Chapter 3
‘ M ammy didn’t follow us, did she?’ Roisin asked, eyeing the door to the Ladies’ as it closed behind Moira a good minute later.
‘No,’ Moira sounded breathless.
‘What took you so long?’ Aisling asked. ‘Were you after doing a few circuits of the gardens before joining us?’
‘No. It’s the heels. They were like tent pegs, being driven into the ground with each step. I’m sure I heard Noah say I looked like a Flamingo.’
‘He’s very astute, our nephew. If your dress was pink, you’d be the spit of one with your storky legs,’ Aisling said.
‘Flamingo, not stork,’ Moira rebutted.
‘He’s going through an ornithology phase,’ Roisin said.
‘What’s teeth got to do with birds?’ This from Moira.
‘That’s orthodontistry, you eejit.’ Aisling shook her head.
‘That coming from the eejit with a green tooth.’
Scuttling over to the mirror, Aisling grinned and winced at the parsley stuck between her incisor and the other tooth.
Roisin clapped her hands. ‘You two cut it out, or we’ll miss dessert at this rate.’
That silenced Aisling at least while Moira huffed over what had seen them gather in the toilets in the first place. ‘Honestly, can you believe how selfish they're being? I mean, swanning back and forth along the Mexican Riviera while we’re left here toiling away in old Dublin town.’
‘I know. What about Mammy and Donal's responsibilities?’ Aisling was trying to use a strand of hair as dental floss. ‘And you could have told me about the green tooth, Rosi.’
‘I was about to when Mammy tapped her wine glass,’ Roisin said, then forgetting Aisling’s tooth. ‘I rely on her to look after Noah after school when I’m taking the yoga classes.’
‘So do I, and Donal too. You know they have Kiera one day a week. I mean, it’s just not right. You can’t be hands-on grandparents like so and then just up and leave. It’s, it’s . . . ’ Moira was trying to find the right word.
‘Selfish is what it is,’ Aisling repeated Moira’s earlier sentiment, triumphantly dislodging the green leaf. ‘She better not expect us to look after Pooh while they’re away.’ Mammy and Donal’s poodle was high maintenance.
The trio stewed in silence until Moira accidentally set the hand dryer off.
‘Whoops.’
‘You don’t think we’re the ones being selfish, do you?’ Roisin ventured.
Aisling and Moira glanced at one another. Roisin had always been the weakest link.
'Technically speaking, Noah, Kiera, Aoife and Connor are our children. Our responsibility,’ Roisin added.
‘It takes a village to raise a child,’ Aisling stated piously. She relied on Mammy and Donal too, even though Mammy could be very annoying and Donal was her ‘yes’ man. They were only a phone call away, which was comforting because having twins wasn’t easy. At sea, they’d be uncontactable until the ship was in port. She quelled the rising panic at the thought of not being able to ring whenever the urge took her by reminding herself she did have her sisters and Quinn, of course. Hadn’t Mammy raised four children of her own, Donal two? Maybe it was their time to shine. Aisling said this out loud.
Moira’s eyes narrowed. ‘You’ve had too much wine in the sun.’
‘Think about it, Moira,’ Aisling said, and Roisin eyeballed her until she gave her a slight shrug.
‘I suppose I could get Mammy and Donal to make a recording of the “Islands in the Stream” song for when Kiera needs it, and Tom’s mammy loves taking her to nursery.’
‘You could.’ Aisling nodded, and Roisin murmured in agreement.
‘Shall we go and tell them they’ve our blessing to go then?’
‘Erm Moira, they don’t actually need our blessing. It might be better if we just show some enthusiasm.’ Roisin opened the door to the restaurant. ‘Come on, before they send out a search party.’
The conversation when they returned to the table was animated and jovial, as though it was perfectly normal for all three O’Mara sisters to shoot off to the toilets like they’d rockets under their arses. Maureen looked from one to the other of her girls as they sat down, and her shoulders stiffened slightly. Her suspicious expression said she didn’t believe for a moment they’d synchronised bladders.
Roisin assumed the role of spokesperson as the oldest of the three. She rubbed her hands together a little too enthusiastically. ‘It’s very exciting. This gigging on a cruise, Mammy and Donal.’
Moira and Aisling were nodding along in an excited or eejitty manner, whichever way you interpreted it.
‘Thank you, girls, but I didn’t get to tell you the rest of the news.’
What now? Aisling thought, steeling herself because Mammy looked fit to burst.
‘We get a family cruise discount!’
The O’Mara sisters exchanged a quick glance hearing this, wondering where it was leading. Moira opened her mouth, but Mammy silenced her.
‘Donal, would you like to tell them?’
Donal was beaming. ‘Certainly, Mo. We’ve already told everyone else, but you know I came into an unexpected windfall when my Aunt Agnes passed. She’d no children of her own and left all her worldly goods to myself and my siblings.’
Aisling didn’t recall hearing about this Aunt Agnes. Moira and Roisin had blank expressions, too.
‘So, I told Mo that three months is a long time away from the family. You know yourself we’ll miss the grandchildren terribly. Why don’t we use the money from Aunt Agnes to treat you all? Of course, Mo thought this was a grand idea and, as such, we’d like you to join us on the Mayan Princess in a month once we’ve got the lay of the ship for a week’s cruise down the Mexican Riviera. Patrick, Cindy, and the babby Brianna will be joining us. It’s an excellent opportunity to get all the family together,’ he smiled fondly at his daughters.
Aisling did the rapid blinking thing Roisin was prone to when taken unawares. Still, after hearing her sisters' excited exclamations, she swiftly recovered and joined in thanking Donal and Mammy for their generosity. The conversation around the table grew animated once more as they all talked over one another about what to pack, whether they’d see those virile, oiled-up cliff divers like on the Love Boat , and who was prone to getting seasick.
Aisling was privately thinking about the buffet. She’d heard wonderful things.
Roisin was wondering whether yoga sessions were available on the ship. If not, she’d offer to run a few classes.
Moira was clenching everything and hoping against hope there was a toddler club because Noah had just appeared at the table to make an announcement of his own.
Kiera had just tried to eat a worm.
When this didn’t have the shock value reaction he’d hoped for, he planted his hands on his hips and sized up the adults around the table. ‘Why’s everybody all excited?’
Gosh, his face was so like his mam’s, Aisling thought. This was a good thing, given his father was a chinless feck.
Roisin spoke up. ‘Nana and Poppa D have arranged for us to have a wonderful holiday on a big cruise ship, Noah.’
‘Can Mr Nibbles and Stef come? Oh, and Pooh?’ Noah referenced his notoriously naughty pet gerbils and his nana and Poppa D’s poodle, with whom he got on well.
‘No!’ was unanimously chimed.
‘Mammy, and this goes for you too, Donal,’ Aisling said. ‘Don’t be reenacting the scene from the Titanic on the prow of the ship while you're onboard, do you hear me?’
‘Oh, don’t be worrying about that, Aisling. Sure, you were there. I ticked that off my bucket list when you and I were on the ferry to Wales.’
As if I’d ever forget, Aisling thought.