Take Aisling for instance. There she was now, a married woman living with her husband in the apartment the two of them had rubbed along in by themselves for the last few years. No longer could she sneak in to Ash’s bedroom and help herself to whichever shoes went best with her current choice of outfit because effectively she was now sneaking into Aisling and Quinn’s bedroom and that put a different spin on things. It didn’t feel right. Then there was this business with Mammy stopping out at her man friend’s. It was very unsettling her having not been home on Monday night or Wednesday night either.
Aisling got up from the table and Moira registered her plate clattering into the sink before she took herself off to her bedroom.
Tom was making noises about her moving in with him at his flat but she wasn’t sure she was ready for that. For one thing she’d have to split the rent with him which wouldn’t be easy on her current allowance. For another, she was fairly certain she’d find his flatmates, two fellow student doctors, Tamar and Malcolm, annoying. All they talked about was medicine and there was only so much you wanted to hear about the human anatomy when you were trying to watch Fair City or Bally K.
She finished her tea and gave up on the cereal, getting up to clear her things away. She had to be considerate now too. Once upon a time she’d have left her dishes on the worktop and waited for the magic fairy to wave her wand and clean up but she felt badly about Quinn getting up after working hard at the restaurant to find a bombsite in the kitchen. She’d just loaded her bowl in the dishwasher when she heard her sister bellow.
‘Moira, did you wear my black Valentino booties while I was away?’
She picked up her art folder and slung her satchel over her shoulder, heading out the door lickety-split.
MAUREEN’S WEEK WAS flying by. Sure, it was a blur of singing lessons, line dancing, watercolour class, yoga pant party promotion, and then there was Donal; she’d seen him twice. He’d stayed at her place on Tuesday night after they’d gone for a meal here in Howth and he’d invited her to his house for the first time for dinner on the Wednesday night, not ready for them to part company. Maureen mused over this as she ran the hoover across the carpet. She and Donal had entered new territory now and she’d found herself in a quandary once she’d accepted his dinner invitation. Did she pack a toothbrush and bring Pooh whom she couldn’t leave overnight on his own or was that being presumptuous? She’d stewed on it until she’d decided she was being ridiculous. Honesty and openness, was the key in any relationship and so, she’d rung Donal and come right out with it. He’d said he’d like it very much if she were to bring her toothbrush and Pooh was welcome too, he’d plenty of Kenny CDs to keep him happy.
She’d been pleased to see he was house proud and she’d commented on this but he’d given her a rueful grin and confessed Louise came by once a week and gave the place a going over for him despite his protesting he was perfectly able to do it himself. She was a very capable woman, Donal said. She had all these balls in the air between work, family life and the various boards she sat on but she managed them all. Louise’s children, Brody and Katie, grinned down at her from framed photographs on the walls as they flashed missing front teeth, each child sporting an abundance of freckles. The walls were decorated with pictures showcasing family life and she’d been drawn over to see for herself this other side of Donal she’d not yet been privy to.
She’d wondered, without consciously admitting so, whether she resembled his late wife in any way. People had a type after all, but as she looked at the woman dimpling down at her, she could find none. Ida had the type of smile that lit up her entire face and her pronounced dimples made Maureen think she’d have had a good sense of fun. She’d worn her hair in a practical, short style which suited her elfin features and from what Donal had told her would have suited a life that was busy and full. She’d been an active member of the PTA at the school their girls had gone to, had worked part time as a nurse, volunteered for a support line, done Donal’s books and managed to squeeze in badminton twice a week. Where Donal was a big man, she was petite to the point of dainty. She thought she’d have probably liked this woman if they’d had the opportunity to meet. She hoped Ida would have approved of her too.
Maureen turned her attention to a portrait of his girls as teenagers. Louise, the elder of the two, took after her father, a big-boned girl with mischievous grey eyes, whereas Anna had the pixie look of her mammy; she’d inherited her dimples too.
Anna, Donal informed her as he checked the vegetables he’d brought to the boil in a pot on the stove, kept his freezer stocked with ready meals she’d make when she had time off, dropping around a week’s worth to see him
