Chapter 20
Shazza ushered Tara and Kitty off to find Tom and Rory, while she tried to catch the eye of Mick, the barman. ‘You go outside,’ said Shazza, ‘and I’ll buy the drinks. Tara? Water and a slice of lemon? Or is the lemon too much?’
Tara laughed. ‘I’ll have a Diet Coke,’ she said. ‘Go mad.’
‘Can we twist your arm, Tara?’ said Shazza. ‘Just a small twist. A tweak of your arm?’
Tara made a face. ‘Oh, go on then,’ she said. ‘Choose me something nice.’
Tom came up behind them. ‘I’m buying,’ he said. ‘What does everyone want? Shazza? Kitty?’
‘What are you two having?’ said Shazza.
‘Just Guinness,’ said Tom. ‘We’re taking it easy. Well, I am anyway… shouldn’t speak for Rory… but he’s working at a food festival in his van. Wheely Delicious.’
‘Ah-ha!’ said Shazza. ‘So he’s one of those trendy food-truck people. It all makes sense. The tattoos. The beard. The ironic T-shirt.’
Tom took their drinks order. ‘Go and sit down,’ he said. ‘Keep young Rory company. He’s not good on his own. Likes an audience.’
‘I know someone like him,’ said Kitty, giving Shazza a wink.
The small courtyard was filled with plants in pots and bench seating around the small, round tables, the space glowing with candles and from the fairy lights strung along the stone walls. The air was full of that sound of Friday chatter, so different to the sound of people on other evenings. A weekend stretching ahead, everyone happier and lighter than on any other evening.
Except… weekends were long, thought Kitty, wishing she didn’t have to go to bed alone or wake up alone. Although, sleeping without snorey Dave did have the benefit of not being pulled from REM by his somnambulant sounds. She looked at her phone. Still nothing from Dave, obviously too busy with his microwavable roast while watching Countdown.
They found Rory, and Kitty went on one side of him, and Shazza and Tara on the other.
‘So you’re one of those,’ said Shazza to him, knowingly.
‘One of what?’
‘The food truckers. The trendy food brigade. I long for the old burger van, the kind that would give you E. coli or clean out your insides after one bite. Or the fish and chip vans which never changed the oil.’
Rory laughed again. ‘I like to think we’ve evolved as a nation,’ he said. ‘I mean there’s still a place for E. coli and chips, but not everyone wants food poisoning. I mean, who has the time these days?’
Shazza laughed. ‘So what’s on the menu, Mary Berry?’
Rory began telling them about his plans: falafel wraps, tofu burgers, bean chilli and chocolate doughnuts – and then Tom arrived with the tray of drinks and handed them out, before slipping in beside Kitty.
Strangely, she felt a little nervous. Was it because he made her forget all about Dave? Or was it because, when she did remember him, all she could think about were his flaws?
‘Still on for Sunday lunch?’ Tom said. ‘My mum is insistent on you all coming.’
Kitty nodded. ‘Sounds lovely… anything other than my awful cooking.’ She laughed a little awkwardly. ‘I mean, I’m not coming for the food. Well, I am. Coming for the food, I mean. But it’s not the only reason…’ Would he think she was coming for him? ‘I am looking forward to so much about it. Everything, really.’ And now it sounded as though she had zero life and was just so desperate and grateful to have received any invitation at all, as though she had little else going on in her life which, while technically true, was not quite the aura of louche, successful woman about town she wanted to convey.
Tom smiled. ‘Did you enjoy the match?’
‘It was awful,’ said Kitty. ‘I mean, I was terrible. You couldn’t call what I did playing. It was more being terrorised by a ball.’
Tom laughed. ‘Didn’t you see that woman tackle Rory? Took him down and stuck her studs into his shin…’
‘I missed that,’ said Kitty.
Across the table, Rory, Shazza and Tara were laughing together.
‘And then when it was a penalty, they walked forward with the ball… and the referee didn’t notice because one of the others made a noise which made him turn around…’
‘Missed that as well,’ said Kitty.
Tom laughed. ‘Oh yeah, I forgot, this is you just marking time until your boyfriend comes back.’
‘No…’ began Kitty, thinking that was it exactly. ‘I’m just not overfamiliar with the rules of football…’
He nodded. ‘So, this boyfriend…?’
‘Dave.’
‘Why’s he worth waiting for?’ asked Tom, frowning.
‘Because she’s a fool,’ said Shazza, leaning forward. ‘She’s too loyal. She needs to learn that relationships are like a war and you have to be a ruthless general.’
‘Are you a ruthless general?’ asked Rory.
‘No,’ admitted Shazza with a sigh. ‘I’m one of those privates who gets shot on the first day. I too need to learn how to be a ruthless general. Eisenhower. Monty. Motors. One of them.’ She sat back and picked up her drink again.
‘By the way,’ said Tom to Kitty. ‘I didn’t know Billy O’Sullivan was your dad. He was legendary as a coach. All the kids loved him.’
‘They did?’
‘He used to play for Shelbourne…’
Kitty nodded. ‘A long time ago…’ She wasn’t that clear on the history – all she did know for sure was that he was a player, but once he was injured he’d moved into coaching, first in Ireland and America and then home again. ‘I don’t know too much about it,’ she admitted. ‘He was injured quite badly. Ligament or something. He still walks with a little bit of a limp.’
‘Did he ever bring you to any matches?’
Kitty nodded. ‘A few… when I was younger. I was bored more than anything and so it all stopped.’ She felt bad, suddenly, as though realising for the first time how little she knew of him.
‘Maybe you’ve inherited his football skills and you haven’t realised it yet?’
Kitty laughed. ‘No, we’ve nothing in common. I’m like my mother completely…’ For some reason, she started telling him about Annie and how her aunt was now expecting her to look after her in the same way as her mother did. As well as managing to extricate €800 from the two of them. ‘I mean, I love her,’ she said. ‘And I will always do things for her, but it’s like she wants us all running about after her.’
Tom seemed to understand. ‘Her needs trump yours and your mother’s?’
Kitty nodded. ‘It wasn’t as though I’d ever thought that Mum and I had needs before, we’re both very practical, just get on with things… but Mum had a disappointment at work, and Annie didn’t even care about it…’
Tom nodded. ‘Some people are all about them.’
‘It’s just that she could have thought about Mum – not that Mum needs it, but it was the first time Annie could have asked how she was…’ It seemed so trivial when she said it out loud. ‘I love Annie,’ she said. ‘Obviously, I do.’
She was enjoying talking to Tom, the way he listened as though he was interested and wasn’t looking for you to take a breath so he could insert himself into the conversation. Dave always seemed irritated when she spoke, waiting for her to stop so he could start talking again.
She looked up to see Shazza smiling at her. ‘Okay?’ she mouthed.
Kitty nodded. She was okay. In fact, she was more than okay.
Shazza held up her mojito. ‘Here’s to us…’ she said, smiling.
‘Here’s to us,’ echoed Kitty, smiling back.
‘What are you two cheersing about?’ asked Rory.
‘Oh, nothing,’ said Shazza. ‘Just celebrating our celibate lives.’
Rory laughed. ‘How can you deprive the male of the species like that? It’s so cruel!’
Shazza smiled. ‘It’s my revenge,’ she said. ‘You’re all going to have to live with it.’
Kitty laughed with them and, as she turned to Shazza, she realised something momentous had happened. She was having fun.