Second Time Around (34 page)

‘Noel?’

Jess sighed as she heard her mother’s voice call down. She went into the hallway. ‘It’s Jess, Mum.’

‘Oh, hello, love.’ Suzie came to the top of the stairs, yawning. ‘I had a late night.’

‘I was just looking at the aftermath.’ Jess grinned and nodded towards the lounge.

‘Oh, feck off, it’s not that bad.’ Her mother clamped her hand to her mouth. ‘Oh, my goodness, Percy!’

‘I just let him out and gave him water.’

Suzie’s eyes widened. ‘You did?’

‘Yeah. Noel stayed over at Cal’s and was going straight into work, so he asked me to drop by. He figured you might sleep in after your day with Bobby. Bad, eh?’

Suzie sighed. ‘Not really, but it was tiring. Thanks for coming over. I know it can’t have been easy. But isn’t he a darling?’

‘I wouldn’t go that far, but he didn’t attack me, so that’s a plus.’

Her mum chuckled. ‘Wait until you get to know him. You’ll soon be under his spell like the rest of us. Bobby seems to adore him.’

‘Really?’ That was good news, Jess had to admit.

‘Yes, honestly. He fell asleep wrapped round him yesterday and the dog never moved a muscle.’ Suzie yawned again. ‘Listen, let me grab a shower and then I’ll make us a
cuppa.’

‘Are you sure you don’t want to get more sleep?’

‘No, I’ll have some breakfast and then take the dog for a walk. I didn’t get a chance to yesterday.’

Jess went back into the lounge, threw open a window and, bending to plump the cushions, found a small photo album under one. She didn’t remember seeing it before and, curious, she sat down
and started to leaf through it. The first few photos were of strangers, young people fooling around, and, from the look of the clothes, they were snapped in the eighties. She studied each of the
faces and gasped when she recognised her mother, looking so young and – Jess giggled – like a punk! She continued to turn the pages and, while they were all of the same people,
occasionally there was an older, attractive man present too. She pulled up short at a photo of her mother, heavily pregnant. She touched her fingers to the bump. ‘That’s me.’

‘What’s that?’ her mother said, coming down the stairs, towelling her damp hair.

Jess held up the album. ‘This photo of you pregnant – it’s with me, isn’t it?’ She laughed. ‘It has to be, you’re so young.’

Suzie stood in the doorway and gave an embarrassed grin. ‘Wasn’t I enormous?’

‘You look a little cross.’

‘Of course I was. Who wants to be photographed when they look like an elephant?’

Jess chuckled. ‘Did Dad take the photo?’

Her mother appeared flummoxed. ‘I don’t remember who took it. I’ll put on the kettle.’

Jess followed her, taking the album with her, wondering why her mum seemed so uncomfortable. ‘Who are these people?’

‘They’re the guys at CML, the company I worked for until a year after you were born.’

‘And then you moved to Limerick with Dad?’

‘That’s right.’

Jess turned to the last photo in the album. It was a shot of all the gang surrounding the hospital bed. Her mother was flushed and beaming, cradling her baby, and the older man from the previous
shots had his arm around her.

‘Who’s this guy?’ she asked, skirting around the dog to show her mother the photo.

‘That’s Doug. He was the MD of CML.’

‘He seems very friendly.’

‘He was a nice man.’

Jess frowned, trying to process that, when her phone rang. It was Katie.

‘Hey, where are you? I thought we were going shopping.’

Jess glanced at her watch. ‘Shit, sorry, Katie. I’m on my way.’

‘What’s up with you?’

Jess looked blankly from the dress she held in her hand to her friend’s exasperated expression. ‘Sorry?’

‘You’ve barely opened your mouth all morning. If you wanted to cry off you should have said so. It’s not like you’re any company.’

Jess put the dress back on the rail. ‘Sorry.’

‘What’s happened?’ Katie’s eyes narrowed. ‘Don’t tell me that asshole has been bothering you again? If he has, I’m going to go and sort him out, once
and for all. I can’t go to Jersey and leave you like this.’

‘It’s not Louis.’ Jess sighed. ‘I was at Mum’s when you called. I found an old photo album with shots of her pregnant with me and some taken in the hospital, just
after I was born.’

Katie’s face broke into a smile. ‘Aw, that’s nice. Isn’t it?’ she added when Jess didn’t respond.

Katie took her by the arm and steered her out of the shop. ‘Let’s grab a coffee.’

When they were seated at a table in a crowded café across the road, Katie rested her chin in her hand. ‘Okay, out with it. What has you so preoccupied?’

‘Dad’s not in any of the photos. In fact, Dad’s not in the album.’

‘So? Maybe it was his album and he was the photographer.’ Katie shrugged.

Jess shook her head. ‘Dad was never into any of that.’

‘Ah, but first-time daddies are a sentimental lot and want to capture everything their first-born does. It’s the novelty factor. There are zillions of photos of Philip around the
house and hardly any of the rest of us,’ she complained. Jess frowned at that. Their house had always been full of baby photos of Sharon and a good few of Noel, but there weren’t any of
Jess. ‘Fuck,’ she murmured.

‘What?’

Jess looked at her. ‘I don’t think my dad’s my dad.’

Katie burst out laughing. ‘You figure that on the basis that there aren’t more photos of you?’

‘No. I figure it on the basis that: one, the album just has photos of Mam with the people she used to work with before she got married; two, there are pictures of her pregnant with me, and
of us in the hospital, and I’ve never seen them before; three, Dad was never as close to me as he was to Sharon and Noel; and lastly’ – she ticked her fourth finger –
‘I look nothing like him, or Sharon and Noel, for that matter.’

Katie looked dubious. ‘I think that you’re blowing this out of proportion.’

‘I don’t think so.’ Jess knew, in her gut, she was right. ‘Mum acted all weird when I found the album.’

Katie’s eyes lit up. ‘I know! She must have got pregnant before they got married, and she’s embarrassed by that.’

Jess shot her a look of disbelief. ‘My mother isn’t easily embarrassed, especially now. And why would that matter to me? Why would I care? No, there’s more to it than that. And
there’s a man that appears in lots of the photos with her.’

‘Oh!’ Katie’s eyes widened. ‘And do you look like him?’

‘Not at all,’ Jess sighed. She couldn’t figure out the puzzle but she was sure that there was one.

‘Your imagination is running away with you,’ Katie said. ‘You’ll be telling me next that your da owns a worldwide newspaper chain and you’re his sole
heir.’

Jess burst out laughing. ‘Smartarse. With my luck, it’s more likely that he’s broke and would only come out of the woodwork looking for a loan.’

Laughing, Katie excused herself to use the loo and Jess went back to brooding. Was John her dad? If not, why hadn’t her mother told her? Suzie had always been open with her children about
her own upbringing and how Granddad had treated her and Granny. Why would she lie about Jess’s father? Katie must be right. It was her imagination. She was looking for mysteries where there
were none.

Jess hadn’t had much of a relationship with her dad, but that wasn’t uncommon. And it wasn’t as if they fought all the time. On the contrary, John had always been perfectly
civil and she’d lacked for nothing. He just seemed absent from her life in a way that he hadn’t with Sharon and Noel. She’d never given that much thought before and she
didn’t remember being conscious of it growing up. A typical teenage girl, she was more absorbed in her own life than in the family dynamic but that album raised questions she’d never
considered before.

Jess knew little of her mother’s life before she moved to Limerick. The people in those photos had obviously been a lot more than workmates: they looked like good friends. Why had Mam
never talked about them? And what had prompted her to unearth this album now? Had she been showing it to her boyfriend? Why show him photos of so long ago? Especially the one of her pregnant that
she hated? Wouldn’t it be more usual to show him ones of Dad and her kids? Damn it, Jess was just going to ask her about it, and she wouldn’t stop until she had some answers. Mam might
tell her to feck off and mind her own business, but Jess wouldn’t back down. And, if Dad wasn’t really her dad, then Jess wanted to know who was.

Sharon glanced across the table at her son and then looked, wide-eyed, at her husband. Keith just shrugged and smiled. Since Bobby had come home from his granny’s
yesterday, he’d been quiet, but not in a bad way. He seemed content, and there was a slight smile playing around his mouth.

‘So you like Granny’s dog, Bobby?’

‘His name’s Percy. He’s my friend.’

‘Aw, that’s nice. Dogs are great. They always love you no matter what.’

‘I love him too,’ Bobby said with an emphatic nod.

This morning her son had hopped out of bed and got ready for school without either of them having to hurry him along.

‘I’m lost for words,’ Sharon said when Bobby went upstairs to brush his teeth.

‘I know. Do you think your mother would let us adopt Percy?’

Sharon laughed. ‘I think we’re going to have a tough enough time coping with a new baby and Bobby without throwing a dog into the mix.’

‘True.’ He sighed.

‘He’ll see Percy all the time,’ Sharon said.

‘Soon he’ll be asking to move in with his granny.’

‘Huh, he can dream on.’ Bobby had a long way to go before her mother truly accepted him, and Sharon worried about the challenges ahead when there was a new grandchild. ‘I hope
Mum won’t fuss over the new baby too much and make Bobby jealous.’

‘Stop worrying.’ Keith pulled her in close against him. ‘Bobby doesn’t notice things like that or take offence.’

Sharon didn’t agree, but she wasn’t going to spoil the moment by saying so. Bobby might seem insulated in his own little world, but some of the comments he came out with had made her
realise how clued in he actually was. She still wasn’t sure if it upset him. He’d seemed so pragmatic when he’d said his granny didn’t like him, it had made Sharon feel
quite sad.

She’d had numerous chats with Bobby’s principal and teacher and they’d introduced her to other mothers in similar circumstances. It was a comfort to hear their stories and she
soon realised that Bobby truly was on the lower end of the scale. She’d taken to counting her blessings. Bobby might be clumsy, detached and prone to violent mood swings, but there was no
doubt in her mind that he was smart.

‘Any word on his assessment?’ Keith asked.

‘Nothing. Apparently it could take months or more.’

‘Bloody crazy,’ Keith fumed. ‘Maybe we should go private. And, you know, there are schools for children with special needs. If we have to pay, we’ll pay. I’ll take
out a loan if necessary.’

Sharon was touched by his determination, but not every problem could be solved by throwing money at it. ‘I think we should wait,’ she cautioned. ‘I like Bobby’s school
and the staff. There are a few autistic children there and, talking to their mums, they seem to be doing well. The teachers are already giving Bobby help, even though they haven’t been
allotted the extra resources to cater for him, and Bobby likes them. Besides, I think our children should be in the same school. He shouldn’t ever be made to feel different.’

Keith dropped a kiss on her hair. ‘You’re a great mum, Shaz, you know that?’

She thought back on the time she’d wasted knowing her son was different, but saying nothing because she didn’t want her fears confirmed. That hadn’t been good mothering. She
caressed her bump, making a silent promise to do better, regardless of what life presented her with.

Mandy groaned as her phone pinged. She rolled over in bed and opened one eye, sitting up when she saw that it was a text from Douglas.

She frowned. Friends? What friends? Douglas didn’t socialise. Douglas didn’t do anything. What had got into him? She’d reckoned that, with Suzie fully occupied with Bobby,
things might return to normal but she hardly saw him these days. Still, she thought as she wrapped the soft duvet around her, perhaps Douglas had developed a taste for living and, who knew, maybe
Zagreb was back on the cards. She just needed to keep him away from Suzie and find some interesting things to do in Croatia that might surprise and entertain him.

That was it! She had been so fixated on her own pleasures, she hadn’t thought about him. Mandy was weary of parading herself in bars and clubs in the hope of finding a rich man who would
give her a good and secure life. Why do it when there was one right under her nose? She didn’t care about the age difference: it meant he’d make few or no demands.

Mandy decided it was time to turn on the charm. She needed to show an interest in his work and be kind and pleasant. Perhaps she’d even cook him lunch. Maybe not, she thought with a wry
grin. Her cooking abilities were limited and there was no sense in highlighting the fact. But she could pick up the pâté and chowder he loved from his favourite deli when she was in
the village. Her thoughtfulness would surprise him but, might also make him suspicious – Douglas wasn’t stupid. She needed to be subtle about this. As it turned out, she didn’t
have long to wait for an opportunity to show him her caring side.

Mandy arrived into work the following morning to find her boss crumpled at the bottom of the stairs, a sickly shade of grey. ‘Douglas, what is it?’

‘I’ve a sick stomach and I’m feeling dizzy,’ he mumbled.

‘Did you fall down the stairs?’

‘Just the last couple, but only because I was groggy. I’ve spent most of the night in the bathroom.’

‘I’ll call the doctor.’ She expected an argument but Douglas directed her to his address book, where she’d find the number of his GP.

‘Gastroenteritis,’ the doctor pronounced, cheerfully, after spending less than five minutes in the bedroom. ‘Give him plenty of fluids, no solids for a
couple of days, and he should stay in bed as he’ll feel quite weak.’