Page 60 of A Part of Me and You
I honestly don’t feel so good but I cannot let this sickness take over me now. I close my eyes and let the speed of the wind and the splashes of the water waken my senses and I thank God for how good it is to be alive.
Shelley
‘Rosie! Juliette! Look, the puffins!’
Rosie is practically Leo’s best friend by now as we sail out onto the choppier waters, far from Killara and the stillness of the bay. The cliffs come into view and I do think that Rosie is going to jump out of her skin with excitement at the majestic sight and I look around to make sure that Juliette is taking everything in, but she doesn’t seem to be enjoying it as much as her daughter, or as much as she herself believed she would.
‘Juliette, you don’t look well,’ I say to her over the sound of the boat’s motor and the spray that comes off the water. ‘Are you cold? I should have said to you that it gets a bit nippy when you sail out this far.’
I sit beside her and look at her face which is more ashen in colour than the usual shade of green that comes with seasickness.
‘Ssh,’ she says to me, nodding up towards Rosie who is bending Leo’s ear with questions about puffins and whales and dolphins and the like. ‘I don’t want to ruin this for her. What an absolute treat on the eyes. It’s amazing.’
I follow her eyeline up to the cliffs as Leo sails in as close as he can get to the famous Cliffs of Moher. Larger tour boats from County Clare sail ahead of us but Leo skirts in more intimately than they ever could and I marvel at how no matter how many times I have made this trip during my time in this part of the world, it always takes my breath away.
‘It’s the most beautiful country in the world,’ says Juliette and she looks up in awe at the wondrous view. ‘I always loved Ireland. I feel so at home here, isn’t that strange?’
I look at her knowing exactly what she means. I’ve heard it so many times from tourists who come into my shop and who absorb everything about our homeland in a way that we locals never do, as we can often take it for granted.
‘Juliette, a part of you will always be here, you know that,’ I whisper to her and when I look into her eyes I can see that she is crying. I link her arm, just as Rosie did with us both earlier and she leans her tired head on my shoulder.
‘I need to see Dan,’ she says to me. ‘I miss him.’
‘Of course you do,’ I say to my new, oh so brave friend. She has just a few more days in Killara and then she will be gone from here, then gone forever and I dread the thought of it, but something tells me that Juliette will never be far from me or from here. She has touched something within me, she has lit a spark inside me that has brought me to life and that won’t just go away no when we’re apart. I feel stronger for knowing her and I don’t think that the part of her that is now within me will ever really go
‘Look at Rosie, Juliette,’ I whisper. ‘Look at how this place suits her so well. There is a part of this place in her blood, can’t you see it?’
Juliette nods and smiles through her tears as we both watch Rosie who can’t decide if it’s more important to watch through her own eyes what she is experiencing or via her phone as she snaps everything she wants to share with her friends.
‘She is loving every moment of it and I have you to thank for so much of what she’s experienced so far,’ Juliette says. ‘These are the days she will remember the most, I hope.’
‘And there’s more to come,’ I say to her. ‘Would you mind if I cook for you both tonight?’
Juliette’s eyes widen in delight. ‘At your place or ours? That would be a real treat!’
‘I’ll come to you if you don’t mind,’ I tell her. ‘It’s cosier and at least you can slip off to rest if you want to. I’ll bring all the ingredients and cook a nice supper.’
‘Deal,’ says Juliette, and she leans her head on my shoulder again. I can tell she is slowing down by the look on her face. Something has changed, like her spark is slowly flickering. She looks tired, a little paler and the way she reaches out to me physically to lean on me or to just hold my hand as we sail along tells me that she is scared inside. I look out onto the water and fight back tears as the reality of losing Juliette when I have only just found her hits me properly for the first time. I need to help make her final days in Killara as comfortable and special as I can so that she knows how much I appreciate her. My next plan for them both needs to kick into place as soon as possible. I am excited and moved at the very thought of it.
I arrive as promised armed with a wicker basket full of local produce at Juliette’s cottage later that evening and make my way to the kitchen, ordering Juliette to rest up on the sofa while Rosie and I get stuck into supper.
‘Do you like spag bol?’ I call into her. She is snuggled up under a fleecy throw in her pyjamas and Rosie, who is also in her pyjamas, is on cloud nine because as well as cooking up a storm in the kitchen we are also cooking up a plan of our own.
‘It’s my favourite dish ever,’ shouts Juliette and Rosie gives me a high five. We have so got this.
‘I told you it was her favourite,’ she says to me. ‘She loves anything Italian, especially the men, ha!’
‘Good taste! So, did you think about what I asked you earlier?’ I ask as she chops onions beside me like the perfect little assistant.
‘Yes, I have the playlist made,’ she tells me in a whisper. ‘It’s all ready to go. I have Prince on there, some INXS, a few Meatloaf tracks and what was the other one you told me to find?’
‘Wake Me Up Before You Go Go?’ I suggest.
‘That’s the one,’ she says. ‘Yes, I just Googled ‘80s classics and most of what you thought Mum might like came up, so all I need now is the you-know-what and that was your part of the bargain.’
I smile at Rosie and signal at her to throw the onions into the pan and soon, with a touch of garlic and oregano, some salt, black pepper, green peppers and mushrooms as well as mince and tomato sauce, we are almost ready to serve – with spaghetti, a sprinkle of parmesan and a basil leaf on top.
‘Voila!’ I say to Rosie. ‘Take that in to your mum.’
