Chapter 28
The party of five did the meet-and-greet with baby-faced Jeremy, the agent from Noonan's Real Estate, who took down their details. Then, as they approached the house, he waved a hand airily. 'As you can see, there's off-street parking, garaging, mature rose bushes, shrubbery and established trees.'
It had been very hard not to look impressed as their shoes crunched over the gravel driveway towards the front door, where they dutifully slipped them off.
'I'm glad I didn't wear the first pair of socks I put on today,' Moira whispered to Aisling. 'They had a big hole in the toe.'
As Jeremy held the front door open, Aisling stepped inside.
Moira made a last-second dash to beat her over the threshold, the pair jostling each other as they squeezed through together.
'Who brought those two?' someone muttered, just as Moira clipped the umbrella stand with her hip, sending it skidding across the floor.
'Sorry,' Moira mumbled, returning it to its rightful place.
Maureen glared at her youngest child before turning her attention back to Jeremy. 'You're twenty-seven, you say, Jeremy?'
'See, that's a sales tactic right there,' Aisling whispered knowingly to Moira.
'What? Freezing our arses off in the hall?'
'No. He's left the front door open so the natural light floods in, you eejit.'
'Many happy returns for the end of the month, Jeremy.' Maureen pushed past her whispering daughters, although, judging by her poker face, she didn't look like she meant it.
Jeremy cleared his throat and rubbed his hands together.
'Thank you. So, welcome to 16 Cullingford Drive. I'll give you a bit of background about the house, shall I?'
Bronagh, clutching the property's brochure, nodded, wondering whether his mammy shined his shoes or whether he did them himself.
His suit was very well cut too, without a crease in sight.
She should ask him where he'd bought it.
Lenny might be interested in having a look.
He was going to need a new suit for the wedding after all.
The wedding.
Hilary's annoying face floated before her and she mentally gave her sister a hard shove.
Get back in your box, you. Now was not the time to be worrying about her impending visit.
She should be focusing on Jeremy and what he had to tell them.
For Lenny's sake at least, because Myrna was knocking about in her head alongside Hilary, both telling her this was a giant waste of time.
Around her, Maureen, Roisin, Aisling and Moira concentrated on not moving a facial muscle.
'The property was built in the 1930s and has been modernised to a high standard in recent years, but as you can see, it's been sympathetically restored and retains its original features and charm.
' Jeremy pointed upwards. 'You'll find high ceilings, decorative ceiling coving and solid timber doors throughout.
' Then, gesturing left, he added, 'Through here there's an elegant reception room. '
'Estate-agent talk for living room,' Aisling whispered. 'There's a sofa, a television and a pouffe.'
'I'd like a pouffe,' Moira said. 'It'd be nice to stretch my legs out when we're watching Ballykissangel and rest my feet on it.'
'While behind me,' Jeremy said, angling himself sideways as he pointed towards the rear of the house, 'you'll discover a generous utility room that could easily be converted into a third bedroom, along with the kitchen, dining area and a sun-drenched conservatory overlooking the south-facing garden. '
'He's putting me in mind of a flight attendant doing the safety spiel.' Moira giggled, receiving daggers from her mam, who mouthed, Poker face, at her.
Jeremy moved over, resting a hand on the crisp white balustrade with one shiny shoe planted on the bottom stair.
'Upstairs, ladies, you'll find two generously proportioned bedrooms, with the main bedroom boasting an en-suite and walk-in wardrobe.'
'Did you hear that?' Aisling nudged Moira. 'A walk-in robe and an en-suite.'
'Yeah. That's the dream right there,' Moira whispered wistfully.
'Completing the upstairs accommodation is a spacious family bathroom.'
Aisling put her hand up, jiggling it as though all this talk of bathrooms had made her need to spend a penny. 'Excuse me, Jeremy. Is there a spa bath?'
'Aisling, outside now,' Maureen instructed.
Jeremy looked uncertainly from mother to daughter. 'Er, no, not a spa bath, but it is a grand, big deep one.'
'It's alright. You can stay,' Maureen directed at Aisling, whose shoulders sagged at the news.
'Shall I continue?'
'Yes please, Jeremy,' Bronagh said, wanting to hurry things along so she could take it all in herself because, despite the futility of this viewing, she wanted to see what Lenny envisaged for their future.
'You'll have noticed the Dunville Avenue shops on your drive here?'
'We did,' Roisin said emotionlessly.
Jeremy shifted from foot to foot, flustered by the lack of enthusiasm for his patter, but ploughed on.
'Well, you're a mere five-minute stroll from the cafés and village-style independent shops. Do you mind me asking where you work?' He looked towards Bronagh.
'O'Mara's Guesthouse overlooking St Stephen's Green.'
Jeremy perked up as though he'd suddenly been dealt the winning hand. 'Beechwood LUAS station is just around the corner, and you'll also find several handy bus routes into the city centre.'
Bronagh desperately wanted to show her enthusiasm but didn't dare, not wanting to find herself ordered outside by Maureen. Still, it was hard looking at Jeremy's crestfallen face. Like herself, however, he was clearly a professional and stoically continued.
'The rear garden is thoughtfully laid out and a low-maintenance sun trap, with a limestone-paved patio, lawn and a wide variety of trees and shrubs framing it. There's also a storage shed and a raised vegetable garden.'
He appeared as relieved to have finished as they were eager to look around. 'Shall I leave you to wander through and get a feel for the place?'
'If you like, Jeremy,' Bronagh deadpanned.
'Right. I'll wait outside then. You know where to find me if you've any questions.' The poor lad almost legged it out of the front door.
'Well played, Bronagh,' Maureen said, patting her on the back.
'Thanks, Mo.'
They dispersed, with Aisling and Moira heading straight upstairs to inspect the walk-in wardrobe. Roisin lumbered after them. Maureen and Bronagh, however, stayed together as they began touring the house.
'You don't need the poker face now it's just the two of us, Bronagh.' Maureen eyed her friend. They were standing in the cavernous utility room. 'What are you thinking?'
'Lenny suggested converting this room into a bedroom for Mam.
You saw the toilet. There's plenty of room for a shower in there.
She'd never need to worry about the stairs again.
It could work really well.' A tiny spark of hope flickered to life.
If Myrna were to see the place, she'd surely realise how well it could work.
'And you'd have your married quarters upstairs.'
'Yes, I suppose we would. I hadn't thought about it like that, Mo.'
'All couples need a bit of space and privacy, especially newlyweds.
' Never mind that Aisling and Moira lived in close quarters, Maureen thought.
They all rubbed along for now and their time would come.
'And who needs a laundry room this big anyway?
You could get one of those washer-dryers that fits under the kitchen worktop if you decided to turn it into a bedroom.
And there's an alcove under the stairs you could use for extra storage. It really could work.'
'Yes.' Bronagh nodded, and together they stood in thoughtful silence, mentally reconfiguring the room. 'Come on.' Bronagh tugged Maureen along and, as they stepped into the kitchen, they turned and looked at one another.
Jeremy hadn't exaggerated. The kitchen and adjoining conservatory were bathed in afternoon sunshine. The whole area somehow felt both spacious and cosy at the same time. They both sighed happily.
There'd be no stepping around one another in here, Bronagh thought, imagining herself, Lenny and Myrna sitting around that farmhouse table eating their dinner.
Stepping into the conservatory, she smiled.
'We could put the telly from home in here for Mam to watch during the day and keep Lenny's in the reception room. ' That tiny spark was steadily growing.
'"Reception room" sounds very elegant, don't you think?
' Maureen said dreamily. She wondered whether she could get away with calling the box room off their entrance hall a reception room.
Rosemary Farrell would be pea-green, she thought gleefully, still out of sorts over the whistling-clicking business where Pooh was concerned.
'It does,' Bronagh agreed. 'But we both know that's just a fancy way of saying living room.'
Maureen nodded. 'This is a gorgeous space. Myrna would feel as though she was sitting out in the garden while she watched her programmes. You could all be so happy here, Bronagh.'
Could they? She knew she and Lenny would be.
Truth be told, she'd be happy in a tin shed with Lenny, and she knew he felt the same way.
But Myrna? That remained to be seen. She was touched by Lenny's thoughtfulness too.
He'd considered her mam in every aspect of how this house would work.
Her mam didn't know how lucky she was to have a soon-to-be son-in-law who cared for her so much, and Bronagh would be sure to tell her so later.
Sure, Hilary's George would have a fit if Hilary ever suggested converting one of their downstairs rooms into a bedroom so her mam could move in with them.
It was time Myrna was served a few home truths.
Leaving the conservatory, Bronagh wandered over to the kitchen worktop and rested her hands on its cool marble-effect surface.
She pictured herself frying sausages while watching Bessie chase a ball around that lovely lawn with Lenny.
She could have imagined herself cooking something a little more cordon bleu than sausages, she supposed.
But why? They all enjoyed a good sausage.
What would it be like to sit at that wrought-iron table on the patio on a warm Saturday morning, reading the papers over a cup of tea with Lenny?
Oh yes. This place could become home. But black clouds lurked at the edges of the sun-filled haven she'd already begun mentally moving into.
The Hanrahan women were a stubborn lot. It was the one thing Bronagh had in common with Hilary: their shared habit of digging their heels in, a trait clearly inherited from their mam.
What if Myrna continued to refuse to move?
She'd take the shine off everything. The wedding.
The fresh start. The new life she and Lenny were about to begin together—a life Bronagh had once believed wasn't meant to be hers.
Was that still the case? Because everything felt so hard.
Too hard, when it shouldn't. She'd have a fight on her hands to get her mam here akin to the Battle of the Boyne, and they couldn't very well carry Myrna kicking and screaming from the house.
She'd moved into that little house as a young newlywed, and Bronagh understood that her memories were wrapped up in the bricks and mortar of the old place.
But that was the thing about memories. They were portable.
You could pack them up and take them with you.
Maureen's chipper voice broke through those dark clouds. 'Sure, you've room for a pony in that garden.'
'What would Bronagh be wanting with a pony, Mam?' Moira asked.
'It's a figure of speech, Moira.'
'What is?' Aisling asked, bobbing up behind her sister.
'Mammy's after saying there's room for a pony in that garden.'
'What would Bronagh want with a pony?'
'Janey-Mack, give me strength.' Maureen shook her head.
'You want to see the main bathroom, Mam, Bronagh. It's gorgeous,' Moira gushed. 'Roisin's up there now having a sneaky wee.' She glanced over her shoulder as though checking Jeremy wasn't lurking nearby.
'And I've decided the walk-in robe makes up for the lack of a spa bath,' Aisling added.
'This house is meant to be yours, Bronagh,' Maureen said. 'I can feel it in my water.'
All three women waited for Bronagh, who was still staring out at the garden.
'Bronagh?' Maureen ventured. 'What are you thinking?'
She turned to look at them. 'I'm thinking I'm wasting my time here.
Mam will never agree to moving. But how can I tell Leonard that?
There's supposed to be give and take in a marriage, I know that, but sure he's the one doing all the giving.
There he is, moving across the Irish Sea to be with me.
And hasn't he had Mam on his mind this whole time when he came to see this place?
Meanwhile, there's me with a mam digging her heels in and a sister who's determined to take the shine off what should be the happiest day of my life. ' She slumped back against the worktop.
'Mam!'
Maureen froze mid-step towards Bronagh at Roisin's cry.
'The baby's coming!'