Page 52 of A Part of Me and You
My tummy rumbles at the very idea of a sumptuous brunch in the sunshine, and Eliza turns up her sound system with The Eagles blasting out, the music making heads turn as we leave the stone walls of the village and swing out on to the main open road.
‘That would be just perfect,’ I tell her, and I tilt my head back and look up to the sky, smiling with gratitude for this beautiful day and the new strength I am finding from within. This time I know exactly who I am thanking. I see her little hands again and the look in her eyes touches my heart and warms it up a little. Thank you, Lily. I feel you with me every day.
Juliette
I watch Rosie as she delves into the most indulgent whipped ice cream, complete with sprinkles, a flake, and the whole works. That’s when Sarah, Shelley’s friend from yesterday’s horse-riding escapade spots us as she is leaving Brannigan’s Bar across the road with her young daughter in tow.
‘Hey there! How are you two today? That looks very good indeed,’ she says and Rosie and I nod in agreement.
‘It’s the best ice cream ever,’ says Rosie, who has had a complete turnaround on her opinion of Killara since Shelley came on the scene. Everything is now ‘wonderful’, ‘amazing’ and ‘the best ever’ and I have no intention of putting her off her notions as I totally agree. Even the ‘crappy’ wi-fi doesn’t seem so big a deal anymore.
‘Have you seen Shelley today?’ she asks Sarah. ‘I wonder what she’s up to?’
I sigh and laugh lightly. Sarah saw Shelley for the first time properly in a long time only yesterday even though they both live in the same village and I don’t want Sarah to be reminded of that as it was such a big deal for them both.
‘Rosie, love, I told you that we can’t expect Shelley to be our tour guide every day we are here. Sorry, Sarah,’ I say to Shelley’s friend. ‘So this must be Teigan? Am I right? What a gorgeous girl you are.’
Sarah puts her hand on her daughter’s shoulder and the little girl smiles a toothy grin up at me. She really is such a cutie with brown curls to die for, big green almond eyes like her mother and a dimple when she smiles. I can totally understand how looking at her must be heart-breaking for Shelley.
‘I’m going to be a big six tomorrow,’ Teigan announces and we all wow in amazement. ‘And I’ve grown two inches since my last birthday. My daddy measured me.’
Sarah hugs her close with a proud smile.
‘I only wish I was six tomorrow and that I could grow two inches taller,’ I say to Teigan who shies now in to her mother’s leg. ‘But my days of being six and growing any taller are long gone.’
Sarah looks on at her daughter with great affection.
‘As are mine,’ says Sarah. ‘Oh, to be carefree and six years old again!’
‘I’m having a princess and ponies party,’ whispers Teigan timidly and Rosie perks up at this.
‘I would love to have a princess and ponies party,’ she says. ‘That’s the best theme I’ve ever heard. Mum, I know I’m going to be sixteen next birthday but I am so having that theme for my next party. That’s so cool, Teigan!’
I feel like someone has punched me in the stomach when I think of Rosie’s birthday which will be in May of next year and which I won’t be here for.
Sarah swiftly steps in.
‘We sampled some of that delicious ice cream the other evening when we bumped into Shelley up the road a bit, just outside her shop, didn’t we Teigan? Oh that’s right,’ says Sarah. ‘You walked Shelley home of course. Sometimes my memory … it must be old age creeping up on me!’
‘You only think you’re bad. Mum is the worst for forgetting things,’ says Rosie. ‘She forgets everything these days, don’t you, Mum! You couldn’t be as bad as she is!’
Sarah gives me a sympathetic smile and again swiftly changes the subject.
‘So, what’s on the agenda today, girlies?’ she asks. ‘Anything nice?’
‘Well, actually,’ I tell Sarah. ‘We have a wonderful afternoon planned and you are very welcome to join us if it suits you. We are finally going out on a boat to view the famous Cliffs of Moher. Rosie has never been on a boat before. Well, she has been on a ferry obviously on the way here, but it’s not the same thing, is it?’
Sarah breaks into a smile.
‘No, it is definitely not the same thing,’ she says. ‘I would love to go out with you and thank you so much for the invitation, but I’ve my toddler to pick up at lunch time from crèche and Toby and speedboats are not a good mix. Teigan and I were just in there chatting to my mum to see if she could have him for even an hour as Teigan has a dental appointment but she’s too busy. She runs the B&B at Brannigan’s.’
I look behind Sarah to the infamous green building where my journey began in this village and my tummy gives a whoosh.
‘Gosh, I didn’t realize you had a family connection to Brannigan’s?’ I say to her. I don’t want to sound over-curious or surprised, but I really didn’t have any idea. ‘Is that your mum’s place?’
‘Yes, that’s my whole family,’ Sarah explains. ‘We are Brannigan, well I was before I was married. I grew up in that building. We have a family home to the rear and then the front rooms are all for tourists. I thought Shelley may have mentioned that to you but I’m sure you have had more important things to talk about than my family history.’
I look up to the windows of the B&B, and get flashbacks to the room I stayed in – the lady who tutted at me when I couldn’t find the key to my room at such an ungodly hour and how Skipper didn’t want her to recognize him and waited outside until the coast was clear before I could let him in to join me upstairs. Shit. That must have been Sarah’s mother.
