Divided Loyalties (38 page)

‘No! Don’t be silly. You’re a very loyal wife. He’s lucky to have you,’ Carrie declared in a very firm tone of voice.

‘And you’re very loyal to me. Thanks,’ Shauna said gratefully.

Carrie’s mobile rang. ‘Hello?’

‘Carrie, it’s Vera O’Neill. Your dad’s had a little accident. He’s dropped a heavy block on his foot and he was only wearing his slippers. I think he might have
broken some of his toes. You might need to get his foot X-rayed. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.’

‘For goodness’ sake. You never know what he’s going to do next. That’s OK, Mrs O’Neill. Thanks for ringing.’ Carrie threw her eyes up to heaven as she clicked
off.

‘What’s up?’ Shauna eyed her warily.

‘Dad’s let a fucking block fall on his bloody toes. Mrs O’Neill thinks some are broken and he needs to get his foot X-rayed.’

‘For crying out loud.’ Shauna couldn’t hide her exasperation.

‘Two weeks ago he nearly took the finger off himself with a knife and I had to bring him in to get stitched. Honest to God, I should put up a bloody tent in the grounds of Our Lady of
Lourdes. If I never saw that hospital again I wouldn’t be sorry.’ Carrie was fit to be tied. ‘I’ll have to ring Dan. I can’t go because Kenny is going to Dublin for a
night out with some mates and I can’t ask him to stand in for me again. He did it twice last week.’ Carrie punched in her husband’s number.

‘I suppose I should go,’ Shauna said reluctantly.

Carrie looked at her, finger poised to press the green key. ‘Welcome home,’ she said dryly. ‘I’ll mind Chloe for you. The kids will be home from school in the next twenty
minutes.’

‘Oh, bugger!’ Shauna cursed, taking a last sip of her coffee. ‘I’ll see you when I see you.’

‘Keep in touch,’ Carrie murmured.

‘Will do. Chloe, be good for Carrie, I’ve to bring Grandpa somewhere. I’ll be back soon.’

‘OK, Mom,’ her daughter said unconcernedly as she wandered into the mobile with Hannah in tow.

Carrie watched her sister stalk out of the enclave, grim-faced. Guilt and relief and irritation battled for supremacy. She felt sorry for Shauna, knowing very well what it was like waiting hour
after hour in A and E. She felt relief that she wasn’t going. She’d had more than her share of it and that’s where the irritation crept in. If she hadn’t had the excuse of
her new job, she probably would have had to take Noel to the hospital. Shauna never acknowledged just how much she and Dan did for Noel and that bugged her.

She had a face on her like thunder, and Carrie knew that she was put out about it. Tough! Carrie had to carry the can
all
the time. Shauna could just get on with it.
She
had to
do it week in, week out. She stood up and gathered up the cups and plates. Trust their father to have one of his dramas. She’d been enjoying the natter with her sister. The site was peaceful
and quiet because it was a weekday and still termtime, and none of the families with children were on site. July would be a different kettle of fish and she might not find it so easy to put her
feet up for an afternoon.

Shauna’s life was so complicated compared to her own, she mused as she washed their cups. If she was torn between Dan’s needs and what was best for the children she wasn’t sure
how she’d deal with it. But then Dan was a different kettle of fish from Greg, she acknowledged wryly. There really was no comparison.

Greg gritted his teeth and applied an ice pack to his very, very tender and extremely painful privates. He was in bits. He swallowed another two painkillers even though he
wasn’t supposed to take them for another hour and a half. He’d ruined himself. He groaned. He’d never be able to have sex again. He’d had a slash and nearly fainted. What
was he going to say to Shauna? How was he going to get back to Abu Dhabi in three days’ time? He’d never be able to drive that far.

He lay in the darkened hotel room. He had to stay lying down as much as he could for the next twelve to twenty-four hours. That wouldn’t be a difficulty. He was shattered. But the
urologist had assured him that he’d be able to return to work the day after tomorrow. ‘Lying bastard,’ he muttered. He’d probably never work again. He could very well die
here on his own and no-one would know, he thought gloomily. He was being punished for going behind his wife’s back and having a vasectomy when her heart was set on another baby. If anyone was
the lying bastard it was he. He’d made a big mistake and now he was rueing it.

Shauna sat beside her father as he sat with his foot up in a wheelchair, waiting to be X-rayed. He was doing his crossword, and not inclined to talk. That suited Shauna. She
wasn’t in the mood to talk to
anyone
. As his problem wasn’t serious they could expect to be waiting for at least three hours, she was told by the triage nurse. What a pain in
the butt! She’d been really enjoying herself sitting gabbing with Carrie.

Her sister had been more than happy to pawn their father off on her. She might have given her a bit of leeway. She was hardly in the country forty-eight hours, she thought crabbily.

Her phone vibrated and she saw that she had a message.

Hi where r u? Called to c u, will wait until u get home. When will that be? Della X

Shauna’s lips thinned. Good enough for her, she thought nastily. She hadn’t given her much time to settle in, and how typical of her to arrive unannounced.
Wagon!
she
thought crossly as her fingers flew over her keypad. It was almost worth sitting in A and E to be able to write:
Have no idea. In A&E with Dad. Long
wait ahead. S.

She waited for the reply, which wasn’t long in coming.

Sorry to hear that. Hope not serious. Will visit again soon. Della x

Would she never learn? Shauna thought irritably as she read the message.
Suggest you ring first. Have a lot on
, she texted back
tartly. Unsurprisingly there was no reply.

‘Would you like a coffee or tea or a cold drink?’ she asked Noel.

‘Not for me, thanks, but you go ahead and get something if you want,’ her father replied, grimacing in pain as he moved his foot, which was black, blue and very swollen.

‘No, I’m fine,’ Shauna murmured. They lapsed back into silence and Noel sucked his pen and looked into the distance, trying to work out a particularly difficult clue.

Shauna glanced round her at the crowded A and E waiting room and noticed a heavily pregnant woman sitting beside an elderly lady who was wheezing noisily. The woman shifted uncomfortably in her
hard seat, her cheeks red, damp tendrils of hair sticking to her forehead.

Not the place to be if you were well gone in pregnancy. She thought of what it would be like to be pregnant out in Abu Dhabi in the scorching summer temperatures. Perhaps Carrie was right about
coming home for the birth. It would all depend when she got pregnant and when her baby was due. That would be another bridge to cross with Greg. She wouldn’t think about it until she had to,
she decided. The most important thing was getting pregnant. All the other decisions that had to be made would follow on after that. She whiled away the time thinking of names that she’d call
her baby. Mostly she concentrated on girls’ names, discarding this one and that until it danced in front of her, the perfect name for her new daughter.

Charlotte Anna Cassidy
.

That was it. Perfect. If Greg didn’t like it he could lump it. He’d kept her waiting long enough for her little Charlotte. Chloe and Charlotte went beautifully together. They would
be the best of friends.

A smile flitted across Shauna’s face as she daydreamed of her daughters shopping and talking and drinking coffee together in the years to come.

‘It’s such a pain in the ass. I was supposed to be staying with Shauna but Dad’s on crutches and it would be kind of callous not to stay with him,
wouldn’t it?’ Bobby looked at his partner, half hoping that Anton might disagree with him and tell him to stay at Shauna’s anyway. He’d been disappointed that his partner
couldn’t come on the trip because of his family commitments. Perhaps it was just as well, in the light of his father’s accident, he thought ruefully.

‘Very callous,’ Anton said firmly. ‘Heartless even.’ He looked at Bobby and grinned. ‘Sorry. I know that wasn’t what you wanted to hear.’

‘You know me so well,’ Bobby growled.

‘Ah cheer up, at least you’re talking to him. That’s a big step after all those years of silence. Think positive,’ Anton encouraged.

‘Talking’s different from actually being in his company. It’s going to feel strange going home. I’ll be on edge. I’m not looking forward to it,’ Bobby
groaned. ‘I didn’t feel so bad going to stay with Shauna.’

‘I know. It’s easy for me to tell you what to do. But it might not be as bad as you think.’ Anton gave him a hug. ‘Let’s sit here and take a breather and
we’ll walk back to the pub and I’ll buy you a pint.’

‘OK,’ Bobby agreed, flinging himself down on to the grass. They’d gone for a walk on Primrose Hill as they often did in the evenings after work. The city skyline was hazy in
the distance and a refreshing breeze whispered through the grass, bringing relief after the heat of the day.

He closed his eyes and let the evening sun warm his face. He liked strolling on Primrose Hill, its trees and greenery and open spaces a reminder of home. He’d made a good life for himself
in London. He had a lot of friends. His sexuality wasn’t a big deal, and now that he was with Anton he couldn’t ever see himself going home to live, but he missed the smell and sounds
of the sea and countryside. He slanted a glance at his partner who was sprawled out on the grass, face raised to the sun, totally relaxed.

They’d met at the launch of a mutual friend’s art exhibition and liked each other. Anton Kavauna was in his mid-thirties, a little older than Bobby, and he was tall, dark and
handsome with silky black hair. A small scar on the side of his cheek, the result of a childhood fall, gave him a slightly rakish air. His amber eyes, fringed by long black lashes, sparked with
good humour. He’d give Colin Firth a run for his money for definite, Bobby thought happily, a warm glow of happiness suffusing him. After all the years of loneliness and confusion he’d
found who and what he’d been looking for. Anton was a gift from God, sent to teach him what real love truly was, he thought gratefully, sending up a little prayer of thanks.

It had been a friendship first, for which, with hindsight, Bobby was thankful. He’d had flings that had happened quickly and fizzled out. With Anton it had been a slow getting to know each
other before romance had entered the equation. They got on very well, they had similar interests and, most important, they made each other laugh. Laughter was a big constant in their relationship.
When he was with Anton, he felt perfectly content, happy and peaceful. His partner was a calm, thoughtful, steady type, the perfect foil to his own impulsive, exuberant queenyness. Chalk and
cheese, but they worked.

He’d love to bring his beloved to Ireland to visit Whiteshells Bay and meet the girls. That was Bobby’s dream. It was a pity about Anton’s mother’s knee replacement. That
was crap timing, and unforeseen when they’d made their plans for the visit earlier in the year.

‘Shame you can’t come. I was looking forward to it,’ he said regretfully, gently waving a wasp away from his face.

‘It
will
happen,’ Anton assured him. ‘There’ll be plenty of time for me to visit. The important thing is for you to go and get things on an even keel with your
dad first. Now that he’s written the letter of reconciliation there’s no point in upsetting him.’

‘I wish he was like your parents. They’re so . . . so . . . accepting,’ Bobby said longingly.

‘He is what he is. You’re not going to change him. Accept it, Bobby, and stop banging your head off a brick wall,’ Anton retorted matter-of-factly. ‘And stop acting like
a drama queen about it and wallowing in your so-called sad, hard life while you’re at it. Life’s what you make it.’

‘Bastard.’ Bobby pretended annoyance but he knew Anton wasn’t fooled.

Anton was such a no-nonsense chap, which was just as well. If his friend was as much of a flibbertigibbet as he was himself it would be a disaster, Bobby admitted, rolling over onto his
stomach.

‘Shall we head down to the Washington and sink a few pints? I’m going to hit the sack early tonight,’ Anton suggested, yawning. He’d been working on a new website until
the early hours and he was bushed.

‘OK,’ Bobby agreed. He was tired himself. He’d worked a double shift the day before and he could do with an early night as he was on a dawn flight the next morning. In less
than twenty-four hours he’d be breathing in the rich, tangy air of Whiteshells Bay. He was looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time.

‘Did you get my silks?’ Della nibbled on a crudité, trying to ignore Ashley, who was pulling the tail of her neighbour’s cat. She was sitting on a
lounger on her patio talking to Shauna on the phone.

‘Yes, I did, but not in the colour you wanted. It’s royal blue. It’s very nice though,’ her sister-in-law informed her.

‘Oh!’ Della exclaimed, annoyed. ‘I suppose that will have to do. I had my heart set on the green one. It would have gone lovely with a cream dress I have.’ She scowled.
Royal blue wasn’t her favourite colour by any manner or means. The green would have suited her far better.

‘Well, sorry,’ Shauna said, a trifle tartly. ‘They had no green left. If you don’t want it I’ll keep it myself.’

‘No, no, I’ll take it,’ Della said hastily. Shauna had more than enough clothes. Royal blue silk was better than no silk. ‘So when are we going to see you? Kathryn and
Ashley are longing to see their cousin. How about if we pop up at the weekend?’ She hid her annoyance.

‘Bobby’s coming home and he’s staying with me, so could we leave it until after he’s gone?’ Shauna’s voice was so clear down the line she might as well have
been next door.