Page 107 of The Last Love Song
‘But now everyone is his best friend.’ Mary stirred the teapot. ‘Last year we had a journalist asking questions about Con around the town. You’d not believe the number of people who swore they were like a brother to him and the amount of women who had once been his sweetheart. He came here too.’
‘Did he? And what did you tell him?’
‘I didn’t get a chance. Your daddy slammed the door in his face.’
It was one of the only things Seamus had ever done for which his daughter was grateful.
‘There you go, a nice hot drop.’ Mary put the cup down in front of her.
‘Thanks.’ Sorcha sipped the tea. ‘Ah, there’s no one in the world that can make a cup of tea like you, Mammy.’
‘Thank you, I’m sure.’ Mary smiled and sat down at the table. ‘Sorcha, there are so many things I want to ask you about the last few years. It’s hard to know where to start.’
‘I know.’
‘Maybe after tomorrow we can sit down and catch up properly. Or are you rushing back?’
‘I...I haven’t thought about it yet, Mammy. Let’s take one day at a time, shall we?’
‘Of course.’
Sorcha stifled a yawn.
‘You poor thing. You’re exhausted and here’s me chattering away like an old fishwife. Let’s get you to your bed. You’ll need your sleep before tomorrow. You’ll be on parade, Sorcha, there’s no doubting that. I reckon it’ll be one of the best-attended funerals ever in Ballymore, with all the folks rubber-necking to catch a glimpse of Seamus O’Donovan’s famous son-in-law.’
‘Well, I’ll be sorry to disappoint them,’ Sorcha said bitterly.
‘I’m glad he’s not here. It’ll give us a chance to get to know each other properly again. Come on now, to bed with you. It’s almost midnight.’
Sorcha followed her mother up the stairs to her bedroom. She drew in her breath when she saw the way that it had lain undisturbed since the day she’d left it almost six years ago.
‘Everything’s as it was. I vacuumed and dusted every week, to keep it nice.’
Sorcha fingered the china animal collection on her dressing table. She’d treasured it as a child.
‘I’m amazed Daddy didn’t have the room fumigated and stripped,’ she laughed.
‘He was after suggesting we redecorated and got rid of your things, but I stood up to him on that one. This room was all I had of you and I wasn’t going to let it go.’
‘He really hated me, didn’t he?’ Sorcha sat down on the bed and clasped a teddy to her breast.
Mary looked to the floor and shook her head. ‘No, Sorcha. You’ve got it very wrong there. He loved you so much. Worshipped you, in fact. You took ten years to arrive, a gift from God. When you fell in love with Con, he just couldn’t cope. So, he did the only thing he could do and cut you outof his life altogether. He had such grand plans for you, Sorcha.’ Mary sighed. ‘It’s partly my fault. If I’d have given him more children like the rest of the women round here were able to give their husbands, then maybe the load on your shoulders would not have been so great. Talking of which, I’m fairly surprised that you and Con haven’t a little one yet.’
‘Ah, Mammy, it’s not for lack of wanting,’ sighed Sorcha.
‘It’ll happen, I’m sure. The trick is not to worry about it. Now, have you your night things in here?’ Mary lifted her suitcase onto the end of the bed and opened it. Sorcha lolled on her mattress and watched as Mary busied herself hanging up her clothes and arranging the contents of her washbag on the dressing table.
‘There now, your things are sorted. I’ll leave you to get undressed.’ Mary hovered in the doorway, unwilling to leave.
Sorcha understood. She stood up, walked across to her mother and put her arms round her shoulders. ‘If you get lonely in the night, come and wake me.’
‘Oh, I’ll be fine, don’t worry your head about me.’
‘And, Mammy, it’s grand to be home.’
‘Really?’
‘Really.’
