He’d been glad, so glad when she’d asked him to come home, and although their relationship was different from before, it wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, they had great fun at times, especially with the kids. He was dying to see how they performed at the wedding today. They were lovely children and he felt that he and Maggie were making a good job of rearing them, and that was the important thing.
Maybe the ceremony would bring back memories of their own wedding and the fun they had. Maybe they’d get back together as man and wife in the biblical sense tonight, he thought, ever the optimist. Whistling cheerfully, Terry hoovered up the mess his adored daughter had created. He could hear shrieks emanating from the bathroom where the three females of the house were bathing.
‘Women! The racket they make!’ Michael raised his eyes to heaven again, as he arrived to give his father a hand.
Terry smiled at the apple of his eye. ‘We men just have to stick together, don’t we, son?’
‘You can say that again,’ Michael replied fervently, giving his dad a dig in the ribs. ‘Come on, Dad, put your dukes up. Let’s make as much noise as them,’ he yelled. He roared laughing as Terry picked him up in his arms and started to tickle him.
‘Here she comes,’ Caroline exclaimed, as the gleaming white Rolls-Royce drove majestically up to the church.
‘Oh Mammy! Oh look!’ Mimi was beside herself with excitement as she danced up and down.
‘Mammy, just tell me again. I walk behind Mimi and Shona?’
‘That’s right, Michael. And Auntie Caroline and I walk behind you.’ The three children looked so beautiful, Michael in his suit and the girls in their matching apple-green-and-white-patterned dresses, white shoes and socks and carrying baskets of roses. Caroline and she wore raw silk, apple-green, off-the-shoulder gowns, with yards of skirt billowing in the breeze.
A ripple of anticipation ran through the church, and, up at the altar, Luke loosened the knot of his tie ever so slightly.
Caroline helped Devlin out of the car, arranging the beautiful white brocade of the dress so that it fell correctly over the hoop and stiff petticoats.
Devlin grinned. ‘If I don’t break my neck in this yoke, I’ll be doing well. Is Luke here?’
‘Of course he’s here.’ Maggie grinned back. ‘And the poor fella is so nervous. Get up that aisle quickly and put him out of his misery.’
‘Are we right, then?’ Devlin took a deep breath and smiled at her father. ‘Don’t gallop,’ she warned him. ‘Hurry on,’ she said to the photographer. ‘My husband-to-be is nervous.’
Fortunately the photographer knew his stuff. A few minutes later the organ began to play and a hush descended on the congregation as Devlin, looking radiant in her fairytale gown, glided up the aisle on her father’s arm. Luke turned to greet her, and when their eyes met, it was as if no-one else existed for them. The glance lasted for just a few seconds but for Devlin that was the moment of their marriage.
Gerry kissed her and shook hands with Luke, and Devlin turned to smile at Lydia in the front seat. Her mother was dabbing at her eyes with a fine lace handkerchief, but when she saw her daughter smiling at her she beamed back and Devlin gave her a little wink. Behind her, she could hear whispers as Maggie told her children what to do next. Devlin handed her bouquet to Caroline, and Maggie joined them up at the altar.
The three friends were together yet again at a special moment in the life of one of them. Devlin smiled at the other two, and they at her, and then she turned to Luke. He took her hand in his, and the priest welcomed them all in the sight of God, to give love and support as Luke and Devlin vowed eternal fidelity as man and wife.
It was a beautiful, moving, spiritual service and when Luke placed the wedding band on her finger, Devlin felt she would burst with happiness. As she walked down the aisle, out into the bright sunlight, holding Luke’s hand tightly, Devlin sent up a special little prayer to her daughter.
‘Are you all right, Mrs Reilly?’ Luke murmured.
‘Oh yes, Luke, I’m just fine.’ She flung her arms around him outside the church and hugged him tightly. ‘I love you,’ she whispered.
‘I love you too.’ His amber eyes smiled down into hers and then they were being showered with confetti before being embraced and congratulated by all. Maggie and Caroline looked on, smiling broadly, as their best friend almost disappeared in a welter of hugs and kisses.
To be continued . . .
Patricia Scanlan
A Time for Friends
When are the boundaries of friendship pushed too far, and when is it time to stop flying over oceans for someone who wouldn’t jump over a puddle for you? There comes a time when Hilary Hammond has to make that call.
Hilary and Colette O’Mahony have been friends since childhood, but when irrepressible Jonathan Harpur breezes into Hilary’s life and goes into business with her, Colette is not best pleased.
After their first encounter Colette thinks he’s a ‘pushy upstart’ while he thinks she’s ‘a snobby little diva’. And so the battle lines are drawn and Hilary is bang in the middle.
But as the years roll by and each of them is faced with difficult times and tough decisions, one thing is clear . . . to have a friend you must be a friend.
And that’s when Hilary discovers that sometimes your best friend can be your greatest enemy . . .
Patricia Scanlan
With All My Love
On a crystal clear Mediterranean day, Briony McAllister sits playing with her four-year-old daughter, Katie, while she waits for her mother, Valerie, to join them. Valerie has recently moved to a picturesque town in southern Spain to finally leave behind her turbulent past and find a peace that has always eluded her. Briony has no idea that in a few moments’ time her relationship with her mother will change irrevocably.
As Katie plays, Briony pulls from her bag an old photo album, found in a box in her mother’s new home. As she begins to study the faded photos, a letter falls to the ground. It is addressed to her.
My Darling Briony, it begins. As Briony reads the words with mounting shock, realisation dawns. Her mother lied to her about what happened with her beloved grandmother Tessa all those years ago – and denied Briony that most precious of relationships, the type of relationship Valerie now enjoys with Katie.
The lives of three generations of women are set to change forever as the past is revisited and the truth unfolds through the undelivered letters Tessa wrote to Briony over the years. Secrets, lies, betrayals and sacrifices – the complex bonds between mothers, daughters and granddaughters are intricately explored as Patricia Scanlan takes us into the hearts and homes of a family at war.
City Woman Page 50
