Chapter 24
Faith looked out at the blue sky beyond the window. It was a glorious winter day in the cove. The landscape was blanketed in frost that sparkled in the low white sunlight. A gull soared in an arc across the sky.
‘What a morning,’ she said dreamily. ‘I love days like this. Why don’t we join the swimmers in the cove? It’s a beautiful day for it.’
‘Are you crazy? It’s barely above freezing outside,’ Lucy barked.
‘I know, but it’ll be exhilarating on a cold day like today.’ She turned to their mother. ‘Mum, will you join us?’
‘Oh, darling,’ she said with faux disappointment, ‘I’d love to, but I’d better not get my cast wet. Such a pity.’
They all laughed.
‘I guess you’ve got a good excuse,’ Faith conceded.
‘I’ll come and watch you from the warmth of Ruairí’s coffee shop.’
‘You will?’ Faith blinked hard, trying, but failing, to disguise her shock.
Faith had always been bad at concealing her feelings; she was a person who wore her heart on her sleeve.
She was sure their mother would have taken the opportunity to open her laptop and savour the peace and quiet for an hour.
‘Of course.’
Although it was early days, it really felt as though Madeleine was making a big effort to mend their relationship.
Without having her job to distract her, she was making her daughters her sole focus.
She had even cooked a hearty casserole for them yesterday, hobbling around the kitchen on her crutches, refusing to allow the girls to help her.
Neither sister could remember the last time they had eaten a meal cooked by their mother.
It seemed that, since sharing their vulnerabilities the other night, things had shifted between them.
The awkward tension that had been lingering finally seemed to have left, and they chatted like they were any other mother–daughter trio.
Conversation flowed easily and wasn’t strained like it usually was, when Madeleine somehow managed to offend one of the sisters or offer up unsolicited advice.
Faith didn’t want to raise her expectations, only to have them dashed again – she had been here before and it always ended in bitter disappointment – but a seed of hope was starting to grow inside her: maybe their relationship with their mother had finally turned a corner.
After they had eaten breakfast, they got ready to head down to the cove.
The air was as crisp as the first bite into an apple as they stepped out into the white morning sunshine.
They breathed it in deeply: it burned their lungs with its goodness and their breath puffed out in cumulous clouds onto the cool air.
They took Faith’s car and set off, taking care on the slippery roads as they descended the headland towards the village.
The frost had melted beneath the pale morning sunlight and the sea glistened like platinum below them.
After parking on the main street, they said goodbye to their mother, who made her way towards the coffee shop, and climbed down the steps that would take them to the cove. The sisters noted that Madeleine hadn’t brought a bag with her, so she definitely didn’t have her laptop in tow.
‘Enjoy, girls – rather you than me!’ she called cheerily after them as she made her way into the cosy café.
They made their way down to the cove and found that the tide was out, leaving a long stretch of biscuit-coloured sand before them.
Gulls paraded the smooth beach, hungrily scavenging for sea creatures left behind by the outgoing tide.
Faith and Lucy saw the sea-swimmers gathered in their usual spot by the rocks drinking from steaming thermos flasks, having already done their swim.
Grace O’Neill’s Aunt Maggie, sporting an electric-blue tint in her hair, was passing a packet of biscuits around. They waved over to say hello.
‘I can’t believe you’re making me do this,’ Lucy grumbled as she unzipped her Dry Robe and shivered in the baltic air.
‘Last one in buys the coffee,’ Faith called as she ran off towards the water, leaving Lucy no choice but to run after her.
The sisters squealed as they crashed through the waves and the icy water splashed against their bare skin. Faith quickly dunked her top half under so she was submerged up to her neck, while Lucy had only managed to get in as far as her knees.
‘Go on,’ Faith encouraged. ‘On the count of three. Three, two, one.’
Lucy shut her eyes and winced as she lowered herself into the icy water. ‘Oh my God,’ she gasped standing up again. ‘Oh, my God!’
Faith laughed. ‘Doesn’t it feel exhilarating?’
‘It feels as though my feet are going to snap off. I’m getting out.’ She turned and ran back towards the shore, her teeth chattering as she hurried to put on her Dry Robe.
Faith followed her, laughing. ‘I feel amazing after that. It makes you forget about your worries. It’s like the shock of the cold water resets your body.’
‘Because it’s too cold to think about anything,’ Lucy replied through gritted teeth as she tugged her wet swimwear down over her rubbery skin and tried to dress her shivering body beneath her robe.
Once they had dried off, they headed back up to Ruairí’s to meet their mother.
‘Well done, girls!’ Madeleine applauded as her rosy-cheeked daughters sat down at the table with her.
She saw that Ruairí had strewn fairy lights around the café and a Christmas tree stood in the corner.
Lucy glanced around to check if Madeleine had snuck her laptop in with her; she could have hidden it inside her coat when they were leaving, but there was no sign of it anywhere.
It looked as though their mother had simply been enjoying her coffee – and the pastry flakes left on her plate told them she had eaten a croissant too. ‘How was it?’
‘Amaz—’ Faye gushed.
‘Awful,’ Lucy cut across her.
Ruairí appeared moments later to take their order. Faith ordered a steaming hot chocolate with a mince pie, while Lucy chose a latte with a slice of Ruairí’s famous carrot cake.
‘I’ve earned this,’ she said as she tucked into the spiced sponge.
The fire was lit in the stove and a low buzz of chatter gave the place an inviting, homely feel. They chatted, and Faith loved how much easier it was now to be in their mother’s company. It seemed as though she had really meant what she said about putting her family first from now on.
When they had finished, they got up to head back towards Elizabeth’s cottage.
‘I just need to pop into O’Herlihy’s to get some ingredients to make a curry later,’ Madeleine announced.
The girls exchanged a look. Once again Madeleine had surprised them with her new-found interest in feeding them. They were strolling down towards the shop when Faith saw Jack walking towards them. She immediately felt her heart pick up speed.
‘Faith…’ he said, stopping in front of her.
‘Oh, hi,’ she replied, trying to stay calm. Her heart was pounding so wildly that she was sure he must be able to hear it too.
Madeleine linked Lucy’s arm. ‘We’ll keep going to O’Herlihy’s and let you two catch up. Follow after us when you’re ready.’
Faith felt panicked and wanted to tell them to come back.
She was stuck there with no idea what to say to Jack, and she didn’t have her mum or Lucy there to jump in and rescue her.
She desperately tried to think of something to say but her mind was stuck on a repetitive loop of how awkward this encounter was.
The more she stressed, the more her brain just wouldn’t work.
‘So, you got your tree up?’ he said.
‘Yes!’ she cried a little too enthusiastically, glad to have a subject to discuss.
‘The tree! We managed to get it home and put up. It looks really good. You know, baubles … tinsel … lights … that kind of thing.’ Shut up, Faith, she told herself.
She cringed at the banality of their conversation, wishing she could disappear into the footpath.
He grinned. ‘Well, that’s great.’
‘What about you? Did you manage to find another tree after we robbed your first choice?’
‘Oh, don’t worry, Heidi and Rosie found an even bigger one, so everyone went home happy.’
‘Great,’ she said faux-brightly. ‘That’s just great.’
‘Look … I’m glad I bumped into you, because I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go for a drink.’ He grinned sheepishly. ‘It would be good to catch up with you again after all this time.’
Her heart plummeted and she narrowed her eyes in suspicion, trying to work out his game.
What the hell was this? Maybe she was reading too much into it and his intentions were innocent, but she couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable.
He had a partner and child, so why did he want to meet up with her?
Yes, it would be nice to reminisce over carefree days gone by, but they had all grown up now.
Jack had a beautiful family – why on earth would he want to jeopardise that?
He had responsibilities and she wasn’t prepared to be dragged into an awkward situation even if his intentions were pure.
She had been messed around by so many men, men she had met online who’d claimed to be single when they were married.
She was allergic to these types now, and if a man raised any reg flags she had learned to run a mile to save herself heartache down the line.
She lowered her gaze to the ground. ‘I don’t think that would be a good idea,’ she replied coolly. Then she hurried past him and headed into O’Herlihy’s.