Chapter 8
Back in her room, Mary wasn’t as tired as she’d expected to be.
She got into her pyjamas, then sat on her bed with her laptop as she ate her sandwich and contemplated her situation while she waited for her mother to call.
She was stuck here now, so she’d just have to get on with it.
If she could just persuade Evan to let her stay, it mightn’t be so bad.
At least she’d be in her family home with all her familiar things and close to her friends and neighbours.
She could try to make it as normal a Dingle Christmas as possible.
She’d still miss all the usual family activities of course, but she could keep up other traditions, like meeting up with the gang in the pub on Christmas Eve.
If she could get Evan on side, they might even have a nice time together.
They were both in the same boat, alone for the holidays in the middle of nowhere.
The difference was Evan had put himself in that position deliberately, and she wondered why.
She was about to hit Google to see if it had any answers, when her mother called.
‘How did the ice-skating go?’ Mary asked her.
‘It was great. Bo had a ball! I wish you could have been there.’
‘Me too.’ Mary sighed.
‘I’m so sorry about the cock-up! Me and my big ideas.’ Sheena pursed her lips. ‘Now I still don’t get to give you a hug and it’s all my own fault.’
‘It was a good idea. It would have been lovely.’ Tears pricked Mary’s eyes. ‘I just can’t believe I’m missing Christmas with you guys.’
‘I know – after the lot of us breaking our necks to make it happen. We were really looking forward to spending it here with you. But maybe in a way it’s for the best that it’s worked out this way.’
‘How on earth can it be for the best? I’ve come all this way for nothing, to spend Christmas all alone.’
‘But you’re not alone. You’ve got Evan – and he’s got you.
It’s a good thing we went for the house swap instead of getting a hotel or an Airbnb.
I’d hate to think of you rattling around in the house all by yourself.
And to be honest, I was a bit worried about him spending Christmas there on his own. ’
‘Why? Were you afraid he’d rob you or vandalise the place or something?’
‘No.’ Her mother laughed. ‘Of course not. But I didn’t like to think of him all by himself there, where he knows no one.
I feel a bit responsible.’ A worried frown creased Sheena’s brow.
‘I mean, don’t you think it’s a bit strange?
Why would a young man like him want to isolate himself like that?
What if he’s planning to… you know…’ She trailed off.
‘What?’
‘Well… do something to himself.’
‘Whoa!’ Mary reared back in shock. ‘I don’t think he’s suicidal, Mum – just antisocial.’
‘Well, I’ll be easier in my mind now that he’s got you. You can keep an eye on him. And you’ll be company for each other.’
‘He doesn’t want company, Mum. That was the whole point of him coming here.’
‘Ah, no one wants to be alone at Christmas.’
‘He’s made it pretty clear he wants me out. But I can’t find anywhere local with vacancies.’
‘That’s good. I’m glad. I’d hate you to end up spending Christmas all by yourself in a hotel on top of everything else.’
‘Well, to be fair, the deal was that he’d have the whole house to himself, so he’s entitled to throw me out, really.
’ Mary sighed. ‘I suppose I could stay with Caroline and Paddy.’ Her uncle Paddy and his wife only had one son, so they’d have room and no doubt they’d be happy enough for her to stay with them.
But unfortunately, their one son was Creepy Conor, and though Caroline was nice enough in small doses, they weren’t close and a prolonged visit would be a strain.
Besides, they lived in Ventry, which was half an hour’s drive away.
All in all, she’d rather stay here in mutual solitude with Evan, where she could easily meet up with her friends and walk down to the local pub on Christmas Eve.
‘There’s no need to do anything that drastic. I know Evan wants his privacy, but I’m sure he’ll let you stay in the circumstances. He seemed like a lovely young fella when I spoke to him.’
Her mother clearly had more faith in Evan’s good nature than she did. Presumably he could turn on the charm when he wanted to.
‘He’s certainly done well for himself,’ Sheena said.
‘So that’s his apartment?’ Mary peered behind her mother.
‘Yeah. It’s huge! He lives here on his own, and it’s big enough for the lot of us. It’s very fancy too. Will I give you the tour?’
‘Yes, please!’ Mary and her mother were huge fans of property porn, united in their love of viewing houses on weekends and watching home makeover shows on TV.
As Sheena walked slowly around the apartment with her tablet, they admired the midnight blue cabinets and granite worktops in Evan’s spacious kitchen, the luxurious bathroom with its rainfall shower and the vast open-plan living room with floor-to-ceiling windows offering panoramic views of Manhattan.
It was gorgeous – clearly very upmarket, but surprisingly homey and comfy too, and not the cold bachelor pad she’d have expected from the grumpy cold-hearted man downstairs.
‘There’s a doorman too,’ her mother said. ‘Lovely man. Arnold, his name is. He’s from Minnesota originally, but he lives in Brooklyn now. He’s got a wife and two kids.’
Mary smiled. Trust her mother to already have the doorman’s entire backstory.
She was a little envious of Evan’s Upper East Side apartment.
It was a far cry from her poky little walk-up in Gramercy.
Much as she loved her cubbyhole, she’d always longed to live in a classic New York building with a sidewalk canopy and a doorman. That was the dream.
‘Where are the others?’ Mary asked.
‘They’re still out. My feet were killing me and I needed a rest.’
‘So what are you guys planning to do for Christmas dinner?’ Mary asked.
‘We’re having it here. Evan got us a turkey and ham.’
‘You’re cooking a whole Christmas dinner? Why don’t you just go out for a Chinese, and save yourself all that bother? Do something different. If I was staying in the city, that’s what I’d do.’
‘It’s too late for that now anyway. We’ve got a bit of a crowd coming. I just hope we’ll have enough food.’
‘What do you mean, a crowd? There’s only the seven of you. It’s fewer than you usually cater for now that I’m not there.’
‘Yes, but Magda from down the hall is joining us. She’s on her own; she seemed delighted to be asked. She’s from Poland and she’s going to bring some sort of special Polish dumplings. And then there’s Arnold, of course. He’s a big man – has the look of a good eater.’
‘The doorman?’
‘Yes. His wife’s taking the children to Houston to spend the holidays with her family.
Her mother isn’t well. Arnold has Christmas Day off, but he has to be back at work the next day, so it’s too far for him to go with them.
Max and his husband – that’s Evan’s assistant – are going to friends for dinner, but they’re calling over for a drink in the morning. ’
‘Wow, sounds like you’re going to be busy. It’s not much of a holiday for you, cooking Christmas dinner for half of New York.’
‘Ah, it’s no bother,’ her mother said with a casual wave of her hand.
‘The more, the merrier. It wouldn’t feel like Christmas if we didn’t have a crowd.
But now, what about you? What will you do?
’ She chewed her lower lip, thinking. ‘I mean, there’s plenty of food there for the two of you, but Evan wasn’t going to bother with a turkey and you’ll have been looking forward to a proper Christmas dinner. Let me think.’
‘Don’t worry about that. I’ll be fine. You don’t have to organise dinner for me as well as everyone else. And I don’t mind about not having turkey.’
‘I know! You can go to the O’Sullivans. I’m sure Carmel and Sean would love to have you.’
‘Mum! It’s only a couple of days to Christmas. I can’t impose on them at this stage. They’re not expecting me.’
Her mother made a dismissive sound. ‘You know what Carmel’s like. She always caters as if she’s expecting the entire population of Kerry to descend on her.’
That was true. Carmel was cut from the same cloth as her mother. It was no wonder they were best friends.
‘The twins are on a gap year in Australia and won’t make it home, so she’ll only have Hilary and James and Charlie. She’ll be only delighted to have two extra to make up the numbers.’
‘Two? What do you mean two? It would just be me.’
‘What about Evan? You’re not planning to abandon him on Christmas Day, are you?’
‘He’s the one abandoning me, remember? But even if he does let me stay, I wouldn’t be bringing him to the O’Sullivans’. I don’t know him from Adam.’
‘Well, now’s your chance. You’re practically neighbours here in New York, you know. It’s only a short walk from here to your apartment. It’d be nice for you to have a new friend when you get back.’
‘He came here to get away from people, Mum. He was expecting to have the house all to himself, and I pretty much promised I’d leave him alone. He’s kind of private and… reserved.’ Not to mention grumpy and downright hostile.
‘Don’t worry about that. Carmel will soon bring him out of his shell.’
Oh God. Mary had a vision of a very put-out Evan joining in enforced festivities at the O’Sullivans. ‘We could have dinner here, just the two of us,’ she said tentatively.
‘It’d be a bit of a half-arsed Christmas with just the two of you. And it’d be a lot of work for you. You must be tired after all that travelling, and you need a bit of TLC. You don’t want to turn around and start cooking Christmas dinner.’
‘It wouldn’t have to be a roast. We could have something simple.’
‘Like what?’
‘I don’t know… pasta?’