*
The residents at Tall Trees were in a frenzy of excitement. The noise level was more like a primary school than a retirement home with laughter echoing through the corridors. Tara and I exchanged a glance and I felt a little flutter of pleasure.
In the lounge, Val was holding court, directing Franklin and Vir who were handing round canapés and drinks. Joyce was wearing a lime-green suit and looked like the queen, and Kenny’s very buff grandson Kyle had arrived and was charming all the elderly ladies. Blessing had said she would go and get my nan before the unveiling, so she could be involved too. There was a real buzz of fun and anticipation in the room.
‘This is all for you,’ Tara said giving me a nudge. ‘You did this.’
I gave her a tight smile as Val rushed up and swept her away, asking questions about prosecco glasses and sausage rolls. I went to walk into the room and found I couldn’t move. I was paralysed with fear – frozen to the spot. “This is all for you,” a voice in my head said. “Do you really deserve it?”
I stood at the door, watching the activity around me with wide eyes, fighting the urge to run away. My breath began to quicken and I pushed my palm against my chest, trying to force myself to breathe normally. But it was too late. My skin was prickling and I knew I was about to panic. I glanced behind me, wondering wildly if I could make a dash for the door, but a group of men in suits – one wearing the thick gold chain of office that told me he was the mayor – was approaching and I didn’t want to barge past the dignitaries and ruin everything.
Trapped, I felt my forehead grow clammy and my head spun as shadows crowded into my vision. And then suddenly someone looped an arm through mine, holding me steady. I glanced round to see Micah looking at me in concern.
‘Okay?’ he said.
I couldn’t speak. I just shook my head, pressing my lips together.
‘Right. Follow my breath,’ he said. ‘In, out, come on. In and out.’
I tried to do as he said, as the crowded room swirled round me.
‘Watch me,’ Micah said. ‘Look right at me. In, out, in, out.’
Slowly my breathing became more regular and steady and my vision cleared.
‘Thank you,’ I said to Micah.
‘Better?’ he asked.
I nodded. ‘Did anyone see?’
‘Nah, they’re all too busy looking at that man’s guns.’ He nodded towards Kyle who was surrounded by eager Tall Trees residents and he gave me a wide grin. ‘I brought a mate.’
For the first time I noticed another teenaged boy standing slightly self-consciously to the side. ‘This is Oz. We do art club together. He’s like a major history geek.’
‘Nice to meet you,’ I said, pleased that Micah was making friends now. Maybe we really had helped each other.
Not wanting to embarrass him in front of his new mate by giving him a hug, I instead gave Micah’s arm a grateful squeeze. ‘What would I do without you?’ I said.
‘You wouldn’t run out of cereal so fast.’
‘There is that.’ I laughed. ‘Go and get yourselves a drink and some food.’
The boys didn’t need to be asked twice. They vanished off in the direction of the buffet and ever so casually I surveyed the room, looking for Finn’s floppy hair. But there was no sign of him.
‘Stephanie?’ Helen was there looking proud as punch with her three identical-looking brothers. She introduced me to them alland I was touched when they all bundled me into an enormous hug.
‘We’re so grateful to you for telling Mammy’s story,’ one of them said when he let me go.
‘It’s a wonderful tale to tell,’ I said. I swapped a little glance with Helen, who gave me a nod. We’d cut the incriminating pages out of the book and then Helen and I had stuck them in the shredder in the office. No one would ever know about what Elsie had done, and that was fine.
‘Your mother was a clever woman,’ I said now, truthfully. ‘She lost so much and then gained a whole new family when she went to Ireland.’
‘Do you know she arrived in Dublin a week or so before the Belfast Blitz?’ one of the brothers said. ‘They weren’t prepared for bombings, and they didn’t have enough ambulances or fire engines.’
‘Or hospital beds,’ said another brother. They’d obviously heard this story many times before.
‘So, when the bombs fell, a load of ambulances and fire engines went up from Dublin to help,’ the man carried on. ‘They put aside all political differences and just helped out. Mammy volunteered at the hospital, because they were short of staff obviously as so many people had gone up to the north. And that’s how she got given her job there after Helen was born.’
