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Maybe she already knew, even if she didn’t want to admit it to herself. Instead, she rang Barbara.
‘Yes?’ Barbara sounded sniffy.
‘Hi, Barbara, I’m trying to track down Eddie. You don’t happen to know where he is, do you?’
‘I haven’t seen him since yesterday, when he went off with Anya,’ she said coolly.
‘Hasn’t he called you?’
‘He’s a big boy now, Liv; he doesn’t ring me every five minutes.’
‘Of course,’ Liv said. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was probably in complete shock, Barbara was the last person she’d have rung.
‘You should know as much as I do; you are meant to be his girlfriend after all,’ Barbara said.
‘Of course, but I just wondered if he’d been in touch. I haven’t been able to reach him and what with the icy roads and everything…’ It was the best she could manage at the moment, but then she thought, if Eddie had been playing away with Anya, the icy roads would be the last thing he needed to worry about when she got her hands on him.
‘Well, that’s nice to hear.’ Barbara’s voice oozed sarcasm. ‘I won’t sleep a wink tonight now, thinking of him in that van.’
‘Sorry, I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about, but if he does call you, will you ask him to ring me? I just need to check something with him.’ As she hung up the phone, she spotted headlights snaking their way along the drive. Maya, home from work. Liv wiped the tears from her eyes – funny, she hadn’t even realised that she was crying. God, she felt her stomach churn with the worry of it all. She would feel such a fool if she had to admit this to Maya. It was only days since she’d told her sister she was sure that Eddie was about to propose to her. She took a deep breath, trying to reassure herself that maybe the world wasn’t crashing in on her.
Liv raced into the farmhouse before Maya could see her tear-stained face. She could hide out in her room for a while, until she’d calmed down a little, maybe put on some concealer to cover her reddened eyes and perhaps she could try to fool everyone else, since as each second passed, it was becoming harder to ignore the truth of things for herself.
‘Fancy coming down to Flannelly’s with me later?’ Maya asked as they washed up after dinner.
‘Really?’ Liv asked, because Maya was the very last person who ever wanted to go near Flannelly’s.
‘Yes, I have to drop in some sponsorship prizes for their darts tournament.’ She shook her head. She was trying to remind people locally that the solicitor’s practice on their doorstep was invested in the village.
‘All right, so,’ Liv heard herself saying, but she knew, she just wanted to see if Eddie had said anything to any of his mates about when he’d be back in Ballycove. She knew how pathetic that was, even as she thought it, but she couldn’t help it. She’d gone back over that last day with him in her mind a thousand times. They’d rowed or they’d had words; it was as close to having an argument as Eddie got. He was, she realised now, far too passive-aggressive to actually have a good old clearing-of-the-air barney with anyone. He’d stomped off and why? All because of Anya. And that just made Liv feel even more miserable.
There was only one thing for it. That evening, she plastered on a tonne of make-up before they headed off to Flannelly’s.
‘Maybe we should ring Pete and ask him to join us?’ Maya said as they were driving towards the village.
‘No. I don’t think that would be a great idea at the moment.’
‘Still not over Anya?’ Maya didn’t sound convinced.
‘Not that, so much – we had a bit of a bicker at each other today.’
‘You and Pete?’ Maya glanced across at her. ‘But you two never argue.’
‘Nearly never, it turns out. I just snapped at him over nothing and he took the hump. I’m sure we’ll be pals again before you know it, but I’m really not in the mood for him tonight.’ She was glad to be getting out of the car and so avoiding any more scrutiny from Maya. It was just too much to think about the state of her friendship with Pete on top of the worry of things with Eddie.
‘Fine so, I get you all to myself.’ Then Maya put her hand on the door to push it in. ‘Just the one?’
‘Absolutely.’ It was more than enough time to waste in this place.
The pub was emptier than it had been the last evening she’d been in here. Yet somehow, all the regulars seemed to be here, still sitting on the same stools, as if they’d never left, just grown older and wider where they sat. Behind the bar, Nick Flannelly was wiping glasses; his eyebrow raised just a fraction when he spotted the Latimer sisters arriving in the door for a drink. Maya dropped the prizes on the bar and Liv wondered for a moment if she hadn’t had to pull Nick Flannelly out of a scrape or two already with the law.
‘Well, ladies, what can I get you?’ Nick was the owner’s son, the sort of kid who served up drink and false welcome with ease and then fault-finding fast remarks on each customer after they’d left the pub. Liv had never liked him and she was certain the feeling was mutual.
She and Maya ordered their drinks and took a table near the front door, but the pub was too small not to be part of whatever conversation was going on at the bar.
‘No Eddie tonight?’ one of the regulars called to Liv.
‘Ah no, he’ll be back soon. He’s just gone to Dublin with…’
