Page 66 of Filter This
‘My apologies, Hazel.’ The anchor cut across her, pressing her index finger to her ear. ‘We’re getting word that Shelly’s making a statement at the Devine compound shortly.’ Turning back to the camera, she said: ‘We’ll take you there now.’
Jim, Sandra and Shelly looked at each other, baffled, then Teresa Daly reappeared looking more composed than during her previous brush with Dan.
‘Thanks, Jean. I’m here live, reporting from the Devine compound, where Amy Donoghue, assistant to Ms Devine, will be sharing Ms Devine’s statement.’
The camera swung round to Amy, who looked more teenage than ever with her top knot, fishnet body suit, jeans and flannel shirt. Shelly felt like crying with relief just seeing her. Amy blinked, scowling in the glare of the lights, then slipped her glasses on and began reading from her iPad.
‘Shelly has been bravely navigating the turbulent early weeks of a pregnancy that has, unfortunately, been fraught with health difficulties. She wishes to extend her heartfelt gratitude to all her followers for their support during this trying time. While some of her comments may appear extreme, they were taken out of context and do not reflect the views of Shelly and the brand and community that she has worked so hard to create. Thank you and, most especially, thank you to all the Shell-Belles out there who know the real Shelly and know that she is being horribly misrepresented by these slanderous and highly edited clips. We will be issuing no further comment and the family would appreciate privacy at this time.’
Amy snapped the cover of her iPad shut and smiled tightly, ignoring the hysterical barrage of questions from Teresa Daly. She slipped in the side gate and started up the driveway.
The shot cut back to studio, where Jean was apologising to a furious-looking Hazel. ‘I’m afraid that’s all we have time for tonight.’
Sandra turned it off and Shelly ran out to the hall, flung open the front door and threw her arms around Amy.
‘You saved us! Hazel was about to have a field day eviscerating me on live TV.’
‘God, I know – sure I was watching her Stories. She was all over Insta talking about preparing to speak on behalf of the mummy blogger community to condemn Shelly Devine.’
Shelly winced.
‘Don’t worry, we’ll get a handle on all this in a matter of hours.’ Amy had disengaged and was storming towards the office.
‘Amy!’ Shelly couldn’t believe she was capable of smiling right now, but the sight of a fired-up Amy was giving her nostalgia. Amy whirled around, tapping away on her iPad already.
‘Mm-hmm?’ She didn’t even look up.
‘You don’t work for me anymore.’
‘Don’t worry, Shel. This is pro bono.’ Amy gave a wink and headed on. ‘I’ll be in the war room,’ she called over her shoulder, starting up the stairs.
Shelly ducked back in to say goodnight to her parents. They’d moved on to watching an ad for Brendan O’Connor’s panel showThe Cutting Edge.
‘I can’t make up my mind about this O’Connor fella,’ Jim was muttering.
‘I like the look of him,’ Sandra said. ‘He’s a handsome lad, especially for a Cork man. And he’s a great singer. I heard him singing ‘The Wonder of You’ once.’
Shelly said goodnight and gave them a hug. They were going to stay in the guest room and she realised, discomfited, that they never had before. ‘I’m sorry if we haven’t been that close for a while, Mam.’
‘You never have to say sorry to us, pet.’ Sandra smiled. ‘You’ve been under a lot of pressure. But we’re always here, no matter what.’
Leaving them to it, Shelly climbed the stairs slowly, feeling more #blessed than she had in years. There was no way in hell she should be happy right now. God knows what was being said about her – she was splashed all over the bloody news, for god’s sake, and yet somehow she felt oddly lighter. She’d started seeing a counsellor and their sessions were definitely helping to lift the guilt Shelly’d been burying.
She grabbed a towel from the cupboard and stepped into the bathroom where Marni was giving Georgie her bath.
‘Mama,’ the little girl shrieked. ‘Look what I am.’ She paddled in the water, sending bubbles into the air like tiny soapy clouds, and let out a series of barks.
‘Ah, the puppy is having her bath.’ Shelly knelt down to pet her. ‘Oh, such a good puppy and so clean!’
Marni laughed, standing up to go.
‘Thanks a million for staying late this evening.’ Shelly smiled a bit awkwardly. ‘I didn’t expect all that fuss with the press to be going on.’
‘No probs.’ Marni stretched. ‘I’m glad to help out any time.’
Shelly gave her a hug. ‘I don’t know if you’ve seen any of the reports, but I just want you to know, they took me up completely the wrong way.’
Marni shook her head, smiling. ‘Of course I know that, Shelly, no need to explain. I’ll see you on Thursday night? I’m babysitting for the awards?’
