Enya felt her stomach jump, wondering where this was heading, fearing the turmoil his words might unleash. She stared at him, unwilling to offer comment until he had finished.
‘I love them both. But I don’t love Holly in the way that you need to for a marriage to work. I just don’t. Not in the way I love Iris.’
Love but not in love...a phrase that both Dominic and Trish had used in confidence.
‘Right.’ Enya exhaled, unaware that she’d been holding her breath.
‘Do you think it’s possible to love two people at the same time in two completely different ways?’ he asked, with so much hope it was quite moving.
Enya pictured Jonathan, her beloved husband, who would have so relished this day, Amelia Jennifer Enya Brown’s birthday! And Dominic, who she still liked to picture the first time she saw him, in his jeans, navy long-sleeved T-shirt, and that beautiful song playing on his car stereo. The words of which had taken on even more significance since Aiden and Iris’s wedding day.
‘I do, my love. I honestly do.’
‘Aiden!’ Iris called as she ran into the kitchen. ‘I didn’t hear you come back!’
Enya watched as he jumped up to embrace her.
‘What did we get?’ Iris asked, while gripping him tightly, and Aiden held the back of her head in his palm.
‘We got a little girl, Amelia, and she’s perfect.’
‘Of course she is.’ Iris kissed his face. ‘Congratulations, my love.’
Enya looked away, as if the interaction was not something she should be witnessing. Another life-altering minute that would shape this young couple, laying good foundations for a lovely future.
A knock at the front door drew them all.
‘It’s like Piccadilly Circus!’ She tried to lighten the atmosphere as she went to get the door.
Her heart thudded in anticipation when she saw that Phil was standing on the step.
‘Enya!’ he almost shouted, even though they were no more than feet apart, his grin wide, his hands joined together as if in prayer. ‘Oh, my Lord, you should see her! She’s beautiful! Absolutely beautiful! A little smasher! And Holly was a bloody superstar. I can’t believe she’s here! I’m a grandad! You’re a gran!’
‘Yes!’ She smiled. ‘I am.’
‘I’ve left Jen with the girls, she’s a wreck, of course! But what a day, Ens! What a day!’ Phil took a step inside, and Enya stood back to let him pass. ‘What would Jonathan make of all this, eh?’
‘He’d be over the moon, Phil.’
He reached out and placed his hand on her arm, the man who had been her husband’s good pal, her friend too, and who now saw the occasion of their granddaughter’s birth as a catalyst, an opportunity to turn back the clock. A chance to recapture the closeness they had shared, to reach out the hand of love and friendship, and make sure that the safety net that would holdAmelia fast was strong and reliable. A safety net that would be there for all of them, each holding a corner, with space enough for any of them to take a rest should the need arise.
‘I’ve got loads of photos!’ Phil took his phone from his pocket and made his way into the kitchen.
Aiden released Iris from his embrace and reached for her hand. ‘Phil, this is Iris.’
‘Pleased to meet you, love.’ Phil smiled directly at her, before turning to Enya. The interaction she had been quietly dreading was speedily done, over, and had passed without anguish. ‘He did good today. That boy of ours. He did really good.’
Enya swallowed the lump of emotion that had risen in her throat. There it was, confirmation that her son was back in the fold, forgiven, and with it, she felt the encircling arms of the street of her community around her, holding her tight. ‘Cup of tea, Phil?’
She went over to the kettle, glad of the diversion and the opportunity to gather herself, welcoming the three minutes it would buy her.
Phil studied the pictures on his phone and did his best to halt the tears that gathered. ‘Ooh yes please, Jen said she’d come straight here when she leaves the hospital.’
‘Right.’
She felt the rise of joy in her stomach,my friend is coming here... my very best friend...
‘Couple of rounds of toast wouldn’t go amiss, Ens!’ Phil shouted.
