‘Auntie Cassie, hi.’ Miri stepped forward and they hugged. Feeling the warmth of the young woman’s body, it finally hit home that she was forgiven.
‘I look like shite,’ declared Mam.
‘You do not. Give over,’ said Maxine, who’d always had a less guarded relationship with their mother. ‘At least you don’t have to worry about acne, be thankful for that.’
‘No, but I have to worry about eye bags from stress, and that’s worse,’ Mam countered, refusing to be comforted. ‘I’ve been living in my eye mask, day and night.’
‘Will I make you a cup of tea, Granny?’ said Charlotte, Maxine’s younger daughter.
‘That’d be lovely, darling, thank you, you’re so good.’
‘They really should be the bridesmaids, not us pair of crocks,’ said Maxine.
It was funny, Cassie thought, just how quickly they’d reverted back to old patterns. In one way it was lovely and nostalgic; on the other hand, it reminded her just how feisty Maxine could be. She wasn’t the angry young woman who’d left Ireland all those years ago; she’d become a confident mama bear, as she referred to herself, and Cassie was conscious there was a whole new person to get to know.
Eric appeared from the garden, looking businesslike and carrying a sweeping brush.
‘Had a gander at the ground, I’d say the going’s soft to fair. But, given there’s another day to go .?.?.’
Mam was not to be mollified.
‘Yes, but they’ll be putting up the marquee tomorrow, tramping round and hammering pegs in .?.?. Sure, by the end of it this place will be like the Okavango Delta. Cassie, love, will you pop out and get me forty sets of those plastic things you stick on stiletto heels to stop them sinking.’
Cassie’s heart sank. First of all, popping anywhere felt quite beyond her, and secondly, where in the name of God was she going to find that lot? Maxine must have read her face. She winked and said, ‘Come on, Cassie, we’ll go on a mission. Girls, you can look after Granny.’
They trailed around the Dundrum shopping centre for an hour, finally managing to locate enough wretched heel protectors, which they had to admit would be badly needed. Finally, they slumped down in an airy café and ordered tea.
‘Hell, the jet lag’s getting to me, I feel like I got up at four in the morning. It’s like I’m actually being pinned to this chair,’ said Maxine.
Cassie was going to reply, when her phone buzzed with a text from a number she didn’t recognise. She read out the text:
Sorry I was mean. You are a nice person. S
She looked at it in puzzlement for a few minutes and then the penny dropped.
‘Samantha. Bloody hell, talk about too little, too late.’
‘Am I allowed to ask?’
Cassie explained the situation to her, about Finn and his children. Maxine listened intently.
‘Trust me, thirteen- and fourteen-year-olds don’t know shit but they think they’re Oprah.’
Cassie was conscious she hadn’t mentioned the biggest thing of all. Somehow, with Pal and Josie it’d been totally different but there was absolutely no way she was going to steal Mam’s thunder, nor was she ready for the avalanche of opinions that were bound to land on her head.
‘I’m sorry it’s worked out like that and if there’s anything I can do .?.?. I know things haven’t been so great between us .?.?. and I’m sorry for that, but I’d like you to feel you could come to me.’
Cassie nodded. Actually, Maxine’s awkward offer meant the world. She didn’t have to tell her sister everything, but just knowing that she could felt like an old, empty space had been filled. She smiled.
‘Come on, sis, let’s go home and try on these wretched bridesmaids’ dresses. And if they’re too long .?.?.’
‘Gotcha. Too late for hems. From here on in, it’s platform shoes.’
* * *
The day before the wedding dawned cloudy but dry. The seagulls had migrated out of the garden, so that at least was a good omen. At 10 a.m. the truck with the marquee arrived, accompanied by a few of the neighbours, who came out to have a gawk. They’d been invited to the afters, so thankfully there was no embarrassment. Cassie, Maxine and the two girls were busy hoovering and dusting.
‘Never mind about the plates and silverware, the caterers are bringing all of that,’ said Mam. ‘Now, we’re all going for a manicure at three, so look nice.’
