Happy Ever After Page 15

  ‘No, this is cool. Will Debbie be long?’

  ‘Shouldn’t be. I got a text to say she was on a Dart, so she should be here in the next five minutes.’

  ‘Random. Just a regular coffee for me, Dad, please.’

  ‘What? No mocha?’ He looked at her in surprise.

  ‘No, just coffee please.’

  ‘And a doughnut of course?’

  ‘No thanks. Just coffee. I’m on a diet,’ she murmured.

  ‘You look very well, Melissa, you’ve dropped a few pounds. Well done for staying off the junk. I wish I could.’ Connie sighed.

  ‘You look great,’ Barry assured her. ‘Will you have another cappuccino?’

  ‘Ah, what the hell. Why not?’ laughed Connie, thinking how nice it was to spend a Saturday morning sipping cappuccinos with extended family. It was a good thing that Melissa had gone into the church on the day of the wedding, before the confrontation with Aimee had occurred, or she might not have been so friendly, and it would have made things very awkward. Connie felt a little sorry for Barry. It must be a bit like walking on eggshells for him at times, having two families to contend with.

  ‘Here’s Debbie,’ Melissa pointed out, waving shyly at her half-sister, who was hurrying along the footpath.

  A look of surprise crossed Debbie’s face as she caught sight of the three of them. ‘Well, hi, what’s all this? A family gathering?’ she said a little breathlessly, coming to a halt beside the table. ‘Sorry I was a bit late, Mum,’ she apologized to Connie, leaning down to give her a kiss.

  ‘I was having a cappuccino while I was waiting for you, and who came along but Barry and Melissa, bound for an early coffee too, so I said I’d have another one with them. But if you’re in a hurry we can head off,’ she said easily, not wanting it to look too staged.

  ‘Aw, don’t do that,’ Barry exclaimed, shooting her a glance of dismay.

  ‘No, no, it’s fine.’ Debbie sat down. ‘I’m gasping for a cup of coffee.’

  ‘Latte, cappuccino, mocha, regular? Let me get it,’ Barry said, smiling at Connie, noting how well her strategy had worked.

  ‘Latte, please.’

  ‘And a doughnut?’ he urged.

  ‘Oh, yes please.’ She grinned at Melissa, who was smiling back, delighted to see her big sister. ‘Hi Melissa, how’s life?’

  ‘Cool. Have you any photos of the wedding?’ she asked eagerly.

  ‘Aw, heck, I have some on a disk, but it’s in my other bag, and I have a present for you too,’ she added.

  ‘Have you? Savage.’ Melissa was chuffed.

  ‘Yeah – if I’d known I was going to bump into you, I’d have brought it with me. I’ve one for Dad too.’

  ‘Thanks, Debbie. I appreciate that.’ Barry smiled at his daughter, and Connie was glad she’d done as he’d asked. It was very enjoyable sitting having coffee with him and Melissa and, best of all, Debbie was completely relaxed about it.

  ‘So, Mum, you’re thinking of buying a new table?’ Debbie leaned back in her chair and squinted in the sun as they waited for their order to be delivered.

  ‘Actually, the table I was looking at is gone, and it was an end-of-the-line model,’ Connie fibbed. ‘So I won’t be buying it, unfortunately. It was too late to tell you when I found out. You were already on the Dart. So I’ve brought yourself and myself on a wild goose chase.’

  ‘Oh, that’s a shame.’ Debbie made a face. ‘Anyway, it’s nice to see you for coffee on a Saturday morning. And I’m glad I’m up reasonably early, the house is a shambles and I’ve a load of washing to do and I haven’t even unpacked from America, so I won’t stay too long, if you don’t mind.’

  ‘No problem, love,’ Connie assured her. ‘How’s Bryan?’

  ‘Oh, fine,’ she said nonchalantly. She turned to look at Melissa. ‘Hey, how about, if you don’t have anything on, coming back with me to the house, and I could give you your present. You can pop back to Dun Laoghaire on the Dart after I show you the photos if you’d like?’ she invited.

  ‘Deadly.’ Melissa beamed. ‘My friend Sarah can’t meet me until later ’cos she’s got visitors coming and has to tidy her room, and I’ve nothing on. Mom’s, like, not feeling well, so I guess we won’t be doing anything today, so thanks, that would be savage.’

  ‘What’s wrong with Aimee?’ Connie asked politely.

  ‘You’ll never guess.’ Melissa rolled her eyes dramatically, unaware of the look of dismay on her father’s face as he tried to flash a warning glance at her. ‘She’s got morning sickness; she, like, just did a pregnancy test. Half an hour ago. It was totally amazing. I watched the lines turning blue. Debbie, you’re going to have another half-brother or sister and you’re going to be twenty-five years older than it and, by the time it’s my age, Dad will be in his mid-sixties, and if you have a baby, our baby will be its aunt or uncle, and it will only be a bit older than it. How random is that?’ She rattled on artlessly, completely unaware of the shocked expressions on Debbie and Connie’s faces, and the consternation on her father’s.

  ‘Melissa, it’s a bit early to be telling people, in case anything goes wrong,’ he interjected quickly.

  ‘Oh!’ his younger daughter said, putting her hand to her mouth. ‘Sorry, I wasn’t thinking. But Connie and Debbie are family anyway,’ she pointed out.

  ‘Don’t worry, we won’t say anything to anyone,’ Connie said, kindly patting her hand. She was astonished by the news. Knowing what she did of Aimee, she suspected a baby would be the last thing the younger woman would want. No wonder Barry looked stressed and distracted. Having a baby around in your mid-fifties was no joke. Aimee would probably go mad if she knew Melissa had spilled the beans to her and Debbie.

  ‘Wow, Dad!’ Debbie stared at her father.

  ‘Wow indeed,’ he said sheepishly. ‘A big surprise all round, you might say.’

  ‘Well, I hope the morning sickness passes soon. Oh, look, here’s the coffees,’ Connie said diplomatically, bringing an end to the discussion.

  ‘Are you enjoying your hollies?’ Debbie took her cue from her mother and changed the subject.

  ‘It’s, like, a bit boring sometimes,’ Melissa confessed as she took a gulp of coffee. ‘My friend Clara has gone to their place in Spain for a month, and Sarah’s going to the country next week for a fortnight, so that’s a bummer.’ She gave a deep sigh.

  ‘Umm . . . well, maybe some evening I could meet you after work, and we could go to the pictures, if you like,’ Debbie suggested, licking the doughnut sugar off her fingers.

  Connie could have kissed her daughter when she saw the look of pure happiness light up the younger girl’s eyes.

  ‘Do you mean it? I’ll give you my mobile number, and we can arrange it whenever it suits you,’ she said enthusiastically.

  ‘Maybe the two of you might go out to the house when I’m away and just check up on Hope for me. My neighbour is going to feed her, but I’d say she’d love the company,’ Connie said casually, not wanting to railroad the half-sisters. They had, after all, only met half a dozen times or so. It was much better for their relationship to evolve at its own pace, and not because she and Barry were pushing them into it.

  ‘Sure,’ Debbie agreed easily. ‘I’ll bring you for a spin in the soft-top. We’ll be like Thelma and Louise,’ she grinned.

  Melissa guffawed at the notion. Riding around in a convertible with her half-sister was a seriously cool scene, and she’d make sure to get Debbie to drive down past the People’s Park, where lots of her schoolmates hung out, so that they’d see her. She’d wear her Moschino sunglasses and look ever so sophisticated.

  ‘That I must get a photo of,’ Barry chuckled, smiling at Connie. This meeting was working out far better than he could ever have hoped for, and it was all thanks to his ex-wife. He felt like kissing her. He’d seen the shock in her face when she’d heard about Aimee’s pregnancy. He should have warned Melissa to say nothing, but he’d been in such a heap he hadn’t thought of it. Connie had
been extremely tactful, changing the subject so easily that Melissa hadn’t even noticed. Aimee would go ballistic if she knew that Connie and Debbie knew about the pregnancy. If Melissa was going to go to Debbie’s now, it would give him a chance to have a talk with Aimee in private. They were going to have to discuss the matter at some stage. Why not get it over and done with? He was not relishing the prospect.

  Connie saw his distracted expression and felt a pang of sympathy for him. Here she was as free as a bird more or less, with only herself to worry about, and he was staring fatherhood in the face. She might be alone and lonely sometimes but, right now, she was glad she wasn’t in Aimee’s shoes.

  ‘See, they had flash flooding in the south of Spain and torrential rain,’ Debbie said wickedly as she finished the last of her doughnut, unaware of the longing glances Melissa was giving it.

  ‘Don’t be such a horrible child,’ Connie remonstrated.

  ‘Seriously, the weather’s pretty appalling. One of the girls at work went a week ago and only got one fine day.’

  ‘It will be gorgeous when Karen and I go,’ Connie said firmly.

  ‘My gran and granddad have a villa near Marbella, but we haven’t been there in ages,’ Melissa sighed. ‘I wish we had a place there. Dad said he’d think about it.’

  ‘Really?’ Connie arched an eyebrow at him. This was news to her.

  Barry shook his head. ‘Melissa, don’t be saying things like that,’ he rebuked. ‘It depends on how an investment I’m considering goes. With the downturn in the property market over there, it’s a good time to buy.’

  ‘Well, the best of luck with it,’ Connie murmured, wondering whether, if they’d stayed married, would she have ended up with a pad in Spain.

  ‘How about we head off?’ Debbie glanced at her watch and then at Melissa.

  ‘Yep.’ Melissa stood up readily. ‘See you guys.’ She smiled at her father and Connie. ‘And don’t worry, Connie, we’ll go visit Miss Hope for you. Enjoy your holiday.’

  ‘Thanks for the coffee, Dad. Are you going to come to the Dart with us, Mum?’ Debbie asked Connie.

  ‘No, I think I’ll hop over to Marks, seeing as I’m in Dun Laoghaire. I could do with a new swimsuit and sarong for scorchers on the beach,’ she teased.

  ‘OK, I’ll ring you later, then.’ She dusted the crumbs off her trousers and stood up. ‘Bye.’

  ‘Bye, girls, have fun.’ Connie smiled as she watched the pair head off towards the Dart station, both laughing as Melissa stumbled briefly in her impossible-to-walk-in wedges and Debbie held out a steadying hand to straighten her teenage half-sister up.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  ‘Well, that’s a sight I never thought I’d live to see.’ Barry couldn’t hide his delight. ‘It’s great, isn’t it? Thank you so much, Connie. You’ve been a real tower of strength. I very much appreciate what you’ve done over the years to try and bring Debbie and I and Melissa together. And I really, really am grateful for what you did today, and the fact that you don’t hold grudges.’

  ‘Why would I hold a grudge?’ asked Connie in surprise.

  ‘Well, I walked out on you and Debbie, so there’s that . . . and then the business with Aimee outside the church.’ He grimaced.

  ‘What went on between you and me is our stuff, the same as what was said between me and Aimee is between us. It’s nothing to do with Melissa. Why would I try and sabotage her relationship with Debbie? I’m not that petty, Barry,’ she retorted, a touch caustically.

  ‘That’s what I’m saying, Connie,’ he said hastily. ‘You haven’t an ounce of pettiness in you, and it’s thanks to that that our daughters will become close, real sisters. That’s what I’m trying to say, however ham-fistedly I’m doing it.’

  ‘It wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t persisted, so there’s a pair of us in it then,’ she said crisply.

  ‘You’ve a generous nature, Connie,’ he said earnestly.

  ‘Ah, will you give over.’ She leaned down to pick up her bag.

  ‘Don’t go.’ He placed his hand on her arm.

  ‘I’ve chores to do, Barry.’

  ‘I think Aimee wants to get rid of the baby. I didn’t know she was pregnant, and I don’t think she was going to tell me. Only that I discovered the pregnancy test I don’t think I’d ever have known. Can you believe it? I don’t know what to do or how to deal with it. I’m in shock, at my wits’ end. She’s completely betrayed my trust. She wants to abort our baby.’ It burst out of him, an eruption of words and emotions that left her open-mouthed.

  ‘You don’t know that for sure. Have you spoken to her about it?’ she asked quietly, dropping her bag back to the ground.

  ‘No, not yet. I literally only found out an hour ago. I suppose now’s the perfect time, with Melissa out of the way but, to tell you the truth, I’m dreading it.’

  ‘That’s understandable,’ she murmured.

  ‘What will I do if she wants a termination? I’m convinced she was going to have one without telling me. How can I make her keep the baby?’ Barry looked at her beseechingly.

  ‘Barry, that’s for you and Aimee to decide. It would be totally inappropriate for me to tell you what to do or say,’ she demurred.

  ‘Ah, Connie, don’t be like that. I need your advice more than I’ve ever needed it.’ Under his golfing tan, he looked pale, tired, defeated even. Gone was the brash, boyish, confident man she’d married.

  ‘Look, I can understand very well why Aimee wouldn’t want a child at this stage in her life. If I found myself pregnant, I wouldn’t be very happy—’

  ‘Yeah, well, you’re that bit older,’ he interrupted.

  ‘Thanks for reminding me,’ she said dryly.

  ‘Ah, you know what I mean. But just because she made a mistake getting pregnant—’

  ‘She made a mistake! She!’ Connie arched an eyebrow at him.

  ‘Well we then,’ he amended irritably, and she glared at him.

  ‘If you want one piece of advice, Barry, don’t lay all the blame at Aimee’s door when you’re having your conversation,’ said Connie acidly.

  ‘OK. Point taken. But what am I going to do? I don’t want her to get rid of our child. I feel I’ve been given another chance to be a good parent, to make up for the mistakes I made with Debbie. Does that sound daft?’ he said, embarrassed.

  ‘No, not at all. I would have loved another child. My miscarriage was one of the hardest things I ever had to deal with. But maybe it was a blessing in disguise. You would have felt completely trapped, even more than you felt with just one child, and God knows how we would have ended up. I don’t think we’d be sitting here talking today,’ she said quietly. ‘And I’m not sure if that’s the tack you should take with Aimee. After all, she could come back and say that she didn’t make any mistakes, and she doesn’t feel the need of another child to have a second chance at good parenting.’

  ‘Oh right, I see what you’re saying. Thanks for that.’

  ‘Look, it’s your business. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m not getting involved, Barry,’ Connie said crossly.

  ‘Look, please don’t apologize. I honestly and sincerely value your opinion. You’re so easy to talk to.’

  ‘Well, you didn’t feel like that when we were married,’ she said tartly, fed up of being the understanding ex. Did he ever think that she might have problems of her own, without him offloading on her? Typical Barry. Me. Me. Me.

  ‘I’m sorry, Connie. I really mucked up your life,’ he said contritely.

  ‘What?’

  ‘I mucked up your life,’ he repeated.

  Connie laughed. He had such a sense of his own importance still. That certainly hadn’t changed. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Barry. OK, you walked out on us, and it was hard, I’m not denying that. It was very, very hard going. But I got over it. Trust me. You needn’t go around feeling guilty on my behalf. I’m fine.’

  ‘But you’re on your own.’

  ‘There’s worse things, believe m
e,’ she said emphatically.

  ‘But isn’t there anyone you felt you could have got involved with?’ he probed.

  ‘Not when Debbie was growing up, no,’ she said matter-of-factly. ‘But that could change now. I’m footloose and fancy free, and a very sexy and interesting man has appeared on my horizon,’ she exaggerated, thinking of a man with a lean and rangy body, the bluest of blue eyes and a very handsome face.

  ‘Oh! Who?’ Barry asked peevishly.

  ‘You don’t know him. Now, I really must be off. Go home and sort things with Aimee while you have the chance is my advice to you, and good luck,’ she added, softening when she saw his woebegone face.

  ‘Thanks, Connie. I’ll let you know how it goes.’

  ‘Barry, you don’t have to tell me what goes on in your marriage. That’s your business,’ she said firmly.

  ‘I know, but it’s nice to have a friend to talk to.’

  ‘Go and talk to your wife,’ she advised, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

  ‘OK, I will. Have a great holiday with Karen. You deserve it.’

  ‘Will do. Bye, Barry, I hope you get things sorted.’

  She left him sitting dejectedly and headed off to take a short cut through the grounds of the Royal Marine. Barry was something else, expecting her to advise him on his marital problems. And having the arrogance to think he’d mucked up her life and that she was a sad and lonely woman. She wasn’t going to let him get away with that, even if he had mucked it up for a few years. She wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. A woman had her pride, after all! And he needn’t be so smug, she thought indignantly. Right now, it seemed, she was in a much better place than he was, although she wouldn’t have said that several months ago, remembering the acute pangs of envy she’d had when she’d seen him, Aimee and Melissa strolling into a nearby restaurant for lunch earlier in the year, looking affluent and elegantly turned out. But appearances were deceptive and, as she’d discovered in the run-up to the wedding, Barry’s second marriage was far from perfect.

  Typical, though, of her ex to think he could dump all his woes on her and expect her to get involved. Aimee would have a fit if she knew he’d been discussing their very personal problems with her. Connie wasn’t having anything to do with it, and that was why she’d thrown in the red herring of the attractive man on her horizon. And Drew was an attractive man, she grinned, so she hadn’t been dishonest, so to speak. It was just that the distance of the horizon was a lot further than she’d implied.