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Back The Godmothers
Chapters (50)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise
  3. Dedication
  4. Chapter One
  5. Chapter Two
  6. Chapter Three
  7. Chapter Four
  8. Chapter Five
  9. Chapter Six
  10. Chapter Seven
  11. Chapter Eight
  12. Chapter Nine
  13. Chapter Ten
  14. Chapter Eleven
  15. Chapter Twelve
  16. Chapter Thirteen
  17. Chapter Fourteen
  18. Chapter Fifteen
  19. Chapter Sixteen
  20. Chapter Seventeen
  21. Chapter Eighteen
  22. Chapter Nineteen
  23. Chapter Twenty
  24. Chapter Twenty-one
  25. Chapter Twenty-two
  26. Chapter Twenty-three
  27. Chapter Twenty-four
  28. Chapter Twenty-five
  29. Chapter Twenty-six
  30. Chapter Twenty-seven
  31. Chapter Twenty-eight
  32. Chapter Twenty-nine
  33. Chapter Thirty
  34. Chapter Thirty-one
  35. Chapter Thirty-two
  36. Chapter Thirty-three
  37. Chapter Thirty-four
  38. Chapter Thirty-five
  39. Chapter Thirty-six
  40. Chapter Thirty-seven
  41. Chapter Thirty-eight
  42. Chapter Thirty-nine
  43. Chapter Forty
  44. Chapter Forty-one
  45. Chapter Forty-two
  46. Epilogue
  47. Extract from Those Faraday Girls
  48. Acknowledgements
  49. About the Author
  50. Also by Monica McInerney

OLIVIA: She rang again. Twice. I didn’t answer. She left a message. I played it back. She was weeping, but she was still angry at me. She said I was right. That she was a bitch. A selfish bitch. That she didn’t deserve Eliza. That maybe it would be better for everyone if she took herself out of Eliza’s life. That she would do it as gently as possible. Not make a mess. A bath. A pill. Lots of wine. She even laughed. ‘I’m making it sound quite idyllic, aren’t I?’ That was the last thing she said to me. Perhaps the last thing she ever said to anyone.

LONG PAUSE.

JEANNIE CONTINUES SWINGING.

OLIVIA: When Eliza rang me five hours later, I was in the office at work. Her name came up on my phone, and somehow I knew. I knew in that moment what had happened. I don’t know how. In that moment, before I answered, before I’d had it confirmed, I knew I would have to lie.

JEANNIE, SOFTLY, SING-SONG, STILL SWINGING: Liar, liar, pants on fire.

OLIVIA: The only person who ever heard the truth about those conversations is Maxie. I lied about them to Eliza. I lied to the police. The coroner. I lied to Edgar when I told him about it. I told everyone who asked me that yes, Jeannie had rung me five times that day, but I said it was because she was so excited Eliza was coming home again. That she had come up with all sorts of plans for us to get together at Christmas. That she wanted to ask my advice about Eliza’s uni accommodation. I lied when I told everyone that she had sounded so happy. So full of plans for the future, for herself and for Eliza. I lied and I lied and I lied.

STAGE FADES TO BLACK. TEN SECONDS LATER, A SPOTLIGHT APPEARS ON MAXIE AT STAGE RIGHT. JEANNIE IS STILL VISIBLE, GENTLY SWINGING BACK AND FORTH.

MAXIE: Olivia rang me in New Zealand that night as soon as she could. Not immediately. After she’d hung up from Eliza, she rang the emergency services. She wasn’t sure if Eliza was able to do it, after what she’d seen, the shock she was in. I can remember exactly what she said to me. ‘Jeannie’s dead, Maxie. She’s killed herself. In the bath. Pills and wine. Oh Jesus, Maxie, oh Jesus. It’s my fault.’ I didn’t reply to that. I was too busy thinking, ‘No, it’s my fault. Olivia, it’s my fault, not yours.’ [PAUSE]