Two Days in Biarritz (17 page)

* * *

Shane could honestly say he was glad he was working today. He would be kept busy and have less time to think about Kate and how she was spending her birthday.

Breakfast was a cup of black coffee and a banana before he sat into his BMW and made the arduous journey along the M50 to
Dublin airport. He hit the radio controls on his dash and felt his world rock beneath him as Boston drummed out from the speakers. “More Than a Feeling,” was always their song. It wasn’t often played on any of the stations but he felt it particularly moving to hear it today of all days.

He reached out to his mobile handset resting on the dashboard. Before he could consider what he was doing he hit her name on his phone and waited while it rang out.

One ring, two rings, three rings. He felt a jolt as he heard hello at the other end of the line.

“Happy Birthday, Kate! I couldn’t let the day go by.”

“Shane, thank you!” Kate answered with a mixture of surprise and pleasure.

“How are you getting on,” he asked. “Doing anything special?”

“My mum’s just arrived home from hospital actually but she’s chatting to Philip and Gloria. What are you up to today?”

“I’m going to
Paris – twice.”

“I wish I was going with you, I’m really missing the boys.”

“It must be hard. How is your mum?”

“She’s bearing up  well but we had bad news – the secondaries were confirmed and there is no way she wants another operation. They aren’t even sure if it would do much good.”

“Jesus, Kate, I’m sorry to hear that.” He was genuinely saddened. “Poor Betty!”

“We’re all still in shock.”

“Listen, I’m off tomorrow – is there anything I can do to help?” Shane wanted to see her and console her personally.

“I could do with getting out for a walk in the afternoon sometime if you feel like dropping out,” she suggested.

“About three?”

“Sounds good,” she said, nodding even though she knew he couldn’t see her.

“I’ll be over at three then, Happy Birthday again.”

“Thanks, Shane.”

Kate switched off her phone and walked with a spring in her step back to the kitchen. She had received two nice phone calls to cheer her up so far. Deep down she wanted to hear Annabel’s voice but pride wouldn’t allow her to take a call from her friend, even if she did phone after all the rebuffs.

“Who was that, dear?” Betty called down from her
bed.

She’s still got a good pair of lungs, Kate thought. “Shane, Mum. He was asking for you.”

Betty smiled to herself. He was definitely the most handsome boy that Kate ever brought into Greenfield Close. She could understand what Kate saw in his mild and gentle ways. He reminded her so much of Liam in appearance. But Liam was really a wolf in sheep’s clothing, as Betty had to find out the hard way. It was ironic that Kate should be attracted to someone similar to him.

Betty had settled for Damien and he had given her and her children a good life. At times she thought of Liam and today was one of those days. She was saddened when she r
ealised that she would never see him again. She would put on a brave face for her family and friends but deep down inside she resigned herself to the ravages of the cancer. Liam would remain on the other side of the world where he had been for the last forty years and, for everyone’s sake, that was probably the best place for him.

“Will you have a cup?” Kate stood at the bedroom door holding a china mug filled with piping hot tea.

“I didn’t hear you come upstairs.” Betty manoeuvred herself carefully up in the bed. “I’d love one.”

Kate placed it down on the bedside locker.

Betty patted the bed, encouraging Kate to sit down. “Tell me about your date with Shane.”

“It wasn’t a date, Mum!” Kate rolled her eyes. “He’s married.”

“Well, so are you, technically.”

Kate was shocked by her mother’s attitude. “We went for a coffee in town and then a walk around the Green. That was pretty much it.”

“Did he look the same?” Betty was becoming animated.

“The same – I mean, he has hardly any grey apart from around his temples. He looks well.”

“He was the one,” Betty nodded.

“Hang on, I did have two husbands,” Kate said. Even though she agreed with her, she was confused by her mother’s reaction.

“There’s only ever one though!” Betty grimaced.

Kate had never heard her mother talk like this. “And you found Dad!” She wasn’t sure how her mother was going to react.

Her mother just nodded. “If you get the chance to be with him again, grab it, Kate!”

“He’s married, Mum. I’m not a home-wrecker.”

“There are worse things than wrecking a marriage,” Betty said, the words tasting bitter in her mouth. “You could stay in a loveless one.”

“Well, I’m about to sort that out – Stefan and I will be divorced by the end of the month.”

“He was never right for you, Kate. You were on the rebound and you had the boys. You should have come home that time.”

Kate squirmed as she recalled the barrage of demands that the Mackens had made on her from another country. There was no way she could have raised her sons under their grandparents’ watchful gaze. “I did what I thought was best at the time, Mum, and the boys are fine.”

“Get them out of boarding school and bring them home, Kate,” Betty pleaded.

The words hung in the air as they left Betty’s mouth. They were like the wishes of a dying woman and Kate knew that she could not ignore them.

“I’ll think about it, Mum, but France is their home, and mine.”

Betty nodded. “You must do what you think is right, but if you get the chance to be happy with Shane again, take it! Grab it with both hands and don’t let go!”

Betty’s eyes were fixed on Kate’s. She had never seen her mother look so intense. It made her wonder what secrets Betty was taking to the grave with her.

* *  *

The front door swung open as Annabel was walking down the stairs.

“I didn’t expect to see you home so early,”
she exclaimed.

Colin’s furrowed brow told a multitude. His golf clubs were flung onto the maple-wood floors with a crash.

“Where are the kids?” he grunted.

“I’m bringing them for a swim with
Rosa.”

He didn’t reply but went out to the car to get the rest of his stuff. Annabel swallowed hard. She hated it when he was like this. No one on the outside knew that this was the price she had to pay for being his wife. If she had a means of supporting herself she could do something about his moods, have the strength to stand up to him. He often treated her like one of his apprentices in his shiny office in the
IFSC. At least they could move job to get away from him.

Rosa
came out from the kitchen with Rebecca in her arms.

“Colin’s home – we may as well go soon,” Annabel said.

On his return to the hall, with another large bag, Colin changed his expression like a light switch. “Rosa, good to see you! I hope Annabel has been looking after you well?”

“Oh, yes, Mr Hamilton!”

“Rosa, I told you, call me Colin!”

It really annoyed Annabel to watch her husband turn on his bogus charm in this way – who did he think he was fooling? He always did it with attractive women and his
friends’ wives.

“We are going now,” Annabel said curtly. “Is
Taylor ready?”

“Don’t let her get grumpy with you, Rosa,” Colin snorted. “Just tell me if she’s being bossy.”

Annabel wanted to hit him over the head. She had little enough power or decision-making in the house when he was around, and now he wanted to mess up her position with the
au pair
. It was just as well Rosa was so nice. Annabel hoped she could see through his shallow ways.

She drove efficiently but silently to the pool.
Rosa sat in the back with the girls playing Gameboy. If only she could do something more positive. She remembered she needed to call the guy who organised the market and, while she was stopped at a traffic light, hit his number on her hands-free kit.

“Sean Doonan,” he answered.

“Hi, my name is Annabel Hamilton and I was wondering what the procedure is for anyone wanting to set up a stall in the Farmers’ Market in Howth?”

“What do you produce?”

“I make humus and salads but I would like to do more . . .”

“You could be in luck. The harbourmaster has increased the space available for stalls. I could give you a twelve foot square area for fifty euros per week.”

“Oh, really, I think I’d be very interested in that.”

She let him talk on about the rental costs and overheads – she would definitely be able to finance it from her housekeeping and use the profits from week to week to build the business up. “This all sounds great. When can I start?”

“Next week if you like,” he replied.

Annabel
couldn’t believe there was a space free so soon. She would have a lot of work to do during the week to get ready. She couldn’t make the produce too early or it would go off. Little butterflies gathered in her stomach as she pulled into the car park of the leisure centre. Things had changed since her two days in Biarritz – but it wasn’t all negative.

* * * 

Shane looked at his watch. “Good,” he said out loud but there was no one else in the car.

Again the weather was smiling on him as he crossed the toll-bridge and arrived on the north side of the city. He didn’t want to turn up with the roof down. Kate wouldn’t be impressed twice!

He stopped off at
Vernon’s off licence and picked up a drinkable Chilean red that had a new style screw-off cap for convenience. He took two plastic cups from the counter-top and smartly made his way back to the car.

* * *

Kate checked her hair in the bathroom mirror on realising that it was almost three o’clock. The pressures of looking after her mother, and the impending art exhibition that she wasn’t doing any work for, were starting to show. Her own usually tanned face was looking pallid and tired, and she was still off her food.

The doorbell rang and she turned sharply, anxious to answer it.

“Is that Shane at the door?” her mother called.

“Yes, I’ll get him to say hello when we get back!” Kate hollered, running down the stairs.

This was Kate and Shane time and she didn’t want to share him with anyone else.

She pulled back the door and he looked even better than the last time he had called. He was wearing a checked shirt that made him look broader than usual.

“Hi, Kate,” he smiled.

“Stay where you are,” she whispered. “I’m getting my bag.”

She returned in an instant.

“Bye, Mum!” she called and was gone before Betty had a chance to answer.

“You brought the weather with you from France,” Shane remarked.

“It has been nice, hasn’t it?” Kate stalled for a moment. “Do you fancy taking a stroll down Dollymount Strand?”

Shane visibly flinched as she said it. “We had some good times down there, hadn’t we?”

“Like the time you saved my life!” Kate teased.

Shane’s agitated expression told her to stop the charade. “I love winding you up – sorry, Shane.”

He smiled. He could never stay cross with her for long. “Hey, I’ve a bottle of vino in the car – will we take it with us?” Shane suggested.

“Yeah, and we can take the car over the wooden bridge and leave it by the statue,” Kate said with a nod.

Shane parked the BMW by a bank of rocks and they braced themselves before facing the brisk wind that rose from the shoreline.

“God, it’s so beautiful here,” she sighed.

“I love this time of year as much as the summer,” Shane agreed.

Kate looked at him from under her fringe. “I appreciate it here now – more than all those years ago. We grew up in a lovely place.”

“I still find it hard to get used to the south side to be honest. Natasha’s the southsider.” He sounded doleful.

“She wouldn’t move?”

He shook his head. “Her folks live around the corner from us and she keeps harping on about how handy it will be when we start a family.”

Kate was jolted by his words. “I didn’t realise . . .  I mean, of course you must be trying for a family.” Kate felt a hard lump build in her throat as she uttered the words. 

“I shouldn’t really be talking about it but we are meant to be . . .” he paused, “trying! God, I hate that expression!”

“So you both want this?”

“She’s dead keen but I’m still getting my head around the idea. It’s strange but I always thought it would feel different when you decided you were going to start a family. I have to think of her and her needs though.”