It's All About Him (35 page)

'It's possible,' he had said cautiously, 'but I would advise you to be careful. Don't give him access to any of your bank accounts and if he asks you to invest in his business, don't.'

'It seems wrong to be suspicious of my own son,' she'd replied.

'You have to be.'

'Is it normal for addicts to be so secretive?'

'They are all very secretive when they're gambling for obvious reasons but when they start on the recovery process it's usually a huge relief to be able to talk about it. Perhaps he's just too embarrassed to tell you how bad things got. Is there anyone else he might talk to?'

Dee was the only one Peggy could think of and she told the counsellor the story and how Neil wanted to get to know his son.

'It would be good to get him to open up to her and, at some stage, even talk to his son about his addiction. But at the same time, and this goes for you too, you have to protect yourselves. It's up to him to prove to you that he's trustworthy again.'

Peggy set the sandwiches on the table, made some tea and then went to the door.

'Neil, lunch,' she called.

She was sitting at the table on her second sandwich by the time he joined her. 'The tea might be too strong for you.'

'It's fine,' he said, filling a mug. He grabbed three sandwiches and turned to leave.

'Couldn't we at least have lunch together?' Peggy asked. 'I hardly ever see you these days.'

He hesitated and then came to sit down. 'Sorry, but there's a lot involved in setting up a business.'

'So you've definitely decided to stay in Ireland,' she said, trying to keep her voice light and conversational.

'It's early days.'

'And if you did, would you sell the business in Spain?'

He frowned. 'I'd prefer not to, but Ireland is an expensive place so I may have no choice.'

Peggy stiffened. 'Could you not just get a loan?'

'Banks aren't very keen on lending money to someone who doesn't have a financial history in the country.'

'But surely your bank in Spain could vouch for you,' Peggy pressed.

'It's not that simple, Mother.' He shoved the last piece of sandwich into his mouth and stood up. 'Got to get back to work, thanks for lunch.'

'You're welcome.' Peggy watched him walk away and wished she didn't feel so suspicious. She needed more information, she decided, and as soon as he went out again she would be back in that bedroom. She needed to know whether she could trust him. More importantly, she needed to know if he really deserved to know his son.

The mystery of Sam's rash was cleared up the following week when Paula arrived for babysitting and went pale when Dee told her what had happened.

'Oh, God, Dee, I'm sorry, I think it was my fault.'

'But you don't have any pets, Paula.'

'No, but I was visiting my friend and she had just bought this new puppy. He curled up on my jacket and went asleep and though I brushed it when I get home, there could have been some hairs still on it. I am so sorry.'

Dee smiled and patted the young girl's shoulder. 'Don't worry about it, Paula, it's impossible to protect him from everything. I'm glad that the mystery has been cleared up, though, I hadn't a clue what it was that had triggered the rash and that's much more frustrating.' Dee pulled on her jacket and looked around for her handbag. 'I'm only going to the pub for a quick drink, Paula, so I shouldn't be long.'

'No problem.' Paula grinned. 'Is Conor taking you?'

'No, he isn't,' Dee said briefly. 'I'm going out with the girls.'

'Have a nice time, then.'

After Dee had run upstairs to say goodnight to her son, she let herself out of the front door and began the short walk to the pub. She wished Paula hadn't mentioned Conor as it had reminded her of exactly how miserable she was. It seemed, like Lisa, she had been dumped. When Conor hadn't returned her text after their night together, Dee had finally got up the courage to call him that night but he had been distant and after a few minutes of stilted conversation, Dee had made her excuses and hung up. He hadn't asked to see her again or made any comment about the previous night and she was completely confused and very frustrated. Now, almost a week later, he still hadn't been in touch and Dee realized he must have regretted their night together after all.

When she walked into the pub, Lisa and Lauren were already there, a bottle of white wine and three glasses in front of them.

'What's up?' Lauren asked, pouring her a glass. 'You look miserable.'

'It's Conor,' Lisa told her.

Dee shot her a warning look. 'We're not going to talk about boyfriends, now, are we, Lisa?'

Lisa smiled apologetically. 'No, we're here to talk about Dee Hewson Inc.'

'Yes, tell me more,' Lauren said, leaning forward.

'It's probably not an option,' Dee started. She had given a lot of thought to Lisa's idea and the more she thought, the more anxious she got.

'Oh, don't be so bloody defeatist,' Lisa told her and then, turning to Lauren, filled her in on her idea. 'I thought with your marketing experience, you might be able to help,' she said when she'd finished.

'Well?' Dee looked at Lauren expectantly.

'I think it's a great idea,' Lauren said enthusiastically.

'But it would cost a fortune to get it off the ground, wouldn't it?'

Lauren shrugged. 'It's been a while since I worked on a project like this so I'm not sure how much the costs have increased but I can easily find out. Your USP, of course, would be the fact that you're marketing fresh, home-cooked food.'

'USP?' Dee looked at her.

'Unique Selling Point,' Lisa said with a grin, 'even I know that.'

'The fact that you are now a minor celebrity certainly helps and will open doors with both the banks and the supermarkets. I like Lisa's idea about this being a cottage industry type of operation. It will keep the costs down and convince people that this really is about homemade food. I also think you should go for very simple, natural packaging.'

'We'd need advice on all of that,' Dee told her, 'I don't know the first thing about what type of packaging is necessary to prolong shelf-life. And that's another problem. How do we decide on things like "best before dates"?'

'There will be guidelines from the government departments for that sort of thing,' Lauren assured her confidently. 'There's a lot of help out there for new businesses, you just have to know where to look.'

'And I don't.' Dee looked glum.

Lauren winked. 'But I do.'

'But you have the twins to mind, how can you possibly help?'

'It will be a welcome break,' Lauren assured her, 'my brain is beginning to seize up and the twins have two grannies and three aunties queuing up to mind them.'

'And you really think it's a good idea?' Dee asked, beginning to feel excited.

Lauren's eyes sparkled. 'I think it's a bloody great idea!'

'So where do we start?' Lisa asked.

'Hang on a minute,' Dee put up a hand, 'we need to agree on something before we go any further. If you two are going to help get this business up and running, you have to be a part of it. You should be my partners.'

'No, that wouldn't be fair,' Lisa said. 'You're the one who'll be doing all the real work.'

'But I'm not going to let you help me for nothing,' Dee said.

'You can hire me as a consultant,' Lauren told her. 'I could do with the extra money and it would be a nice way to wean me back into life as a business woman.'

'That would be fine, except I don't know exactly what I need you to do,' Dee admitted.

Lauren laughed. 'Why don't I put together a proposal and an estimate and we'll take it from there?'

Lisa's eyes widened. 'Ooh, you'll be sorry you mentioned money, Dee!'

Dee shook her head. 'No, I'd prefer to do this on a proper business footing from the start. I haven't a clue how to go about any of this and I'd hate to have to depend on a stranger to help me.'

'Well I'll be the lackey and you just tell me what to do,' Lisa told her. 'And you can pay me with food. Now that Ger's gone I have no intention of wasting any of my time cooking ever again.'

Dee laughed. 'That's a deal!'

'What are you going to call it?' Lauren asked.

'It has to incorporate her name,' Lisa said.

Dee made a face but Lauren nodded her agreement. 'It would be madness not to, Dee.'

'I suppose.'

'Dee Hewson's Food,' Lisa suggested. 'Or just Dee's Delights?'

'That sounds more like a naughty lingerie shop,' Lauren drawled.

'Or a massage parlour,' Dee agreed.

'How about Dee's Delicacies?' Lauren said.

'Not bad,' Lisa admitted.

'I quite like that,' Dee said.

'Good, Dee's Delicacies it is for the moment.' Lisa held up the empty bottle. 'Can we have a drink to celebrate?'

'I'll get them, it's the least I can do,' Dee said, standing up. 'Thanks, girls, I wouldn't ever dream of doing something like this without you.'

Going to the bar, she ordered a bottle of champagne.

'What's the occasion?' the barman asked curiously.

'Life, Eamon, just life,' Dee said unwilling to reveal her plans just yet. If she told the barman it would be all around the town in no time.

After some rummaging, he located a dusty ice bucket, filled it with ice and brought it, the champagne and three clean glasses to the table.

'Champagne!' Lisa clapped her hands in delight.

'What do you say, ladies, will I give it a shake?' Eamon gave them a lewd wink.

'Only if you're going to pay for it,' Lauren retorted with a withering look.

After he'd poured the champagne and left them, Dee raised her glass to her friends.

'Thank you for your faith in me,' she said feeling slightly tearful.

'To Dee's Delicacies,' Lisa said.

'May it make the top one hundred companies list within five years!' Lauren joked, but there was a determined glint in her eye.

The pub door opened letting in a blast of cold wind and the three girls looked up.

'Oh, no,' Dee muttered.

'So, is it on or off?' Lisa whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

'Wish I knew,' Dee muttered back.

'Conor! Come and join us!' Lauren called with a wide smile.

Conor hesitated a moment before coming to stand by their table. 'Hi.' He nodded to each of the women, his eyes coming to rest somewhere to the left of Dee's chair.

'Champagne, very nice. What's the occasion?'

'We just felt like it,' Dee said quickly, her eyes flashing a warning as Lauren opened her mouth to contradict. 'Are you meeting someone?' she asked politely.

He nodded. 'Dad, he should be here any minute.'

'You're welcome to join us,' she offered halfheartedly. He looked so obviously uncomfortable in her company that it made her want to crawl into a corner and die.

'Thanks,' he said, equally polite, 'but we're going into the back lounge to watch a match. I'd better go and get a couple of pints in; it will be starting in a minute.'

Dee smiled brightly. 'Oh, right, well, enjoy.'

'Yeah, you too.' He nodded at Lisa and Lauren. 'See you later.'

'What the hell was all that about?' Lauren asked when he was out of hearing distance. 'Have you two broken up?'

'Broken up, made up and broken up again,' Lisa told her. 'I think. I can't keep up at this stage.'

'What happened?' Lauren asked Dee.

'She doesn't know,' Lisa continued before her friend could get a word in, 'and she's too bloody pig-headed and proud to ask.'

'Lisa, will you please leave it?'

'Well, I'm sorry, but I think it's really stupid.'

'You don't know the full story.'

Lisa snorted. 'Neither do you! She was too drunk to remember what they rowed about,' she told Lauren.

'Lisa!' Dee hissed.

Lauren smiled slowly. 'The first time or the second?'

Dee sighed. 'The second. I've tried to find out but he's just giving me the cold shoulder.'

'You should tell him the truth, shouldn't she, Lauren?'

Lauren shrugged. 'It would be a lot simpler, if you want to get back with him, that is.'

'Of course I do, but he's not interested, he's made that very clear,' Dee said glumly.

'I wouldn't agree with that. I mean you did say he was very passionate the last night—'

'Lisa, will you please shut up? ' Dee muttered.

Lauren shrugged her slender shoulders. 'Look, if you don't feel you can confide in your new business partner, that's fine.'

'Oh, Lauren, please don't be like that. Honestly, there's nothing to tell, Lisa is just winding me up, aren't you?' She shot her best friend a stony glance.

'Yes, sorry.' Lisa nodded. 'It's just that she and Conor are so good together I think it's a shame if they break up.'

'Is it because he hasn't asked you to marry him, is that it?' Lauren asked.

'No! I have absolutely no interest in marrying him or anyone else!' Dee said louder than she intended.

'Evening.'

Dee looked up to see that Ronan had just walked through the door and was standing looking down at her, an uncertain smile on his face.

'Oh, hi, Ronan.' She smiled weakly. 'Conor's in the back bar.'

'Great, thank you, see you later maybe.'

'Shit.' Dee glared at her two friends. 'Now that I have been totally humiliated, do you mind if we talk about something else?'

Lauren rolled her eyes and turned to Lisa. 'What about you and Ger, any hope of you two getting back together?'

'God forbid.'

Dee shot her a look of disbelief. Lisa had been crying on and off all week.

Lauren raised her eyebrows. 'Seriously?'

'Absolutely,' Lisa said, ignoring Dee. 'Ger has done me a favour.'

'Well, for what it's worth, I agree,' Lauren told her.

'Me too,' Dee said and smiled to show Lisa that they were friends again. 'You must know that you were way too good for the guy.'

'Do you know, I'm beginning to think you're right,' Lisa admitted. 'And the sad thing is that I probably would have married him if he'd asked.' She shuddered. 'What a mistake that would have been. But I'm turning over a completely new leaf. No more men for me, I'm going to concentrate on my business. I'm also going to get fit.' She grinned at them. 'I've joined the gym.'