There’s a silence which he finally fills. ‘You’re English, right?’ He waves his pen at me.
‘Sort of.’ I don’t want to tell him my name any more than I want to say where I’ve come from. I don’t want anything to connect me to home. I mean, who knows, I could be trending on Twitter by now and another little piece of me dies with embarrassment. ‘Moved around a lot,’ I say through a dry mouth.
‘English …’ he writes down.
‘That’s right, Fi English.’ I’m not great at thinking on my feet but that’ll do. If my shambolic wedding becomes an internet sensation, no one here will be any the wiser.
He looks at me.
‘Fi English,’ he repeats slowly.
Tiredness is starting to getthe better of me. I just need to get this over and done with and then I’ll have to work out where I’m going to stay tonight.
‘And what skills do you think you could bring to the table?’ He’s looking right at me over his glasses again. It feels as though he can see into my soul and knows everything about me. He has a long nose that looks like it could have been broken a few times. Maybe he’s played a lot of sport. Or maybe he’s got into one too many fights, I think guardedly. He pushes back his long curly hair from his weather-beaten face while he waits for my answer.
‘Well, I, um, I …’ My mind has gone completely blank again. I’d be like this onWho Wants to Be a Millionaire. I hate pressure. It’s all very well Brian and me shouting the answers at the telly from the comfort of the leather settee, but if I was actually there I doubt I’d even be able to get my favourite colour right. I’d probably answer brown instead of lilac. Lilac always reminds me of the garden of a foster home I stayed in once. But this isn’t helping me think about my skills. Come on, brain!
‘Tell you what, how about we start with proper introductions. I’m Sean Thornton and I’ve advertised for an assistant, a Girl Friday so to speak, to help me out on my farm. I’ve got … a lot on and I need extra help.’ He looks over at the rubber-neckers in the corner. The barmaid returns and puts down the water in front of me.
‘And this is Margaret,’ he says with a little laugh as she puts her hands on her hips and cocks her head, ‘our friendly barmaid.’
‘Hey!’ she flicks him playfully with a tea towel. I find a little smile tugging at the corner of my mouth, or maybe it’s just the tension relaxing a little. I really need this job. I’ve got nowhere to stay and no money. There’s a lot to feel tense about.
‘Thank you,’ I say, and sip the water.
‘You’re welcome,’ she replies, and turns to go back to the bar.
‘So, do you have any experience in the food production industry?’ he asks as Margaret sashays away without him really noticing. He’s looking right at me. Suddenly, I can answer this one.
‘Oh yes! I’ve worked in a bakery since I was fifteen,’ I say, slightly encouraged. ‘And I work answering the phones at a local radio station at the weekends,’ I add, remembering what he’d said earlier. Or should that be ‘worked’?
‘Any other skills, courses you’ve been on?’
‘Well, I did a health and safety course at work,’ I offer, and he writes it down and then when I can’t think of anything else, I add, ‘and a sailing course once too.’ My mouth dries and I sip the water again.
‘And you see yourself being here for a while?’ He looks at me seriously. I’m not sure what to say, but I do know I need this job. I nod.
‘No family here?’ He’s making notes on his pad. Under the table I feel for my wedding ring. It slides around my finger. I turn my engagement ring into my palm. It’s harder to move as it’s been on there a long time. I slide it up my finger and rub the dent it’s left. I slide it back and shake my head.
‘No, no family.’
‘So you don’t know the area very well?’ he quizzes me.
I shake my head again. I have a feeling this is taking a downturn.
‘And it’s just the bakery work you’re used to, no other food?’
Again, and feeling rather pathetic now, I shake my head. He looks at his notebook again, then starts to put it away. Now what am I going to do? I’ll have to go back to the Garda in the Portakabin, if he hasn’t clocked off, and tell him I’m stuck. If I thought today couldn’t get any worse, it just did.
‘Well,’ I give a little cough. ‘Thanks anyway.’ I go tostand, feeling a little choked. Sean suddenly turns back to me with a huge smile on his face.
‘Where are you going?’
‘I take it I’m not what you’re looking for,’ I say, not needing to hear his reply.
‘You’ve no experience and no knowledge of the area,’ he states the obvious. ‘You’re exactly what I’m looking for! When can you start?’ His eyes are wild and excited and his change of tack completely disarms me, like Willy Wonka inCharlie and the Chocolate Factory– you never really knew what he was going to say or do next.
‘You’re joking, right?’ is all I can think of saying.
