As much as I couldn’t see myself leaving my beloved city, the days and especially the nights became increasingly hard without John.
Was it a sign of weakness that I was so emotionally dependent on him already?
Or was that what a normal relationship felt like?
I ached for him so badly I seriously contemplated moving over to the wet wild west just to wake up with him each day.
I had it so bad, I barely recognised myself.
But it seemed we were growing together. He regularly reminded me that, as new as this was to me, it was also new to him. We were in it together.
I took some small comfort in that.
Chapter Twenty
SATURDAY 29TH SEPTEMBER
John had popped into town to pick up some chocolate croissants and a newspaper. I perched on a stool at the island, sipping a black coffee. The sharp bang of the front door made me jump, before a uniformed policewoman strutted straight into the kitchen. My heart lurched violently into my mouth. For a split second I jumped to the worst conclusion, wondering if there had been an accident. My knuckles turned white as I clasped my hands in anticipation.
‘You must be Lucy, I’m Jane. I live next door,’ the woman introduced herself and I kicked myself for not immediately realising who she was.
Why is it that I’m so quick to jump to the worst scenario? Possibly because I couldn’t believe I’d found someone like John. On my darkest nights, I worried not only that he might leave me, but that he might be taken from me another way.
‘Jane.’ I stood up to greet her, looking apologetically at my leggings and John’s T-shirt. I hadn’t yet showered, hoping he might join me when he arrived home.
‘I was meaning to drop in before, but I kept missing you. Shift work.’ She shrugged her shoulders. The Garda uniform was a bit off-putting, but true to form, Jane’s make-up wasimmaculate, like she’d just stepped out of a salon. She was another stunner. High cheekbones, perfectly set kohl-lined eyes and full lips. John’s neighbours were no joke, I’d seriously have to up my game. The women were like the cast from Wysteria Lane.
‘It’s so lovely to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you,’ I said.
‘Well, that can’t be good. Mind you, I haven’t had to arrest John yet, so it mightn’t be too bad. I’m on my break from work and I passed John on the outskirts of town. He said you were here and it might be a good time to say hi.’
‘It’s perfect, sit down I’ll make you a coffee.’ I went to the Nespresso machine.
‘How do you find the place?’ she asked.
I gave her the same answer I gave to everyone. It rolled off the lips these days. ‘It’s absolutely beautiful, but very different.’
‘Aye. I know. I’m from Donegal myself.’ That explained her absolutely fabulous accent, different to anyone else I’d been introduced to. It was a soft, distinctive lull that I could listen to all day.
‘Blow-ins,’ she said.
‘Sorry?’
‘We’re blow-ins. That’s what they call us. Those that aren’t from around here.’
It was nice to meet someone who didn’t grow up with everyone else, or have a story about everyone they met. In that moment, I knew we were going to be great friends. I’d found an ally in this tiny town. We exchanged a grin in an unspoken agreement.
John returned ten minutes later to find myself and Jane sitting in the sunroom with our coffees, me clutching my stomach as she regaled an incident where she’d had to arrest a man for drink driving. When she pulled him over to breathalysehim; he had no trousers on, and no underwear either. His wife had caught him in bed with her sister and thrown him out, literally with his trousers round his ankles.
‘I knew you two would get on like a house on fire,’ John said over the laughter. The tears streamed down my face as she explained that the man in question was actually wearing a baseball cap, which he then used to hide his man parts as best he could.
‘Poor, Michael Maloney.’ John knew exactly who she was talking about, small town and all that.
‘No, poor Mary Maloney more like! The silly mare took him back after that,’ she said in horror. ‘Can you even imagine?’
‘Well, I suppose I’m not exactly one to be judging anyone else,’ I confessed.
‘At least you left your husband,’ Jane said bluntly. After a split second of uncertainty, the three of us erupted in another bout of belly laughter.
