The Gift of Friends

by Emma Hannigan

  Pearl waved her hand, not wanting to chit-chat about the mess she’d made of her life.

  ‘Is that everything, then?’ she said. ‘You have all you need from me?’

  ‘Yes,’ Annmarie said, ‘but please be careful, Pearl. If there’s any hint of him coming near you, ring me immediately and I’ll get straight onto the local garda station. He’s a dangerous man, and you must think of him like that. I’m going to lodge an application with the court office for a barring order as well, so I’ll keep you updated on that.’

  Pearl nodded, the exhaustion flooding through her once again. ‘Thank you,’ she said, getting up stiffly. ‘I appreciate your help.’

  ‘I’m here to help,’ Annmarie said, standing up and shaking her hand.

  Outside in reception, Pearl rang the locksmiths again and got talking to a man called Paul, who arranged to meet her at the house that afternoon. She took out her little notebook and ticked some of the items off her list. It gave her a huge sense of satisfaction to see those little ticks, showing she’d actually done something sensible at last.

  When the taxi dropped her outside the hospital, she felt a huge urge to see Drew and hold him. She ran through the corridors, making her way towards her boy. When she reached his ward, he was sitting up in his bed, eating toast, with Tommy sitting on the bed chatting to him. Her heart swelled with love for these two incredible people.

  ‘Drew, my darling,’ she said, wrapping her arms around him. ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘Okay, yeah,’ Drew said, but his eyes were still troubled. ‘Good toast.’

  Pearl smiled. ‘I was just arranging things at home,’ she said, ‘and the doctor said we can leave soon, after they’ve given you a final check-up.’

  Drew reared back from her, his eyes wide. ‘No, no, no,’ he cried. ‘Not going home. I hate Daddy.’

  Pearl stroked his arm. ‘Daddy is gone,’ she said soothingly. ‘He’s gone. We’re not going to see him again, Drew, okay? Mummy told him to leave because he was mean to us. He won’t be living in our house anymore.’

  Drew watched her suspiciously. ‘Really?’ he said, his lip pouting. He looked past her. ‘Is it true, Tommy? Tell me.’

  Tommy nodded. ‘Yes, Drew, that’s correct. Seth was very bad, so now he’s not allowed to come near you again.’

  Drew didn’t seem totally convinced, but he calmed down and returned to chewing his toast. Pearl’s heart broke to see him so scared and edgy. Seth was an absolute monster if he could harm such a sweet boy as Drew. Any shred of love she’d ever had for Seth had withered and died now. He’d killed it.

  It was lunchtime before the doctor on duty signed them out, complete with a referral for family counselling. Pearl couldn’t believe how understanding they’d been. She had been afraid they wouldn’t believe her, but they had listened to her side of the story and evidently been convinced by her version of events. They were happy that she posed no threat to her son, which was why they were letting her handle the situation her own way. But she knew that if she turned up again with Drew hurt in any way, that would completely change and they’d be looking at social services or God knows what. It was probably a blessing that all the services were so hard-pressed for resources because it meant they were glad to have one less name added to their list of problems.

  They made their way to Tommy’s car, which had a ticket on it for being parked in two spots at once. Tommy looked sheepish.

  ‘I just flung it in the first place I saw,’ he said. ‘Obviously my parking skills suffer when I’m stressed.’

  Pearl smiled. ‘Yes, that is the parking of a distracted man,’ she said, helping Drew into the back seat.

  Drew was quiet all the way home, and when Tommy turned onto Kingfisher Road, he began moaning quietly and rocking back and forth. Pearl looked at Tommy in alarm, but he stayed perfectly calm and kept going towards the house.

  ‘Drew, you’re safe with me,’ he said quietly. ‘I won’t let anyone hurt you.’

  Pearl felt a stab of pain, because she had let someone hurt Drew. If Tommy had been there that night, he would have done a much better job of protecting Drew from Seth. She tried to shush the voice in her head telling her she was useless and focus on helping Drew to get over this obstacle of walking in the door of his own house.

  ‘Daddy’s car isn’t here because Daddy is gone,’ Pearl said, keeping her voice quiet like Tommy’s. ‘He’s not here.’ She got out of the car and opened the door for Drew to step out. Tommy came around and took Drew’s hand and held it tightly. Holding on to Tommy for dear life, Drew took tiny steps up the driveway to the front door.

  Pearl unlocked the door and pushed it wide open. ‘Would you like me to go first, Drew, and check all the rooms?’ she asked.

  He nodded, and she set off, going from room to room, opening the doors wide and calling out, ‘No one here. No one here.’ When she returned to the front door, Drew had his head on Tommy’s shoulder.

  ‘It’s all safe, my darling,’ Pearl said.

  Slowly, Drew and Tommy stepped into the hallway. Pearl could see Drew’s chest move faster as his breathing quickened. Tommy didn’t rush him, he just let him move at his own pace, slowly going further into the house.

  It took half an hour for Drew and Tommy to cover the whole house, but finally they came back to the kitchen and Pearl could see Drew’s shoulders drop down as he finally believed that his father was gone. She just prayed that Seth didn’t turn up on a whim and undo all their good work.

  ‘I’d like to go to Tommy’s house,’ Drew said.

  ‘No problem,’ Pearl said. ‘Why don’t you do that and I’ll make you some pasta and meatballs while you’re gone. Does that sound good?’

  Drew smiled for the first time in two days. ‘I like pasta,’ he said. ‘Thanks, Mum.’

  Drew and Tommy headed off down the garden path, and Pearl looked around the kitchen. She had cleaned up the glass this morning, but it still felt tainted by what had happened. She decided that she’d give away the kitchen table and chairs and get a new set. In fact, she’d change around the furniture and get the painters back to do some new colours. She needed to look around and see a different place, her place, hers and Drew’s.

  Chapter 27

  ‘DID YOU HEAR FROM HIM AT ALL YET?’ RACHEL asked.

  Danielle shook her head miserably. ‘No. I don’t know if he’s angry or hurt or already moved on.’

  ‘You just focus on you,’ her mother said. ‘This frees you up to consider what’s best for you, don’t forget that.’

  Danielle was slowly going out of her mind in Westwood. Justin hadn’t replied to her text, and now she didn’t know if she could go back to the house. Did he want to see her? Or did his silence mean, stay away? Her head hurt, her heart hurt, everything hurt. She felt lonely as hell, even though Rachel was barely leaving her side.

  ‘Will I light the fire again?’ she asked.

  ‘Please,’ Rachel said. ‘Strictly will be on soon, so we’ll get ourselves all set up.’

  Danielle knew her mam was really enjoying their fireside evenings by the telly, but Danielle was tired of it now. She had run away from her own house because it didn’t feel like home, but here didn’t feel like home either. She had moved on from Westwood, this wasn’t where she belonged anymore. Was there anywhere that would make her feel happy in her skin? That possibility seemed to be disappearing fast.

  As she bent to put a match to the firewood she had built into a triangle, the room was suddenly filled with a bright white light that stretched across the wall, then abruptly went out. She was half blinded by it, blinking into the suddenly returned dim light. Then she heard the doorbell.

  Rachel went out to answer it, and she could hear low voices. One of them was definitely a man. They sounded like they were arguing. Curiosity got the better of her and she went to peep through the door into the hallway. Standing on the doorstep was Justin, looking wildly desperate.

  ‘Please, please, Rachel, just let me in for five minu
tes so I can talk to both of you.’

  ‘Give her space, Justin,’ Rachel replied, trying to close the door over. ‘Just give her some time out and she’ll be ready to talk.’

  Justin looked so distraught, Danielle’s heart went out to him.

  ‘Mam,’ she said. They both looked up at her. ‘It’s okay. We can talk to him for five minutes.’

  Rachel sighed wearily. ‘Fine,’ she said, holding the door open. ‘I’ll go upstairs and leave you to it.’

  ‘No,’ Justin said, ‘please, I’d like you to be there. I think the three of us need to talk.’

  Rachel looked like she’d rather stick pins in her eyes, which nearly made Danielle smile, but her mother followed Justin down the passage and back through to the sitting room, where she sat on a sofa beside Danielle, and Justin sat in the armchair. The fire crackled cheerily, but the tension in the room was icy cold.

  ‘Why did you leave?’ Justin asked.

  Danielle tried to think of the least hurtful thing to say. ‘I just needed to be away from that whole life,’ she said, ‘to remember who I am and what I want.’

  ‘And have you figured that out?’ he asked, looking petrified to hear her answer.

  Danielle shrugged helplessly. ‘It’s not easy,’ she said. ‘I’m feeling confused about things.’

  ‘Okay,’ he said, nodding. ‘I was afraid you were going to say you want to break up with me.’

  ‘I have thought about it,’ Danielle said honestly, ‘but it would kill me to do that.’

  Justin looked at them and ran his fingers through his hair nervously. ‘I think I owe you both an apology,’ he said. ‘I know you mentioned something about my mum propositioning you, but I didn’t really take it in. I was well oiled the night of the party, and then afterwards, I thought you were exaggerating, so I didn’t really listen. But then Morton mentioned today that you were genuinely upset leaving the party, and it made me wonder. I think . . . I think I’ve been an idiot, Danielle.’ He paused for breath, watching them for a reaction. ‘I want you to tell me what happened, and I’ll listen.’

  Rachel and Danielle exchanged a look.

  ‘Okay,’ Danielle said. She gave him a blow-by-blow account of the party from their point of view, including Celia-Ann’s crass offer. He listened intently, never interrupting her. She finished with the photo of him and Mallory emblazoned over the pages of Glam Life, and how that had made her feel.

  ‘So just to recap,’ Rachel said, when Danielle finished talking, ‘your mother told my daughter she wasn’t good enough to love you, and then she treated her like some kind of prostitute by offering her cash to bugger off. Is that clear enough for you now?’

  Justin nodded slowly. His face was set tight in anger. Danielle could see he was clenching his jaw tightly.

  ‘I hear you loud and clear, Rachel,’ he said. ‘I think I didn’t really believe Danielle before. I thought she got the wrong end of the stick. But given the way Mum has been banging on about Mallory lately, and given that she organised that photo to be taken and probably saw to it that it made its way to the magazine, I’m beginning to see things in a different light. You’ll have to forgive me,’ he said, staring down at his hands. ‘It’s hard for me to accept this because it means accepting that Mum is willing to sacrifice my happiness for her own gain. I’m really struggling with that.’

  There was an awkward silence, then Rachel said quietly, ‘She’s your mother, that’s totally understandable.’

  He shook his head. ‘The crazy thing is, Mallory doesn’t like me at all. Certainly doesn’t love me, though she puts up a good show. All she wants is the house and stables and to be lady of the manor when Mum kicks the bucket. That’s her sole aim. I’m just the means to the end. She’d be willing to marry me to get her hands on the estate, even though she’d absolutely hate being married to me.’

  ‘Really?’ Danielle said. The idea of not falling for Justin was alien to her.

  ‘Jesus wept,’ Rachel said. ‘You lot are like something from Dynasty.’

  Justin smiled tiredly. ‘You’ve no idea,’ he said. ‘I guarantee you that all the people round here are far happier than anyone I know. Money is great for the choices it gives you, but it causes so many headaches. You know, the arguments about my parents’ will have been going on as long as I can remember. It used to scare me as a child, when they’d go on about after they’d died. But then I got used to it because it was a constant topic. My brothers were always vying for position and leverage, wondering what they’d get. It’s something that’s been bothering me for a long time. I don’t want any part of it.’

  ‘Well there’ll be no need for any arguments about my will,’ Rachel said with a burst of laughter. ‘There’s this house you’re sitting in and feck-all else. And I still don’t even own this outright. You’ll be raking over the remains with the council.’

  ‘Don’t talk about that,’ Danielle said, grabbing her mother’s hand. ‘I can’t bear to think of it.’

  ‘Now you see,’ Justin said, gesturing at Danielle, ‘that’s a normal, loving reaction. You don’t see that in my house. Everyone is playing the long game, wondering what the old dears will leave them. It’s horrible.’

  ‘What about Celia-Ann?’ Rachel said. ‘Doesn’t she mind that yer one Mallory is eyeing up her bed before it’s cold?’

  Justin shook his head. ‘She sees her as a worthy successor, so she’s keen to put her in place. It’s pure nonsense.’ He looked at Danielle with a fierce intensity. ‘I need you to believe me that there is absolutely nothing between me and Mallory. We did go out for a time, but then I realised her game. There’s no way on earth I’d want to be with her. I fell head over heels for you that night in the gallery, and that hasn’t changed. I was so happy when you told me you were pregnant, even though I was worried about your reaction to it, but to me, us being together and making a life together feels right. I just . . . I don’t know if it’s what you want.’

  Danielle felt her throat constricting. This was it. This was the moment she had to decide. The next word out of her mouth would define her future.

  Justin held up his hands. ‘Before you say anything, let me just say something else. I haven’t been a good partner to you lately. I didn’t pay attention and by doing that, I let you down. My mother is a shrewd adversary, and I can only imagine that you dread the idea of her in your life.’

  Danielle nodded silently. It felt so wonderful to have him understand, to get it.

  ‘I know,’ he said. ‘Well, look, I’ve had an idea brewing for some time now, because I was feeling so annoyed about the will and all that, and now with this happening, I think it might be time to act.’ He leaned forward, closer towards them. ‘I’d really love to set up my own stable yard,’ he said, his eyes twinkling with the light from the fire. ‘It will take a lot of hard work, and we might be financially challenged while I get it up and running, but if I could manage it, then it would take me out from under my family’s shadow. I wouldn’t be in their place every day, and they wouldn’t have any hold over me.’

  ‘You can do it,’ Danielle said immediately. ‘It’s a brilliant idea and you’re well able. Your dad told me you’re a horse-whisperer, and the best one he’d ever seen in sixty years around horses. People would flock to you.’

  ‘It’s a gamble, though,’ he said. ‘We’d probably have to cut back the budget and there might be some lean times while I find my feet.’

  Danielle grinned. ‘I kick the ass of lean times,’ she said, making them laugh. ‘I eat tiny budgets for breakfast. You are talking my language now, Justin. Nothing about that would scare me.’

  ‘Well then,’ Justin said. He stood up and stepped over to the sofa and went down on one knee.

  ‘Ah here,’ Rachel said.

  ‘Danielle O’Brien, will you agree to marry me again, even if I’m a bit harder up, even if I’ve been an idiot, even if it won’t always be plain sailing? I love you so much. Will you be my wife?’

  Danielle se
arched in her heart and finally found that elusive thing: what she wanted. It had been Justin all along, but the whole circumstances of being with him had made her want to run away. But now, with the new future he was describing, it sounded blissful to her. With a clarity that nearly knocked her sideways, she knew exactly what she wanted.

  ‘Yes, I will – again,’ she said. She kissed him. ‘I said yes before, but I didn’t really know what I was getting into. This time, I have my eyes open. I want to be your wife, Justin. I want to set up a life together. I want to have this baby. And I also want to limit your mother’s hold over us, and I want to have a career and I want to be happy in my own skin, just as me.’

  ‘I can give you all that,’ he said, grabbing her in a bear hug.

  ‘Lord above, you two and the drama,’ Rachel said, wiping tears from her eyes. ‘I was all ready for a night in and a bit of Strictly and Gogglebox.’

  ‘Oh Mam,’ Danielle said, turning to her. ‘I’ll stay here tonight and we’ll do that.’

  ‘You will not,’ Rachel said. ‘You’ve made up your mind for good now,’ she said. ‘I can see it. And I was furious before, but what Justin’s describing now sounds like a better match for you, which makes me a bit happier.’

  ‘Just a bit?’ Justin said, teasing her. ‘I’m going to work hard to win your approval, Rachel.’

  ‘It’s not given away easily,’ Rachel said with a sniff.

  ‘Well we might start with this,’ Justin said. ‘I was thinking about you and Danielle as well, and how you haven’t seen so much of each other. I’m going to be working flat out to make this new venture happen, and that worries me because Danielle will need lots of support when the baby arrives. So I was thinking about inviting you to be a much more permanent part of our family.’

  ‘Babysitting, is it?’ Rachel said tetchily.

  Justin laughed. ‘No. Although I’m sure we’ll be hitting you for that too. But no, what I’m proposing is that we build you a little place of your own, Rachel, in the garden, and you can come and go as you please. You can keep on this house, or rent it, or sell it, whatever you feel is best for you. But I want Danielle to feel happy, and that means making sure she has you on tap when she needs you.’