The Rose Garden (30 page)

Kim showed her how to search the wedding sites to see what people were offering and the enormous costs involved. Molly was absolutely stunned at the possibility of not having to sell Mossbawn and that her lovely old country house would be able to pay for itself.

MOLLY WAS ALL EXCITED, DYING TO TALK TO THE GIRLS ABOUT
her plans for Mossbawn. She collected them from the train station. Emma had just handed in an important science research paper which would go towards her college finals marks and looked absolutely wrecked.

‘Mum, I’m just going to crash for the next few days,’ she said as they drove home in pouring rain. ‘I’m exhausted.’

Putting on the kettle, she got them to sit down. ‘I want to talk to you both about the house,’ she said.

‘What’s happening?’ quizzed Emma warily.

‘Oh, Mum – don’t tell us someone is going to buy it?’ pleaded Grace nervously. ‘I can’t bear it.’

‘No! No one is going to buy Mossbawn,’ she said firmly, ‘because I’ve decided to take our house off the market. I told the auctioneer a few days ago.’

‘You’re not going to sell the house? We’re staying here?’ Grace sounded so relieved. ‘So nothing’s going to change!’

‘But how are you going to manage, Mum?’ worried Emma, serious.

‘Well that’s just it – things are going to change. First of all, I’ve sold two acres – the back field – to Pamela for her horses. She’s been using it for years and only paying a little bit of rent, but she was really worried about what would happen if someone else had the house, so she made me an offer – a
fairly good offer too,’ she laughed, ‘so I’ve decide to accept it.’

‘That’s brilliant, Mum!’

‘I know your dad wouldn’t want me to sell it, but it seems an ideal solution. Nothing will really change except that that field will officially become Pamela’s and I have a few acres less to worry about. And even though I’m not selling Mossbawn, I still plan to move out of here and into the cottage. This house really is too big for me most of the time, so the cottage will be far easier to run and will do me fine.’

‘Then what will happen to here?’ worried Grace.

‘Are you going to rent it to someone, is that it?’

‘Well, in a way.’ Molly hesitated. ‘You won’t believe it, but since Libby’s wedding people have been contacting me and Gina and Kim, enquiring about having their weddings here. And some of Libby’s photos went up on some big wedding site and have attracted people to contact us. Someone else wants to hold a big family reunion! Kim thinks that I should let people hire the house to hold a wedding or function. The money is quite generous, but I need to know: what do the two of you think?’

‘You’d rent it out for weddings and special parties, but you’d still own it?’

‘And we’d still be able to stay living here?’

‘Yes, that’s the beauty of it. Mossbawn is ours and I intend to keep it that way,’ she explained. ‘But having a few weddings and events here during the year would more than cover our costs, and Kim thinks it could become a profitable, good business. Gina will look after the catering end, I’ll do the house and the garden, and Kim will do the website and social media stuff so people will know about us.’

‘Mum, it sounds great!’ Grace exclaimed, all excited. ‘I’ll help out too when I’m on holidays or home at weekends.’

‘It sounds perfect!’ Emma grinned. ‘And the main thing is that we are able to keep our house. I couldn’t bear to have seen it sold!’

‘Well, don’t worry, because it’s not going to be sold. I lost your dad and I don’t think that I could bear to lose this house too.
But for me, moving into the cottage will make day-to-day life a bit easier.’

‘Are you sure you will manage it all?’

‘Look, Kim was already working on a website about the house and its history, but says she can make a really great site for people to see what Mossbawn is like if they want to hire it for a wedding or big event. The photos she took look amazing. Ever since the café closed, Gina’s been looking for something to do and she is a very experienced caterer. It’s what she did before she moved here. And I’ll run the house and the garden like I’ve always done and try to keep the place looking well.’

‘Oh Mum, it’s a wonderful idea,’ enthused Grace. ‘And best of all, it means Mossbawn will still be ours.’

‘I know that Jake and I are heading off travelling for the year,’ said Emma, ‘but I was so worried that Mossbawn would belong to someone else by the time we got back – I was so upset about it!’

‘But you never said anything!’

‘Because we knew you needed money,’ Emma said gently. ‘We weren’t going to stand in your way if you needed to sell the house. But now it’s great – because say if Jake and I get married, we could have my wedding here!’

‘Well, I’ve talked to Bill and to Michael Quinn about the legal end of things. Obviously I will have to set up a company and do things properly and take out extra insurance, but it looks like I’m going to have my own business! Can you believe it?’

‘Dad would be very proud of you, Mum.’

‘You’ve been amazing,’ added Emma, ‘coping without Dad and managing to keep everything going, and now this!’

Molly was overwhelmed with utter relief and the certainty that she was doing the right thing. She just somehow had to make it all work!

Over the next few days she and the girls came up with lots of ideas and both of them were interested in everything they could do to
help. Grace promised she would help out during the holidays and in the summer when things were busy.

They were both dying to see how work was coming along in the cottage, where Paul and the builders were busy with the new extension.

‘There’s going to be ceiling-to-floor glass windows at the back overlooking the courtyard garden,’ Molly explained. ‘But from the front the cottage won’t really change. My bedroom is downstairs, but upstairs in the attic space Trish has designed lovely skylight windows and there’ll be a big bedroom with two beds and a small bathroom.’

‘Mum, it’s going to be gorgeous!’ Emma enthused as they stood in the middle of the enlarged room with its steel-beam support.

‘I love the way it’s old and yet it’s modern too,’ added Grace.

‘Don’t you think the cottage is perfect for me?’

‘Perfect!’ they agreed.

The weekend went far too fast. Molly felt encouraged by her daughters’ enthusiasm and support for all her plans for Mossbawn. Already this week she had a few people coming to talk to her about holding their weddings here and possible dates during the summer. It was all so exciting.

KIM CHECKED HER EMAILS.

‘
Have the perfect job for you. When can we meet up to discuss it? Joanne
’

Joanne was a recruiter from Citi Careers. A phone call later and Kim couldn’t believe it. Her old boss in the bank, Mark, had moved to Allemana Finance, a big German funds company, and apparently was now involved in setting up a new team there. Their offices were down on the docks and they were looking for staff. Her name had come up.

‘I’m putting you forward for an interview, Kim,’ said Joanne. ‘You have the experience, and the fact you have worked with Mark should hopefully be a bonus.’

Kim remembered Mark as being utterly driven, working crazy hours, obsessed with his job and expecting a huge amount from everyone around him. He’d been married, but his marriage had broken up. She hadn’t worked that closely with him, but they had always got along with each other.

‘Great!’ she said, as Joanne promised she would confirm the interview details. She was going to be in Dublin for the next few days anyway, as she was helping Evie get organized for the opening of her big exhibition in the Peppercanister Gallery on Friday.

There was a hell of a lot to do, as Evie was already panicking about her work and being ready. Kim was dying for Luke to meet
Evie and the rest of her friends, and the exhibition was the perfect opportunity.

‘Please say you’ll come, Luke! You’ll get to meet everyone, and Liz and Joe are going and even my dad and Carole might turn up. Evie’s dad, Kevin, and my dad are good friends.’

‘So you want to throw me into the lions’ den!’

‘Something like that!’ she teased. ‘It’s about time you met them.’

If Luke was going to be part of her life, she wanted him to get to know her close friends and her family.

She was staying with Liz, who was excited about her sister’s interview, telling her she needed to get back into business mode.

‘You look great in that black suit,’ said Liz, making her turn around.

‘It feels weird after my jeans and wellies!’

‘Well, you look amazing, Kim. You’ve lost weight and got so trim – it’s not fair!’

Kim didn’t like to say anything, but Liz had put on a few pounds and with trying to manage the kids and work looked pretty wrecked. Finn was going through a nightmare stage, waking every night and ending up in their bed.

‘What shoes?’

‘Those black Italian ones look perfect – not too high, and classy and businesslike.’

‘I’m so bloody nervous about this,’ she admitted.

‘Why?’ asked Liz. ‘It’s just the opportunity you’ve been waiting and hoping for!’

‘I know, but … things have changed. I’ve changed, and there’s Luke.’

‘I’m dying to meet him,’ her sister laughed. ‘But Kim, this is about you, your career, and your job – that’s the thing to focus on.’

‘I know … I know!’

She had driven into town early and got a parking space down near the docks, in the heart of Dublin’s International Financial Services Centre. She found her way to the fifth floor, where Allemana’s offices were located.

A young secretary led her into a conference room where Mark Hogan and two other people were sitting at a big table with a chair opposite them for her. She felt shaky already as she was introduced to an older German man, who was obviously in charge, and an elegant dark-haired woman in a killer black suit and heels.

‘This is Erik and Carla,’ said Mark, smiling and welcoming her, trying to put her at her ease. He got her to detail her previous experience and her functions in her former role.

‘You would be doing something very similar here,’ explained Carla, ‘but obviously here it is a smaller, more focused team, with everyone having to play their part. The funds we manage are active and because we are new to the market here we need to prove ourselves.’

‘We put in long days here, much as you did in the old job, Kim,’ smiled Mark, ‘but here things are a bit more frantic and we have to be flexible with our hours. So there wouldn’t be much time for other commitments during busy periods.’

‘Naturally,’ she smiled, trying not to flush. She had noticed Carla discreetly checking out her ring finger.

‘Have you any questions?’ the handsome middle-aged German asked her.

She knew not to ask about pay or conditions – it was too soon for that – and instead asked about the size of the team and the types of funds that they were managing, and how long the company had been set up and where its offices were based.

‘Do you mind me asking what you have been working at over the past year almost?’ enquired Erik. Kim could feel herself flush. Here it was – the nightmare question which she had rehearsed and rehearsed.

‘Well, jobs are scarce, so I decided to up-skill and have done a website-design course and photography course, as they have
always been two of my interests,’ she said calmly. ‘Since then I’ve been working on developing a number of websites for clients and have been busy doing a research and photography project on an old Georgian house outside Dublin.’

‘That sounds interesting,’ said Erik encouragingly. ‘Very interesting.’

‘But now you are back ready to do what you do best!’ urged Mark, as if trying to refocus her.

‘Of course,’ she beamed, meeting their gaze.

‘Kim, you seem to be very much the type of person we are looking for on our team,’ the other woman smiled. ‘From your CV and what you have told us, your experience is excellent.’

Kim could feel her heart beating, knowing that deep inside she wasn’t that person any more … not at all.

‘It’s been lovely to have you come along this morning, Kim,’ said Mark smoothly. ‘Obviously, given the role there will be a second-interview stage, but Joanne will fill you in on that.’

She stood up and politely thanked them.

Outside, she gazed at the river below and the city sprawled out before her. She had got a very definite feeling they might offer her the job, or at least the next-round interview. She felt shaky and quickly took the lift downstairs. She was dying for a coffee, so she made her way to one of her favourite coffee places. It was already busy, everyone in suits, some looking for a seat, others wanting a cappuccino or latte to go. She slid into one of the brown leather chairs, ordering her regular special with its double hit of Colombian coffee. These things had kept her going for years. She got herself a cherry muffin. She’d been too nervous to eat before the interview and had just had a glass of orange juice in Liz’s.

Kim picked up her phone. She’d just got a text.

‘
Well done you aced it! They want you back for second interview to go through terms and conditions and other details. Joanne.
’

She sipped her coffee slowly. She should be exhilarated, over
the moon: the first proper chance of a job that had come her way, a job with great prospects, back where she had lived, in the city, working in funds again …

She watched a seagull outside pull at a piece of food someone had dropped. She still felt shaky. This wasn’t what she had imagined. She wasn’t even sure this was what she wanted any more …

EVIE O’CONNOR STOOD SURROUNDED BY HER CANVASES AND
artwork.

‘Where is my
Mayfly
canvas?’ she wailed.

Kim knew that Evie was stressed out about the exhibition, but she was having an utter meltdown.

‘We’ll find it,’ she promised calmly, trying to make sense of the piles of canvases stacked everywhere. Earlier she had very nearly put her foot through a beautiful seascape of Evie’s.