She heard her daughter’s key in the lock and saw her fiancé get out of the car. He was a good-looking chap, Nancy noted, as her hands curled into fists at her side and her heart seemed to do a double flip-flop of apprehension. Surely Carol and her boyfriend could go over to Liz’s on their own? What did they want her there for? Couldn’t they all make their own decisions? She’d just go along with whatever they decided. She didn’t care one way or another who came to the wedding or what happened at it. She’d just tell Carol that she was sick and she couldn’t go.
‘Hello, Ma. How are you?’ Carol thrust a box of chocolates awkwardly at her. She made no attempt to kiss her.
‘Hello, Carol. Hello . . . er—’ For one nerve-racking moment her mind went blank. What was it, Joey? Jerry? Oh yes, Gary, that was it. Her alcohol-fogged brain had a moment of clarity. ‘Gary,’ she said with heartfelt relief.
‘Hello, Mrs Logan,’ he said politely, holding out his hand. She placed hers briefly in his, hoping he wouldn’t notice how it shook, before withdrawing it swiftly.
‘Sit down,’ she urged, feeling that if she didn’t sit down herself she’d collapse in a heap. She was longing for a drink. When would this nightmare be over so that they could all leave her alone?
‘Would you like a cup of tea or coffee?’ she asked politely, and then had a brainwave. It would be all right to offer a glass of wine, as it was well past noon.
‘Gary, would you like a glass of wine?’ she asked hopefully. If he said yes she’d be able to have one herself and it would keep her going for a while.
‘He’s driving,’ Carol said sharply.
‘Oh yes, sorry, of course. I forgot.’ Nancy slumped into an armchair, defeated.
‘We have half an hour or so before we go over to Liz’s. Why don’t we decide who we’re asking to the wedding so that we can have numbers for her?’ Carol suggested. ‘Where’s Nadine?’
‘She’s out in the kitchen.’ Nancy dragged deeply on her cigarette.
‘Nadine,’ Carol called. ‘Nadine.’
‘What?’ Nadine appeared at the sitting-room door looking surly and uncomfortable.
‘Come in and say hello,’ Carol pressed.
‘Hello.’ Nadine threw a sulky glance in Gary’s direction.
‘Hi, Nadine, how’s my sister-in-law to be?’ Gary gave his best sexy grin.
‘Oh, OK,’ she grunted.
‘Any chance of a cup of coffee? I’ll help you make it,’ he offered.
Oh God, I hope the kitchen’ s not a mess! Carol thought in panic.
‘It’s OK, I’ll make it,’ she said hastily. ‘You sit down and talk to Mam.’
God, no! I’d prefer to try and get a smile out of the crotchety sister than talk to the dypso. She looks as if she’ s going to keel over. Gary tried to hide his dismay at the notion of trying to have a chat with the tense, nervy woman in front of him.
‘No, you sit down with your mother and do the important bits. Nadine and I will rustle up a cup of tea, won’t we, Nad?’ He winked at the teenager. Under all the heavy pancake he noted a little blush. Good, he thought. There wasn’t a woman on the planet that didn’t succumb to the Davis charm.
‘OK,’ Nadine agreed a little less churlishly and led him out to the kitchen.
* * *
‘I’d much prefer to let the women at it. I hate talking about wedding stuff,’ Gary confided chummily, as he leaned against the kitchen counter and watched as Carol’s sister filled the kettle. If she lightened up on the face muck she wouldn’t be bad-looking, he observed, studying Nadine’s skinny frame. She was tall, like Carol, and had the potential to be a stunner if she got rid of the tarty blonde highlights and the pierced belly button that made her look like a skanger.
‘I hate weddings too,’ Nadine confided. ‘I think they’re a load of crap. Why didn’t you go and get married abroad or something?’
‘I don’t know. This thing came up about having a double wedding with Mike and Jessie and we’re sort of stuck with it, I suppose,’ he said glumly.
‘I think you’re mad getting married down here. All the nosy old bags will be around gawking,’ Nadine informed him helpfully.
‘Stop or I might do a runner!’ He rolled his eyes up to heaven.
She giggled. ‘Have you any good-looking friends?’
‘I might have. Have you a boyfriend?’
‘Yeah, I sort of go out with a guy called Mono. He’s cool. He has a band.’
‘That is cool,’ Gary agreed. ‘Are you bringing him to the wedding?’
‘Am I allowed?’ she asked hopefully, clattering mugs on to a tray.
‘Sure. You’re one of the most important people at the wedding. Sister of the bride. She has to be kept happy.’
‘You see, I wanted to bring my best friend, Lynn, as well. If I ask Mono, Lynn’ll get huffy, so I don’t know what to do.’
‘Ask the two of them, why don’t you?’ he said easily.
Her dull eyes lit up. ‘Can I? Will Carol mind?’
‘Of course not, and besides, I’m the boss.’
She looked at him doubtfully. ‘Are you? Carol’s kinda bossy.’
‘I can handle her, don’t you worry.’
‘You’re not bad, you know.’ Nadine glanced at him as she spooned coffee into the mugs. ‘I used to think you were posh and snooty.’
‘And I used to think you were a grumpy little cow.’
She laughed. Heartily. And Gary caught a glimpse of the real Nadine and to his surprise . . . liked her.
29
‘Is the kitchen clean?’ Carol hissed.
‘I beg your pardon.’ Nancy sat up straight, annoyed at Carol’s impertinence.
‘Is the kitchen clean?’ Carol repeated.
‘Do you mind, Carol? I don’t like your attitude. Don’t come home here looking down your nose at us,’ her mother said spiritedly. ‘If you don’t want to be here you don’t have to, you know.’
‘Ah, don’t get cross, Ma,’ Carol said, hastily backing down in the face of her mother’s hostility.
‘Look, I’m not feeling a hundred per cent.’ Nancy wilted after her rally. ‘Why don’t you and Gary go over to Liz’s yourselves? Whatever you want to do is all right with me.’
‘No, Ma, you’d better come with us. Liz is expecting us,’ Carol said firmly, taking a notepad out of her bag.
‘Let her expect, she’s not the queen,’ Nancy muttered, lighting another fag.
‘God, Ma, would you go easy on those things, you’ll kill yourself and the rest of us too.’ Carol waved her hands in front of her face in exasperation as a cloud of smoke drifted past.
‘No harm if I was gone,’ Nancy said self-pityingly.
Carol ignored her. She wasn’t going to humour her mother’s sympathy-seeking today.
‘Right,’ she said briskly, uncapping her pen. ‘There’ll be you, Nadine, Aunt Carmel and Aunt Freda and the uncles. Do you want cousins to come? And what neighbours do you want to invite?’
‘I don’t know,’ Nancy said helplessly. ‘What do you want?’ Should we invite Aunt Vera – she always sends you birthday cards and lottery tickets? At least she never lost contact after your father left.’ Vera was Bill’s older sister. ‘And what about your grandmother? She’s still alive.’
‘I’m not having them!’ Carol snorted indignantly. ‘If he’s not coming they’re not coming!’
‘Right. Right, it’s your wedding,’ Nancy said crossly.
‘Sorry. And by the way, Ma, I did ask Nadine if she wanted to be bridesmaid, you know, but she wasn’t interested.’
‘I know. Maybe you’re better off to have your friend. That Nadine is gone to the dogs.’
‘Well, she’d better behave herself at the wedding. And you—’ Carol cast a stern eye in her mother’s direction. ‘Stay off the sauce for the wedding, Ma. I don’t want you to make a holy show of me.’
‘Excuse me! I don’t drink that much,’ Nancy protested with hurt dignity.
‘Come off it
, Ma.’ Carol wasn’t having that. ‘Just tone it down.’ The air bristled with tension. They sat in hostile silence, not looking at each other.
Finally Carol broke the silence. ‘Who else do you want to invite?’
‘I couldn’t care less,’ Nancy said huffily.
‘Aw, Ma, come on. I need to get this sorted.’
‘Who’s paying for this anyway? Have you talked to your father?’ Nancy demanded.
‘Gary and I are paying for it ourselves.’
‘Well, you should insist on some contribution from him.’ Nancy’s lips tightened into a thin line.
‘I don’t want one. I want nothing to do with him,’ Carol said hotly. ‘We can manage on our own.’
‘Well, if that’s the case, I wouldn’t be inviting every Tom, Dick and Harry if you’re going to have to pay for it,’ her mother retorted.
‘I know, but two aunts, two uncles and you and Nadine isn’t much of a guest list,’ Carol said miserably.
‘What about Gary’s family? How many are coming from there?’
‘His ma; his dad is dead. His three brothers and their wives. Two cousins and a few friends.’
‘That’s plenty!’ Nancy looked at her in surprise. ‘What do you want to be feeding the world for?’
‘I suppose you’re right,’ Carol said doubtfully. ‘Is there anyone else you’d like to ask?’
‘Ask your cousins if you want to,’ Nancy told her.
‘I don’t really know them that well. They kept well away from us when we were kids.’ Carol couldn’t hide her bitterness.
‘You’re right. Don’t bother with them. Why should we give them a day out? They never had any time for us.’ For a moment mother and daughter were united in thought.
‘Here’s coffee,’ Gary said cheerily, leading Nadine through the door carrying two steaming mugs, which he handed to his future mother-in-law and future wife.
Nadine carried a tray with a packet of chocolate biscuits and a sugar bowl and milk jug.
‘You should have put the biscuits on a plate,’ Nancy scolded as she poured milk into her coffee.
‘Only adds to the washing-up, doesn’t it, Naddy?’ Gary grinned at Nadine. She giggled.
‘Your sister tells me she’d like to invite her best friend and her boyfriend to the wedding. That’s fine with us, isn’t it, Carol?’
‘Oh! Oh, sure!’ Carol couldn’t believe her eyes or ears. Naddy! Gary had Nadine eating out of his hand.
‘Right, that’s settled,’ Gary decreed, picking a mug off Nadine’s tray. ‘Have you sorted things with your mother?’
‘I think so,’ Carol said faintly.
‘Great! Did you show them the invites you brought down? Let’s see what the two most important wedding guests think.’
Carol rooted in her briefcase for the selection of invites and handed them over to Nancy. Gary had taken complete control, she thought in amazement. He had Nadine completely charmed. And Nancy was actually starting to relax.
She watched her fiancé studying the invite Nadine preferred as if he was completely engrossed. One thing about Gary Davis, she’d never be bored with him. Today she’d seen the best of him and she liked it. She liked it very much that he’d gone to the trouble of wooing her dysfunctional little family.
Maybe in his own peculiar way he loved her after all.
Gary glanced at his watch. ‘Should we make a move? It’s gone three thirty,’ he said.
‘I’ll just give my hair a brush,’ Nancy said slowly.
‘I’ll wash up,’ Nadine offered.
Unheard of.
‘I’ll help.’ Carol collected the mugs. She followed her sister out to the kitchen.
‘Thanks for the coffee,’ she said awkwardly.
‘That’s OK,’ Nadine muttered.
‘Ma’s not too bad today,’ Carol whispered conspiratorially.
‘I know. But she’s getting worse.’ Nadine rinsed the mugs under the tap. ‘I hate living here,’ she burst out.
‘Study hard and get out of it like I did,’ Carol advised.
‘And then who’ll look after her?’
‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. OK?’
‘OK,’ Nadine agreed, a lot less insolent than usual.
She is only a kid, Carol thought guiltily.
She was almost as bad as her father was. As soon as she’d got a job in Dublin she’d hightailed it out of Arklow and left Nadine to take responsibility for their mother. No wonder her sister was resentful and ungracious. Carol stood in the kitchen beside her younger sister and was consumed with guilt. What a selfish cow she’d been for the last few years. It was a horrible feeling, and she didn’t even want to think about it. Surreptitiously she glanced at her sister from under her lashes.
Nadine, head bent, was rubbing coffee stains off the inside of the mug. Her dyed blonde hair hung limply over her scrawny shoulders. She’d tried to put fake tan on and it was patchy and orangy and rather pathetic. Two spots bubbled like volcanoes under her makeup. She looked like a sad little tart.
What a miserable life she had, Carol thought, rigid with remorse. A lump the size of a melon threatened to choke her and she thought she was going to start crying. She knew exactly what Nadine had endured with their mother, anger, fear, anxiety, resentment, even a funny sort of love. She’d left her to shoulder the burden as she had once shouldered it, and blanked out all thoughts of guilt and responsibility. No wonder Nadine was hostile. As a sister, she had failed her completely, Carol acknowledged with gut-wrenching self-illumination.
She swallowed and swallowed until the lump was more manageable. ‘Listen, I’ve moved into a new flat. It’s got a separate bedroom and sitting-room. Why don’t you come up to Dublin some day, now that you’re on holliers, and stay the night? We could go shopping for your wedding gear. The shops are always open late on Thursday nights,’ she heard herself say.
Nadine looked gobsmacked. ‘Me come up to Dublin to you?’ she said flatly.
‘Yeah, why not?’ Carol said defensively. ‘I’ve room now for you to stay. I didn’t have before. The other place was such a kip you wouldn’t ask a mouse to stay the night.’ She made her lame excuses and felt like a heel.
‘Yeah, I suppose I could take a trip up.’ Nadine bent her head again, but Carol had seen the excitement in her eyes.
‘Good,’ Carol said crisply, regaining control.
‘Would you bring me to Temple Bar?’
‘Sure, Gary and you and I could have a night out.’
‘Could we go clubbing?’ Nadine pushed.
‘We’ll see,’ Carol rowed back, hoping she wouldn’t regret her impulsive invite. If Nadine got a taste of the good life in Dublin she might want to visit a lot and Carol wasn’t quite ready for that.
‘Will we bring those chocolates you brought over to Liz, Carol? I don’t want to go empty-handed. Maybe I should bring a bottle of wine. I have one in the fridge.’ Nancy came into the kitchen, wafting an overdose of Cerruti that had been a birthday present from Carol.
‘The chocolates will be fine,’ Carol said firmly. ‘Come on, let’s go.’
‘I’ll just put this out,’ Nancy murmured, stubbing her butt into the overflowing ashtray that lay on the draining-board. She tipped the contents into the bin and followed Carol into the hall.
‘Are you going out, Nadine, or will you be here when we get back?’ Carol asked.
‘I think I might go out the back and lie out and listen to my Walkman,’ Nadine responded. She still wasn’t feeling great after her night on the tiles.
‘Lucky you – I’ve to go and listen to women wittering on about weddings.’ Gary winked at her as he ushered Nancy and Carol out the door.
Nadine winked back.
‘See you later.’ She even smiled, a rare occurrence.
‘You’ve really won her over,’ Carol approved.
‘The Davis charm. Irresistible!’ Gary assured her as they walked down the road to Liz’s house.
‘Bigh
ead,’ Carol jibed, but she said it affectionately.
‘Let’s face the music and dance, Mrs Logan.’ Gary smiled at Nancy, who smiled back uncertainly. She’d had a slug of vodka up in the bedroom when she was brushing her hair, so she wasn’t quite as strung out as she’d been earlier. And she had to admit, Gary wasn’t as posh as she seemed to remember. Anyone who could get a smile out of Nadine had to be nice. Still, she’d be glad when all this was over. The meeting was the first ordeal; there were a few others to get through before Carol was Mrs Gary Davis.
She took a deep breath as they walked up Liz’s beautifully cobble-locked drive. She hoped Liz wouldn’t shake hands. Nancy trembled like a leaf as Carol rang the doorbell.
* * *
Bill glanced at the clock on the dash. Three thirty. He was behind time. He’d planned to be in Arklow by this stage and he was only at the East Link.
Ben had picked this very afternoon to throw a tantrum, simply because Brona had told him that they weren’t going for a walk along the beach as they usually did on Sunday afternoon.
Why Brona couldn’t have taken him to Dollymount Strand herself was beyond him. She was being most unhelpful. She hadn’t got up until all hours and then she’d decided she wanted to go to Superquinn to get their own-brand sausages for her mother because she’d promised her some. Now while Bill had to admit that Superquinn sausages were especially tasty and he understood Mrs Wallace’s addiction to them, it wasn’t a matter of life or death and she could just as well have got them the next day when she picked Ben up from the crèche.
She was just being awkward and obstructive. Behaviour that wasn’t worthy of her, he thought self-righteously, as he wondered whether to risk double points and a fine by doing forty on the Sandymount road.
By his reckoning he should make Arklow by four-thirty. Still early enough. It wasn’t dark these days until after ten, so he’d be home well before sunset.
He slid U2 into his CD player and settled back to enjoy the journey. The more relaxed he was the better. After all, he wasn’t sure what kind of a reception he’d get from Nancy, and, if she was there, Nadine. But hopefully it would be the start of reconciliation for all of them. That would be worth any initial discomfort, he assured himself, as he stopped at the barriers to wait for a train to pass through the Merrion Gates.
Double Wedding Page 24
