Chapter 6
‘Oh God, how is this happening?’ Mary buried her face in her hands. She’d cleaned up the remnants of the smashed mug from the floor, while Evan made them both coffee. ‘I can’t believe they’d do something so idiotic! Without even telling me!’
‘It was supposed to be a surprise.’ Evan put two steaming mugs on the table and sat opposite her. ‘I expect they’re saying the same thing about you right about now.’
Well, this explained why her mother had been so weirdly complacent about her not getting home for Christmas. ‘But how are you involved in all this? What are you doing here?’
‘They’re staying at my place.’ He took a sip of his coffee. ‘We did a house swap.’
‘A house swap? How on earth did that happen?’
‘Long story.’ He rolled his eyes.
Mary groaned in frustration, clutching her forehead as if it ached. ‘Is it all of them? My whole family?’
He nodded. ‘As far as I know. Your parents, two sons and two daughters. Oh, and a little girl.’
‘My niece. That’s all of them, then.’ Damn!
Her eyes welled with tears. All that wearisome travelling for nothing.
If only she’d stayed in New York. It would have been a wonderful surprise to have her family turn up unexpectedly to support her when she was at her lowest ebb, and all of them spending Christmas together in Manhattan would have been so much fun.
‘Your mom said you couldn’t make it home for the holidays, so they decided to go over there and surprise you.’
‘Great minds think alike,’ she said drily, simultaneously annoyed that they’d got their wires crossed, but touched that that they’d all rushed to be by her side in her hour of need. ‘Sorry I thought you were a burglar.’
He shrugged. ‘A simple enough misunderstanding.’
Mary gave a bitter hoot of laughter.
‘Okay, a very convoluted misunderstanding. But no major harm done.’ He leaned back in his chair, stretching out his long legs. ‘So, what do you plan to do now?’
‘Me?’
‘I mean, you’re welcome to finish your coffee, but—’
‘What?’ she gasped. ‘You think you can kick me out of my own house?’
‘But it’s not your house, is it? Right now it’s actually my house. I mean, I can hardly go back to New York for Christmas at this stage, can I?’
‘Neither can I!’
‘No, but… I’m sure you’ll find somewhere.’ He drained his mug and stood. ‘You must know lots of people around here you could stay with. And if the worst comes to the worst, you do have enough money in your purse upstairs to get a hotel for a couple of nights.’
‘Oh, that’s— I was being nice!’ she spluttered. ‘I can’t believe you’re using that against me.’
Evan ignored her, calmly rinsing his mug under the tap before loading it into the dishwasher. He seemed to have made himself at home already.
‘So, how long have you been here?’ she asked him, deciding she should play nice. There was no point in antagonising him. If they got along, maybe he’d let her stay and they could make the best of it. They might even manage to have a nice time together.
‘I arrived a couple of days ago.’
‘And my parents have been in New York since then?’
He frowned. ‘Since yesterday, I guess, Eastern time. They had an early morning flight, so they stayed in Dublin the night before.’
Mary gave a groan of frustration. They must have missed each other by hours.
They were probably arriving in Manhattan while she was making her way to the airport.
She finished her coffee. ‘So what are your plans?’ she asked.
It was occurring to her that he probably had a whole entourage of famous friends arriving to spend Christmas with him.
It was a big house, but there may not be room for her, even if he was willing to let her stay.
‘My plans?’ He turned to her, leaning back against the worktop.
‘For Christmas. Do you have other people coming?’ If there weren’t too many, maybe he’d let her spend the holiday with him and his friends. It could be fun.
‘Nope. Just me.’
‘Do you have family around here?’
He shook his head.
‘So you were planning to spend Christmas here all on your own?’ That was weird, but she tried not to sound like she was judging him. At least it meant her bedroom was free.
‘Yep. Still am, as a matter of fact.’
‘So what’s your deal, then?’ she asked.
‘My deal?’
‘Yeah. Why are you spending Christmas here all alone in the middle of nowhere?’
‘Maybe to avoid nosy people asking me questions like that.’
‘Sorry. Just curious. You can’t blame me for wanting to know. What if you have some sinister motive?’
‘I’m sure you know why.’
‘How would I know that? I only just met you.’
‘Seriously?’ He raised his eyebrows, regarding her warily. ‘You don’t know?’
She shrugged. ‘No. Should I? Is it headline news or something?’
‘Well, it didn’t hit the New York Times, but it’s not exactly a secret. Unfortunately. Don’t you ever read the internet?’
‘I don’t go in for celebrity gossip much. Sorry.’
‘Fine by me. I wish there were more people like you around.’
‘So, what gives?’
He gave a wry smile. ‘I’ve lucked out by coming across possibly the only person on the planet who doesn’t know why I’m spending Christmas alone. I’d like to keep it that way if it’s all the same to you.’
‘You know I can just google it and find out the answer anyway.’
‘Knock yourself out,’ he said in a bored voice.
She sighed. ‘Look, it’s late. I’m going to need to stay here tonight at least.’ She was exhausted and deflated, and she couldn’t face the thought of taking one more step tonight. She just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep. ‘I’ll sort something out tomorrow.’
He gave her a resigned look, lips pursed. ‘I guess that’s all right.’
‘Okay, thanks,’ she said grudgingly. ‘I’ll ring around and see if there’s someone I can stay with – or a local hotel that has a vacancy, though I doubt it at this stage.’
‘I’m sure you’ll find something,’ he said.
‘Well, I’d better give my folks a call,’ she said, standing. ‘Break the news to them that we’re on opposite sides of the Atlantic.’
It was only when she was in her bedroom that she realised if her whole family was in New York, then there were plenty of places she could stay.
She’d been so discombobulated by the whole situation, it hadn’t even occurred to her, but her parents would have keys to Finn’s and Aidan’s houses, and she was sure Aifric would let her have Abbie’s room in the house they shared.
Still, she was glad she hadn’t let Evan Prentice know she had options because he’d probably demand she leave straight away, and she really didn’t want to move another inch tonight.
Besides, she wouldn’t just barge into someone else’s house without running it by them first.
She changed into comfy joggers and a pair of thick fluffy slipper socks, then pulled her iPad out of her case and sat back against the pillows on the bed before FaceTiming her mother.
‘Mary!’ She felt a twinge of longing as her mother’s face filled the screen.
She was outdoors, muffled up against the cold in a thick padded coat and wool hat.
Crowds milled around among the brightly coloured lights in the background.
‘I was just going to give you a call when I got home. I’m…
I’ve come up to Dublin to do a bit of shopping. Where are you?’
Her mother was clearly still trying to keep up the pretence. ‘It’s okay, Mum. I know you’re in New York.’
‘Ah, no! Who told you? Well, maybe it’s just as well,’ she continued before Mary had a chance to answer.
‘We’ve done enough pussyfooting around.’ She turned away from the camera and called, ‘She knows!’ waving whoever she was talking to over.
And then the screen was filled with the faces of all Mary’s family as they crowded into shot, peering over her mother’s shoulder.
‘Surprise!’ they chorused, beaming at her. Mary’s heart lurched.
‘We’re in New York! We’re in New York!’ five-year-old Bo squealed, jumping up and down with excitement.
‘I know!’ Mary made an effort to sound happy about it.
‘Can we do the ice-skating now?’ Bo looked up hopefully at Aidan.
‘Soon,’ he said, picking up his daughter. ‘It’s not time yet.’
‘We’re at Rocket Fella Plaza,’ Bo told Mary, wrapping her arms around Aidan’s neck.
‘Why don’t you meet us down here?’ Abbie said.
‘Because I’m not in New York,’ Mary said.
‘So where are you?’ Finn asked.
‘We went over to your cubbyhole,’ her father said, ‘and you’re not there.’
‘I know, Dad. Tell me about it. You’re there and I’m… here.’
‘Where?’ Her mother squinted at the screen. ‘That looks like… is that the back bedroom? You’re not—’
‘Yep. I’m in Inch. I got a last-minute flight and came home. I thought I’d surprise you.’
‘Oh no!’ Her sister Cara’s face fell, and one by one she watched everyone’s smiles slide away as the news sank in. Except her father, whose good humour was irrepressible.
‘Well, isn’t that gas?’ he chuckled. ‘We had the same idea! We probably passed each other over the Atlantic.’
‘Yeah, hilarious.’
Bo’s face crumpled in a way that signalled tears were on the way. ‘But I want you to come skating with us!’ she wailed.
‘Sorry, honey. I wish I could.’
‘Ssh, it’s all right.’ Aidan kissed the top of his daughter’s head. ‘Come on and we’ll get you a hot chocolate and watch the skaters.’ He made an apologetic face at Mary before they disappeared from view.
‘Have fun!’ she called after them.
‘I don’t believe this!’ Abbie huffed when they’d gone. ‘What a mess!’
‘It’s my own stupid fault,’ Mary said. ‘I should have told someone I was coming home.’
‘Well, what’s done is done,’ Finn said calmly. ‘There’s no point in beating yourself up about it now.’
Sometimes Finn could be maddeningly sanguine.
Sheena sighed. ‘Yes, we’re here now – and you’re there. We’ll all just have to make the best of it.’
It was all right for them, Mary thought, with a stab of self-pity. They were all together, with New York at their feet, while she was here all alone – not even alone, stuck with Grumpy McGrumperson downstairs who was making it clear he didn’t want her around.
‘It’s a pity we missed each other,’ Finn said in his usual easy-going way, as if it was no big deal that they’d flown across the Atlantic to see her only to find she wasn’t at home. ‘But it’ll be grand.’
‘How did you know we were here?’ her mother asked her now. ‘Did one of you tell her?’ She looked from one to another of them suspiciously.
‘That guy you did a house swap with told me.’
‘Oh, you’ve met Evan Prentice!’ Cara’s face lit up. ‘What’s he like?’
‘Kind of an ass, so far.’
‘Ah, no. He seemed lovely when I spoke to him,’ Sheena said.
‘Did you know he’s Batman?’ her father said.
‘Spider-Man,’ Mary corrected him.
‘Oh, right. I knew he was one of those fellas from the comics anyway.’
‘And now you get to spend Christmas with him!’ Cara said. ‘Want to swap places?’
‘In a heartbeat. But I don’t think you do.’
Cara smiled sympathetically. ‘No, I don’t. Hot and all as he is, I’d rather be here with my family.’
‘Besides, he wants me out, so I don’t think anyone will be spending Christmas with him.’ She looked to her sister Abbie. ‘I thought I could stay in your place, if Aifric’s okay with it.’
Abbie winced apologetically. ‘I’m sure Aifric wouldn’t mind, but I told Tom he could have my room once we decided to go to New York.
Their parents have the whole Galway clan staying for Christmas, so it’s going to be a bit manic and he needs to get some study done over the break.
’ Aifric’s brother Tom was studying law in Dublin. ‘I could take it back, but…’
‘No, don’t do that. I can stay at Finn’s or Aidan’s.’
‘I’ve got a locum down from Dublin staying at my place,’ Finn said. ‘Sorry.’ He gave an apologetic shrug.
‘It’s fine. I’ll stay at Aidan’s, then. You have keys in the house, don’t you, Mum?’
‘Yes, we’ve keys for all the—’ She broke off with a gasp, slapping a hand to her forehead. ‘We never got keys for the new door, did we?’ she asked, turning to her husband, who shook his head.
‘Aidan got a new door a few weeks ago,’ her father told her. ‘It’s a real beauty – fibreglass, so it’ll hold up to the elements, but it looks just like real wood. I installed it for him myself.’
‘He’s been meaning to get us spare keys ever since,’ her mother said, ‘but he’s never got around to it.’
‘Nana, nana, it’s time!’ Bo appeared again, tugging at her granny’s sleeve.
‘Sorry, we’ve got a slot booked for skating,’ Sheena said to Mary.
‘Yes, go!’
‘But I’ll be home in about an hour or two. I’ll call you then and we’ll have a proper chat, and sort everything out, okay?’
‘Okay. Talk to you later. Enjoy yourselves!’ she called as they all waved goodbye.