I stared at the item resting on my palm. ‘Grandma’s bracelet. The one Mum thought she’d lost years ago.’
‘No way. How did you know it was there?’
I smiled and shook my head. ‘You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.’Suddenly feeling very weak, I sunk back against the sofa, breathing deeply. Wow! The bracelet under the sofa and the lighthouse photo, exactly as predicted. There was no way she could have guessed at those things. There was just one thing left to happen, then: meeting Steven. Oh. My. God!
15
‘How cute is this place?’ Clare said, looking at the roses round the door on the double-fronted white-washed cottage. ‘I can’t wait to see it in daylight.’
I ushered her into the narrow hallway the following evening and closed the door on the bitter November night. ‘Glad you found it all right. I’ve got a fire going in the lounge.’
‘A real one?’
‘Of course. Now, do you want to be all cutesy cottage and have hot chocolate with marshmallows or can I tempt you with a glass of wine?’
‘After the drive I’ve had, what do you think?’
‘I’ll get the glasses. Make yourself at home.’
I grabbed a bottle of wine and glasses from the kitchen and headed back to the lounge.
Clare was talking to Kit and Kat. ‘Hi cats. How’s your new home? Jesus. I must be going soft. Will you listen to me talking to two stupid moggies?’
I laughed as I put the glasses down on the coffee table so I could pour the wine. ‘I thought you might be expecting an answer from them.’
‘Scarily enough, I think I was. It’s been a long day.’ She took a glug of her wine then looked around the room full of my books andother belongings. ‘Nice room. Looks like you’ve settled in well already. Where’s all your auntie’s stuff?’
‘In my old bedroom. Dad and Ben did a huge swap round yesterday while I was at the shop. I’d been thinking that I should look for somewhere to rent so it’s worked out perfectly. It’s been lovely being back at home, but I’m used to my independence. I don’t think I could have lived with my parents long-term but they seemed so pleased to have me back that I didn’t want to offend them by saying so.’
‘Can’t say I blame you. If I moved back to Ireland, I’d hate to live with my parents.’ Clare stared into the fireplace for a moment, fiddling with the Claddagh ring she always wore on her right hand. ‘Will you listen to me? What a stupid thing to say. I have no intention ofevermoving back to Ireland –whateverhappens in my life – and, seeing as I don’t even exchange Christmas cards with the parents, the mere idea of me being in a situation where moving back in with them is even an option is absurd, so it is.’
‘More wine?’ I asked as Clare gulped hers down in one.
‘Please.’ She held out her glass. I noticed her hand shaking. I’d noticed the rambling too. It was odd how we shared the same nervous tendency to talk too much.
‘You know I’m here if you ever want to talk about what happened with you and your parents, don’t you?’
‘I know. But I’m grand, thanks. I don’t know what came over me. Must be the sea air or something.’
‘Must be. It can have a strange effect on them city folk what aren’t used to it.’ I put on my best yokel accent and smiled.
The subject of Clare’s past was closed again. Every so often, she let something slip. I’d pieced together that she’d been brought up in a strict catholic family in a village not too far from Cork. There’d been some major family fall-out when she was a teenager resulting in Clare moving to Cornwall to live with a distant relative. She’d never returned to Ireland or spoken to her parents. There were siblings but she wasn’t in touch with them either. She never mentioned her guardian in Cornwall so I suspected ties had been severed there too. I’d never seen any family photos or pictures of her home.
When we were at university, I tried to get Clare to open up and tell me about her family but she always refused. The bits I knew had mainly come from drink-fuelled nights out, but the minute she revealed something about her past that I tried to probe, she clammed up completely and avoided me for a couple of days. I soon wised up and realised it was none of my business and I’d rather have Clare as a friend with a mysterious past than know all about the skeletons in her closet yet no longer have her as a friend.
‘So,’ Clare said getting to her feet, ‘where’s your laptop?’
‘Why?’
‘Will I be right in guessing someone hasn’t registered on a dating site yet? It’s my mission this weekend to make sure they do.’
‘Now?’
‘Now’s just grand. Sure, if we get your profile up and running tonight, you could line up a few dates for next week.’
‘I…’ But I had made the decision to register and I was all out of excuses for delaying it. It would be good to have Clare with me for support. ‘Sod it, let’s do it.’
‘Do you really think I’ll get any responses?’ I locked the door to Seaside Blooms the next evening after an exhausting day of assembling display units, while Clare painted some stunning floral images onto the walls.
