“What do you mean?”
“You could at least talk to him about it. He’s really upset, you know.”
“Has he said something to you?”
“Not to me. But Gerry reckons he’s really cut up. Now he doesn’t know whether he’s made the right decision about moving. You should talk to him you know, you’re not being fair.”
“Hold on a minute. I wasn’t the one that decided to up and leave for Germany out of the blue.”
“Perhaps, but you should at least discuss things properly before he goes? You said yourself that you didn’t give him a chance to explain.”
Karen bit her lip. She desperately wanted to talk to Shane before he left, but she wasn’t going to make the first move.
Tessa read her thoughts. “He’s afraid to contact you. He thinks you’ll tell him where to go. He didn’t think that his moving abroad would put an end to your relationship. Gerry’s never seen him so upset. You must be a right cracker between the sheets.”
Karen had to smile at this. “I was just so angry. He dropped this bombshell and expected me to just go along with it? It was unfair of him to assume that I wouldn’t be upset. After all, he’d known about this for ages, but for me, it all came completely out of the blue.”
Tessa was pragmatic as always. “There’s no point in being pig-headed about it though. He’s leaving soon. Talk to him about it with a clear head before he goes. Then you’ll both be in a better position to make any decisions about the future.”
Karen shook her head, laughing. “You know, you talk an awful lot of sense for a Cork woman.”
“Goes with the territory,” Tessa grinned. “Why don’t you pop up to his place when we’re finished here? No time like the present.”
“OK then. Anything to get you off my back.” Karen finished eating, satisfied that the decision had been made for her.
True enough, there was nothing to be gained from mulling over this. She might as well go and have it out with Shane before he left.
Regardless of the outcome.
13
She decided to pop over to Shane’s on her way home. Now that her mind was made up, there was no point in delaying things. They’d have a good chat and discuss everything properly like adults.
Who knows, maybe the move mightn’t be such a bad thing after all? A break might actually be good for them – absence makes the heart grow fonder, and all that.
As Tessa had said earlier, Karen should probably show him some support. After all, it couldn’t have been an easy decision to leave all his friends and family to start life in another country.
She decided against taking the bus, preferring instead to walk the short distance to where Shane lived and make the most of the fine evening.
Taking in the hustle and bustle around her, Karen marvelled at how easily she had warmed to living in this area of Dublin.
She loved the fact that she could hop on a bus and bein the city centre within twenty minutes. Now, she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else and hoped that someday she’d end up settling down somewhere nearby. The locality had everything – pubs, shops, restaurants and most importantly, good friends and great memories. Shane would definitely miss all this too.
She was looking forward to seeing him now. They had barely spent a night apart since they’d started going out, and it had been ages since the argument. Tessa was right; ignoring one another was immature and pointless; they needed to sort this out.
On the way, Karen stopped off at a nearby corner shop for a packet of Cadbury Chocolate Fingers - his favourite - as a peace offering. Or blackmail she thought, smiling to herself as she paid the shopkeeper.
Then reaching his flat, she headed down the steps to the basement entry and rapped on the door. There was no knocker and the intercom hadn’t worked in years.
No reply.
She knocked loudly again, and when there was still nothing, peered in the living room window looking for signs of life. Until she heard shuffling in the hallway.
Shane opened the door in his boxer shorts, eyes half-closed as he struggled to see against the sunlight.
“Hey,” Karen said shyly, a little taken aback. Now that she was here she didn’t know what to say to him. He must have been asleep because he looked awful.
“Uh – what are youdoing here?” His speech was fuzzy and his expression was wide-eyed.
