Page 19 of The Last Love Song
Helen nodded slowly. ‘I know.’ Sorcha followed her out of her bedroom and down the stairs. Seamus was waiting in the hall.
‘Thank you for supper, Mary. Bye, Sorcha.’
‘Bye, Helen.’
Helen followed Seamus out of the front door.
That night, Helen gazed out of her bedroom window. She could see the small oil lamp twinkling in Con Daly’s hut on the beach. She sighed. Why was life so unfair? Not only was Sorcha popular and pretty, but she had Con Daly. There was no doubt that Con would make it. They would run away from Ballymore and start a new life together.
It seemed Sorcha had everything Helen wanted.
She sat staring out of the window for a long time.
6
On Friday afternoon, the last day of term, the girls were going off to celebrate. As usual, their plans did not include Helen. She watched as Sorcha and her friends linked arms and marched off down the hill to the village. There was a big party at Katherine’s house.
Her frustration at the injustice of her life increased.
On Sunday morning, she came downstairs to find Aunt Betty had planned a special birthday breakfast for her.
‘There you are, Helen. Enjoy it.’ Betty smiled at her niece. ‘There’s a parcel for you.’
Helen opened the tightly wrapped package and found a leather-bound copy ofThe Complete Works of Shakespeare. A lump came to her throat. She found it hard enough to read a comic, let alone Shakespeare. Still, her aunt had obviously taken a great deal of trouble to buy her something nice. Helen stood up, walked around the table and kissed Betty on the cheek.
‘Thank you, Aunt,’ she nodded. ‘It’s a grand present and I’ll treasure it always.’ Helen sat back down and tucked into the eggs, bacon and sausages. Betty finished her own breakfast and studied her niece.
‘So, Helen, today you come of age. The house is yours and you’re an adult. You won’t be needing me any more.’ Helenlooked up and realised her aunt was eyeing her nervously. ‘Do you intend to keep the house, or will you be selling it?’
‘I’ll be keeping it, of course. I hope things will continue just the same as they always have done.’
‘So, you won’t be minding if I stay on here, Helen?’
‘Of course not. It’s your home too. Why should I mind?’
‘Well, maybe I’ll stay until you find yourself a husband and then, of course, you must be mistress here and I can find a cottage in which to see out the rest of my days.’
‘Aunt, I would never turn you out. You’ve always been here to look after me. You’re the only family I have.’
‘Thank you. I appreciate it, Helen.’ Betty stood up and hurriedly began to clear away the breakfast plates.
This morning, Helen had become a very wealthy woman. And now she would make the first significant decision of her adult life.
She returned to her bedroom and sat on her window seat. It was wet with condensation. The rain lashed against the panes and the gale-force winds made them rattle.
There was no doubt about it, the weather was perfect.
Helen looked down at her well-bitten nails, and began to peel the cuticles away. She was even more apprehensive than anticipated.
As she took Davy out for a ride later that morning, small white balls of flotsam were blown up onto the path from an angry sea. Used as he was to the harsh weather, Davy was still unsettled by the wind. She cut short her ride and went inside.
Before lunch, Aunt Betty and she each had a glass of sherry to toast her coming of age. Helen kept an eye on the clock as her aunt served up roast beef. After lunch, Helen went upstairs and stationed herself on her window seat.
Would she come today? Helen wasn’t sure she could endure the stress of waiting much longer.
The time ticked on.
And then she saw her, in sou’wester and mac, pedalling towards the dunes. The bicycle went into the hollow as usual and she scrambled over the dunes towards the hut. The door opened and she disappeared inside.
