A Week in Winter(36)

‘What? I didn’t order . . .’

‘God, Winnie, you’ve had dinner with Lillian. You probably need a blood transfusion or shock treatment but I brought you coffee, croissants and a Bloody Mary to get you on your feet.’

‘She’s not important. I’m going back to Dublin on the next train. I’m not letting her get to me. Believe me, I know when to leave the stage.’

‘Drink the Bloody Mary first. Go on, Winnie, drink it. It’s full of good things like lemon juice and celery salt and Tabasco.’

‘And vodka,’ Winnie said.

‘Desperate needs, desperate remedies.’ Gretta held out the glass and Winnie drank it.

‘Why does she hate me?’ Winnie was begging to know.

‘She doesn’t hate you. She’s just so afraid of losing Teddy. She grows claws whenever anyone looks as if they might take him away. This side of her comes out when she’s in a panic. But she’s not getting away with it this time.’

During the coffee, Gretta explained that there was a wedding in the hotel that day and that a hairdresser was on hand. She would come to the room and do a quick job on Winnie and then so would the make-up artist.

‘It’s too late for all this makeover stuff,’ Winnie wailed. ‘She saw me the way I was. I deliberately didn’t bring any smart clothes because I didn’t want to dazzle her. Me dazzle her? I must have been mad.’

‘I have a gorgeous top I’m going to lend you. She’s never seen it. It’s the real deal – a Missoni. Truly top drawer. I got it from one of those outlet places. You’ll knock her eyes out.’

‘I don’t want to knock her eyes out. I don’t care about her or her son.’

‘None of us cares about her, but we all love Teddy. You’re the only one who can save him. Go on, Winnie, one lunch. You can do it. Believe it or not, underneath she’s a very decent person.’

And somehow Winnie found herself in the shower and then with a hairdresser and having her eyebrows plucked and a blusher applied to her cheekbones. Eyeshadow to match the beautiful lilac and aquamarine colours of the Italian designer blouse.

‘Even if you are leaving the stage, then leave it fighting,’ Gretta warned as she admired the results.

‘Get back and deal with the wedding, Gretta. This is your bread and butter. Your livelihood.’

‘I don’t care about the wedding. I care about getting Teddy out from under that woman’s thumb. Look, Winnie, she is our friend, but Teddy must be allowed to live his own life, and you are the one who will do it. I don’t know how but it will come to you.’

‘I’m not going to issue any ultimatums. Either Teddy wants to be with me or he doesn’t.’

‘Oh, Winnie, if only life was as easy. You don’t do weddings every week like we do all year long; you don’t know the rocky roads to the altar.’

‘I’d prefer a road with no rocks, a pleasant, easy road and to walk it alone,’ Winnie said.

‘You can do this. Go for it, Winnie,’ Gretta begged.

Lillian had gathered over a dozen people for lunch. Fresh salmon was served with new potatoes and minted peas. There were very elegant salads with asparagus and avocado, walnuts and blue cheese.

Winnie looked around her. This was a very comfortable, charming house: there were wooden floors with rugs; big chintz-covered sofas and chairs were dotted around, framed family photographs covered the little side table.

A conservatory, where a table of summer drinks was laid out, opened into a well-kept garden. This was Lillian’s domain.

Winnie was impressed but she would not fawn and admire and praise. Instead, she concentrated on the other guests. Despite herself, she found she liked Lillian’s friends.

She was seated next to the local lawyer, who talked about how Ireland had become very litigious with people looking everywhere for compensation, and told her marvellously funny stories about cases he had heard about. On her other side were Hannah and Chester Kovac who had founded and ran a local health centre, and they talked about the problems in the health service. Opposite, there was a gentleman called Neddy, who ran an old people’s home and his wife Clare, who was the headmistress of the local school; their friends, Judy and Sebastian, told her they had started with a small newsagent’s shop in the town centre but now had a large store in the main street of Rossmore. There had been a big fuss about the bypass when people thought that it would take trade away from the town, but it turned out there had been great business in selling Dubliners second homes in the Whitethorn Woods area.

These were normal, warm-hearted people, and they seemed perfectly at ease with Lillian Hennessy. The woman must have a lot more going for her than she was showing to Winnie.

She noticed Lillian glancing at her from time to time with an air of some speculation. It was as if she realised that Winnie had changed in more than her appearance since last night. What Winnie did not notice, however, was the way the lawyer kept refilling her glass with what he said was an excellent Chablis. By the time the strawberries were served, Winnie was not thinking as clearly as she would have liked.

She found herself looking over at Teddy’s face and thinking how genuinely good-natured and warm he was. She admired his courtesy with his mother’s friends, and his eagerness that everyone should have a good time. He looked across at her a lot and always smiled, as if the dream of his life had been realised and that she had come home.