Chapter 34
34
AILISH
All around them, the restaurant was a carnival of celebration, as people kissed their loved ones, raised toasts to absent friends, and danced with the children who’d been allowed to stay up late enough to welcome the bells. Carlo was leading a rousing, heartfelt rendition of ‘Auld Lang Syne’, Robert Burns’ lament to bygone times, the anthem that was sewn into the very fabric of the nation.
Ailish slipped her hand through the arm of the man who’d instigated the divorce papers that had dropped through her door this morning, thinking she could feel his sadness. On any given day in the last two years, she’d have relished a bit of discomfort thrown the way of Eric Ryan, but not today. Not any more. It was time to move on and she surprised herself as she realised she now felt the power inside her to do that. She didn’t need Eric. She just had to start showing up for herself.
As they sang, Ailish cast her gaze around, searching for the people she loved. She spotted Gwen and Dario locked in an embrace and the sight of it made her heart soar.
They’d finally got there.
Over the years, Ailish had always hoped that they would. After she’d split with Eric, Rhonda had hinted that Dario might be a great option for her, but the truth was that Ailish’s feelings for him had never run deeper than friendship. And besides, over the many New Year’s Eve parties they’d had here, she’d spotted Gwen’s eyes following Dario too many times to count. She just hoped that, on both sides, this could be more than a tipsy kiss at midnight.
However, a tipsy kiss at midnight was definitely the option that Rhonda had taken, as she was currently locking lips with Dario’s son, Matty, who was possibly the most handsome man Ailish had ever seen, and, at thirty, twenty-four years younger than her pal. Not that Ailish was judging. A fifty-four-year-old man kissing a thirty-year-old woman wouldn’t so much as raise an eyebrow. Not that Rhonda’s Botox actually allowed her eyebrows to move. However, Ailish did have a fleeting thought that if both those matches led to long-term relationships, their family Christmas dinners were going to have a pretty unusual dynamic.
Ailish decided to find the others on her midnight hug list before going to interrupt love’s young dream. She scanned the room for Emmy, but there was no sign of her. Must still be outside on the phone to Cormac.
‘Come on, Eric, let’s go see your mum,’ she said, spotting Minnie and Gino hugging at their table.
Minnie saw them coming together and her eyes widened with surprise as she opened her arms to Ailish, leaving the men to shake hands. ‘Happy New Year, darling Ailish! Does this mean…?’ she asked, as their heads met, both of them understanding the unspoken question.
Ailish kissed her beautiful now-ex-mother-in-law on the cheek and decided to reframe that terminology. Minnie was the mother she didn’t have. Through thick, thin, and divorce, that remained the essence of who they were to each other. ‘No, Mum,’ she gave Minnie her answer. ‘But it does mean we can all be together again, and I think that’s a good place to start.’
Minnie’s delighted expression told her that was good enough.
‘Happy New Year, Gino,’ Ailish said, as she hugged the elderly man, marvelling as always at the happiness he had created here. So many years, and so many people had seen in the bells with joy and surrounded by love, thanks to a dream that he’d made into a reality. As she left his embrace, she noticed the beautiful silver flask on the table and squinted to read the inscription that was carved into the gleaming metal.
Friendships last long after midnight.
The two women who were making their way through the crowds to them now, bringing their midnight kisses with them, had proved that time after time.
Rhonda reached her first, and with a shriek of, ‘Happy New Year,’ wrapped her in the tightest of bear hugs. ‘It’s going to be the best year ever,’ her wild friend promised, out of earshot of the others. ‘I’m already in love.’
‘And you’re already fricking fabulous, so you’re sorted,’ Ailish giggled.
‘If you’ve taken the Adulterous Arse back, I might have to kill you though,’ Rhonda chirped, her words a hilarious contrast to the jubilation in her tone.
‘Still single,’ Ailish assured her, laughing. ‘This dress was too good to waste on him. Thanks, Rhonda. I love you more than you know.’
‘Ah, bugger, you’ll wreck my lashes!’ Rhonda sobbed, frantically fanning her face so the tears didn’t dislodge the glue that held her diamond-edged, mink masterpieces in place.
The celebratory jig of changing partners continued with Dario, then Matty, until finally Ailish embraced Gwen gently, careful not to bruise the thin skin that was covering her bones. Her friend would get her strength back, and the happiness in her squeal of, ‘Happy New Year, Ails!’ told her that Gwen’s illness might have sapped her strength, but it had left her spirit intact.
Ailish’s eyes were crying, but her grin was beaming as she embraced her.
They held their clinch, as Gwen’s mouth reached Ailish’s ear. ‘I kissed Dario,’ she whispered, the words oozing pure joy.
‘I saw!’ Ailish murmured in return.
‘He’s the biggest reason I wanted to come here tonight and why I planned this weeks ago,’ she confessed. ‘I’ve thought about him for years, and just decided that if I didn’t tell him this year, then I might not get the chance. He just told me he feels the same. I can’t believe it, Ails.’
‘Believe it, my love. I’m so happy for you, Gwen. You deserve this.’
‘I do. You know what?’ she said, still just the two of them in their own world.
Ailish gulped. ‘Tell me.’
‘Fuck cancer.’
Ailish could barely breathe through the tears now. ‘Fuck cancer,’ she repeated, because right now, with all of them together, it felt like there was nothing that could beat them.
In fact, it felt like nothing could ever spoil this perfect moment… Until her daughter raced towards her and fell into her arms.