Ripples (3 page)

“Stop it,” she squealed.

“Shush, you'll wake the kids,” Mike warned.

“Well if the baby wakes up
you
won't be getting any nookey tonight. It's your turn to get up to her. And
I
intend sleeping my brains out. In the spare room if necessary,” Kathy said smugly.

“We'll see about that.” Mike dropped the towel. He grabbed his wife and gave her a long smoochy kiss.

“Let's leave the rest of the washing up and the
two
of us can sleep in the spare room.” He nuzzled her ear.

Kathy laughed. Even after ten years of marriage and three children, Mike
still turned her on. She loved him passionately. Hand in hand they crept upstairs into the spare bedroom.

Later, snuggled in the curve of Mike's arm, Kathy said sleepily, “I mean it, Mike. Would you say that Barry and Brenda are having a fling?”

“
Who
in their right mind would want to have an affair with Bug-Eyes Johnson? Are you
mad
? She wouldn't shut up long enough to let someone kiss her. She loves the sound of her own voice too much. She's such a bloody know-all. Who would want to listen to that squeaky little voice of hers? Day in, day out. What man would want to watch her flicking that lank,
greasy brown hair of hers over her shoulders the way she does?”

“Well, Barry didn't say that he
wouldn't
tile her bathroom for her,” Kathy pointed out. “He's always doing bits and pieces for her. Maybe
he
likes her. Alison's always telling her that she can have him. Big joke! I think Brenda thinks that she's serious.”

“She's bossy enough for him anyway. She's even more of a dictator than Alison.” Mike yawned.

“Ah, Alison's not that bad,” Kathy defended her friend. “If she didn't nag Barry he'd never do anything except watch soccer and play with his computers.”

“If I lived in their house that's all I'd want to do. It's like a pigsty. Alison is no good at house-keeping.
You
don't know how lucky you are. I never watch
soccer. I don't have a computer,” Mike murmured into her hair.

“And I don't have a job, like Alison. I'm always here to cook your dinner. I light the fire. I have your shirts ironed every morning. You don't know how lucky you are, buster!”

“I know how lucky I am,” Mike whispered. His arms tightening around her.

“Poor Barry and Alison. It's horrible, isn't it?” Kathy said sadly.

“I couldn't stick a marriage like that. All that bitterness and anger and resentment. It's almost as if they hate each other now. Maybe they'd be better off divorced,” Mike declared.

“Oh don't say that, Mike,” Kathy exclaimed.

“Well it's true. What kind of a life have they got now? No life. The trouble
with Alison and Barry is that they are both very selfish people. There's very little give-and-take. Barry should never have got married. He should never have had a child either. He's not prepared to make the effort. Poor Ciara's a nuisance to him. He thinks that once he provides financially for her that his responsibility is over. He's not prepared to give any more.” He stroked Kathy's hair.

“It's like our friendship. If we didn't have them over and keep in touch he wouldn't bother. It's too much effort. He's a strange chap.”

“I wonder does our friendship mean anything to him? Or is it just habit?” Kathy asked.

“You never know with Barry. You never know what's really in his mind. Barry is very calculating. He always was. He says nothing much, but takes it
all in. At the end of the day he always puts himself first.”

“He's very good-natured though. He'd never see you stuck. Maybe it's just a bad patch. Maybe they'll work things out.” Kathy sighed.

“I hope so, because if they don't, I don't really want to go away for a long weekend with them. I don't want to have to sit listening to rows for three days.”

“Me neither,” Kathy agreed glumly. “But I've always looked forward to that weekend away without the kids. It wouldn't be the same going on our own. Remember the time we went to West Cork? We found out that the hotel was an out-and-out kip. Then Barry told the mad one behind the desk that he was from Bord Failte. There was no way that he and his party were going to spend one minute there. Let alone a
night. And he waved his union card under her nose and she believed him and gave him back the deposit. God, we legged it out of there so fast.

“Remember the time we were camping and Alison set the tent on fire?” Kathy laughed.

“Yes, and remember the time we went on the Shannon cruiser and Barry caught a pike and chased you along the quay wall and you tripped over a rope?”

“I nearly broke my neck.” Kathy grinned in the dark at the memory. “We had fun though, didn't we?”

“Ah maybe they'll get over it. Maybe a weekend away would do them all the good in the world,” Mike, declared sleepily. He always looked on the bright side.

“Maybe,” Kathy agreed. But she wondered if they'd ever have such good
times together again. The way things were going, it didn't look like it.

Alison had told her in the kitchen that she'd got off with a fella she'd met at a dance. She'd enjoyed a mighty good snog with him too. If she met someone else, she was off. Barry could like it or lump it.

That didn't sound like someone who was prepared to try and make a go of things. Poor little Ciara. Kathy's motherly heart went out to her god-daughter. She felt very angry.

Couldn't either of them see what they were doing to the child? Couldn't they see how insecure she was? That they were always fighting in front of her? Mike was right, they were bloody selfish. Neither of them was taking any responsibility for what they were doing to their daughter.

Kathy didn't like the crowd that
Ciara hung out with. Imagine letting a twelve-year-old go to a mixed slumber party!

Sara, Kathy and Mike's daughter, had been asked also. She was in a mega-huff with her parents because she wasn't allowed to go. She could stay in her huff. No way was she going to any mixed slumber parties.

It was very difficult though. Ciara was allowed to do so much. In Sara's eyes, Mike and Kathy were much too strict. It was starting to cause terrible hassle.

Kathy sighed. Bringing up kids was no joke. Where did you draw the line? You had to start letting go sometime. But you had to protect them too. At least she and Mike were trying. Barry and Alison didn't seem to have any such worries.

But then Ciara was very “responsible”
for her age, according to Alison. That was what she'd said when Kathy had asked her why she'd agreed to let Ciara go to the slumber party. It suited Alison to think that. It let her off the hook when hard decisions had to be made.

“Responsible” was not the way Kathy would describe Barry and Alison right now, she thought crossly. She gave Mike a dig in the ribs to stop him snoring, before drifting off to sleep herself.

Ciara felt sick.

One of the fellas had brought vodka, in a Seven-Up bottle, to the party. She'd drank some. It had made her feel very odd. Then she'd smoked a cigarette. That had made her feel dizzy.

The music was very loud. She didn't really like Oasis. She much preferred the Spice Girls. Her friend's parents had gone off to the pub and two fellas that hadn't been invited had gate-crashed. They were causing trouble.

Ciara wanted to go home.

Declan Mooney grabbed her.

“Let's snog,” he said.

“In your dreams,” Ciara answered back, snootily. She hoped he'd get the message. Declan ignored her and kissed her anyway. She thought she was going to puke.

“Can't wait to see you in your nightie. Whose tent are you sleeping in?” he asked hopefully.

“Not yours, for sure. Besides you know it's one tent for the boys and one for the girls,” Ciara snapped.

Declan winked.

“We're coming visiting.”

“Get lost,” Ciara slurred crossly. She didn't want to sleep in a tent. She wanted to be safe and snug in her own bed, knowing that Declan Mooney couldn't get near her.

She felt funny. Her fingers closed around her house key in her jeans
pocket. She always carried a key. She got home from school at three, every day. Alison was never home from work until after six. Sometimes later.

Ciara was used to being on her own in the house. She wouldn't mind being alone until her dad came home from his match tonight.

Ciara slipped out the side gate. She hurried along the footpath. Every now and then she turned around to see if anyone had seen her. She felt very sick and dizzy. Her knees started to shake. She felt scared as she hunkered down, trying to take deep breaths.

Next thing, she heard the worried voice of Mike Stuart. “Ciara, Ciara, are you all right?”

“I drank some stuff. I feel funny.”

“Come on. Come home with me.” Mike sounded very kind. He helped her up. Ciara leaned against him.

His house was just across the street.

It was a huge relief to sink down onto his sofa and close her eyes.

She had never felt so sick in her life.

Mike was furious. “It's a bloody disgrace! Those kids are all half-pissed down in Hennessys'. I rang some of the parents. How could Barry and Alison let Ciara go to something like that? They should be shot.”

Kathy was also raging. “They don't care about that poor child. Do you know that they left her on her own in the house after school with two men who were fitting a new alarm system? Maybe they were perfectly nice men. But who's to know these days? Have they no sense? I wouldn't leave Sara on her own with two strangers for three minutes, let
alone three hours. It's just not safe any more. Have those two lost their marbles? Have they any sense of responsibility? By God I'm going to give Barry and Alison an earful when I bring Ciara home. She's out gadding. He's out at his match. That poor child is wandering the streets pissed out of her skull. Haven't they a great life all the same, the pair of them?” Kathy's lips tightened.

“Let her stay the night,” Mike suggested.

“No, Mike. I want Barry to see Ciara's little white face, God love her. I'll being her home in an hour or so. Anyway she wants to go home to her own bed.”

“OK, maybe you're right,” Mike agreed.

An hour later Kathy drove her tired goddaughter home. She'd tried
phoning to check that Barry was there. The phone was engaged. So one of them must be there, thought Kathy.

She felt terribly sorry for Ciara.

It was time that Barry and Alison accepted some responsibility for their child. She was going to tell them so.

Barry's car was in the drive. There was a light on in the hall.

“I've got my key. The bell's not working properly. You can't hear it if the TV's on,” Ciara said.

She was scared. “Dad's going to kill me.”

“No he won't. I'll explain. I know you won't drink again after this,” Kathy said kindly.

“I promise I won't. Honest,” Ciara said earnestly. She slid the key into the lock.

Kathy followed her into the sitting-room. She heard Ciara gasp in horror before she laid eyes on the sight that
sent Ciara running from the room, crying loudly.

Barry cursed.

Brenda squeaked, “Oh my God!” as she lay underneath him on the sofa.

Both of them were naked.

“I … I … ” Kathy stuttered. “I'll bring Ciara home with me.”

I knew it, she thought. I knew he was having an affair with Brenda. Mike couldn't see past the end of his nose! She had to get out of here. This was a nightmare.

“Blast you, Barry! Could you not have gone to that one's house?” Kathy exploded

She hurried upstairs after Ciara

“Come on, love. Come and stay the night with me.”

“I hate him. I hate him. I hate all of them.”

“I know, pet, we'll talk about it at
home. Come on, you need a good night's sleep.”

Kathy's heart bled for her. Ciara, only five weeks older then her own Sara, had just had her innocence and security snatched from her in a very cruel way.

Kathy had lost all respect for Barry. Having an affair was his business. But couldn't he have had the decency to conduct it somewhere other than his own home.

Brenda was supposed to be Alison's best friend. Some friend. She'd always had a thing for Barry. Even before he was married. But then Alison had told her she could have him. She was out on the man-hunt too.

It was crazy. The McHugh's marriage was well-and-truly over. That was for sure.

Kathy felt really sad. She led the
weeping young girl out to the car. Hard as the break-up was for Barry and Alison, it was a thousand times worse for Ciara.

Ciara lay in bed shivering. She couldn't get warm.

Sara, her best friend, was asleep on a pump-up bed on the floor.