Chapter Thirty-Six
The sharp-dressed man. Standing there in his wedding suit. He looks handsome as hell, and he’s holding my orange wicker sewing basket in his hands.
‘Donal.’ I stare up at him.
He holds the basket out in front of him with both hands. ‘You left this at the church, it was under the seat.’ He looks so different but sounds the exact same. It’s very strange to get my head around.
‘Th-thank you.’ I reach for it.
Donal unfolds his hands now and makes his claw with his hand, looks at it and then opens it again, runs his fingers over his closely cropped hair. Wiggles them on top of his head.
‘Still feels weird,’ he tells me by way of explanation.
‘It suits you.’ I find my voice, lean my weight against the door frame.
He raises a grin, tugs hard on the jacket sleeves. ‘The suit suits me?’
‘Suit suits you,’ I reply, mustering up half a smile.
Donal looks down to his gleaming dress shoes, stuffs his hands into the pockets of his black suit trousers. He sways on the edge of the rubber soles on the shoes now.
‘You do look different though,’ I tell him hollowly.
‘Good different?’ His kind, green eyes dart up, our eyes meet.
‘I miss your beard,’ I say truthfully.
‘Gas that, all my sisters said the same.’ He gently slaps the side of his clean-shaven cheek three times. ‘After the slagging they’ve given me for three years over my hairy image.’
‘I’m so, so sorry about Logan and what he did at Belinda’s wedding – there’s no words.’ Mortifyingly, I’m fighting back tears.
‘Quite the drama all right, but I’m used to it with four sisters. I’ll need a lie down for a week in a dark room after I get through today, I’d say.’ He can see my upset and is trying to make light of the situation.
‘Me, too.’ I swallow the emotion.
He nods his head, bites his bottom lip.
A bus trundles by, its exhaust spluttering noisily. When it passes, Donal takes a step nearer to me. He’s so close now, I can smell his familiar scent. It’s just Donal. It’s not sandalwood or spicy cologne or anything over the top. It’s just him. His long arms flap by his sides now.
‘You better get to the wedding reception in Howth. As if Belinda doesn’t hate me enough, it’s a long way out and you’re making a speech, right?’
He nods. ‘No one hates you. You never lied to me, Grace, you always told me you were still in love with Logan. But when I saw him kissing you, I realised I was really falling for you, and then when I saw you guys in the taxi together I just – it was a misunderstanding, they happen. I try so hard not to be that person but we’re all human . . .’ He trails off.
He believes me. A wave of relief gushes through my veins. ‘I guess so,’ I agree, ecstatic that he knows I was telling the truth.
‘These last two days have felt like I’m starring in my very own movie.’ He makes the universal sign, curling one fist in front of his closed left eye, the other fist winding round and round.
‘Tell me about it.’ I clutch my orange wicker basket to my chest. ‘And this afternoon’s was a horror!
Donal, look I’m so sorry about what I said to Belinda about our date.
It was a total joke about the bag over your head, I’m horrified at the joke, and yes, I did go along to see if I could just ask you as a friend to Mia’s party but I couldn’t have known how well I was going to connect with you, I’m so sorry.
’ I lower my head, looking at the ground.
‘It’s grand,’ he says. ‘I’ve already forgotten about it. Look, I gotta go, but I just wanted to make sure you’re okay?’ He steps backwards onto the pavement.
I fight the tears that I feel brewing. ‘I’m fine,’ I lie. Say something, my brain yells through a megaphone.
‘You’re sure?’ He pauses, his foot inches off the ground before he takes his leave.
‘No!’ I blurt, truthfully, my angst written all over my face.
By the look on his face, that’s the real answer he wanted to hear. A small flush of red under his high cheekbones.
‘You know,’ Donal steps forward to me again and crosses one shiny shoe over the other, ‘I was remembering during the mass today, which was lovely in the end, by the way, you telling me all about your Brothers Grimm fairy-tale college collection, when we were in Elephant & Castle. How you kept all your costumes.’
‘Yeah?’ I say, again marvelling at his listening skills, but slightly panicking that he’s just trying to change the subject.
‘About how you made two Cinderella dresses?’ he says, his voice a little quieter now.
I swallow hard. Squint up at him. ‘You remember me telling you that?’ I’m astounded.
He nods. ‘Always said you’d have loved to wear the pre-ball one someday?’ There’s a gleam in his eye.
‘I was nervous. I talked too much, I was just rambling.’
Seriously, how does he remember this?
Donal checks his watch. ‘So, it’s almost four, I’ll send a cab for you in a couple of hours, say around seven o’clock? If you’d do me the honour of accompanying me to the ball?’ He lifts his right hand and folds it behind his back, leans forward, bows his head.
‘The ball?’ I’m trying to understand. No penny is dropping.
‘The afters of the wedding, in Howth.’ He stands up tall, grins.
I’m so incredulous I almost drop the sewing basket. ‘Belinda’s afters? She won’t want me there! Are you crazy?’
‘Oh, she does. They all do. Fact. We had a thorough debrief in the car park as the guests headed off on the bus up to the reception. Family first, that’s always been the way we operate. They’re all mad about you . . . Turns out, so am I.’
‘You are?’ My stomach is fluttering.
‘I really am. I mean, I know it’s very early days and I don’t want to scare you off, but I’d love to see where we can go? But I gotta run now. I told the sisters I’d only be half an hour, they need me today.’ He turns on his dress shoes.
‘But—’
‘Later, okay?’ he says over his shoulder.
‘And they know you’re here?’
‘They do.’ Donal is already beckoning an oncoming cab. ‘And they can’t wait to see you! Get your dress on!’
I watch him fold himself into the cab with the belief that everything in my life has aligned. As he drives away, I don’t care who can see me, there on my doorstep, I do a happy dance.