Chapter 25
Faith stormed into the supermarket and found her mother and Lucy chit-chatting with Mrs O’Herlihy at the checkout as they packed up their groceries.
Uneasiness curdled in her tummy and her head was in a spin.
She was sick and tired of men and their lack of respect for women.
Why did she always attract these types? Did she have a sign hanging over her head that said she was a soft touch?
‘And have you any plans for Christmas?’ Mrs O’Herlihy was asking. Although well-intentioned, she was a nosy sort who liked to know the villagers’ business and who was doing what or going where.
‘The three of us will spend it together in Elizabeth’s cottage,’ Madeleine replied.
Faith was surprised. Normally Madeleine had no patience for small talk.
She would close down any attempts at conversation, purchase her groceries and leave the shop immediately, but today she seemed to be in no hurry as she stood talking to Mrs O’Herlihy.
This new and improved version of her mother was taking some getting used to.
‘That’s lovely. Of course, it’ll be a sad one this year without Elizabeth,’ Mrs O’Herlihy remarked.
‘It will,’ Madeleine agreed. ‘We’ll all miss her.’
‘Did you hear that Patrick and Grace are hosting a carol service for all the villagers in Cavendish Hall? It used to be a Christmas tradition way back when Patrick Cavendish’s grandmother was alive.
Mrs Cavendish would invite all the local schoolchildren to sing, and she’d give them all a little gift after.
She would serve sherry for the grown-ups and fruit punch for the children.
But when Patrick’s father inherited the house, he and his wife didn’t care much for mixing with the villagers and they put a stop to the annual carol service.
My son Fionn is a teacher in the primary school, and his class are taking part,’ she said proudly.
‘Yes, we’re looking forward to it – we’ll definitely be there.
It’s a marvellous idea,’ Madeleine enthused.
‘I recall Elizabeth telling me about it. She remembered singing in it as a child, said it was one of her favourite things about Christmas when she was growing up. She told me that the children looked forward to it for months.’
‘I think it’s brilliant that Patrick and Grace are resurrecting the tradition once again. I hope everyone turns out to support it,’ Lucy agreed.
Just then, Madeleine noticed Faith standing there beside them. ‘Oh, there you are, Faith.’ She nodded towards the shopkeeper. ‘Right, well, we’d best head on. Nice to see you, Mrs O’Herlihy.’
‘Goodbye, ladies!’ she called after them.
‘What’s the matter with you?’ Lucy asked her sister as they walked towards the car. ‘You look like you’ve been chewing on a wasp.’
‘Nothing,’ Faith lied.
‘When we left you less than five minutes ago you were in great form, and now you look like you’d take on Katie Taylor and win,’ Madeleine added.
Faith sighed as she opened the car. ‘Men!’
‘What happened?’ Lucy asked, pulling her seat belt across her.
Faith twisted the key in the ignition to start the engine, signalled and pulled out into the street. ‘Jack asked me to go for a drink with him,’ she said as she drove back towards the cottage.
‘What’s wrong with that?’ Madeleine was bewildered.
‘He has a partner and a child,’ Faith replied.
‘That doesn’t mean he can’t go for a drink with a female friend!’ Madeleine protested. ‘You two have known one another for a long time.’
‘But I’m not just a female friend, am I? I’m his ex-girlfriend,’ Faith said.
‘But how do you know that his intentions weren’t completely innocent and all he wanted to do was catch up after all these years?’
‘I don’t, but I have enough experience with men to spot a red flag when it’s waved at me.’
‘Faith is right, Mum,’ Lucy interjected. ‘She’s better off staying away; no one wants to cause drama in someone else’s marriage.’ She leant forward from the back seat and placed her hand on Faith’s shoulder as they drove. ‘I’m so disappointed in him. He was always so nice when we were teenagers.’
‘They’re all the same,’ Faith said bitterly.
‘I see,’ Madeleine said. ‘Dating in the modern world isn’t something I have much experience with. I never went out with anyone after your dad. Maybe it’s just as well…’
‘Nobody?’ The girls were shocked. Madeleine was still an attractive woman, with her closely cropped, highlighted, blonde hair and angular features.
She looked after herself and liked to exercise; although she was pushing sixty, she didn’t look her age.
Even though Madeleine had never brought any men home to meet them, they had assumed that she must have had relationships from time to time which she kept private from them, but here she was telling them that she had stayed single for all these years.
‘No.’ She shook her head sadly. ‘I didn’t set out to stay single, but I guess I wasn’t really open to another relationship either. I was so busy raising you and then when my career took off, I just didn’t have the time.’
‘What about now? Would you be interested in meeting someone?’
Madeleine laughed. ‘Not at my age. I value my independence too much.’
‘I think us Brennan ladies are all better off on our own,’ Lucy quipped. ‘Men cause too much trouble.’