Divided Loyalties (21 page)

‘Ah don’t be like that now!’ Noel exclaimed in dismay, but Carrie had had enough. Years of suppressed resentment at the way he took her for granted filled her and she slammed
the front door good and hard, tears streaming down her cheeks as she got into the car.

She reversed onto the road and drove towards the small car park further down the road that overlooked the beach. There was no other car there and she drove in and cut the engine. She needed a
tissue. Her face was dripping with salty tears and great shuddering sobs shook her body.

Her father was
utterly
unfair. He took so much for granted. The cooking and cleaning she did for him, the running of errands, the trips to the doctor with him. She wasn’t a bloody
skivvy, but she might as well be, the way he treated her, she thought sorrowfully as she looked out at the turbulent, leaden sea pounding the shore. The truth was, she did feel more than a little
guilty. She’d worried about leaving Noel alone but Dan had said quite firmly that it was only for two weeks. He was well able to look after himself. He could drive around and get his own
shopping and it might be very good for him to be more independent. It would also be very good for him to see just how much Carrie did for him, her husband had added.

Noel really was lucky. Poor Mrs O’Neill next door was a widow. Her son lived in Canada and her daughter lived in Australia and she had to take care of herself with little family support.
And she did it very well. Carrie sighed, wiping her eyes. Mrs O’Neill played bridge three nights a week. She was in the local ladies’ club, she played bowls, and she lived life to the
full. Noel could do well to emulate her.

If only Bobby were talking to him it wouldn’t be so bad going away. Should anything serious befall their father he could fly over from London. It would be a safety net of sorts. She blew
her nose and took a few deep breaths. She’d better get home. It was homework time. Noel normally ate his dinner with them but he’d been keeping inside after his bronchitis and
she’d been dropping his dinner over to him. It had become a habit. It was a habit he’d want to get out of quickly. He could start coming back to the house for his dinner, she thought
crossly as she started the ignition and headed for home.

‘Are you OK?’ Dan gave her a quizzical look when she walked into the kitchen. He had filled the dishwasher and the table was cleared. Davey and Olivia were sitting doing their
homework and Hannah was playing on the sofa with her dolls.

‘Mam, can you spell Sicily?’ Davey asked.

‘Yeah, S-i-c-i-l-y,’ she said. ‘What do you want to know that for?’

‘We’re doing a project about volcanoes and there’s a big one called Mount Etna in Sicily,’ he explained.

‘Right.’ She smiled down at him and felt a wave of affection for him as he sat there with his chestnut cow’s lick sticking up, and the smattering of freckles over his nose
making him look endearingly childlike.

‘We’re doing a project on nature,’ Olivia piped up, never one to be outdone. ‘I’ve to collect some snowdrops and daffodils and primroses, Mam.’

‘We have daffodils and snowdrops in the garden and there’s primroses on the bank of Dad’s field, so we can collect them tomorrow.’ She ruffled her daughter’s
hair.

‘Cup of tea?’ Dan offered.

‘I’d love one,’ she said wearily.

‘How’s your dad?’ he asked casually as he filled the kettle.

‘Don’t ask!’ she said sourly.

‘I take it you told him about the trip,’ he murmured, conscious of the children at the table. They hadn’t been told about the forthcoming holiday. Carrie had planned to
surprise them the following day during Saturday’s family breakfast. It was the only time in the week that they all sat down for breakfast together.

‘Hmm.’ She nodded. ‘Not impressed.’

Dan’s jaw tightened and a frown crossed his handsome face. ‘Come on into the sitting room and we’ll watch the news,’ he suggested. ‘You go in and I’ll bring
your tea.’

‘OK,’ she agreed.

She went into their sitting room, and flung herself down on the big squishy sofa. It was a serene room, decorated in shades of lemon and blue, and the big bay window to the front had a window
seat, which was delightful to sit in in the afternoon, when the sun shone through. One of her favourite things to do was to have a cup of coffee and a read of the paper sitting in the window seat,
if she got the chance when Hannah was having her nap.

French doors to the back led out to her deck and she could see the snowdrops and daffodils weaving backwards and forwards under the damson trees. There’d be plenty for Olivia to bring to
school. The grey skies had a tint of pink as the sun began to set. It was after six, and it was still bright. There was a great stretch in the evenings. Even that would normally be enough to cheer
her up but she felt flat and despondent after her row with her father.

‘So what happened?’ Dan walked in and handed her a cup of tea and a Club Milk.

Carrie took a sip of her tea and unwrapped her biscuit. ‘He laid a huge guilt trip on me, said he’d have to fend for himself. Wondered what he’d do if he developed pneumonia or
pleurisy. Wouldn’t have anyone to go with him to the Easter ceremonies; it would be a lonely Easter, blah, blah, blah.’

‘Don’t take it on board, Carrie.’ Dan scowled. ‘That’s very unfair of him.’

‘I know. It’s bloody emotional blackmail, that’s what it is.’ She grimaced. ‘And I let him have it. Totally lost it. And banged the door on my way out.’

‘That’s no harm. You’re too soft. It’s good for him to realize that he can’t take you for granted.’

‘He found that out today. I guess the worm turned.’ She bit into her Club Milk and felt quite miserable.

‘You deserve this holiday, Carrie, we all do.’ Dan leaned over and stared into her face, concern mirrored in his blue eyes.

‘I know we do, I just wish I didn’t feel as guilty as hell,’ she said disconsolately.

‘Stop feeling guilty. You’ve no need to; you do more than enough for your father. Come on now, forget it. We’re going to have a great holiday and your dad will be fine.
I’ll get Sadie to look in on him now and again.’

‘Would you? Do you think she’d mind?’ Carrie brightened, knowing that someone from the family would be there for Noel. Dan’s older sister had a heart of gold. She lived a
couple of miles outside the village. If she checked up on Noel now and again, Carrie would be able to go away with a much lighter heart.

‘That’s a great idea, Dan, if Sadie wouldn’t mind. I’ll have all his dinners cooked so she won’t have to worry about anything like that.’

‘I’ll say it to her tomorrow. Now relax,’ he said as the door opened and Hannah toddled in.

‘Daddee.’ She beamed, arms stretched out to him.

‘Here’s the best little girl in the whole wide world,’ Dan exclaimed, scooping her into his arms and nuzzling his chin in her hair. Carrie watched them and marvelled at how
loving a father he was. Noel had never been able to show much affection to his children; it was only with his grandchildren that his crusty exterior had softened somewhat. He had missed out on a
lot in his relationship with his children. Dan would never need to use emotional blackmail; there was far too much love and affection between him and the kids to have to resort to that sad tactic.
He was right. They deserved that holiday. If she was going around fretting, it would spoil his holiday and that would be most unfair. This time she needed to put her own family first. And there was
no harm in that. Noel would just have to get on with it.

Noel knelt in the church, his rosary beads slipping through his fingers. There was a novena on that he hadn’t wanted to miss and he’d wrapped himself up well and
walked through the dusky village, catching up with his neighbour, Mrs O’Neill, at Malone’s pub.

‘How are you, Noel?’

‘Ah not the best,’ he said glumly.

‘Have you still got that dose on you? I thought Carrie said you were over it.’ She was surprised.

‘I’m still coughing at night.’ He fell into step beside her.

‘Still, it’s good to see you out and about again. Carrie was telling me she’s off out to see Shauna. Isn’t it great for her?’

‘I suppose it is. I’ll be left here on my own.’ He gave a deep sigh.

‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, Noel, the girl’s only going for two weeks. What would you do if you were like me with no family around me? You’re very lucky. Me, I have to get
on with it,’ she snorted as they walked through the gates of the church. ‘I’ll see you later,’ she said as she blessed herself with holy water. He watched her march up the
aisle. She was older than he was. She’d been seventy last year. No-one would guess it; she was a very vigorous woman for her age, he thought admiringly.

The candlelight flickered against the walls of the church. Only the sidelights were on, casting a subdued peachy glow. It was silent and peaceful, just a handful of parishioners dotted here and
there. Noel genuflected and slipped into his favourite seat at the end of the third row from the top. Mrs O’Neill was in the front seat ahead of him.

He supposed that she was right. He was lucky to have Carrie so near him. If he were like his neighbour, he’d have to look after himself and get on with it. He’d been shocked when
Carrie had lost her temper and let go at him. She’d never done that before. He hadn’t liked to see her go off crying. Carrie was the kindest of his children, and he hadn’t meant
to upset her. Maybe he’d been a bit whingy, he thought guiltily. He shouldn’t have made her feel bad. The girl deserved a good holiday. He’d say nothing else about it, he decided
as the full lights came on and Father Doyle emerged by the altar. If Mrs O’Neill could live by herself and look after herself year in year out, he could surely manage it for two weeks.
He’d show them all, he vowed. He was well able to shop and do his own cooking if he had to.

His heart sank at the thought. He’d never been completely on his own before. A flicker of apprehension licked through him. He was afraid of being on his own. Not that he’d admit it
to a sinner, but Carrie had always been his safety net. The knowledge shocked him and made him feel extremely vulnerable. He hadn’t realized how much he depended on her. For two weeks, he was
going to have to walk the tightrope alone.

‘I’d like you to come to the islands with Pierre tomorrow, Shauna. He especially asked if you were coming. It will be a good day.’ Greg yawned and stretched.
They were sitting on the balcony watching the dhows sailing up and down on the silver sea, over which hung a glorious full moon. In the distance the call to prayer echoed around the city and below
them white-robed figures hurried to their mosques.

‘Aw, Greg,’ she groaned. ‘I hate going out with that man; he’s such a bore. He thinks he’s God’s gift and he never stops bragging.’

‘He’s the managing director. He’s influential. He wants us to go on a picnic with him, so we go.’

‘You go. I’m not bringing Chloe on his speedboat again. He’s so ignorant. He went so fast the last time we were bouncing up and down and we were drenched sitting in the back.
It was a really uncomfortable trip. When we go to the islands with Kareem he drives slowly so that we can enjoy the scenery and the kids don’t get drenched. And Kareem makes everyone wear
lifejackets. I feel much safer with him. Pierre is such an arrogant prat, he’s too much of a show-off to wear a life-jacket.’

‘Oh, don’t give me a hard time, Shauna. Jenna and Brett are coming and Carly will be with them.’

‘It’s our day off, Greg. It would be nice just to spend the day together as a family,’ she moaned, taking a slug of her Chardonnay.

‘We
will
be together. We’ll be on a picnic.’

‘With half the bloody company.’ Shauna scowled.

‘Don’t exaggerate,’ Greg retorted. ‘Look, there’s a huge project coming up in Dubai and I want to be involved. Pierre can put in a good word for me.’

‘You didn’t tell me this,’ she said slowly. ‘Are you thinking of moving?’

‘It could be on the cards in a year or so.’

‘So we just up sticks and head for Dubai.’

‘Yup.’ He grinned at her. ‘Or I could commute, stay there three days a week.’

‘Well thanks for discussing it with me.’

He leaned forward eagerly. ‘It’s a great opportunity, Shauna; there’s all kinds of development going on out there. It’s the place to be. Their tourist trade is booming
and the biggest and best hotels are being built there. Not to talk of apartment blocks.’

‘And what about Chloe? She’s starting school this year. It’s not fair uprooting her.’

‘Shauna, kids are adaptable. Look at the majority of them out here – they’ve all lived in other states in the Gulf. It’s no big deal.’

‘That shows how much you know. Look at poor little Saladin Sharrif. He’s moved three times: from Saudi to Kuwait, then Bahrain and now here. And he’s only seven and he’s
the most nervous, unconfident little scrap you could ever meet. He told Chloe he doesn’t make friends any more because he always has to say goodbye to them. That’s the saddest thing I
ever heard.’

‘We’re not going to move three times,’ Greg said dismissively. The phone rang. ‘Get that, will you?’ He yawned.

‘Yes, your majesty,’ Shauna drawled as she stood up to go inside. He was something else. Making plans without even discussing it with her. He’d want to cop on to himself.

‘Hello?’ She picked up the phone.

‘Shauna, hi, it’s Jenna. Are you going on this damn picnic tomorrow?’

Shauna laughed. ‘Hi, Jenna. I was just arguing with Greg about it. I don’t want to go. I can’t stand that fat little toad.’

Jenna giggled. ‘He’s horrible, isn’t he?’ she agreed.

Shauna really liked Jenna Williams, a sporty, witty American whom she’d met and clicked with at a company function soon after arriving in Abu Dhabi. She’d had a toddler the same age
as Chloe and the pair had become the best of friends. Brett, her husband, a laid-back six-footer, got on well with Greg and the four of them socialized a lot together. She and Jenna shared a
dislike of their husbands’ boss.

‘I don’t want to bounce out to the islands at a hundred miles an hour on his bloody speedboat. My ass was really sore after the last trip, and Chloe and I were drenched, but Greg
thinks we should go. There’s some big project coming up in Dubai and he wants to be in the running,’ Shauna moaned.