‘Happy Christmas,’ she whispered to Sam as his eyes blinked open.
‘Happy Christmas.’ He smiled sleepily, his voice husky. He gave her a soft, sleepy kiss that quickly became more urgent and intent, and they spent a very pleasurable couple of hours before getting up to join the others for breakfast.
After breakfast there was a flurry of activity getting everything ready for their drinks party. Sive was nervous about meeting Inez and she was glad to have plenty to do to distract her. She felt a jittery flutter in her stomach every time the doorbell rang, relieved each time it wasn’t Ben. But as more and more guests arrived, she started to relax and enjoy herself. Before long, the living room was abuzz with chatter and the tinkle of glasses, and she was too absorbed in catching up with friends and neighbours to worry about Ben. Rocco’s family were all there, and Mimi’s friend Catherine, who was home from LA for the holidays, and several members of the Halfpenny Lane company dropped in. Sive was touched that Ciara had come, bringing Jack as well as her older son Joe, who was chatting to Sam.
‘What did you get for Christmas?’ Sive asked Jack.
‘I got a bunch of games and a new PS5, so I don’t have to share one with Joe now.’ Sive was momentarily surprised by his normal Dublin accent. She still wasn’t used to it.
‘Wow, lucky you!’
‘Very indulgent, I know,’ Ciara said to Sive, with a hand on Jack’s shoulder. ‘But we’ve had a good year. Haven’t we, bud?’ She smiled at her son.
‘Well, it’s a good thing you gave up the Method acting in time for Christmas,’ Sive said to Jack. ‘Or you might have found yourself getting an orange and a top.’
‘I got a top too,’ he said, running his hands down his box-fresh sweatshirt. ‘And jeans.’
‘Well, you look very smart. But I meant a spinning top – it’s an old-fashioned toy.’
‘Oh? What does it do?’
‘It’s just a piece of wood on a string that you spin on the floor.’
‘Sounds lame.’ Jack turned as the door opened and Maria and Alex came in. ‘Alex!’
Sive laughed as he charged off to meet his friend. ‘How are things going with your new beau?’ she asked Ciara.
‘Great. He’s coming for dinner with us later.’
‘Oh, exciting! You’ve told the boys about him, then?’
Ciara nodded. ‘Joe has met him and he really took to him. And Jack’s delighted.’ Ciara glanced at her watch. ‘Speaking of dinner, I’d better get home soon and keep an eye on the turkey.’ She drained her glass. ‘I’ll just go and say hello to Maria before we go.’
‘Well, it was lovely to see you. Thanks for coming.’
Sive was touched that so many people had made the time to come for a drink when they must all be busy with their own family visits and dinner preparations.
‘No Andrea?’ Mitch asked, sidling up to her and looking around furtively. ‘Or have I missed her?’
‘No, she’s gone to her parents’ place in Cork for Christmas. Why, were you hoping to bump into her?’
‘Au contraire. I almost didn’t come for fear I would.’
Sive laughed.
A few minutes later, she glanced across the room to wave hello to Chloe, who had just arrived, and was surprised to see that Ben was already there in the far corner with his parents and Inez, who she recognised from her social media pictures, though she was shorter than Sive had imagined. They were talking to Aoife as she handed them drinks. She hadn’t even noticed them come in while she was chatting to Mitch.
Ben caught her eye and he gave her a little wave. She waved back, but continued talking to Mitch, not feeling ready to go over and say hello yet. It would have been fine if it was just him and his parents. But Anna … Inez, she corrected herself. There was no more Anna Purna. There never had been. There was just Inez, a real flesh-and-blood woman who Ben lived with now, a woman who would be part of their child’s life.
In Sive’s imagination, she’d grown into an intimidating Amazonian, as tall and daunting as the mountain range she’d named her after. The reality was something quite different and far more approachable – a perfectly ordinary young woman of around Sive’s own age – freckle-faced, pretty, with reddish-brown hair in a short, layered cut that Sive imagined would be handy for someone with an outdoorsy lifestyle.
Finally, she couldn’t put it off any longer. She took a deep breath and made her way through the crowd to Ben before she could second-guess herself – best to get this over with. His face registered a mixture of pleasure and panic as he saw her approach.
‘Hi, Sive!’ Ben’s voice was pitchy with nerves, and she was strangely comforted that he found this as awkward as she did.
She greeted Cal and Bridget with a quick peck on the cheek and a one-armed hug as they were all holding glasses.
‘This is Inez,’ Ben said, nodding to the woman beside him.
