Divided Loyalties (40 page)

‘It’s so peaceful here,’ she sighed a couple of hours later as she sat on the veranda of a vacant mobile sipping a cup of tea. She could hear the laughter of children up in the
playground and was utterly content knowing that Chloe was in the middle of them having a ball.

She’d hoovered and dusted her dad’s house and brought him and all the kids to Seashells Café for a meal to save Carrie from cooking. Noel had enjoyed a steak, and the kids,
including Hannah, had gobbled up a tasty chicken and pasta dish. She’d dropped her father home and settled him in before strolling down to the caravan park to see how her sister was getting
on. Everything was calm and peaceful. Carrie, looking a lot less harassed, informed her proudly that she was finally on top of her paperwork, thanks to the couple of hours of peace and quiet
she’d had to work in the office without having to worry about Hannah and the others.

‘Let’s have a cup of tea on the veranda,’ she’d suggested and Shauna was happy to agree. She could hear the shushing of the waves against the shore and it soothed her
more than any tranquillizer could. The smell of fresh cut grass was sweeter than any perfume and she inhaled the fragrant scent wafting on the breeze with pleasure.

‘I wish I could spend the summer here,’ she said casually. ‘I had Sylvia asking me when I’m having my lunch, and she’s calling in tonight for, as she put it
herself, “a bit of diversion”. Honest to God, Carrie, sometimes I feel I’m the summer entertainment. Orla Jenkins invited herself over for coffee to whinge about her
husband’s affair. If I were married to her
I’d
have an affair. She’s the pits. I’ve never known anyone who is so consumed with herself and her problems. And of
course, dear Alice no doubt will be annoying me about the lunch as well. I wish they’d all feck off and leave me alone. I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I just don’t
want to organize
anything
!’

‘I suppose you do so much socializing in Abu Dhabi it’s nice just to sit and flop,’ Carrie observed, stretching like a cat, warmed by the heat of the late afternoon sun. Bees
hummed in the geraniums and a lark sang in the trees opposite them.

‘It’s great that Chloe’s up there playing with the others. She’s very timid sometimes. Maybe I should book one of your mobiles for a couple of weeks.’ Shauna looked
over at her sister questioningly.

‘Too late. The rented ones are fully booked from the weekend, unless we get a cancellation. It’s a pity I didn’t know; it would have been perfect,’ Carrie said
regretfully.

‘Drat!’ Shauna muttered. ‘I could have sent Filomena home to the Philippines early and Chloe and I could have had a great time.’

‘I wonder would the Feeneys rent their mobile out?’ Carrie mused. ‘They have it up for sale. Mr Feeney had a fall a few days ago and when he was in hospital they found he
needed an urgent triple bypass. They’ve decided to sell up. They’re going to move to Cork to be near their daughter. They’re from Cork originally.’ She sat up straight.
‘I could give them a ring and put it to Mrs Feeney.’ Her eyes gleamed. ‘We’d have great fun, Shauna. We could do barbecues at night and watch the stars and get tiddly when
the kids were in bed. Will I ring her?’

‘Why bother renting? Why don’t I just buy it outright and have it for good?’ Shauna exclaimed.

‘Crikey, Shauna, they’re looking for thirty-two thousand euros. It’s practically new. It’s only two years old.’

‘I’ll buy it as an investment. You can rent it out when I’m not using it.’ Shauna couldn’t disguise her excitement. ‘I could move in straight away. I
wouldn’t have to entertain
anyone
. I wouldn’t have to do a ladies’ lunch. I’d stay here until August. Oh, Carrie, it’s too good to be true. I’m going to
ring Greg.’ She scrabbled in her bag and found her mobile and scrolled down until she got her husband’s number. She dialled it and waited impatiently for him to answer. He might have it
on silent, depending on what type of function he was at. He’d hardly be at home.

‘Answer! Answer!’ she urged.

‘Hello!’ Greg sounded groggy.

‘You weren’t asleep, were you?’ she asked in dismay. ‘It’s only—’ She glanced at her watch.

‘No, no, no problem. I’m watching football. How’s it going?’

‘Great. Will I ring you on the landline?’

‘No, I’m still in Dubai. I’ll be home tomorrow. I’ll ring you on the landline then. Everything OK? Is Chloe OK?’

‘Yeah, fine. Listen, it’s a long story but what would you think of us buying a mobile home? Carrie and Dan have bought the caravan park down the road from them and there’s a
mobile home for sale. There’s also good investment potential,’ she exaggerated, using a phrase that was always music to her husband’s ears.

‘How much?’

‘Thirty-two thousand euros.’ Shauna crossed her fingers. ‘There’s central heating and all mod cons and an en suite in the master bedroom. I’d really like it, and
Chloe would be over the moon,’ she added.

There was a long pause and then a low whistle. ‘That’s a lot of money for a caravan,’ Greg exclaimed.

‘Oh, it’s much, much more than a caravan. It’s like a small house. Lots of people are actually buying mobile homes to live in because they can’t afford houses,’
Shauna explained, crossing her fingers again. ‘Honestly, they’re good investments these days and there’s no stamp duty on them and they’ve a great resale value,’ she
added, playing her trump card.

‘Go for it, then,’ her husband instructed. ‘I’ll get the bank here to transfer the money first thing in the morning.’

‘Oh, thanks, Greg, thanks a million. I’ll make the call to the vendors to let them know that they’ve got a sale. Greg, you’re going to enjoy it here. I love you so
much.’ She was nearly crying with gratitude.

‘I love you too. Take some photos and email them to me. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, OK?’

‘OK, Greg. I can’t wait to tell Chloe. ’Night.’

‘’Night, Shauna.’

She heard the dial tone and gave Carrie the thumbs up. ‘I can buy it. Quick, ring those people.’

‘Way to go, Shauna. Imagine being able to put your hands on thirty-two thousand euros just like that.’ Carrie eyed her in amusement.

‘Yeah well, working in the Gulf can be very financially rewarding,’ Shauna said dryly. ‘Greg might not get to see Chloe as much as he’d like but he makes plenty of
money.’ She shrugged. ‘He’s not going to change and Chloe and I have to adapt and deal with it or forget it. I don’t think we’d last as a couple if I insisted he come
home to Ireland now,’ she confessed. ‘I keep telling myself that it’s only for another year or two. That’s how I keep going. Eventually, though, we’re going to have to
come home for Chloe’s sake. And with the political situation out there, who knows what’s going to happen.’

‘That’s not easy, Shauna,’ Carrie said quietly, shocked at her sister’s disclosures. She hadn’t quite realized just how difficult things were for her.

‘No, it’s not. People think I’ve a great life. They don’t see behind the facade. But hell, enough of this. Ring those people and see if they’ll sell me their mobile
home,’ she ordered.

‘Yes, boss!’ Carrie smiled at her, hardly able to believe what was happening.

Greg looked at the mobile phone and marvelled that moments ago he’d been speaking to his wife on the other side of the world. It was an amazing invention, he reflected
despondently. He’d been asleep when she phoned, drugged on painkillers and exhausted after a night tossing and turning. No-one had told him that the discomfort would be so bad. He’d
phoned the clinic and Bob had assured him that everything was normal and that the discomfort would ease as the days went by.

If Shauna had asked him for sixty thousand euros he’d have given it to her. He was crucified with guilt, never having thought that he was capable of such duplicity. Even thinking about it
now was enough to bring him out in a sweat.

He’d told Bob that he wanted the vasectomy as a birthday present for Shauna, when the urologist had told him that he needed a form signed by his wife, giving her consent. ‘Honestly,
Bob, if I told her I was having one, she’d freak. She wouldn’t allow it. She’d be too worried about me,’ he’d lied. ‘She’s heading for forty and
she’s coming off the Pill and she definitely doesn’t want to get pregnant again, and to tell the truth I don’t want any more children either. We’re very happy the way we
are.’

‘What if you meet someone else and your marriage ends and she wants children?’ the urologist pointed out.

‘Highly unlikely. And even if Shauna ever left me and I
did
meet someone new, I wouldn’t want more kids now. I’m too old for young babies. We had visitors with a
toddler at Christmas and more at Easter and I nearly went crazy. They’re so
noisy
! They’re constantly falling and hurting themselves. Nothing was safe. My sister’s kid at
Christmas broke a Tiffany lamp, the little bastard.’ Greg scowled and Bob laughed.

‘Look, are you sure about this? It’s a quid pro quo, I do the vasectomy and you do up the plans for my villa in Melbourne and we keep it just between us.’ Bob eyeballed him.
‘I could get struck off, you know,’ he reminded him as he passed him the form to forge Shauna’s signature.

‘Just between us,’ Greg had agreed, signing with a flourish, recognizing a kindred spirit. At the time it had seemed so simple and he’d been completely untroubled by
scruples.

He stood up and poured himself a glass of whiskey from a bottle given to him by an appreciative client. He knew that he shouldn’t drink with the tablets but he wanted to take the edge off
his guilt. It was an emotion he wasn’t used to and he didn’t like it one bit. He didn’t even want to contemplate what would happen if Shauna ever found out. And he was so
petrified something had gone badly wrong and that he’d never be the man, physically, he was pre-vasectomy. There was every chance she’d find out something was amiss.

It was all her fault anyway, he thought irrationally. He’d told her over and over that he didn’t want another child. Why couldn’t she just
listen
to him? Why was she
annoying the daylights out of him about having another baby when she knew that in his heart of hearts he was completely against it? ‘Is this what you want?’ he’d demanded when
Ashley had sent a ridiculously expensive Tiffany lamp smashing into smithereens when he’d careered into the small table that held it.

‘Every kid’s not like him,’ she’d raged, furious with Ashley and with Della for not keeping him under control.

When a colleague had told him that he’d had the snip recently, he’d got the name of the surgeon and made an appointment to see him. Now he was bitterly regretting that decision. Bob
Kelly had already shown himself to be a bent surgeon; just say he was a
crap
surgeon as well and that Greg was deformed for life. He broke out in a cold sweat, groaning as a burning pain
shot through his balls.

‘Oh fuck!’ he muttered. ‘What the hell have I done?’

Half an hour later Shauna, Carrie and Dan were drinking champagne on the deck of Shauna’s new mobile. Mrs Feeney had agreed straight away to sell to Shauna and generously
told her to start using the mobile as soon as she wanted to when Shauna assured her that the cheque would be in the post by the end of the week. Her daughters had cleaned it out and closed it up
for the rest of the season after their father’s hospitalization, so all their personal possessions were gone.

‘We’ve got a mobile home, Mom, this is the best thing ever.’ Chloe was dancing up and down with excitement. ‘Can we stay tonight?’

‘No, not tonight, darling, but maybe tomorrow if you’re good,’ Shauna promised her, hugging her tightly.

‘YIPPEE!!!!!’ Her joyous yell could be heard across the park. Dan and Carrie laughed. The children were hyper with delight, exploring the new mobile, which could sleep six
comfortably. Great plans were being made for a sleepover and a midnight swim and midnight feasts.

‘You’ve got a great site, too. One of the best in the park. Sea views and the beach just below you. You always land on your feet, Cassidy.’ Dan dug her in the ribs.

‘Bet you’re sorry you didn’t marry me,’ she grinned.

‘Ah I’m happy enough with my old dear here. She’s not a bad old doll.’ He drew Carrie close to him. ‘Here’s to happy family times in Shauna’s
mobile.’ He raised his glass.

‘To happy family times,’ they all chorused as the setting sun cast a pearly glow over them and birdsong and sea music accompanied their light-hearted toast.

‘I can go home tomorrow?’ Filomena looked utterly shocked.

‘Yes. If you agree to take six weeks on half pay for June and July, and then full pay for your holiday in August, you can go home tomorrow. I can book tickets from Dublin to Heathrow and
Heathrow to Manila on the net. I’ve checked and there are flights available. Chloe and I are going to Whiteshells Bay until Greg comes home.’

‘Oh, ma’am, this is a miracle from God.’ Tears welled up in the young woman’s eyes.

‘I take it that’s a yes, then?’ Shauna grinned.

‘Oh, yes, ma’am! Yes!’ Filomena was dazed with joy.

‘Go pack,’ her employer instructed. ‘And when you’re packed, pack a case for Chloe. We’re going on our holidays to the seaside.’ She laughed, feeling more
light-hearted and giddy than she’d done in years. ‘I’m going to book your tickets and then go and pick up Bobby. We’ll be back soon. I’m going to bring him to an art
exhibition tonight but we won’t be home late because you’ll have an early start in the morning.’

‘OK, ma’am.’ Filomena practically danced out of the room. Shauna was delighted with herself. She often felt sorry for her young au pair, knowing how much she missed her family
and homeland. It was a hard life for the young woman. Shauna knew that she sent home half her wages to provide for her family. At least she wasn’t married. She’d met many Filipino women
who had children back in the Philippines, being raised by family members, while their mothers worked like Trojans to provide an education and a good lifestyle for them. Shauna thought it was
heart-rending and truly admired their stoic sacrifice. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to do it.