Chapter 11
The three sisters assembled early the next morning and had coffee together before tackling the attic.
Sive was barely listening as Aoife and Mimi chatted, scrambling to find a way to tell them she was pregnant.
She felt like a fraud sitting on such huge news while Aoife talked about the restaurant she and Jonathan had gone to last night and Mimi shared the latest gossip about the cast of A Christmas Carol.
‘You’re very quiet,’ Mimi said to her. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Yes, fine. Just a bit tired. I haven’t been sleeping well the last few nights.’ Damn! That had been just the opening she needed. Why hadn’t she taken it? But she couldn’t bring herself to say it. It was too huge – or maybe it was that saying it out loud would make it real.
‘Oh, poor you.’
‘Any particular reason, or just random?’ Aoife asked.
‘Just random. You know sometimes when your mind starts spinning and you can’t switch it off?’
Aoife and Mimi nodded understandingly.
‘It’s a pity you weren’t at the pub last night,’ Mimi said to Sive. ‘I think Andrea’s setting her cap at Mitch, of all people.’
‘Mitch? But what about Nina?’ Mitch had been having a fling with the director of Private Lives.
Mimi shrugged. ‘I guess it was just one of those things that only lasts the length of the run. So, show’s over – in every sense.’
‘Wow. Well, she’s not going to have much luck with Mitch. He can’t stand her any more than you can.’
‘No, but you know Andrea – she thinks everyone fancies her.’ Mimi took a sip of coffee. ‘Did Sive tell you about this triple date we’re going on on Sunday?’ she asked Aoife.
‘Yes, Jonathan and I are up for it.’
‘I booked us a slot for eleven,’ Sive said. ‘And it’s not a date.’
‘Sam tried to ask her out,’ Mimi told Aoife, ‘and she blew him off by inviting us all along.’
‘Oh no! Why? I thought you wanted to go out with Sam.’
‘I’ve decided it’s better if we’re just friends – at least for now.’
Aoife was eyeing her with concern, but said nothing, clearly sensing that Sive didn’t want to discuss it. ‘Right. Well, I suppose we should get on with tackling the attic,’ she said, standing.
Upstairs, Mimi pulled down the attic ladder and climbed up first, switching on the light. Aoife and Sive followed, and they all crept to the highest point at the centre where they could stand up straight. The air was musty and stale, filled with the scent of dust and decay.
Mimi looked around, hands on her hips and heaved a sigh. ‘I didn’t expect there to be so much stuff!’
‘Me either.’ Sive said, her heart sinking as she took in the piles of boxes and the jumble of ancient tools, battered suitcases and forgotten toys that crammed the space. ‘I haven’t been up here in years.’
The attic was a good size, but it felt cramped and stifling, with barely any room to navigate through the clutter.
It was overwhelming, an Aladdin’s cave of detritus covered in layers of dust and cobwebs.
Old board games were piled up on a shelf, the corners of their boxes torn and faded.
A set of rusty golf clubs stood against one wall and Sive’s heart squeezed as she imagined her father handling them. He’d loved golf.
‘Neither have I,’ Aoife said. ‘The only thing I used to come up for was the Christmas tree before we started storing it in the shed. And then I just grabbed it and ran. I pretended I didn’t see all the rest so I wouldn’t have to deal with it.’
‘Where do we even start?’ Sive’s voice was hollow as she spoke.
‘Well, we don’t have to do it all today,’ Aoife said. ‘Why don’t we concentrate on finding granny’s wedding dress, and then we can leave the rest for another day if we don’t feel like it.’
‘Any idea where it might be?’ Mimi asked, turning around in the packed space. Everywhere you looked there were teetering piles of dilapidated cardboard boxes.
‘None. But we have to start somewhere. Why don’t we spread out and take a corner each?’
‘Good idea. I’ll start over there.’ Mimi bent over and crouch-walked to one side of the attic. Aoife and Sive followed suit, dispersing to opposite corners, and they all began opening bags and boxes.
‘Remember this?’ Mimi gasped, pulling a green cocktail dress of their mother’s from a bag. It had been a favourite for playing dress-up when they were children.
‘Yes,’ Aoife breathed. ‘How did that get up here?’ Detta had helped them sort through their parents’ wardrobes after they died, donating to charity what they didn’t want to keep.
‘Maybe Mum wasn’t as happy about us playing in it as we thought,’ Mimi said, holding the dress up against her. ‘Anyway, I’m glad she preserved it, for whatever reason. I’m totally keeping it.’
‘The colour is great for you,’ Sive said.
‘I’ve found the wedding dress,’ Aoife called triumphantly, placing a big square box on the floor and throwing aside layers of tissue paper. She lifted the dress out and Sive and Mimi crawled over to inspect it.
‘It’s in good condition,’ Sive said, casting an experienced eye over it. ‘And the material is gorgeous.’ She reached out to touch the smooth oyster-coloured satin of the bodice and the filmy layers of tulle in the full, floaty skirt.
‘It’ll definitely need some altering to fit me,’ Mimi said.
‘That should be easy enough,’ Sive said.
‘Well, that’s something old taken care of. Let’s see what else we can find.’ Mimi carefully folded the dress back into the box and they all retreated to their separate corners of the attic. ‘Why didn’t we come up here sooner? This place is a treasure trove!’
Sive found a large box with ‘clothes’ marked on the lid in sharpie and picked it up. She sat down on an old camping stool to open it.
‘I found granny’s veil!’ Mimi called, pulling a length of lace out of a box.
Sive glanced up as she tore duct tape off the box in her lap. ‘That’s lovely.’ She returned her attention to the box, pulling the flaps apart. ‘Oh!’ She felt her face fall as she looked down at the contents in dismay.
‘What have you got there?’ Mimi asked as she wrapped the veil carefully back into its layers of tissue paper.
‘Baby clothes,’ Sive said, her voice thin as she pulled out a tiny yellow onesie. ‘Lots of them.’
Mimi and Aoife dropped what they were doing and came to investigate. They began excitedly pulling items from the box.
‘Look, how adorable!’ Mimi held up a little flower-patterned dress.
‘I recognise that from photos of you, Sive,’ Aoife said.
‘I think I’ve seen pictures of me in it too,’ Mimi said.
‘I guess we all wore it.’ Aoife shrugged, dropping it back in the box.
‘Look at this.’ Mimi pulled out another sleepsuit. ‘It’s so tiny! It’s hard to imagine any human ever being this small.’
A lump came to Sive’s throat as her fingers rooted through layers of tiny cardigans, dresses and jumpers.
‘Oh, there are even shoes!’ Mimi squealed with glee as she dove her hand into the box and pulled out a tiny pair of bootees. ‘I can’t believe Mum kept all this stuff.’
‘I suppose she was planning to hand them down to us for our children,’ Aoife said.
‘Lucky we came up here or we’d never have known. Not that any of us are going to need this stuff for quite a while!’ Mimi tossed the shoes back into the box.
‘I am,’ Sive said, but so low that neither of her sisters heard.
‘Will we leave the rest of this for another time?’ Aoife said.
‘Yes, lets,’ Mimi said. ‘I think we’ve done enough for one day.’
‘All we did was find granny’s wedding dress,’ Aoife said, a smile in her voice.
‘Well, that was the reason we came up here, so mission accomplished. Sive?’ Mimi looked at her and frowned.
Sive felt both her sister’s eyes on her and tried to blink away the tears that stung her eyes.
‘Are you okay?’ Aoife frowned, moving towards her.
‘No!’ Sive wailed, covering her face with her hands as she lost the battle and tears streamed down her face. ‘I’m pregnant!’
‘What?’
‘You’re … what?’ Mimi sputtered.
When Sive took her hands away, her sisters were sitting on the floor either side of her, fixing her with wide-eyed stares.
‘Oh my god!’ Mimi gasped, clamping a hand to her mouth. ‘You can’t be pregnant!’
‘Well, I am,’ Sive said in the brightest tone she could muster as Aoife slid an arm around her. She didn’t want them worrying about her. ‘I’m having a baby,’ she added, choosing her phrasing carefully to make it clear she’d decided what to do about it.
‘Are you sure?’ Mimi asked.
Sive nodded. ‘I did a test yesterday.’
‘Just one? Can’t they be wrong?’
‘Almost never for positive results, apparently,’ Sive said, having researched this thoroughly. ‘Anyway, I was already pretty sure.’
‘Wow!’
‘I presume it’s Ben’s,’ Aoife said dully.
‘Yes, it’s Ben’s.’
‘Are you definite about that?’ Mimi asked. ‘There’s no chance … I mean, you and Sam…’
Sive shook her head. She almost laughed at how hopeful Mimi sounded, as if she’d rather it were Sam’s. ‘There’s absolutely no chance it’s Sam’s,’ she said with a laugh. ‘That would take some kind of miracle.’
‘But how did this even happen?’
Mimi rolled her eyes at Aoife. ‘Seriously? Do we have to go over the birds and bees talk with you again?’
‘No, but … I mean, weren’t you being careful? I’m not being judgey,’ she added hastily, giving Sive’s shoulder a squeeze. ‘I just thought, you know…’
‘I don’t know. We were careful … mostly. But we’d been together forever, so I suppose we might have been a bit more relaxed about it now and then than we should have been. Anyway, accidents happen.’
‘Yeah, of course they do.’
‘It’s not your fault,’ she said to Aoife. ‘You were a good mum. You raised me right. This is all on me.’
‘And Ben,’ Mimi said, pursing her lips.
‘Well, yes. Him too.’
‘Look, let’s get out of here before we discuss this any further,’ Aoife said, standing and reaching out a hand to pull Sive up. ‘It’s time for lunch anyway.’
‘Good idea,’ Mimi said. ‘I need a drink.’
‘I need a drink,’ Sive said as she let Mimi pull her to her feet. ‘But tea will have to do.’