‘Marmite!’ she shouted. ‘Bloody Marmite! But I hate the stuff!’ But she was giggling again. ‘You are a fagician,’ she said. ‘You’ve made me love Marmite.’
‘I don’t know if there’s ever going to be a me and someone ever again,’ said Rosie.
‘Why not?’
She hesitated, but then suddenly the words tumbled out. ‘I think I might still be in love with someone I was in love with years ago…’
‘Ah…’ Martin nodded as though he was a doctor listening to a patient list her ailments.
‘My head is full of him and I haven’t let him go. I haven’t thought about him for years, but now I realise that he was there, all the time, I was ignoring it. But I don’t want to ignore it any more. And I don’t want to let go.’
Martin was quiet for a moment. ‘Fair enough.’
She looked at him. ‘And if there was to be a me and someone else, then it would be you.’
‘That’s very decent of you,’ he said. ‘I appreciate the offer. It’s better to be in the running than not even at the start line.’ He paused. ‘Where is this fella, then?’
‘He lives in America.’
‘Long way away. Now, if you’d said Wicklow or Kildare, we could have done something about it.’
‘Maybe. But it’s no good. We had our chance. He’s got his life, I’ve got mine. He’s not going to stay in the hotel with me and I’m not going to leave the hotel.’
‘Tricky one.’
‘Isn’t it?’
Grace and François were giggling and throwing crisps in the air, trying to catch them in their mouths.
‘Grand, so.’ Martin stood up, rubbing his hands together. ‘Well, I appreciate you telling me. And so, we’re friends, you and me. Okay. I got your back as well as all your plumbing and electrical needs.’
But she was distracted by the sight of Patrick, spotlit by the moon, walking towards them. His eyes on Rosie’s, burning into hers. Martin turned his head to see who she was staring at and then back at Rosie.
‘Everything all right?’ said Rosie, startled. She stood up. ‘How’s the party going?’
‘Oh, I’m ready for bed,’ he said. ‘And I just thought… I just wanted…’
Martin looked from Rosie to Patrick, as though he understood. ‘Good night,’ he said, giving Rosie a quick smile. ‘See you both.’ And he walked past them, along the moonlit path, round to the front of the hotel.
Patrick stood looking at her and then they both moved towards each other and she felt Patrick take her hand and, in an instant, she was in his arms, melting against his chest, his lips on her hair. It was like time travel, nothing had changed and she could hear his heart beating. ‘Rosie,’ he said. ‘Oh, Rosie.’
‘Patrick?’ She lifted her head. What did this mean, what did he want? Was this the end? Was he saying goodbye? She realised she didn’t ever want to say goodbye to him, ever again. She couldn’t stand it. No one had ever compared to him, she felt exactly the same as she had done ten years earlier when she thought her life was over now her heart had broken into a million pieces.
‘Rosie…’ he whispered. ‘Come with me to Boston. I asked before and you said no, but will you come now?’
This was it, this was the beginning of her happy ending. This was where she would say yes and the credits would roll and her life would suddenly open up in a million different ways. Fireworks in the end credits would be a nice touch. All she had to say was ‘yes’.
‘No.’
He pulled back, immediately stiffening, and looked at her.
‘I can’t…’ She hated her voice then, all weaselly and weak. But she was scared, the thought of stepping into the unknown where so much could go wrong and where she might be engulfed by failure and chaos. Hiding in the hotel was all she was able for. ‘Patrick… I can’t… this is my home. My life. Everything. My mother’s hotel…’
They were back to exactly where they were ten years earlier.
Patrick had frozen from the moment she hesitated, the intensity and passion had dissipated and he was back to being his cool, smooth self. She was about to speak when there was a voice in the darkness.
‘Patrick?’ It was an American accent. A beautiful blonde woman was looking at them, a smile on her lips, as though amused. ‘I thought I’d surprise you. I have a room in some hotel nearby but I thought I’d say hello, but I think I might be disturbing something…’ She raised an eyebrow at Patrick and then Rosie. Behind them, Grace and François appeared. ‘Well, hello to all of you,’ said the woman with a laugh. ‘Doesn’t this look cosy?’ She shot a look at Patrick. ‘And I thought you were coming over to be best man.’
