The Bright Side (66 page)

“Of course not. How are you, Eddie?
”

“Oh, I’m fine. It’s you I’m worried about. Are you … fine?
”

“Yeah. I am. So – full circle.” “Uh. I don’t –
”

“The car park. This is where we got started, you and me.” “Oh! Right. Yes.
”

“Not even a week ago.
”

“I know. Imagine. It’s been eventful.” “You can say that again.
”

He scratched the end of his nose. “About last night, Robert and the DVD. I’m sorry if –
”

“No need to be sorry. I’m glad you said what you did.” “Was I right?
”

“Yup.
”

“Sorry”
.

“And I want to thank you.” I put my hand on his and squeezed. For a moment, I thought he was going to die of embarrassment. Then he smiled and squeezed back. “I feel terrible,” I said then. “I ran out of your house last night and didn’t even find out how it went with Margaret. So …?
”

His smile broadened to epic proportions. “It went well
.

Very
well.”

“Great. So you stayed tragic and mysterious?” “Yeah. She
loved
it.
”

“I’m delighted, Eddie. Delighted.
”

“But I’m going to come clean soon. Next time I see her, in fact. It’s not me – lying like that.
”

“No,” I agreed. “Lying isn’t easy. Well, it’s easy enough to start – but it’s hard to keep up.
”

“Yeah. Y’know, the whole thing would never have happened if it hadn’t been for you. Me and Margaret, I mean.
”

“Ah, now …” “It’s the truth.
”

“So we’re mutually grateful. Good for us.
”

“Exactly. And, y’know … I’ve made a bit of progress.” “Have you now?
”

“Yup. I mean, you know, one thing at a time. But she has the lips wore off me.
”

I felt the happiness coming off him in waves. “You must be so chuffed …
”

“I feel fucking brilliant!” he declared
.

I’d never heard him swear before. It felt like a little treat. This, I decided, was a good place to end the conversation
.

“OK, Eddie,” I said. “I’m going to scoot.
”

“Yeah, I should get back up there. Will I see you on Monday?
”

“I’ll be here.
”

I declined to add a detail – that I’d be handing in my notice. “See you then,” he said
.

I
held
up
my
hand.
“Wait!
I
nearly
forgot.”
I
slid
off
the
bonnet
and
went
round
to
open
the
door
on
the
passenger side.
When
I
handed
Eddie
the
Dunnes
Stores
bag,
he looked
at
it
as
if
might
bite
him
.

“What’s this?
”

“Little present,” I told him
.

He reached in and withdrew the tie that I had spent twenty minutes choosing
.

“Should be an exact match,” I said. “Or as near as makes no difference.
”

He held it up against his own and confirmed that they were indistinguishable
.

“One to change the other,” I said. “Always good to have a spare.
”

Eddie nodded his thanks and turned away. God bless him, I think he was getting choked up
.

* * *

I
hadn’t
intended
to
call
on
Lisa
right
away,
but
when
I
saw her
paint-spattered
car
outside
the
house,
I
decided
I
might as
well
talk
to
her
now.
In
Tony’s
time,
the
sound
of
the doorbell
had
been
a
long,
low
buzz.
It
was
different
now,
a classic
ding-dong.
There
was
no
answer
to
my
first
ring.
The door
opened
on
the
dong
of
my
second.
Lisa
was
still
in
her work
gear,
a
beautiful
black
trouser-suit
over
a
crisp
red
shirt. She
looked,
as
they
say,
a
million
dollars.
I
knew
that
I looked
about
a hundred
and fifty,
but I
didn’t
give a
damn
.

“Hello,”
I
said
as
she
half-closed
the
door
again,
a
barrier,
I
presumed
against
physical
assault.
“I’ve
been
away
for
a week,
but
I’m
back
now.
I
just
wanted
to
drop
by
and
let
you know
that
you
mean
absolutely
nothing
to
me,
so
you
don’t have
to
worry
about
being
axe-murdered
or
anything.
I understand
that
you’re
moving
out
soon?
”

This was all too sudden for her, and too strange. I could see it in her eyes; they didn’t seem to be under her voluntary control
.

“Yes,”
she
said
quietly.
“Just
over
a
month
from
now.” “Good.
Moving
in
with
your
boyfriend,
is
that
it?”
She
nodded.
I
nodded
back.
“Marriage
on
the
cards?” She
looked
at
her
feet.
“Maybe.
”

“He probably thinks he’s a lucky man. And I suppose he is, in some ways. In others, not so much, wouldn’t you say?
”

She didn’t reply. I wouldn’t have either
.

“You’re not going to let him sue my son, are you?” “It’s not up to –
”

“Because if you do, it’ll all have to come out, won’t it? The reason why Robert stopped at your table in the first place. I presume you told him – what – old boyfriend?
”

Again,
she
didn’t
reply,
but
her
expression
gave
her
away. “Thought
so,”
I
said.
“That
lie
wouldn’t
last
long
once the
lawyers
got
involved.
But,
I
don’t
know,
maybe
you’re thinking
of
toughing
it
out.
I’d
say
you’ve
a
neck
on
you
for anything.
Just
to
be
on
the
safe
side,
take
a
note
of
this:
if Robert
gets
as
much
as
a
solicitor’s
letter,
I
won’t
think
twice about
telling
Michael
–
that’s
his
name,
isn’t
it?
–
about telling Michael the
full story.
Won’t take me
half an
hour to
track
him
down.
Do
you
understand?
”

She
tossed
her
hair
back,
trying
to
compose
herself.
“Yes.” “Same
goes
for
my
daughter.
She
never
hears
from
you about
your
car
or
your
window.
That
remains
an
unsolved
mystery.
Correct?
”

“Yes. Correct. I told Michael but I said I didn’t know –” “Good. OK, then. That’s all I have to say. See ya.
”

I walked away. Her door still hadn’t closed when I put the key in mine
.

CHAPTER
30

Gerry
had
come
back
to
the
house
at
some
point.
I
knew that
because
the
Cross-eyed
Busker
had
been
cleared away.
The
kitchen
bin
hadn’t
been
emptied,
but
that
was
a
different
kind
of
mess
.

I sat on the sofa in the front room and, one last time, ran through what I was going to say. It boiled down to this: there was no excuse for infidelity. Maybe he’d done it because he was going through some private crisis of his own. Maybe he’d done it to prove a point to himself. Maybe he’d done it because she was gorgeous and he just couldn’t resist. I didn’t particularly care; I was going to give him hell all over again. Then I was going to tell him that I’d forgive him if he’d forgive me
.

Things
seemed
clearer
now,
clearer
than
they’d
been
for years.
I’d
always
felt
that
I
had
coped
well
with
my
parents’
deaths;
as
well
as
could
be
expected,
at
any
rate.
Now
I
saw that
I
had
simply
looked
the
other
way
–
to
a
job
I
couldn’t stand
and,
briefly,
a
man
I
hardly
knew.
I’d
been
so
busy looking
the
other
way,
in
fact,
that
I
had
allowed
my relationships
with
my
son
and
sister
to
fall
apart
for
want
of
a little
common
sense
.