A Week in Winter(20)

Chicky was there too with towels and a sense of control that calmed them down. The baby girl and boy were born and in Carmel’s arms well before dawn.

When Miss Queenie came to breakfast, she found Chicky and Dr Dai having a brandy with their coffee.

‘I missed it all,’ she said, disappointed.

‘You can go over and see them in half an hour. The nurse is there at the moment. They’re all fine,’ the doctor said.

‘Thanks be to the good Lord. Now I think I should have a tiny brandy too, to wet the babies’ heads.’

All day they went in and out to see the new babies.

Miss Queenie could see family resemblances already, even though they were only a few hours old. The little boy was the image of Rigger; the girl had Carmel’s eyes. She was dying to know what they would call them.

Chicky was about to say that the parents probably needed time but no, they had the names ready. The boy would be Macken after Carmel’s father, and the girl would be Rosemary. Or maybe Rosie.

‘Where did you get that name?’ Chicky asked.

‘It’s Miss Queenie’s name. She was baptised Rosemary,’ Rigger said.

Chicky smiled at him through her tears. Imagine, Rigger, the sulky, mutinous boy who had arrived on her doorstep, knowing that and having the kindness to think of honouring the old lady. She felt a wave of sadness that Nuala couldn’t share this excitement. It was as if she herself had taken over Nuala’s role as a second grandmother for the babies. Nuala should be here, wresting the power from Granny Hickey instead of living in some mad guilty fog in Dublin and working herself to death for nothing.

But it was such a pleasure to look at Miss Queenie. Nobody had ever taken to child-minding like she had.

‘Well I never thought this would happen!’ Miss Queenie would say in wonder. ‘You see, our own children didn’t materialise and I never had any nieces so there would have been nobody to be called after me, and now there is.’

There was a lot of nose-blowing and clearing of throats and then Miss Queenie asked suddenly, ‘Is Nuala just delighted that the babies are here?’

Nuala.

Nobody had actually told her yet.

‘If you’d like me to . . .?’ Chicky began.

‘No, I’ll call her myself,’ Rigger said. He went away from the group and dialled his mother’s number.

‘Oh, Rigger?’ She sounded tired, but then she probably was tired. Who knew how many cleaning jobs she had taken on these days.

‘I thought you’d want to know. The babies are here: a boy and a girl.’

‘That’s good news. Is Carmel all right?’

‘Yes, she’s fine. It all happened very quickly and the children are perfect. Perfect. They weighed four and a half pounds each. They’re beautiful, Mam.’

‘I’m sure they are.’ Her voice still flat rather than excited.

‘Mam, when I was being born, was it quick or did it take a long time?’

‘It took a long time.’

‘And were you all on your own in a hospital?’

‘Well, there were nurses around and other mothers having babies.’

‘But there was nobody of your own with you?’

‘No. What does it matter now? It’s long ago.’

‘It must have been terrible for you.’

There was a silence.

‘We are going to call them Rosie and Macken,’ he said.

‘That will be nice.’

‘You did say you didn’t want us to call her Nuala.’

‘Yes I did, Rigger, and I meant it. Stop apologising. Rosie is fine.’

‘She’s going to run the world, Mam. Her and her brother.’

‘Yes, of course.’

And then she was gone.

What kind of woman could care so little about the birth of grandchildren? It wasn’t normal. But then, since that night after the episode in Malone’s butcher’s shop, Mam had not been normal. Had he in fact driven her mad?

Rigger would not allow it to get him down. This was the best day of his life.

It would not be ruined.

There was no shortage of people to help with the twins, and the babies grew to feel equally at home in their own house and in the big house. They would sleep in their pram while Chicky and Carmel went through catalogues and fabric samples at the kitchen table. Or if everyone was out, Miss Queenie sat there staring into the two little faces. And occasionally picking Gloria up on to her lap in case the cat felt jealous.

Nasey announced that he was going to get married in Dublin to a really wonderful woman called Irene. He hoped that Rigger and Carmel would come to his wedding.

They discussed it. They didn’t want to leave home, and yet they wanted to be there to support Nasey as he had them. They were also dying to see this Irene. They had thought Nasey was well beyond romance. It would be the ideal way for them to meet Nuala on neutral ground.

‘She’ll be bowled over when she sees the children,’ Rigger said.

‘We can’t take Rosie and Macken.’

‘We can’t leave them.’

‘Yes we can. For one night. Chicky and Miss Queenie will look after them. My mother will. There’s a dozen people who will.’

‘But I want her to meet them.’ Rigger sounded like a six-year-old.