'Not by me. That stain must have been there when I bought it.'
Celine stared at her in disbelief. 'We don't have any stock in that condition. I'm sorry but I will not exchange this jacket.'
'Well, really. Wait until the owner gets back and you'll be looking for a new job!'
'Have a nice day,' Celine muttered as the woman marched out of the shop, banging the door after her. Celine's thoughts were interrupted by the phone. 'Close Second, can I help you?'
'Is that Celine Moore?'
'Yes, that's right. Who is this?'
'Cathy Donlon, Hopefield Musical Society?'
'Oh, yes, hello.'
'I'm sorry for calling you at work. Dominic did give me your home number but I lost it. Not very organised, I'm afraid.'
'That's okay, I'm on my own at the moment.'
'Excellent. Dominic said you were interested in getting involved backstage. It's very kind of you.'
'No problem, I'd be happy to help.'
'Wonderful! Do you think you could come along to rehearsals the Thursday after next at eight?'
'Er, yes, that should be fine. You meet in the community centre, don't you?'
'That's right. Now, as you're in the rag trade we were going to ask you to help out with wardrobe, if that's okay.'
Celine smiled. 'Fine.'
'It won't take too much of your time. We hire in the costumes and they just need to be taken in or let out — usually the latter, ha, ha — nothing too onerous.'
'It sounds like fun.'
'Don't you believe it,' Cathy told her. 'Amateur musicals are serious business.'
Celine laughed. 'I'll take your word for it.'
'Okay then, see you on Thursday. And thanks again. Bye-bye.'
'Goodbye.' Celine was still smiling when she hung up. She checked her watch. It would be another hour before she could close up and then she was going straight in to see Rose. It was wonderful to see her getting stronger, but with the return of health, Rose's antennae were back in full working order. And Celine knew that Richard was dying to tell her that they were an item. But she wanted to keep it secret for as long as possible because that way, no one could spoil it. Marina, on the other hand, was doing the complete opposite. She and Dominic were always together and their lovey-dovey behaviour was enough to make Celine hurl. It was amazing, she would never have dreamed that they were compatible, but there was no doubt they were good together.
As Celine labelled up some new stock, her thoughts returned to Richard. She couldn't believe how close she felt to him already and how relaxed and comfortable their relationship was. She hadn't expected to feel that way with anyone ever again. She just hoped that he felt the same. It would be devastating if she was just one of Richard's flings.
Chapter 25
Fergus pushed his way into Donnellys and went up to the bar. The pub was full and noisy. Not ideal for a quiet chat, he thought with a grin as he ordered a pint of orange. He knew that Richard was on a mission from his mother to find out how things were going in Sandhill. It didn't really bother him. He'd given her enough cause for concern in the past. But she didn't need to know about Mick. Fergus ran a hand through his cropped black hair and sank on to a barstool. He had just had a rigorous workout at the club and ached all over but he loved the feeling. He wanted to get fit and build up his strength. Now that Mick Garvey was back in the picture he would feel better if he was able to defend himself.
'How's it going?' Richard appeared at his side. 'Ready for another one?'
'Yeah, thanks. A pint of lager.' Fergus drained his glass in one gulp.
Despite the crowd, a barmaid was already moving towards Richard. 'What can I get you?'
Richard gave the order and then turned back to Fergus, who was shaking his head. 'What?'
'The bar is packed and you get served straight away. How do you do that?'
Richard grinned. 'I'm irresistible.' As the girl returned with their drinks, he winked at her and gave her a hefty tip. 'Let's find a table.'
Fergus stood up and followed him to a slightly quieter corner of the pub. 'Were you in with me Ma today?' he asked as they sat down.
'I was. She's doing very well.'
'She is, isn't she?'
'Worrying about you, of course.'
'No change there then.'
'She told me about Sandhill.'
'Ah.'
'I'm sorry I gave you a rough time, Fergus, I had no idea.'
'Why would you? We didn't talk about it.'
'So how does it feel being back there?'
For a moment, Fergus was tempted to tell him about Mick but decided against it. 'No problem. I like the job and there's a great crew working there.'
'I'm glad.'
'So you can report back that I'm fine.'
Richard feigned innocence. 'I don't know what you mean.'
'Yeah, right. How's Celine doing?'
Richard nodded. 'Great.'
'Does she talk to you at all?' Fergus asked. 'About me, I mean.'
Richard shook his head. 'She talks about everything except you. Sorry.'
'I can't say I blame her. At least she doesn't have to worry about bumping into me any more.'
'I think it's worked out well all round, most importantly for Rose. Knowing the shop is in safe hands must be a relief.'
Fergus nodded. 'Yeah, it's just a bit weird that the perfect candidate for the job turned out to be Dermot's wife.'
'Tell me about Dermot.'
Fergus sighed. 'I hated him to begin with. Wherever I went, he seemed to find me.'
'Did he try to persuade you to give up the drugs?'
Fergus shook his head. 'Nope. He just talked, gave me smokes, and when I ended up on the streets, he brought me food.'
'I never realised you left home.'
Fergus chuckled. 'I didn't, Ma threw me out. It was probably the best thing she ever did, though I know it was very hard for her.' His eyes glazed over. 'I was a little bastard, Richard. I took money out of her purse, I nicked jewellery. One time I was so desperate for cash, I flogged our toaster! Sometimes, I wouldn't come home at night and she'd be worried sick. But I just didn't care. The only thing that was important was the next fix. Anyway, once I was on the streets, Dermot would come looking for me. If he found me, he'd drag me off to the nearest shelter.'
'So when or how did you give up?'
Fergus closed his eyes briefly.
'Hey, if you don't want to talk—'
'No, it's okay. When I got really desperate, I agreed to do a bit of pushing. I had no way of paying for the stuff, you see. One of my customers — God, she was only a kid — had a bad reaction. I should have known that Mick would be involved in dodgy gear.'
'Mick was your dealer?'
Fergus gave a reluctant nod.
'Did the kid die?'
'No, she had some kind of a seizure. I called for an ambulance and they were able to help but Jesus, I got such a fright. That night, when Dermot came looking for me, I agreed to go into rehab.'
'And then he got you a job?'
Fergus nodded. 'I wasn't sure it was a good idea and Ma was dead against it but Dermot knew what he was doing. When I saw kids even younger than me coming in totally wasted I knew I could never use again.'
'It can't have been easy.'
Fergus shrugged. 'It wasn't, but I didn't have a lot of choice.'
'What did you use?'
'Crack and speed, mainly. I kidded myself that as long as I stayed away from heroin I'd be fine.'
'How did it start?'
Fergus's face twisted into a bitter smile. 'I wanted to be one of the gang. I was fourteen, a very average student and too shy to be popular. One of the older kids offered me an E. I had it for nearly a week before I worked up the courage to take it. I couldn't believe how happy I felt. Suddenly, for the first time, I was one of the gang. I was sensible enough to begin with, I was almost seventeen before it got out of hand. I was supposed to be studying for my Leaving Certificate but
I rarely picked up a book. That's when Ma started to get suspicious. She went through my room one night and found some pills. We had the mother of all arguments and she told me to give up or get out. I promised to toe the line and I really did try.' Fergus swallowed hard. 'It was harder and harder to find money for the drugs and I was getting desperate. One night I took her chequebook out of her bag. She walked in on me when I was practising her signature. That's when she threw me out.'
Richard put a hand on his shoulder. 'Sorry, I shouldn't have asked. It's not a good idea to look back.'
Fergus pulled out a handkerchief and blew his nose. 'It's okay. Looking back reminds me of how lucky I am. If Ma hadn't thrown me out, if Dermot hadn't believed in me, I wouldn't be here now. Dermot was based in the city centre,' he continued. 'He didn't have any reason to come to the shelter that night. But he often dropped in to see how I was doing. We talked a lot. He used to tell me about Celine and what a success she was going to be. He was very proud of her. I'll never forget how she looked the morning of the funeral.'
'She's okay now,' Richard pointed out.
'Is she?' Fergus looked miserably into his pint. 'She's not the big-shot designer that Dermot said she was going to be. She's working in a shop, what does that say?'
'You can't take the blame for that, Fergus. It wasn't your fault.'
'You know, I might have believed that before I met her again but now I'm not so sure.'
'Take it from me, Fergus, she's fine. Yes of course she had a rough time,' he added when Fergus looked at him in disbelief, 'but she's still young. There's plenty of time for her to get her life together.'
'God, I hope you're right.'
'I am. Now you must concentrate on your life. Have a good time and date some women.' He stopped when he saw the slow smile on Fergus's face. 'Ah, you've met someone.'
Fergus nodded. 'Her name's Sarah, she works at the club.'
'I'm happy for you, mate. It's time you had a bit of fun.'
Again, Fergus was tempted to tell Richard about Mick but he was already standing up and reaching for his jacket.
'I've got to go. Keep in touch, Fergus, and I'll give you a call if there's anything relating to the shop that you need to know about. Now, can I drop you home?'
Fergus checked his watch. 'No, that's okay. Sarah will be finished work in an hour so maybe I'll go and meet her.'
'You do that, but don't go walking down any dark alleys.'
Fergus grinned. 'Yes, Dad.'
'Cheeky bugger!' Richard punched his arm and started to push his way out of the pub.
Fergus followed and, after saying goodbye, sprinted to the bus stop. He was surprised that he had told Richard about Sarah, he certainly hadn't planned to. But he was so happy it was hard to hide it, especially as he went around with a smile on his face most of the time. It made a pleasant change. He hadn't done a lot of smiling since Celine had moved to Hopefield. He sobered as he thought of the rest of the stuff he'd told Richard. It had been a long time since he'd talked about Dermot's death. But between Celine's sudden arrival and Mick's reappearance, those sad, bad days were on his mind. Just over an hour later, he walked into the Centre.
The receptionist looked up. 'Hi, Fergus. If you're looking for Sarah she's gone to the pub.'
'Thanks.' He smiled at the girl and headed towards the pub on the corner. He was halfway across the busy, smoky room when he heard someone call his name. He turned to see Mick Garvey waving at him, a broad smile on his face.
'Hey, Gus, over here. We were just talking about you, weren't we, Sarah?'
Fergus's heart sank as Mick moved to one side to reveal Sarah sitting on a barstool beside him. She smiled and waved. As he approached, Fergus shivered at the cold calculating look in Mick's eye.
Sarah stood up to kiss him. She was more than a bit tipsy and he slipped an arm around her waist to steady her.
'Fergus, what a lovely surprise.'
'I thought I'd come by to take you home.' Fergus kept his eyes on Sarah as he spoke.
'Did you hear that?' She turned to Mick. 'Isn't he lovely?'
'Oh, yeah, he's just great.'
'Let's go, Sarah.'
She waved him away and sat down. 'I'm not finished my drink. Pull up a chair, Fergus, and have a drink. Mick's being telling me all about the old days. You never told me you used to live around here.'
'It was a lifetime ago.'
Mick chuckled. 'Not that long, Gus!'
'Oh, cheer up, Fergus,' Sarah pouted his grim expression. 'Aren't you happy to meet an old friend?'
'Thrilled. Now come on, Sarah, time we went home.'
'Pity we don't have more time to catch up, Gus,' Mick murmured, an amused smile playing around his lips.
'Yeah, sorry about that.'
'Oh, don't worry about it. I work out on a regular basis so you'll be seeing plenty of me. I think it's important to look after yer health, don't you, Gus?'
Fergus looked at his yellow teeth and pimply skin. 'Whatever you say, Mick.'
'Seeya, Mick.' Sarah struggled to focus on him. 'And if you need any help with your exercise programme you just let me know.'
Mick winked at her. 'I'll do that, thanks, Sarah.'
Fergus gripped her arm and steered towards the door.
Chapter 26
Celine plumped the cushions on the sofa, opened the window and leaned out to sniff the air that smelled of cut grass and lavender. It was a perfect May evening and Marina would be here any minute. As it was so nice, Celine was planning to bring her down to the courtyard at the back of the shop. She had already been down to dust off the chairs and set out wine, glasses and some nibbles. This was the first time that she and Marina had got together since Celine had discovered Fergus was Rose's son and since she'd started dating Richard. They had a lot to talk about. The phone rang and she jumped on it, thinking it would be Richard.
'Hello, Celine.'
Celine groaned inwardly. 'Kevin!'
'I've missed you.'
'Oh, Kevin, please don't say that.'
'But it's true. When can I see you?'
Celine took a deep breath. 'I'm sorry, Kevin, but you can't. It's over between us.'
'You don't mean that. If this is because of Eileen—'
'It's not Eileen. I'm . . . seeing someone else.'
'It's that landlord of yours, isn't it?'
'It doesn't matter who it is, Kevin, there was no future for us anyway.'
'You've said that before, Celine, but you've always come back.'
'Not this time.'
'We'll see.'
When she heard the dial tone, Celine put down the phone with a shaking hand. Kevin was charm itself when he was happy, but upset him and he could get very nasty. Perhaps she should invite him over some evening and try to finish it in a more amicable manner. The buzzer interrupted her thoughts and she hurried to let Marina in.
'Hello, darling,' Marina called as she climbed the stairs. 'Sorry I'm late. Just had to nip next door for some mints.'
Celine's lips twitched. 'Mints, eh?'
Marina's eyes widened. 'What else?'
'So I take it the romance is going well.'
'Wonderful,' Marina purred. 'Dominic is a darling and he's great with Joshie.'
'Wow, you've finally introduced them?'
'We've been to the park twice and the cinema once,' Marina reported. 'Do you know that Dominic's the first man that ever showed an interest in my son?'
'And what does Josh think of Dominic?
Marina's smile faded. 'He's been very quiet but it's early days. Dominic is being wonderfuly patient.'
'He's definitely an angel.' Celine agreed. 'Even if he did get me involved with his damn musical society.'
'I'm still in shock about that. It's so unlike you to be sociable.'
'Thanks.' Celine picked up her sunglasses. 'Let's continue this conversation in the courtyard.'
Marina frowned. 'I didn't know you had a courtyard.'
'Well, I don't, but there's a p
retty little yard behind the shop and Rose says I can use it whenever I want.' She went over to the window and stepped out onto the fire escape.
Marina leaned out of the window and looked down. 'Are you sure that thing is safe? It looks ancient.'
'It's fine,' Celine assured her. 'Come on.'
Marina pulled on her baseball cap. 'Okay, lead the way.'
Celine was pouring the wine by the time Marina joined her. 'Oh, it is nice down here!' She looked around in appreciation at the tiny courtyard with its potted plants and climbing roses. She pulled a chair under the protection of the large multi-coloured parasol and Celine handed her a glass of chilled white wine.
Celine placed her chair directly in the sun and stretched out, raising her face to the warm rays. 'Isn't it heaven?'
'I hope you're wearing sunscreen,' Marina remarked.
Celine waved a lazy hand at her. 'It's nearly seven o'clock, Marina. Anyway, I'm not a model, I don't have to worry about my skin.'
Marina studied her pretty friend. 'You could be if you weren't so short.'
Celine opened one eye. 'I am not short!'
Marina grinned. 'Course not, shorty. Anyway, tell me all your news. How's Rose doing?'
'Really well. She called this morning and she was telling me that she can get about the house without her frame now. She hates doing the physio though.'
'When will she come back to Dublin?'
'Probably next month, but she won't be able to work for a while yet.'
'And when she is, what will you do?'
Celine shrugged. 'I'll worry about that when the time comes. I almost left a few weeks ago.'
Marina stared at her. 'But why?'
And after taking another sip of her wine, Celine told her friend about Fergus.
'That's incredible!' Maria gasped when she'd finished. 'I know Dublin is a small town but that he should turn out to be Rose's son! Oh, Celine, why didn't you tell me? This must have been a very hard time for you. What did your dad say?'
'I haven't told him.'
'So you've gone through this all alone.' Marina shook her head in disbelief.
'Not quite,' Celine told her with a smile.
Marina rolled her eyes. 'You're still seeing Kevin then?'
Red Letter Day Page 16
