night before. A record of Elvis Presley singing ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ came on and Maggie sang away, thinking of Adam and how good it had been to spend the night with him. She had promised, that morning as they parted, to phone him daily, and if she could persuade her mother to take the children once more she intended going back up to Dublin to spend even an afternoon with him.

  Humming and smiling at the memories that were so fresh in her mind, Maggie drove into the site and drew up outside her mobile. She climbed out of the car and ran lightly up the steps of the veranda. She wanted to take off her posh dress and wear something more appropriate for the farm, as no doubt the kids would want to feed the hens and help with the milking. Vaguely, she noticed a little girl and a petite blonde woman on the end of the veranda surrounding the mobile opposite. Lady Muck must have arrived, she thought fleetingly, as she unlocked the door and rushed inside, undressing almost as she went. Ten minutes later, dressed in a pair of denim shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt and loafers, Maggie was racing down the steps again and into the car. She had been so anxious to get changed and on her way that she hadn’t noticed the look of shocked recognition on the face of her new neighbour.