‘But I said we were just friends, and I told her about Mark, and then you come in and say that?—’
‘Sorry.’
She sighed. ‘It’s all right.’
‘We could be friends with benefits.’
‘I suppose.’ She knew her mother wouldn’t bat an eyelid, and it would be handy if Luca could stay here sometimes. She took a handful of glasses from the sideboard and began putting them around. ‘You don’t have to stay for the music, by the way, if you don’t want to.’
‘I’d like to.’
‘They’re pretty good. Jim plays the uilleann pipes, and Mum plays the bodhrán. But feel free to leave any time, if you get bored.’
‘So, what about you? Do you play any instrument?’
‘Not really,’ she said, blushing. ‘I mean I do kind of join in the sessions sometimes, but it’s not exactly an instrument…’
‘Do you sing?’
‘No.’
‘What, then?’
‘It’s kind of embarrassing,’ she said, wincing.
Luca grinned. ‘Is it a comb and paper?’
‘No! Though that’s not far off.’
‘Go on… tell me.’
‘Spoons,’ she mumbled. ‘I play the spoons.’
Luca threw back his head and laughed. ‘You play the spoons? Seriously?’
‘Hey!’ she said, punching his shoulder playfully. ‘Jim taught me when I was a kid.’
‘So is it just the spoons, or do you play any other kitchen implements? Garlic press? Cheese grater?’
‘Okay, it’s not a sexy instrument, I’ll give you that.’
‘It’s not an instrument. It’s cutlery.’
‘Well, it’s more than you can play.’
The doorbell was ringing as she finished setting the table. Espie led everyone into the sitting room and introduced them to Luca.
Lily was a stooped, white-haired lady with a kind, wrinkled face. ‘Luca, I’ll try to remember that,’ she said, as she shook his hand. ‘My memory’s not what it used to be. Lady Gaga, that’s me.’
It was a joke she had made many times before, but Espie, Claire and Jim laughed anyway.
Mary was next, a stout woman with a shock of wiry grey hair and a permanently harried expression, carrying a violin case. ‘Lovely to meet you, Luca,’ she said, as she took his hand in her gnarled, twisted fingers. ‘I brought the fiddle,’ she said, to Espie and Jim, ‘but I don’t know if I’ll be able to play. The arthritis has been very bad this past week. But I’ll give it a go and see how I get on.’
Espie’s neighbours, Nancy and Michael, were carrying guitars. They had lived across the road from Espie since they had moved to Dublin from Cork almost twenty years ago.
Everyone dumped instrument cases and greeted each other before taking their places at the large round table. They were a motley collection of people, brought together at various stages by Espie, but they had forged strong friendships over the years, and Claire was touched by their joy in each other’s company.
‘So, we have new blood,’ Jim said, rubbing his hands as he sat beside Luca.
