The Matchmaker (13 page)

‘Come on, we’re heading for Krystle,’ shouted Niamh as they finished off a last round of drinks and headed for Harcourt Street.

She was tempted to jump in a cab and go back home but realized that if she didn’t want to be a total damp squib and let her friends down she’d have to make the best of the night and enjoy herself. Niamh and Lisa breezed past the nightclub’s bouncers and the gathering crowd as all five of them headed inside and ordered a bottle of wine before making a rush for the dance floor.

Grace loved music and at last relaxed. She began to dance, letting her body take up the thumping rhythm of the music played by the club’s DJ. The girls all around her were laughing and joining in as the nightclub began to fill. Shane would hate this, she thought momentarily before banishing him from her mind.

Back at the bar Niamh introduced her to two guys she worked with and before she knew it they were both back on the dance floor. She watched as Niamh in her low-cut top and figure-hugging trousers chatted away easily to Kevin while she made an attempt to keep the conversation going with her dance partner Dermot. She had forgotten how awful being ‘chatted up’ really was and after about half an hour excused herself and retreated to the ladies’ bathroom with Claire and Lisa. She really was not sure that she wanted to do this any more; that she cared or had the enthusiasm to talk to utter strangers and pretend that she was interested in them. She checked her watch: another half-hour and she could beat a retreat and go home. Lisa had downed one two many white wines and was getting tearful about Tom Callaghan, the guy she had gone out with for about a year, who had dumped her and gone off to work for Goldman Sachs in London.

‘I would have moved to London, followed him over and worked there,’ she slurred, ‘but he just told me he didn’t want to bring any baggage from Dublin over to London and wanted to enjoy being single again.’

‘He’s a bastard, Lisa,’ insisted Claire, brushing her long blond hair and making her down a glass of water, ‘but for some bloody reason nice girls like us tend to fall for them.’

Grace stared at her own pale face and sad eyes and was determined that she was not going to waste the rest of her night nitpicking over her love life.

‘Hey, I’m going back outside,’ she said, slapping on some lip gloss.

She was walking back to the others when she spotted Mark McGuinness in the distance and ducked to try to avoid him. He was standing near the bar with a stunning-looking girl with cropped dark hair. He looked relaxed, head bent forward listening to her talking to him, his arm around her waist.

‘Good evening, Miss Ryan,’ he said as she passed.

‘Hello, Mr McGuinness,’ she said briefly, trying to be polite. ‘I hope you’re enjoying the night.’

He raised his glass. Funny, she wouldn’t have thought this kind of place was his scene, she mused as she made her way back to her friends. Niamh was sitting up at the other end of the bar with Kevin and Dermot and she joined them. Dermot insisted on getting her another drink, before leading her back on the dance floor again as the slow set started. He was tall and well built but had downed too many pints to make conversation that was in any way interesting. Still, he seemed a nice enough guy. The dance floor was packed and he held her tightly to him as they found themselves in the middle of crowds of couples intent on getting to know each other a lot better.

His hands roamed down along the small of her back and across her hips. Once or twice she corrected him, before giving in to the rhythm of the music. Niamh and Kevin were snogging the faces off each other, oblivious to everyone around them. Emboldened, Dermot tried to do the same but she managed to deflect his lips to her shoulder and neck. She was definitely not ready for this and babbled away like an eejit as he tried to be passionate.

She smiled with relief when the music stopped and the floor began to clear. Dermot, firmly holding her hand, tried to persuade her to sit down for a while.

‘I’m sorry but I’m going to have to go,’ she apologized. ‘It’s been nice meeting you and thanks for the drink.’

‘Go?’ She could see him blink in disbelief as she moved away from him.

She ignored his hasty request for her mobile number and brushed a farewell kiss against his cheek as she chased upstairs to the others. Niamh was happily sitting on Kevin’s lap and clearly had no intention of going anywhere. Roisin and Claire too wanted to stay on and have a laugh but felt Lisa might be ready to head home.

‘She’s pretty hammered.’

‘No she’s not – she’s wrecked!’

‘She can share a taxi with me and I’ll make sure she gets in OK,’ Grace offered, relieved to be leaving the nightspot.

Lisa made no protest as she led her outside past the crowds and hailed a taxi.

All the way home, Lisa rambled on about Tom and how wonderful he was. Grace refused to be drawn into a drunken conversation about ex-boyfriends. The taxi-driver waited patiently as she marched Lisa into her apartment in Milltown and made sure she went to bed and was fine.

Back in the haven of her own place she kicked off her high heels and stepped out of her dress. With a sigh of relief she pulled on her pyjamas. Why she had ever been daft enough to let herself be persuaded to go out was beyond her. Right now she didn’t care if she never dated a man again! She put on the kettle and turned on a late-night movie, a vampire horror, curling up on the couch with some cheese and crackers, actually relieved to be totally on her own.

Turning into the driveway of Airfield House Maggie felt herself relax. The old house in Dundrum, with its small farm and beautiful gardens, was the perfect spot for lunch with ‘the girls’. It had once been the home of the renowned Overend sisters Naomi and Letitia, who had farmed the place and gifted it to future generations of Dublin citizens. The charming white building, with its bay windows overlooking the gardens, now housed a welcoming restaurant, which she always enjoyed. She was looking forward to seeing her friends, hoping it might cheer her up. She had found herself in a bit of a heap since the upset with Grace and the O’Connors moving. She wasn’t one of those mothers who could pretend things that happened to her children didn’t matter and she was still worried about her eldest daughter.

Spotting Fran and Rhona, who had managed to get a table out on the patio in the sunshine, she waved. Perfect! She said a quick hello, then grabbed a tray and made her way to the long food counter.

‘God, I’m starving!’ announced Louisa Kelly, suddenly appearing beside her, wearing slim-fitting navy trousers and a cream wrap-over cardigan.

They both salivated over the choice of main courses: Cajun salmon, mustard-baked ham, a basil and tomato pasta concoction, quiches and a beef and pimento special, alongside a selection of soups and salads and homemade bread. Maggie opted for the salmon and a tossed salad and a glass of wine; Louisa went for the ham. Making her way to the table she felt her spirits lift. She was glad that everyone had been able to make it. Their monthly get-together was something she so enjoyed, old friends meeting up for a chat and lunch and perhaps a walk if the weather permitted. The venues changed so they got to try out a range of nice restaurants all over the place but it was the company she looked forward to most.

They’d been friends for more years than she dared to remember and had gone through all the ups and downs that life can throw at you: marriage, kids, work, school, illness, financial problems. The girls had stood by her when Leo had died, and she had helped in turn when Louisa’s husband Brendan had walked out on her and when Rhona’s husband had lost his job and Fran had got stomach cancer. There was an unbreakable bond between them and they all knew they had only to lift the phone and help would be at hand. Four old schoolfriends who still found plenty to talk about!

‘Everyone OK?’ she asked, balancing her tray as she sat down beside Rhona.

‘I’m on blood-pressure tablets,’ joked Rhona. ‘With Mike working from home he has me driven up the wall. Is it any wonder that my blood pressure keeps shooting up?’

In only a few minutes she discovered that Louisa was doing her computer exams in a few weeks’ time, Rhona and Mike were planning a trip to the Algarve and that Fran had got new caramel-toned highlights in her hair.

‘They make you look younger.’

‘Well, I feel like Methuselah,’ Fran confided. ‘Jenny just told me that I’m going to be a grandmother again next December.’

‘Congratulations!’

‘What lovely news!’ they all agreed, raising their wine glasses.

‘Honestly, this will be number three, and you can guess where they’ll all be for Christmas. Liam and I had hoped to slip away to the Canaries for a bit of sunshine. Now I’ll be looking after them all while Jenny’s in Mount Carmel having the baby.’

A third grandchild, thought Maggie enviously, a house filled with kids and presents around the Christmas tree. Just the kind of Christmas she loved.

‘I suppose I’m delighted really,’ Fran eventually admitted, ‘especially after that awful time at the beginning when Jenny thought she couldn’t have kids.’

‘Well, she’s making up for it now,’ Rhona commented, turning her face up to the sunshine.

‘I have some good news too,’ announced Louisa, her eyebrows arching with excitement. ‘Donal is getting married to that lovely girl Melanie who works in that fancy PR firm up near Christchurch. They’re having the wedding in Brooklodge in Wicklow in August next year.’

Maggie couldn’t believe it. Tall lanky Donal, with the easygoing manner and lopsided smile who’d been crazy about Anna when he was about seventeen, was getting married. ‘He’ll make a wonderful husband,’ she said, remembering what a kind young man he’d been.

There was a cheer around the table as there was nothing nicer than a wedding, even if it was more than a year away.

‘Don’t they all have a great life these days?’ mused Rhona. ‘Marriage and big careers, interesting jobs, no sitting around taking dictation and writing boring letters all day.’

‘Sure do,’ they all agreed.

‘Remember those bad old days when we were stuck filing and typing letter after letter? One mistake and you had to start all over again!’

‘God bless computers and printers and the Internet,’ exclaimed Louisa, who since her separation had been immersed in a part-time course in computers and web design, which was useful for the small stationery business she’d set up, selling exquisite wedding and party invitations.

The salmon was delicious and Maggie noticed all the chairs and tables around them had filled up.

‘Maggie, are you by any chance free on Saturday?’ Rhona asked as she passed around a jug of iced water. ‘It’s just that Mike’s cousin Eamon will be in town for the night. He’s playing golf with Mike in the afternoon and I wondered if you’d be interested in joining the three of us in the golf club for dinner afterwards.’

Maggie widened her eyes. Eamon Farrell was a nice man who had separated from his wife two years ago. She’d met him at various dos at Rhona and Mike’s over the years but now all he ever talked about was the ins and outs of his separation and the sale of his house in Kildare. Just because she was a widow, why did everyone assume she was available and in the market for a male companion?

‘Rhona, thanks for the invite but I’m actually babysitting for Sarah on Saturday,’ she fibbed. ‘And I don’t want to let her down.’ She ignored the glances from her friends darting around the table.

‘And how are your girls?’ Fran asked diplomatically.

Maggie took a deep breath. These were her closest friends. ‘Actually, Grace and Shane have broken up and she’s taking it very badly.’

‘That’s the guy that works with her and used to go out with the journalist girl?’ quizzed Louisa.

‘Yes, but she’s not an ex any more. He’s back with her.’

‘Oh, poor Grace,’ sympathized Fran. ‘Nothing worse than getting your heart dinted.’

‘With them both working in the same firm it’s making it all very awkward,’ Maggie explained. ‘Grace is used to things going smoothly so it’s going to be hard for her in the office.’

‘Bloody men and break-ups, that’s the awful part of single life from what I remember,’ sighed Rhona. ‘But then just when you’re about to throw in the towel and swear the oath of spinsterhood you go and meet someone when you least expect it!’

They all burst out laughing, remembering how Rhona had met her husband Mike: she had been reversing out of a car park and and crashed into his brand-new car. They all knew that meeting Mike Farrell had been a huge changing point in Rhona’s life, their marriage and the birth of their two sons bringing her the happiness she had always craved.

‘I don’t mean that she’s got to crash a car,’ she protested, ‘but the guy of her dreams could be right under her nose!’

Mark McGuinness was most definitely right under the Ryan family’s nose, thought Maggie; he was still single and, from what she could gather, sparks had flown when Grace and he had met. He’d annoyed her eldest daughter intensely with his know-it-all attitude, but she knew many couples who had positively hated each other at first. Besides, Mark and Grace had a lot in common with their work. Maybe the next time they met up things might go a bit better?

‘And how’s my sweetheart Evie?’ asked Fran.

‘You won’t believe it, but she’s going to be six at the weekend!’

Maggie could still remember how supportive her friends had been when Sarah had got pregnant. The fact that she had thrown away her education and was far too young to have a baby had been glossed over. When Evie had been born Sarah had been inundated with baby gifts from Maggie’s friends, all welcoming her first grandchild to the world. She’d always remember the kindness and care they’d shown to her daughter and her child.

‘How’s Sarah doing? Any love interest?’ asked Louisa, full of curiosity.

‘She says guys run a mile when they hear she has a child! It scares them off.’

‘More fool them,’ retorted Fran hotly.

They all nodded wisely; men could be such fools where girls were concerned.

‘I’d love her to meet someone,’ Maggie confided. ‘My new tenant would have been perfect but unfortunately he already has a girlfriend.’