Chapter 9 #2
Mum took a sip of her coffee and gaily waved ciao at the room to universal indifference.
Ally slunk back behind the counter with Mum’s barely touched order, hoping to God everyone would just forget about her – plus, she still hadn’t spoken to Pete.
Just then, she saw Dave heading for the door while announcing he was going to visit the bed-bound Fia, but not to worry, as Pete was still there, prompting yet another heart spasm.
Dammit. Forty-eight hours ago, she was in no way obsessed with Pete, but now she infuriatingly was and couldn’t seem to knock it on the head.
Bugger anyway – what happened to their lovely, fun, carefree vibe, when they could make stupid puns and flick coffee foam at each other?
Which was precisely why you shouldn’t mess around with your workmates.
Hah, as if that wasn’t the most ignored piece of advice in history.
No matter how bad it is, face it, she told herself, before taking a deep breath and stepping into the storeroom where Pete was making pencil marks on the wall, his back turned to her. Now, look relaxed and say something interesting.
‘Hey, how are you?’
Well, that was about as exciting as the Angelus.
He turned around slowly and fixed her with an intense gaze.
‘Ally, listen . . . I’m sorry. I meant to thank you for the other night. I was waiting for the chance—’
‘OK, well, here I am . . .’
‘I owe you an apology.’
She was feigning composure, but his voice was generating a shiver that ran right down through her body.
‘I should’ve got in touch yesterday.’
‘Yeah, just so I’d know that you were OK – you just disappeared . . .’
She wanted to shout that she’d felt like an abandoned idiot, left talking to two fish after he bolted off to be with the family he was supposed to have separated from.
But of course, she couldn’t let her pissy inner child interfere in a sensible adult conversation – that wouldn’t do at all.
‘Ally, I need to explain . . .’
The tone of this didn’t sound like something she wanted to hear.
‘Like I said, my ex-partner has two boys. And one of them suffers from cystic fibrosis.’
‘Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry to hear that.’
‘So, when we . . . When things didn’t work out, it was clear that, given the situation, I’d have to be the one to leave the home.’
‘Your . . . own house, that you’d paid for?’
He shifted awkwardly. ‘I bought it, yes, but then I put it in her name. It made sense at the time – obviously, the circumstances were different. And . . . they were like my own sons.’
‘Sure, I understand.’
Why was some little whisper telling her it might not have been totally his idea?
‘And yesterday morning he had an episode and had to be rushed into hospital.’
‘Gosh, I wish I’d known. I wish you’d told me.’
‘I mean, he’s fine now.’
‘I’m glad.’
And she was, genuinely, very glad for the poor little boy.
However, Pete seemed to be in a complicated situation, and even though, heaven knew, she had no expertise in family dynamics, something told her this lady had managed to create a scenario that felt nothing short of exploitative.
What could she do but nod and let the silence settle between them?
‘You look . . . beautiful, by the way.’
Oh, don’t say that, she thought. Neither of them was a fool – they weren’t kids and they could both see the emotional web that surrounded him.
‘Seriously, Pete, you can’t keep living in that van, it’s crazy. It was freezing last night. I was worried sick about you. Surely there’s somewhere else can you go? You must have some other friends?’
‘I used to.’ He spoke ruefully. ‘You’d be surprised how people vanish into the woodwork when you hit the skids. My mam up in Monaghan is the only other option. She’s been a widow since I was ten so . . . she’d be thrilled to see me back.’
Ally smiled. ‘I bet she would.’
Shite, that wasn’t what she’d had in mind at all.
‘I pretty much took over things when Da passed, so she relied on me a lot growing up.’
Oh boy, she was no psychologist, but anyone could see exactly where he’d learned early to be a saviour and suppress his own needs in favour of those of someone else.
‘By the way . . .’ he continued. ‘Evelyn suggested I talk to Dave about renovating upstairs as a flat. What would you think of that?’
‘Me?’
He looked sheepish. ‘Yeah, you know, it’d be a two-bedroom flat . . . if you were interested. The only thing is, it’d take a while to renovate. I don’t mind living in a building site but I can’t imagine you would.’
‘Yes, well, it’s all a bit awkward, because . . . I’ve got an interview for a full-time job. I mean, not a great job or anything, but it means I might . . . be leaving. Please don’t tell Dave.’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘You don’t sound very happy about it.’
He could see right through her. Her hand flew up to cover her face, because what she longed for was for him to step forward and take her in his arms.
‘Well, you know . . . it’s awkward.’
Pete nodded mutely. She had an inkling he might feel the same. They both stared miserably at the floor while the air between them swirled with sawdust and unspoken feelings.