Red Letter Day

by Colette Caddle

  Tracy beamed at her. 'Enjoy. Just shout if you need more coffee.'

  Celine tucked into her food and was delighted to find that the quiche tasted good too.

  'Hello agair.'

  She looked up to see Dominic standing over her. 'Oh, hi.'

  'Settling in okay?'

  Celine smiled. 'Getting there. Can I buy you a coffee?'

  Dominic pulled out a chair and sat down. 'Why not?'

  Tracy was already approaching and Celine asked her for another coffee. 'Who's looking after the shop?' she asked when they were alone once more.

  'Rose's lad. He often helps me out although I can't put much work his way these days.'

  'I met your competition, Tom Parker.'

  Dominic grunted. 'Oh, yes?'

  'I didn't buy anything,' Celine added quickly. 'It is quite a nice shop though.'

  'Yes.' Dominic nodded and then smiled his thanks as Tracy brought the coffee. 'I wish I could afford to do a bit of renovation. I put in new shelving when I moved in but the place needs better lighting and display material and the cold cabinets are ancient. Oh, I'm sorry, Celine. We only met this morning and I've done nothing but moan since we met. What must you think of me?'

  'I think you're a nice guy who's going through a rough time. It happens to us all.'

  He smiled gratefully. 'I'm going to like having you as a neighbour. If you need someone to show you around . . .'

  'I've been up and down the main street already,' Celine laughed. 'I think I've seen it all.'

  'Don't you believe it,' Dominic told her. 'There's a lot more to Hopefield than is first apparent.'

  'Well, there's certainly one hell of a grapevine.' Celine grimaced. 'Everyone seems to know who I am.'

  'You do live opposite the only café in town,' Dominic pointed out, a twinkle in his eye.

  Celine laughed. 'You have a point.'

  'So tell me, what do you do for fun? We have a very good sports club — it's at the back of the apartment complex out on the roundabout. They have eight all-weather tennis courts, a great pool, a gym and a couple of squash courts.'

  'I'm not really into sport,' Celine lied. The last thing she was going to do was join another sports club. Look where that had got her in Killmont.

  'Oh. There's a cinema complex on the outskirts of town.'

  'Near the shopping centre?'

  'That's the one.'

  She nodded. 'I must take Marina there. She's my friend and she's movie-mad.'

  'There's also an amateur musical society,' he offered. 'We're putting on "My Fair Lady" this year.'

  'We?'

  Dominic puffed out his chest. 'I'm the male lead.'

  'Henry Higgins? I'm impressed!'

  'We could do with some new members, young female members in particular,' he added. 'We have lots of members over fifty — Eliza Doolittle is forty-eight.'

  Celine's lips twitched. 'Oh, dear.'

  'So if you're interested . . .'

  'Me? Oh, God, no! Not my thing at all, I'm afraid. I don't have a note in my head.'

  Dominic sighed. 'Shame.'

  'I could help out backstage if you like,' Celine offered, feeling sorry for him.

  His face broke into a happy smile. 'That would be wonderful. I'll tell Cathy Donlan — she's our producer.'

  'Great.' Celine sipped her coffee, already regretting her offer. She was barely in the town twenty-four hours and already she felt more involved with the community than she had been in all her time in Killmont.

  'We have a neighbourhood watch scheme too if you're interested in getting involved . . .'

  'Er, no, I don't think so.'

  Dominic shrugged and smiled. 'I'm sorry, I shouldn't be rushing you into these things, you've hardly moved in.'

  Celine glanced nervously at her watch. 'I should be going, I still have so much to do.'

  'Of course.' Dominic raised his hand to attract Tracy's attention and patted his pockets in search of his wallet.

  'No, I'll get this.' Celine opened her purse and handed Tracy twenty Euro. She put on her jacket and followed Tracy to the counter for her change. 'That was lovely, thanks.'

  'Anytime. And if you need anything . . .'

  'Thanks,' she said and hurried outside.

  Afterwards, when she was back in the sanctuary of her little flat, she realised that in her haste she'd forgotten to check the price on the painting by the door. Oh, well, she could always do it tomorrow.

  Chapter 9

  'Do you want me to restock the fridges, Dominic?'

  Dominic looked up from the stack of bills in front of him. 'Yeah, great. Thanks, Fergus.'

  Fergus checked the fridge and then went to the storeroom out the back and loaded a trolley with soft drinks and water. He had just finished and put the trolley away when Dominic came into the shop with a mug of coffee.

  'So what do you think of your mum's new manager?'

  'Haven't met her yet, but Ma seems happy.'

  'Yes, she's a nice girl, good-looking too.'

  Fergus grinned. 'Interested, are you? '

  Dominic stirred his coffee, a dreamy smile on his face. 'She's a bit young for me but I like her. She's different, very quiet, deep, a bit of a mystery woman. I'd say there's a lot more to Celine Moore than she lets on.'

  Fergus frowned. 'She'd better not let Ma down.'

  Dominic shook his head. 'I'm sure there's no chance of that. She seems a very good person. Anyway, you and I will be here to keep an eye on things, Fergus.'

  Fergus sighed. True. I just don't want anything to worry Ma when she's going in for this operation. She doesn't let on but she's in an awful lot of pain.'

  Dominic had also noticed the shadows under Rose's eyes and the slight stoop she'd developed. 'It's a very successful operation, Fergus, don't worry. This time next year she'll be off skiing!'

  Fergus chuckled. 'I don't know about that but it would be great if she could go back to her ballroom dancing again, she misses it a lot.'

  'Misses all those men fighting over her, you mean.' Dominic drained his cup and stood up. 'Right, I'm off to see my beloved accountant. Can you hold the fort until two?'

  'Sure. Will you need me later this afternoon?'

  'Er, no, sorry. But if you could open up for me the rest of this week—'

  'No problem,' Fergus said immediately.

  'Thanks. See you later.'

  'Good luck.'

  'I'll need it,' Dominic muttered as he picked up his briefcase and headed for the door.

  When he'd left, Fergus tidied some of the shelves, brushed out the floor and restocked the cigarettes. In the last hour he'd served three customers and taken the grand sum of six Euro, forty cent. Dominic wouldn't stay in business long if things carried on like this. It looked like he'd have to find another job. The shelter didn't pay enough and though he'd never admit it to his mother, he'd had enough of looking after broken men who were bent on killing themselves with drink or drugs. What he could do instead, he wasn't sure. He'd dropped out of school at sixteen and had only ever worked in this shop and at the shelter. With his background he was probably unemployable. His mother had hinted that he should go back to school but at twenty-four, Fergus couldn't face that. It was a pity his mother didn't own a hardware then she wouldn't need to hire a manager and he wouldn't have to find a job.

  Celine Moore. He frowned. That name seemed vaguely familiar but why he wasn't sure. Well, he'd be meeting her as soon as Dominic got back. His mother had insisted that he drop by, not that he had anything else to do. Even sitting in front of the TV and playing games on his PlayStation got boring after a while. And after running into Mick last week, he was going to stay out of town for a while. It would break his Ma's heart but sometimes he thought it would be better if he left Dublin for good. But he'd wait until she was back on her feet and he was sure she could look after herself. She'd stood by him through some very tough times and now it was his turn to look after her. He'd ask down at the shelter about working extra hours. His
mother said that Richard Lawrence could probably put some work his way but Fergus didn't like to ask. Richard had done them enough favours over the years.

  Fergus's thoughts were interrupted as a large truck pulled up outside. He went to the front door and nodded to the young lad who jumped down on to the pavement.

  'Delivery for 12A, Ms Moore?'

  'Oh, right, you'll find her in the shop next door.'

  'Cheers.' The delivery man went into Close Second and moments later reappeared accompanied by a slim dark-haired girl.

  Fergus stepped back into the doorway, his heart hammering in his chest. It had been nearly six years since he'd last seen her but it was definitely her.

  Celine watched delightedly as the two deliveiymen dragged the dreaded brown suite downstairs. 'Thanks, bye,' she called and then whirled round to pull the plastic from the new suite. She gave a small yelp as she realised it was leather. She flopped down on the sofa and groaned in ecstasy as she sank into the luxuriant cushions. She hopped up again and began to rearrange the furniture, turning the sofa so that it faced the large window and the panoramic views of rooftops with the Dublin Mountains in the background. Nice one, Richard, she thought as she examined the soft, black leather. This had certainly not been cheap but it was a good buy for a flat as it would be hard-wearing and easy to keep clean. As she gathered up the plastic that it had been wrapped in, she noticed another box just inside the door. On inspection, she discovered it was a small microwave. 'Oh, great.' She wasn't the best cook in the world and the oven was old and temperamental. This would make life a lot easier.

  There was no doubt she'd landed on her feet with both her employer and her landlord. She'd really enjoyed her morning in the shop and had been very impressed with Rose's stock and monthly turnover. Sadie was the only possible fly in the ointment. Like so many women she'd come across in Killmont, the woman was a gossip and a nosey parker.

  'She's harmless,' Rose had said when the older woman had gone for lunch. 'I just switch off and let her talk.'

  Celine doubted that but at least they wouldn't have to work together that often. Sadie worked Mondays — which would be Celine's day off — and part-time whenever Celine needed a break. She was there on Saturdays too but from what Rose said, Saturdays were so busy there wouldn't be much time for socialising. Regardless of Rose's assurances, though, Celine was determined to keep Sadie at arm's length.

  She closed her eyes, inhaled the wonderful smell of new leather and went back downstairs to the shop.

  'Well?' Rose looked at her expectantly.

  'My new suite has arrived,' Celine told her. 'Black leather.'

  Rose's eyes widened. 'My, Richard's really pushing the boat out.'

  'And he bought me a microwave too.'

  'Excellent. Have you got your list ready for him? He sometimes drops in around lunchtime.'

  Celine took a piece of paper out of her bag under the counter. 'I'm not too sure what to put on it.'

  'Give it here.' Rose put her glasses on and looked at the tiny list Celine had put together. 'For goodness sake, love, you need a lot more than this!'

  'Well yes, but I thought I should buy them.'

  Rose rolled her eyes. 'If you plan to take them with you when you move on, fair enough, but otherwise, Richard should pay for them. He will be more than grateful if you kit the place out properly, believe me.' She looked back at the list. 'You know, I think it would be better if we took care of this ourselves.'

  'We?'

  Rose looked up and smiled. 'Yes, why not? It's supposed to be my day off and you can't trust a man to go out and buy household goods.'

  'He did okay with the suite,' Celine murmured.

  'That was luck. Come on, let's go. There are some great shops in the centre outside the village and an Atlantic Homecare further out the road. Between them, we should be able to get everything you need. Sadie?' she called into the backroom. 'Are you finished your lunch yet? Celine and I are going out.'

  The little woman came into the shop and eyed them curiously. 'Oh, yes, anywhere nice?'

  'Just a bit of shopping.' Rose grabbed her coat and keys and steered Celine towards the door. 'If Richard's looking for us, tell him I'll call him later.'

  Within a couple of hours, Celine had been through three shops and was now weighed down with bags. For a woman with a dodgy hip, Rose could shop. 'That's plenty,' she said as she saw Rose pause to look speculatively at another shop in the distance.

  'Just one more.' Rose led the way down to the opposite end of the shopping centre.

  Despite her tiredness, Celine's eyes lit up when she saw the cane and wicker shop that her boss had paused outside.

  'They have wonderful linen baskets here.'

  Celine needed no further encouragement. Leaving Rose sitting in a comfortable rocking chair surrounded by bags, she wandered around the shop. An hour later, they left having purchased said linen basket, a coffee table, a bedside table and a breadbasket. These would be delivered the following day.

  'I can't possibly ask Richard to buy all of this stuff.'

  'He can afford it.'

  'That's not the point. He only wanted to kit the place out with necessities, not luxuries.'

  Rose was in pain now and though she'd only known Celine a couple of days she knew there was no point in arguing with the girl. 'Fine. Let's go home.'

  Celine shot her a worried look. 'Are you okay?'

  'I'll be fine once I get my shoes off and have a coffee.'

  When they pulled up outside the shop, Rose put her head into Dominic's to ask her son to help Celine take her purchases upstairs.

  'Sorry, Rose, he's gone. But if you keep an eye on the shop for a minute, I'll help Celine.'

  Rose leaned heavily against the counter. 'Thanks, Dominic, I'd appreciate that.'

  Fergus sat in the window of the café and watched Celine Moore and Dominic unload his mother's car. Dominic said something and Celine laughed. Fergus had never heard her laugh. In fact he'd never seen her smile. Over the years, the image that had stayed with him was of a young, pale-faced girl, dressed all in black, with tears coursing silently down her cheeks. He'd never even heard her speak.

  Chapter 10

  Marina put on her lipstick, pressed her lips with some tissue paper and then added a layer of gloss. 'Josh, are you ready yet?' She pulled on a calf-length suede skirt and black top. After she'd slid on her knee-high black leather boots, she went to her jewellery box and selected some strings of coloured beads to wrap around her long throat and a heavy bronze slave bangle for her wrist. 'Josh?' she called again and began to pick her way through the trail of toys that led to his bedroom. Her son was sitting playing with his train set and there was an ominous dark stain on the Tommy Hilfiger jeans that she'd dressed him in less than an hour ago. 'Have you had a little accident, honey?' She crouched down beside him and fondled his blond head.

  Josh didn't bother to reply.

  'Come along, darling. Mummy will get you some clean clothes. And remember, when you want to do a tinkle, you must do it in the toilet.'

  'Don't want to!'

  'Joshie, be a good boy.'

  'No!'

  'But we have to hurry. We're going to visit Granny.'

  'Don't want to. Granny doesn't like me.'

  Marina hugged his wriggling body to her chest. 'Oh, silly, of course she does! Granny loves you.'

  'Does not.'

  Marina sighed. 'Come on, darling. Let's get you out of those wet jeans and if you're a good boy you can have a chocolate biscuit.'

  'Two biscuits,' Josh demanded with a belligerent look in his eye.

  'Two it is.' Marina beamed at him and led him to the bathroom.

  It was thirty minutes before Marina piled Josh into the car and drove the short distance to her mother's house.

  Kay led the little boy into the living-room as Marina went back to the car to fetch the bags. Josh would only be here a few hours but Marina always brought enough gear to last the week. There were the medic
ines — just in case. A complete change of clothes — that Kay usually had to dip into. And enough toys to keep triplets happy.

  'Now Mum, no television,' Marina told her mother before she left, 'and make sure Joshie has a little nap.'

  Kay nodded as she always did, and manoeuvred her daughter towards the door. 'He'll be fine, Marina, don't worry.'

  When Kay came back into the room, Josh had all her ornaments on the floor and had knocked over a plant. 'Okay, Josh.' She smiled through gritted teeth. 'Why don't I fetch the chocolate biscuits and we can watch Barney.'

  Immediately Josh clambered up onto the sofa and beamed at her. 'Yippee.'

  Marina's back ached as she held the pose for that 'one more take'.

  'That's a wrap, thanks, Marina, you were great.'

  Marina kissed the photographer on both cheeks. 'My pleasure, Gerry.' Not bothering to remove the heavy makeup, she went out to the car and headed in the direction of Hopefield. She was an hour late but Celine had said that her boss was relaxed about what time she took her lunch break. And after a much-needed cup of coffee, Marina was looking forward to a rummage through those wonderful clothes.

  When Marina walked into the shop she stopped in her tracks and stared at her friend. For the first time in years, Celine was wearing a skirt. The skirt of a very beautiful, well-tailored, toffee-coloured suit, with a thin black vest underneath. And she was wearing makeup. Not much, granted, just some subtle colour around the eyes and a touch of lipstick. But as Marina watched, she realised there was something else. Celine was holding a dress up against a customer, a frown of deep concentration on her face and a light in her eyes that Marina hadn't seen in a very long time.

  'Hello there. Can I help you?'

  Marina turned to smile at the owner. 'Hi. I'm a friend of Celine. I just came in to wish her luck.'

  Rose smiled. 'Well, as you can see, she doesn't need it. I'm Rose Lynch.'

  'Marina Flynn.'

  'The model?'

  Marina beamed at her. 'That's right, and one of your regular customers.'

  Rose chuckled. 'I know that, but not everyone likes me to comment on it.'