Love, Rosie (224 page)

time
and
I
send
cards
for
every
occasion
and
he
does
the
same
back.

Every
few
months
I
get
a
postcard
from
a
different
exotic
country

with
boring
weather
reports
from
him,
and
when
he’s
not
holiday-

ing
he’s
working
all
hours.
So
we’re
not
completely
ignoring
each

other.
It’s
a
very
civilized
kind
of
argument
we’re
having.

Julie:

Yes,
apart
from
the
fact
that
you
don’t
even
talk.
Your
best
friend

has
a
6-month-old
baby
that
you
haven’t
even
bothered
to
meet.
All

I’m
saying
is
that
if
you
let
this
carry
on
much
longer,
the
years
will

multiply
and
before
you
know
it
it’ll
just
be
too
late.

chapter
42

k

DEAR
ROSIE
AND
KATIE
DUNNE,

SEASON’S
GREETINGS
FROM
ST.
JUDE’S
HOSPITAL.

MY
WIFE,
TWO
SONS,
AND
I
HOPE
THAT
THE
YEAR
AHEAD
BRINGS
YOU

AND
YOUR
LOVED
ONES
GOOD
HEALTH
AND
HAPPINESS.

MERRY
CHRISTMAS
AND
A
HAPPY
NEW
YEAR
FROM
THE
STEWARTS.

ALEX
STEWART,
M.D.

TO
ALEX
STEWART
MD
RIP
BLA
BLA
BLA,

MAY
THE
COMING
YEAR
BE
FILLED
WITH
WARM
WISHES
FOR
YOU
AND

YOUR
FAMILY.

BEST
WISHES,

ROSIE
DUNNE
R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

You
have
an
instant
message
from:
ALEX

Alex:

Rosie:

Alex:

What
do
you
know
about
respect?

Oooh,
talking
to
me
now
are
you?

It’s
been
long
enough.
One
of
us
should
be
adult
enough
to
make

contact,
remember
I’m
not
the
one
who
started
this
in
the
first

place.

334

Rosie:

Alex:

Rosie:

Alex:

Yes
you
did.

Rosie,
no
I
didn’t.

Yes
you
did!

Cecelia
Ahern

Oh
please!
Last
year
I
told
you
Bethany
was
pregnant
at
which

point
you
went
ape
shit
and
ranted
about
how
being
male
is
some

sort
of
disease.
And
for
your
information
I
proposed
to
her
one

night
before
we
went
to
an
award
ceremony.
Bethany
said
yes,
and

naturally
being
excited,
she
told
her
parents
at
the
table
(as
any
nor-

mal
person
would
do).
Her
father
was
presented
his
award
and
dur-

ing
his
speech
he
announced
that
his
daughter
has
just
gotten

engaged
(as
a
normal
proud
father
would
on
just
learning
that
his

daughter
was
to
be
married).

The
press
was
there;
they
went
back
to
their
desks
and
reported
on

the
evening
in
time
to
make
the
next
day’s
papers.
I
went
out
and

celebrated
my
engagement
with
my
fiancée
and
her
family.
I
got

home
to
bed
and
woke
up
the
next
day
to
phone
call
after
phone

call
from
my
family
wanting
to
no
why
the
hell
hadn’t
I
told
them
I