Page 96 of The Last Saturday In July
‘What do you feel like eating?’
It was almost like she’d never left home at all, Jess thought. Despite, or maybe because of her nursing background, her mother’s solutions for most of life’s problems were tea, food and sleep. ‘I’m not sure.’
‘Well, you don’t like tomato soup, so I’ll make you an omelette.’ Carmel got up and took a small frying pan out of the drawer. ‘Have you any plans for the rest of the day?’
Anxiety curled through her. Her mother meant well, but if she stayed at home she’d have to talk about Simon and the wedding. She remembered hearing a dry weather forecast for the afternoon.
‘I think I might go to the stables.’
A couple of hours later, Jess slowed her horse from a gallop to a canter, as she crossed the final half mile back to Glenwood Stables. She’d never been so grateful that she’d kept all her riding clothes in her parents’ house. Her headache and the earlier tension in her body gone, she slowed to a trot and dipped forward to stroke the horse’s head, remembering how she’d felt riding out with Adam on his family farm. This afternoon had been almost as good.
Back in the yard, she dismounted and led the gelding to his stable. She was hanging up her tack when the stable manager came in. ‘Seán!’ She threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.
‘Hey, you.’ He returned the hug. ‘Thought you’d given up on us.’
She pulled back, smiling up at him. His skin was deeply tanned from a life spent outdoors, his fair hair bleached in the sun. ‘How have you been?’
He rubbed his chin. ‘I’ve a bit of news: Catriona’s agreed to make an honest man of me.’
‘Hey, I’m so happy for you guys!’
‘Yeah, well.’ He laughed. ‘We haven’t set a date or anything. You know us, we’ll probably just do up the barn in the far field, maybe attach a marquee and have a massive buffet. Sure, there’s about five hundred people we’d want to invite.’
‘That sounds amazing.’ Jess felt a pang of envy. Compared to her own wedding, it sounded fun and relaxed.
‘It’ll be a bit of craic. But listen, we’re really looking forward to your big day out. Catriona bought a new outfit, and I have the good suit.’
Jess could feel some of her earlier tension return. ‘Have you been busy?’ She started to brush down the gelding’s coat.
‘Ah, the usual. Although we had a bit of a hike in numbers after your fiancé came for that lesson. A lot of people hoping for a repeat performance, until they realised it was a one-off.’ He winked. ‘Pity, I think he was a natural.’
Despite herself, Jess laughed, remembering how she’d persuaded Simon to take his first and only riding lesson. ‘In his defence, he’d never been on a horse before.’
‘He wasn’t on one that time either. We gave him one of the kid’s ponies, remember?’
Jess hung up the brush and shut the half-gate on the gelding’s stall, before feeding him a small treat from her hand.
‘Yeah, well, it’s not something I see us doing together. Maybe I’ll take up golf.’
‘You’re wounding me now, Jess.’ He placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘You sure everything’s okay?’
She gave a quick smile. ‘Everything’s perfect. And I’m joking about the golf.’
Seán checked the time. ‘I’d better head off, I’ve a few things to do before our next class.’
Jess was tempted to stay on for another hour and help out. But she’d only be delaying the inevitable. She had to face her real, messy life and the sooner the better. ‘Give my love to Catriona.’
‘I will. Don’t be a stranger, now.’
She watched Seán stride away across the stable yard, then collected her things and headed back to the car. As she drove up the narrow lane that led to the back roads of the foothills of the Dublin mountains, she remembered her first time at Glenwood. She’d been fourteen, Zoe just nine. Her confidence had hit a new low, after puberty brought an alarming weight gain. Their mother had refused to discuss dieting and instead decided that both girls would take up riding. Gradually, fresh air and regular exercise, combined with the confidence that came from being around horses, had proved a winning combination.
Seán was right, she should get back to riding. Especially as Simon usually worked part of his Saturdays now. She missed the camaraderie at the stables, and it wasn’t like she and Simon had any real shared interests. She hated golf and opera and despite attending a few matches, still had no interest in rugby. She’d tried to learn chess, but she found it too slow. Simon dismissedCelebrity ComeDancingandThe Great British Bake Offas cheap TV, and he thought yoga was for conspiracy theorists. They even had different taste in holidays.
While Jess loved beaches, horse trekking on country roads and cosy pubs in the evening, Simon’s ideal holiday was a good golf course and plenty of culture. But none of it had ever mattered before, they’d always found things to talk about. And Simon had been a steady, reliable presence in her life. It was she who’d let him down.
But recently she’d started to realise something else. Kate understood Simon far better than her. Simon might be her fiancé, but Kate was the glue holding them together. Kate was the person Jess had always turned to for advice when she and Simon disagreed, and to her shame Jess had never questioned it.
For a brief moment she allowed herself to imagine her life if Simon had never proposed. She wouldn’t have had a hen weekend. She wouldn’t have slept with Adam or fallen out with Kate.
