He looked at Annie snoring in the back seat, all arms and legs with Claire and realised he’d taken her to Dublin for two days and spent hardly any time with her. He would take her to Maggie’s and then spend a day with her wandering around Hillsborough, just the two of them. He was painfully aware that those times he’d taken for granted, all these years, were coming to an end. He looked at the signpost, which told him they’d crossed the border. He agreed with Harry. What possible harm could come from spending one more day in Ireland?

30

The quick shower at Harry’s propelled Annie into overdrive again. Cormac felt a surge of relief when Maggie’s cottage surfaced on the horizon. This was tempered by the dread he felt at the prospect of the uncomfortable hour ahead. Tom’s revelations of Maggie’s lost child stirred strong feelings of guilt in him that nevertheless failed to override his lifelong dislike of her, and everything she stood for. He bent to tie his lace at the edge of the footpath. This allowed Annie to experience the full awkwardness of the initial hug and gave him an early indication of which way Maggie would lean for his ordeal. One wrong guess later and they were into the small but perfectly decorated living room. It smelled of his mother and of lavender. Maggie busied herself in the kitchen and returned with a tray and three china cups. She was out and back again in a fussy instant, with a brand new teapot and a small mountain of chocolate biscuits.

‘I’m sorry Jack is not back yet, but he won’t be long, I’m sure.’

She noisily carried the cup and saucer to Annie. Seeing them together, they could easily be mistaken for sisters. He shuddered at the thought.

‘So, Annie, how was Dublin?’

Cormac braced himself for another twenty minutes of ‘the stage was amazing,’ ‘the Edge’s guitar was like a one-man orchestra,’ ‘Bono’ this, ‘fluorescent jacket’ that. He picked up a biscuit and sat back to suffer in his silence.

‘It was brilliant, auntie Maggie, and Dad met up with Bernadette, his old girlfriend, didn’t you, Dad?’

He coughed out the biscuit that lodged in his throat. Maggie swiped it into a napkin and lost all interest in Annie.

‘You saw Bernadette in Dublin?’

He tried to volley the conversation back to his grinning daughter.

‘Yes, I bumped into her in the pub. Annie, why don’t you tell Maggie all about the concert? I’m sure she’d love to hear what a great night you and Claire had.’

She didn’t rise to the bait. He persevered.

‘Annie got on really well with Harry’s daughter, didn’t you, love, and Claire is even thinking of trying to change her university and go to Edinburgh, isn’t that right, love?’

Maggie poured herself some tea and sat on the settee beside him.

‘Ah, what a lovely girl Bernadette is. What a crying shame you broke her heart like that.’