Page 55 of Changing Tides
“I apologize, Mother. I should’ve been in touch sooner. But here I am now.”
“I suppose I should be grateful. Is my grandson there?”
“No, I’m at work, but he’s doing well. He’s talking much more now. You’ll be impressed.” She made a mental note to repeat the word “granny” to Denny as many times as possible before they visited.
“Well, it wouldn’t take much for an improvement on last time I saw him. The poor child was virtually mute.”
She rubbed her forehead and took a moment to respond calmly, but her mum took advantage of the silence.
“Mind you, he would be much more advanced now as I haven’t seen him since Christmas. That’s almost half the child’s life.”
“His name’s Denny, Mum, or Deniz. Will you stop referring to him as ‘the child’?”
“So, when am I going to see my first, and from recent events, most likely only, grandchild?”
“It’s difficult for me to travel at the moment. I’m doing long shifts and it would be a lot just to drive over for a day. But I promise you, as soon as the summer season is over and my contract finishes, I’ll come straight to Dublin and visit.” She wasn’t committing to anything more than a visit at this point. Her mother had a tendency to remember anything she considered a commitment.
“And this place you’re working. What sort of a restaurant can it be, stuck out on some island? You’ll be lucky if anyone remembers who you are.”
“It’s a beautiful place, Mum, and I have a competent young team around me. It’s a refreshing change to have less pressure on me.”
“I hope you don’t mean you’re working to lower standards. You can’t afford to lose your reputation, Marianne.”
“I know, Mum. We’ve just won the regional heat of the Snappy Crab awards.”
“I’ve never heard of them. Are they for tourists?”
“No, they’re recognized awards for seafood restaurants around the country. We could win nationally.” She wondered why she tried so hard for her mother’s approval.
“That’s something, I suppose.”
“I need to go now, but I promise I’ll be over with Denny as soon as I can.”
“I’ll have to make do with that then, won’t I?”
“Unless you fancied a trip out west? There’s room for you to stay here and you could spend time with Denny while I worked.”And save me some money on childcare while you’re at it.
“I don’t think so. It’s very far. And what would I do on a windswept island?”
Get to know your grandson?“You’re probably right, Mother. Let’s plan for me to visit as soon as I can.” She hung up soon and sat back in her chair, rubbing her face. Calls with her mum were always draining, and ultimately, unsatisfying.
Later that evening when the work was done, and the kitchen team sat around the restaurant laughing with Tierney and Kasia, Marianne watched them with pride. She was making a difference here at the Waterside and it felt good. Her island life would be pretty idyllic if she could just work out a way to manage her feelings for Joey. Perhaps they should talk about it. She smiledto herself. Or maybe she should just make a move and see what happened.
TWENTY-TWO
The brisk windwas causing Queen Maedbh to smack up and down on the waves as Joey made their way across to the mainland.
They tried to empty their head of any thoughts not essential to a safe crossing and lap up the elements surrounding them. The crash of the waves and the roar of the wind almost drowned out the alien sound of the boat’s engine. It was just Joey out here, surrounded by the power of nature.
But an annoying current of thought kept swirling around their mind. And the subject of that thought had a crop of copper hair that framed her beautiful heart-shaped face. Joey just couldn’t stop thinking about Marianne, no matter how hard they tried. Now they had to go see Doctor Scott, their GP for most of their life, who probably knew more about them than anyone else. It didn’t help she was also the most astute person Joey knew.
They would get in there and out as quickly as possible and try not to engage in small talk.
Mooring up at the village quay, they tried to avoid the small group of mainland fishers congregating on the slipway.
“Joey.” Shane O’Dwyer waved them over.
So much for that idea.
