The Life You Left. Carmel Harrington

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       Chapter Seven

      Sarah picked up the phone to call her brother. ‘Are you working on Saturday afternoon?’ she asked when he answered the phone.

      ‘Nope, why?’ he answered, curiosity piqued.

      ‘You’re invited to lunch, so. I’ve asked Rita over and Mary Donegan. Oh, and Joey our postman is coming too.’

      ‘Whoa there! Rita, I understand. Mary, at a push. But Joey, the postman? What on earth are you doing inviting him for?’ James asked incredulously.

      ‘It’s a long story. But long story short he’s lonely. So I’ve asked him over for lunch. And Mary is looking to date someone. She told me so on the phone. They’re both roughly the same age. Sure you never know they might even get on.’ Sarah blurted out.

      James started to laugh. ‘You’re match-making a woman you barely know with the local postman! Incredible. Only you could come up with a hare-brained scheme like that! Does either of them know what you’re up to?’

      ‘Erm, yes and no. Mary knows that Joey has been lonely. She knows I’m trying to help him, and she said she’d love to meet him.’ Sarah said. What she didn’t know was that Sarah had hoped they would fall into each other’s arms over the dessert course, declaring undying love. It could happen. Maybe.

      ‘So why is Rita coming then?’ James added. ‘Is she bringing her son with her by any chance?’ He finished sarcastically.

      ‘Watch out you could cut yourself, you are so sharp!’ Sarah snapped back. ‘If you must know, Rita has been very supportive. And she’s mortified about Paul. She’s trying her best to help me track him down. She was just delighted to be asked for lunch. She loves spending time with the kids.’

      ‘So what about this Joey dude. Does he know you’re doing your own version of Take Me Out?’

      ‘No of course he doesn’t. We’ve been chatting a bit lately and I’ve been telling him how upset the kids are about Rachel Finch. He has a dog called Benji. So I asked him to bring the dog over for the kids to play with as they have been going on and on for ages about getting a dog. It’ll cheer them up and I’ve asked him to talk to them about the responsibilities of owning a puppy. If I do ever get them a dog for Christmas, and that’s a big if, I want to make sure they are on board with every aspect. I clean enough poop every day with Ella’s nappies without adding a puppy into the mix thank you very much!’

      ‘And he fell for that?’ James said. Sarah could almost see the smirk he’d have on his face.

      ‘I can be very persuasive, when I want to be. And anyhow, even though I may have an ulterior motive, he’s a nice man. I like him. The kids always have a laugh with him. And you never know. Stranger things have happened; he might just hit it off with Mary!’

      What she didn’t add was that she’d had another dream last night and she saw that Benji was going to be knocked down on Saturday. She figured that if Joey was at her house, then his dog would be ok. And if Benji is ok, then Joey couldn’t hurt himself. It was simple really. She instinctively felt that he needed to meet some people; she had deeply felt his isolation in her dream. He needed to get some confidence to get out and have some fun. Mary said she’d be happy to talk to him, try to build his confidence up a bit. It was worth a shot anyhow. She couldn’t just do nothing and wait for him to die.

      And maybe, if she was really honest, she was glad of this distraction, as it allowed her to dull the thoughts that were never far away, about Paul. If he loved her, how could he stay away? She didn’t have an answer for that, so turned her attention back to James.

      ‘Ok, sis, I’ll be there. It should be a laugh anyhow watching you in action! Should I bring my iPod, download the Greatest Love Songs ever from ITunes?’ He teased.

      ‘Ha Ha, very funny. I’m sure you already have them downloaded, part of your seduction technique when you lure unsuspecting bimbos back to your house!’

      ‘Ah, you’re only jealous of my Jagger moves!’ James responded with a laugh, then broke into song, “I got moves like Jagger, I got the moves like Jagger!”’

      Sarah giggling said, ‘Stop. My ears!’

      ‘And another thing Cilla, if you’re trying to set me up with Rita, forget it! Grannies are just not my thing!’

      ‘If it’s got a pulse and it moves it’s your thing!’ Sarah quickly replied laughing. ‘But no, you’re safe enough. Don’t think Rita would ever look at another man after Thomas. She loved him too much.’

      ‘Thank God for small mercies!’ James answered with a grin. ‘I’ll bring some booze with me. I’ve decided I’m going to stay with you guys for a few nights. I want to go to the funeral anyhow. I’d rather be there just in case anything weird happens.’

      Sarah was so relieved to hear that. She could do with his support with the children. ‘That would be great. I’m not looking forward to it. I’m not even sure what exactly I’m to expect and Edward is no help whatsoever. He just says to be prepared. But listen, I’m changing the subject for a minute. I’ve been trying to get hold of Paul and he’s dodging me. Not answering emails or his phone. Can you help me track him down?’

      ‘At fecking last, sis. I don’t know how you’ve waited this long to be honest, but never mind that now. I’ll track him down, leave it with me.’

      ‘What are you going to do?’ Sarah asked, intrigued.

      ‘I’ll start by ringing his boss. They might have a contact number for him. I’m sorry, sis, but I just don’t buy this whole depression story, and it doesn’t sound like the Paul I know. And before you ask, I’ll be discreet. This is the kind of stuff I do in the agency all the time. Don’t worry.’

      ‘Thanks bro. I owe you.’

      It was one of those rare October days where the sun was shining and it was also quite warm. Summer days had often been colder and darker than today was. The kids were out the back playing on their trampoline, Ella was in her Tigger bouncer jumping and down, squealing with delight at how clever she was. Lunch was almost prepared.

      Sarah was doing an antipasto for starters, served in a large dish in the centre of the table. She loved serving this kind of food that everyone can just dig into and share. This way they could take as much or as little as they liked. On the platter was Bruschetta Fegatini which consisted of toast – made with Italian style bread – covered with chicken liver pieces sautéed with just a hint of chilli. Carpaccio, wafer thin slices of prime beef, served raw with a dressing of vinaigrette and shavings of fresh Parmesan and Prosciutto, an uncooked, dry-cured ham which was exquisite and would satisfy even the biggest carnivore. Her kids adored this type of food. She also had Cannellini beans and Tuna served with olive oil, lemon juice, and a little sliced onion, with a touch of garlic, salt and pepper. And of course, the old faithful served at every dinner party in their house, garlic bread. Katie was addicted to the stuff and thought it СКАЧАТЬ