‘Mike went out to play golf yesterday.’
Cassie remembered the wide smile and confident air of the handsome Mike.
‘OK, that’s his thing, isn’t it?’
‘Except that he went out at noon yesterday and didn’t come home until after one in the morning, and now he’s still in bed snoring and I want to wake him to ask him where the hell he was. And if you find yourself needing to do that, well .?.?. So, when I saw your name coming up on the phone, honestly, I couldn’t have been happier.’
‘I was afraid you’d be tied up, everyone’s so manically busy these days.’
‘Feck ’em, I’m not.’
As briefly as possible, she explained to Louise the drama about Mam’s wedding plans and how she was essentially being booted out of the love-nest.
‘Oh, that’s disturbing. I don’t care what age you are .?.?.’ After thinking for a moment, Louise went on, ‘You’ll want to kill me for this but it’s probably for the best in the long run. You need your own place, girl. It could be fun.’
‘That’s what I’ve been trying to tell myself but it’s so minging out there.’ Despite her best efforts, she heard her voice crack. ‘I’m sorry, Louise, I actually phoned you for a laugh. I didn’t mean to be such a big baby.’
‘I get it. Believe me. Everyone keeps telling me how fantastic my life is, except the one person I really need to hear it from.’
And there it was. The world wasn’t necessarily crammed full of dewy-eyed ecstatically happy people.
‘You’re a lovely person and you deserve nothing but the best.’
‘You know what,’ said Louise, ‘I think I might actually be able to help.’
‘You’re kidding? I’ve been flicking through the rooms to rent. One advertised a “charming room with mezzanine”. Seriously, when I looked closely, it was just a big shelf nailed to the wall with a ladder up to it. If you turned over in bed you could plummet to your death, and any nookie could cause a full-on earthquake,’ lamented Cassie. ‘I was just getting over that when the next one said, “bed for rent”. You don’t even get the room and when I phoned, they explained it’s a timeshare on the bed!’
Louise burst out laughing. ‘Fancy living, or what? You could invite the girls round to dinner .?.?. Can you imagine Norah’s face. She’d have to bring her Dettol spray and latex gloves.’
They both rocked with laughter.
‘And Celine would be posting it on Instagram for likes, and I’d be made a total show of and have to go round with a bag over my head,’ said Cassie.
‘Wait, don’t panic yet! My sister has a friend who’s looking for a flatmate .?.?. again .?.?.’
Excitement prevented her from registering how Louise’s voice petered out.
‘Are you serious? Please don’t get my hopes up, not after the morning I’ve had.’
‘Do you mind .?.?. very loud people?’
‘Loud? At this stage I’d share with a howler monkey if I could afford it.’
‘In that case you’ll be fine. Ramona’s fun. In fact, she pretty much defines the term.’
Chapter 11
The speed with which everything fell into place made Cassie’s head spin. On Sunday they had the ‘I have a friend .?.?.’ conversation and by Monday evening she was driving in Louise’s car towards Ramona’s apartment in posh Dublin 4. They made their way through the glass doors and across the marble floor of the entrance, past the floor-to-ceiling windows and the enormous artwork in the foyer, and took the burnished lift up to the fourth floor.
‘Why are we here, Louise? There isn’t a hope in holy hell I’ll be able to afford this. What’s she like? What do you know about her? I mean, how come this amazing apartment is available instantly?’
‘Ramona is a little .?.?. different,’ explained Louise carefully.
‘That’s OK, so am I.’
There was something about Louise’s demeanour that made her panic slightly. Too late for that. Here they were at 16D, Ramona’s door. As they knocked and waited, Cassie could feel the tingle of excitement at the prospect of living in such a ritzy location, light years away from the depressing properties she’d been viewing online. Perhaps it would all work out, perhaps fortune favoured the bold and all of her risky decisions would be proved right. Just then the door swung open.
‘Well, hey, babies!!’
