Page 39 of Things We Never Said
Sean nods. ‘She and Ronan are moving to their own place. They’re both flat-sharing at the moment, so ...’
‘Of course. And does this mean there’ll be a wedding?’ Maggie asks.
‘Nope,’ Sean says. ‘They don’t believe in silly old-fashioned concepts like marriage.’
‘Do you mind? You sound like you do.’
‘Do I?’ Sean asks. ‘I don’t think so. Maybe. But no, I don’t think so.’
‘Gosh, a baby! How exciting.’
‘Yes, it’s quite a shock, really.’
‘You know, I never saw April as the baby type,’ Maggie says. ‘I don’t know why, but I just never really imagined it.’
‘That’s what Catherine said.’
A shadow crosses Maggie’s features. She sighs gently.
‘Don’t say it,’ Sean says.
‘No. It’s just ... I was only going to say that it’s a sh—’
‘Don’t say it,’ Sean repeats. ‘Please.’
‘No,’ Maggie says. ‘Of course. Sorry.’
Sean presses the plunger and then pours the coffee into two mugs, which he places on the kitchen table. ‘Here,’ he says. ‘So, what have you done with Dave this weekend?’
‘I buried him under the patio,’ Maggie tells him, solemnly.
‘That’s the first place they’ll look.’
‘Who?’
‘The police.’
‘Ahh. No, he’s gone back to his flat for the weekend, actually. Said he needs some “space”,’ Maggie says. She uses two fingers to indicate the quote marks around the word ‘space’.
‘Trouble in paradise?’ Sean asks.
Maggie laughs sourly. ‘If this is paradise then give me hell any day of the week.’
‘That bad, huh?’
‘Oh, it’s all right, really. It’s just so much harder to fit together with someone in your fifties. We get so set in our ways, you know? I mean, when you meet someone in your teens, like you two did, well, you’re still growing, aren’t you? You automatically adjust so that you fit together. But when you’re my age, all the likes and dislikes are set in stone. That’s the trouble.’
‘I can imagine it’s not easy,’ Sean says. ‘But you’re clever enough. You’ll make it work.’
Maggie sighs again, more deeply this time. She looks out at the garden. ‘So, I’m assuming that if it was you who used to do the hoovering, then the gardening was Catherine’s responsibility. Am I right?’
Sean follows her gaze. ‘Oh. Yes. It’s looking bad, huh?’
‘You need to at least mow the lawn,’ Maggie says. ‘Because soon it’ll be too long to mow, and then you’ll be stuck.’
‘Yes,’ Sean says unenthusiastically. ‘Yeah, I know.’
‘I could give you a hand. Tomorrow, maybe.’
