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And it was busy. When Nola had time to think, she was in her element. She was producing and directing her first ever production and besides the sometimes stressful moments, she was loving every minute of it.
‘It’s the first time we haven’t put onThe Passion,’ one of the religion teachers confided. ‘To be honest, we’re all looking forward to a break from the same scenes, the same lines, the same everything.’
‘Well, our version ofEaster Paradewill certainly be different,’ Nola enthused. Far from the old Judy Garland and Fred Astaire production, this would have everything from hip-hop to light opera – she was pulling in every talent the school had, even the teachers were going to do a number to help her out, since time was so tight.
‘We’ll have to put on extra shows at this rate.’ The vice principal, a small neat woman with an eye on the bean counter, was thrilled with the ticket sales. All proceeds were going towards the arts programme within the school.
The week of the actual shows passed by in a whirr of excitement, stress and celebration. Nola had never experienced anything like it before; it was the best week of her life, even if she wouldn’t admit it to her sisters in a million years. She’d spent most of the week in the school, only turning up at Soldier Hill House in time to wolf down a dinner and then flop into bed.
The following Tuesday she decided to go and visit Moira Barry. It had been a while since she’d dropped in on her, not only because she’d been madly busy, but also because she didn’t want to bump into Aiden again. He just made her feel awkward and somehow as if she had missed a step, so everything seemed to be a little uneven every time he was around.
‘Ah, it’s yourself.’ Moira was standing at the kitchen sink, busy peeling carrots for the dinner when Nola arrived in the kitchen.
‘I just popped in to say hello,’ Nola said, taking up a knife and finishing off the few that remained on the chopping board before emptying them into a pot on the stove.
‘Do you know something, Nola?’ Moira said, drying her hands on a thin towel that hung over the cooking range. ‘I cook far less these days than I ever did before, but it feels as if everything takes me a lot more time. When the kids were young, I’d have these done in a flash.’ She shook her head and placed a lid securely on the pot and Nola thought she was the most perfect typical Irish mammy.
‘Do you need me to do anything for you?’ she asked as she filled the kettle to make a pot of tea for both of them, but she could see the dinner was prepped so it was all down to the old stove now to do the rest of the work.
‘Just tell me all that’s been happening with you since I saw you last.’ Moira plopped down into a chair and waited while Nola set the table for tea for them both.
‘Oh, you know any news I have. You were at the musical, so that’s been keeping me busy for the last few weeks.’
‘Well, you certainly showed them how to put on a show this year.’ Moira smiled. There was no missing how proud she was of Nola. ‘The kids are raving about you and the parents are delighted with you.’
‘Oh, I don’t know about that.’ But Nola found herself blushing and it was nice to hear that she was doing a good job.
‘Just you wait until the parents’ meetings in a few weeks’ time, that’s when you’ll have something to blush about, my girl.’
‘I’m really enjoying it,’ Nola said. ‘I mean, the kids are great and even some of the parents that I’ve met so far…’ It was true, they couldn’t be nicer.
‘Sure you’ll know most of them anyway, from around the village. We’ve only had a couple of blow-ins; apart from that, if you don’t know them, you’ll remember their families.’
‘You’re right there.’ It had surprised her, people calling her by her name and when she looked at them, really looked at them, she’d been able to pick out who they were or who their older or younger sister was, because Ballycove was a small place and everyone knew everyone – even it seemed if you had gone away for years, you were still one of them. ‘It’s actually a nice change, from London, you know.’
‘Aye, I’d imagine it is, all right.’ Moira smiled. As far as Nola knew she’d never left Ireland apart from the occasional holiday staying with her sister outside London. ‘Our Aiden said that too, when he came back from his travels.’
‘Where was Aiden anyway?’ Nola asked more out of politeness than any real interest.
‘Where wasn’t he, you mean?’ Moira laughed. ‘He travelled all over after he finished his studies.’
‘His studies?’
‘Oh, you wouldn’t remember, he went on to become a priest, first, but then turned back at the last minute. I suppose he had a lot of thinking to do, so he took a job on a cruise ship and we hardly saw him for a long time, but he’s a good boy, always called to let his mother know where in the world he was.’
‘So, he really did see the world?’
‘He did. He saw all four corners and his fill and more of the oceans in between.’ Moira shook her head fondly, thinking of her only son.
‘And then he came home to Ballycove,’ Nola said as if that brought the story to an end.
‘Well, no, not exactly. He came back to Dublin. The cruise company he was working for offered him a big job in their headquarters here, plenty of money and terrible long hours. I suppose when you’re accustomed to a life of being able to move about the place, being tied to an office chair isn’t really going to make you very happy.’
‘So, then he decided to become a farmer?’ Nola couldn’t imagine making a life choice to be a farmer.
‘Well, he came home here, decided to hang about for six months, after his father had a bit of a turn.’ She shook her head. ‘Double bypass – the old fool was smoking the pipe and thinking it’d never catch up with him.’ She smiled then, because everyone knew that Eugene Barry really was the love of her life. ‘He nearly gave me a heart attack with it all, never mind himself.’ She stopped then, lost in memories from that time. ‘Anyway, it was probably all for luck. Aiden threw in the job without a backward glance.’ She shook her head. ‘That’s just like him, never thinking for a minute about himself. He took over the farm and had the place shipshape in a matter of weeks. After that, Eugene knew it was time to hand it over and as luck would have it, Aiden was happy to take it on.’
‘Well, that worked out well for everyone, so I suppose,’ Nola said.
‘Yes. It’s funny, but the older I get, the more convinced I am that things always do, in the end.’ Moira smiled. ‘Now, all we have to do is find him a nice girl to settle down with and…’
‘He seemed to be getting on very well with the barmaid the last time I was down in the local pub.’
‘Little Stella Barrington?’ Moira threw her head back and laughed. ‘Ah, no, I don’t think so, Nola,’ she said still wiping the laughter from her eyes.
‘Oh, well, I suppose you know more than I do,’ Nola said softly. The last thing she wanted was to make things awkward for anyone, but in her experience, if a man spends the whole night chatting up a good-looking woman, no matter what her age, it was a fair bet that they weren’t talking about the price of cattle.
