But Juliet panicked; she didn’t want Davey to know, she couldn’t face it. ‘Juliet, he needs to know, Casey needs to know. We can’t have him anywhere near children, can we?’

‘No,’ she said, and she was shaking.

‘It’s going to be fine. You’re going to get through it. Do you know why?’ Marjorie said, and Juliet shook her head; she wasn’t so sure she would.

‘I had an uncle and he did things to me and he hurt me.’ The words sounded strange coming out of her mouth. She had never uttered them, not in thirty-seven years. They echoed in her head; she felt a little dizzy.

‘Did you talk to someone?’

‘I’m talking to someone now,’ she said, and tears coursed down her cheeks. ‘I’m telling you.’

Juliet hugged Marjorie tightly. Jane stared over at the woman and child crying all over her expensive duvet set.

‘Did you get over it, Marjorie?’

‘I thought I had but I think I made some bad decisions just ’cause I was scared, do you know what I mean?’

Juliet nodded.

‘I locked myself away for a long time, Bunny. I don’t want that for you.’

‘What happened to him?’ Juliet asked.

‘He got stomach cancer and died.’

‘I’m glad,’ Juliet said.

‘Me too,’ Marjorie said. ‘Now we know each other’s secrets and we’ll both be OK.’ Marjorie took Juliet into her arms and when they stood up, Jane approached again, clipboard in hand.

‘Right, that’s it, buy something or get out,’ she said in an aggressive tone which suggested she wouldn’t be taking no for an answer this time.

‘We’ll buy,’ Marjorie confirmed, and her waters broke right there on the carpeted floor.

Jane stood back. ‘For the love of . . . I’ll call a taxi.’

So Marjorie sat on a hard, wipeable plastic chair near the door of the shop experiencing excruciating contractions five minutes apart and, after confirming that Juliet did in fact love the white sleigh bed and lockers, she filled out the endless forms, paid in full and set a delivery date.

Juliet held her hand and she phoned Davey as the pain cut through her and she thought she was going to faint and she could hear Juliet telling her to breathe.

‘I’m in labour!’

‘It’s happening. It’s happening!’ Davey shouted, and she could hear the Byrne boys roaring and hollering.

It’s happening. Oh Jesus, Rabbit, it’s happening.

Chapter Eighty-Five: Juliet

Chapter Eighty-Five

Juliet