Chapter 9 #2
‘You sure you don’t want to go for one of those?’ She nodded to the man who was taking a sip of his Guinness, leaving behind a foam moustache. ‘Best pint in Ireland, am I right, Martin?’ she called to him with a grin.
‘Nectar of the gods,’ he said, raising his glass in salute. ‘No better woman to pull a pint in the whole of Kerry.’
‘It looks great, but it’s a bit early in the day for me. Anyway, I’m driving.’
‘Coffee it is, then. I can’t promise you any of your half-caf-decaf bollocks, though, I’m afraid.’
‘I’m sure I’ll cope.’ Mary smiled. ‘An Americano would be great.’
Michael, Aifric’s father, came in as she was making their coffee and exchanged a few words with Mary, commiserating with her about the mess-up with her family. ‘I believe you got your wires crossed somewhere over the Atlantic.’
‘Something like that,’ Mary said ruefully.
‘Dad’s going to take over here, so I can take a break and sit with you,’ Aifric told her.
‘Thanks, Michael. That’s really nice of you.’
They took their coffees to one of the sofas in a little snug beside the bar.
‘So, how are things? What’s new around here?’
Aifric shrugged. ‘Nothing much. The biggest news around here is that fella who’s staying at your house.’
‘I thought no one was supposed to know he’s here?’ She thought how horrified Evan would be if he knew he was the talk of their little corner of the world.
‘Ah, you know what it’s like. Your mum didn’t blab, but word gets out.
I think someone spotted him down at the beach.
And your dad may have said something to his friends when he’d had a few drinks.
In fairness, he only referred to him as Batman, but it didn’t take long for people to figure it out.
I’ve tried casually walking past your house a few times, hoping to spot him, but no joy so far.
And you actually get to live with him! I’m so jealous. I mean, he’s a total ride, isn’t he?’
‘Yeah, I suppose he is,’ Mary agreed reluctantly. There was no denying Evan was gorgeous, but the attitude took a bit of the shine off.
‘What’s he like?’
‘He’s a bit grumpy, to be honest. He’s pissed off about me turning up when he thought he’d have the place to himself – which is understandable, I suppose.’
‘Ah, I’m sure he’ll thaw out in no time. But it’s no wonder he’d be in a bad mood after what Olivia Mills did to him.’
Mary frowned. ‘What do you mean?’ She knew the name, but was only vaguely aware of the young actress who played Mary Jane in the new Spider-Man show everyone was talking about.
‘You don’t know?’
‘No. What did she do?’
‘She cheated on him with the director of her new movie. It all came out a week ago. What rock have you been living under?’
Mary shrugged. ‘I just don’t keep up with celebrity gossip.
I didn’t even know they were a couple.’ So she and Evan had both ended up here thanks to cheating partners.
Maybe they could bond over that? ‘I guess Evan Prentice and I have more in common than I’d have thought.
Well, I suppose that explains what he’s doing here.
’ And why he was in such a bad mood, she thought, feeling a little more kindly towards him.
Aifric nodded. ‘He’s our generation’s Julia Roberts.’
Mary smiled. People in Dingle still talked about the time Julia Roberts had fled there to escape the paparazzi after breaking off her engagement to Kiefer Sutherland. ‘It’s a lot harder to remain incognito nowadays, though. Julia didn’t have social media to contend with.’
‘Sorry to hear about you and Greg,’ Aifric said with a sympathetic smile. ‘What a gobshite!’
‘Thanks.’
‘But plenty more where he came from, right?’
‘Totally,’ Mary said, smiling. Aifric wasn’t the sort to waste time or energy on unrequited love.
She had the same cheerful, pragmatic approach to relationships as she had to the rest of life.
She liked men and always seemed to have a boyfriend on the go, but when they split up, she bounced back with remarkable ease and moved on to the next one.
Mary wondered if she’d ever been in love.
‘And now you’re free to get off with Evan Prentice!’ Aifric grinned. ‘So that’s some consolation.’
‘Hah! I don’t think that’ll be happening. I’ll be lucky if he even lets me stay in the same house. I don’t think he’ll be inviting me to share his bed anytime soon.’
‘Course he’ll let you stay. Just work a bit of that McBride magic on him. Resistance is futile!’ Aifric took a sip of her coffee. ‘And a little holiday fling would be a nice diversion for you both, wouldn’t it?’
Mary let her mind drift to that for a moment. ‘There’s no denying he’s seriously hot.’
‘And we already know he’s an amazing kisser.’
‘What? How do we know that?’
‘Duh! We’ve seen it on TV.’
‘Oh. Right. I’ve actually never seen that Spider-Man show.’
‘Oh my God, you have to get on that. It’s brilliant!
Wait, I’ll show you.’ She picked up her phone and thumbed through it.
‘Here – they won Best Kiss at the Teen Picks Awards last year.’ She held her phone out to Mary and pressed play on a clip of the awards show.
Mary took the phone from her and watched Evan and his co-star accepting the award for their prizewinning snog while internally rolling her eyes at the concept.
But then it cut to a clip of the kiss that had beat out all the competition and…
oh my God! She felt a fluttering deep inside her as she watched.
The kiss was long and deep and soft, Evan holding Olivia’s face between his hands, angling his head this way and that, working his beautiful jaw, with just a glimpse of his tongue slipping into Olivia’s mouth.
‘Wowsa!’ Mary handed the phone back to Aifric. ‘Lucky Olivia.’
‘Right? Horny enough to give it a go now?’
Mary laughed. ‘I’m not saying it wouldn’t be nice. But there’s no way that’s going to happen. He doesn’t even want me in the same room as him.’
‘I think it’d be worth putting in a bit of effort to get on the receiving end of a snog like that.’
Mary mused. It would be nice – and it’d be some compensation for missing Christmas with her family. Then she shook her head. Olivia was – had been – his girlfriend. Of course they’d have chemistry together. He probably wouldn’t be that good with everyone. That was what she’d tell herself anyway.
Michael wandered over to their table as they finished their coffee.
‘Will you stay for a bite of lunch, Mary?’
Mary glanced at her watch. She hadn’t noticed the time passing. The pub had begun to fill up while they’d been chatting. ‘Actually, that would be lovely. But don’t you have to get back to work?’ she asked Aifric.
Aifric looked to her father.
‘No, you’re grand. Stay and have lunch with Mary. I’ll get your brother to come down to help out with lunch.’
‘In that case, yes please.’ It was cheering being with people who knew and liked her, and it would be nice to stretch out the time here before going back to the house. Besides, if she ate her main meal now, she could avoid having to use the kitchen or dining room and disturbing Evan.
‘I’ll bring you a menu.’
‘I already know what I want,’ Mary said, nodding to the blackboard where the day’s specials were chalked up. ‘I’ll have the fish and chips, please.’
‘And I’ll have the lasagne,’ Aifric told her father.
They ordered a bottle of sparkling water to share and Michael delivered their food to the table.
‘That’s on the house, Mary,’ he said, sliding her plate in front of her.
‘Oh, that’s so kind. Thank you.’
‘Abbie seems to be enjoying New York anyway,’ Aifric said as they ate. The food was delicious, the batter on the fish thin and crisp, and the chips the perfect combination of crispy outside and soft and fluffy inside.
‘Yeah. She’s sorry to be missing Christmas here, though.’ Mary took a sip of water. ‘Is Ryan back?’
‘Yeah, he came home yesterday.’
‘What’s the story with him and Abbie?’ she asked, deciding to stop pussyfooting around and get to the point. The subtle approach had got her nowhere with her sister.
Aifric huffed a laugh. ‘Your guess is as good as mine.’
‘Really? She doesn’t talk to you about it?’
‘Not really. She keeps her cards close to her chest where he’s concerned. I don’t know why. It’s not as if I don’t spot him in our kitchen in the morning every time he’s home.’
‘So they’re still sort of together?’
‘I suppose so… when he’s here. Which is hardly ever. If you ask me, they need to cut the cord and move on – both of them.’
Mary nodded. ‘Maybe it’ll be good for Abbie not to see him this time – break the pattern.’
‘And there are plenty of guys around here much more suitable for her.’
‘Owen for instance?’ Mary asked with a knowing smile.
‘Yeah. Just as an example, like.’ Aifric smirked. They both knew that their friend Owen had long had a crush on Abbie.
‘But he’s with Katie now, right?’ Mary asked.
‘Yeah, more’s the pity. They should do a swap. Ryan’s much more Katie’s speed.’
‘That was fantastic,’ Mary said, putting her knife and fork together when she’d finished eating. ‘I won’t need to eat for the rest of the day.’
‘I suppose I’d better get back to work,’ Aifric said when her brother Tom came to take their empty plates. She slid out of her seat and helped him clear the table. ‘But I’ll see you in the pub tomorrow night?’
‘I wouldn’t miss it.’
‘Let me know how you get on with Spidey,’ Aifric called as she headed for the kitchen with a laden tray. ‘Good luck!’
‘Thanks.’
‘But I’m sure you don’t need it. I have every faith in you.’
Mary left feeling warm and fuzzy and thoroughly restored, buoyed up by good food and good friends.