They dozed happily until around eleven whereupon he declared that he was once again ravenous.
“Typical,” Jenny teased, sitting up in the bed. “You and your bloody stomach.”
He laughed and kicked her under the sheets. “Come on, woman. You don’t think a man can go like that all night without the need for sustenance?”
“You make a good point.”
He dragged her back down beside him and kissed her deeply. “And,” he added, “you’d better get used to it.”
Jenny looked at his face, not sure what to say. It certainly seemed like this could be the beginning of something good between them, but she wasn’t quite sure how he felt about getting involved with someone else after Rebecca.
“I’m really happy,” he stated matter-of-factly, searching for his boxers at the end of the bed. “You probably know that I’ve fancied you for ages.”
Jenny burst out laughing. He sounded like a school-kid and she realised then that this childlike honesty and unyielding good nature were the things she liked most about him.
This time would be different. He was nothing like Roan - there would be no game-playing, second-guessing or lies.
Mike just didn’t have it in him.
39
“You look fantastic!” Karen enthused, as Jenny skipped across the pedestrian crossing at Stephen’s Green. “You’ve put on some weight too, haven’t you?”
“You honestly think that’s a compliment?” Jenny retorted, but the glint in her eye suggested she wasn’t in the least bit offended.
“It is in this case. You fell away over the last few months, so it’s nice to see you with a bit of colour in your cheeks again.”
“So what’s up?” Jenny asked, studying her friend with some concern. There was no mistaking the strained look on Karen’s face.
“I’ll tell you later,” she said glumly, not wanting to go into the details just yet. “Let’s go somewhere nice for bite – I had an early lunch today and I’m pretty famished.”
They decided on a little pizza pasta spot just off Grafton Street.
“So, tell me your news first,” Karen urged, once they were comfortably settled at a table for two, a bottle of the house white cooling on the table between them. “You haven’t stopped smiling since earlier. Let me guess, you and Mike?”
She leaned in rapt as Jenny excitedly relayed the previous weekend’s events. She was thrilled for her friend, but in truth it also highlighted how deflating and hopeless her own situation was becoming.
How was it that when she had been at her happiest, Jenny had been going through the wringer with Roan, and now that her friend had found happiness, Karen was the one in trouble? It seemed cruel.
Shane hadn’t got home from work until after ten most evenings lately, and barely uttered a word when he came in. He went straight to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea and a sandwich, and onwards to bed in the cluttered spare room.
Karen had hoped that they might discuss the Nellie situation without it turning into a screaming match, but so far there hadn’t been an opportunity.
They had had some stupid fights throughout their relationships, but this was without a doubt the worst. Shane could never keep an argument going for long and was usually the one to capitulate. This time though he seemed to be sticking to his guns. This time,shemight have to break the ice.
“I’m so pleased for you,” she told Jenny now. “You know I’ve always thought that Mike was a good one.When I met him at the wedding, Iknewhe had a thing for you.”
“That’s what he said too!” Jenny chuckled as if the thought had never crossed her mind. “I’m trying not to get too excited though in case it all goes pear-shaped. But he sent me two dozen roses at work yesterday.” She giggled excitedly, then put down her fork. “Hey, I’m sorry. Here I am rabbiting on about Mike and how wonderful everything is. I’ve never even asked you about Shane. Did you get everything sorted out?” Karen had already told her about Nellie’s unexpected drop in.
“We haven’t spoken in days. He’s mad at me because I dared to question why he gave his mother a key to our house, and all the cleaning up and the family criticising me and – oh, I’m just so sick of them all.” Suddenly close to tears, Karen gripped her napkin so hard that her knuckles were white.
“Shush, shush, relax,” Jenny soothed.
“The thing is, sometimes I’m not sure whether it’s just me. I know I can get a bit wound up sometimes, but …”
“Of course, it’s not just you. Shanewaswrong to give his mother a key without asking you first. Anyone could walk in on you at any time.”
“Exactly,” Karen agreed, “but he seems to think it’s all perfectly reasonable. What I think doesn’t seem to matter at all.”
