Page 13 of Coming Home to Inishbeg Cove

We pushed the door open and a bell tinkled to announce our arrival. It was decorated in a retro American style, and an old-fashioned push-button till stood on the counter.

A group of teenagers were sitting on the tall stools at the curved counter. We sat in a booth and a man, who I presumed was Greg, came over with menus.

‘Greg, I’d like you to meet my daughter Penny and my granddaughter Lucy,’ Mam beamed.

‘Pleased to meet you,’ Greg said, offering me his hand. He was ruggedly handsome, with dark stubble dotting his jaw and clear blue eyes. Even the silly hat he was wearing, which sat at a jaunty angle, couldn’t disguise his good looks. ‘I’ve heard loads about you.’

I smiled awkwardly. ‘All good, I hope.’

‘Absolutely!’ He grinned, showing off perfect American teeth.

‘Are you and Sarah not heading off on a honeymoon?’ Mam asked.

Greg shook his head and laughed. ‘No, I couldn’t persuade Sarah to leave the post office.’

‘She works too hard,’ Mam said.

Greg left us to peruse the menu. As I read, I saw that everything was made in-house.

‘He gets the milk and cream from Galvin’s farm out the road,’ Mam said. ‘Then he makes all his own ice cream and supplies it to a lot of the restaurants around the county.’

I was impressed. I had to admit, it was very cool – the kind of place you might find in Dublin or Cork, not Inishbeg Cove.

When Greg returned, Mam ordered a brown bread and toffee twist ice cream. Even though I didn’t feel like eating, I chose the Inishbeg Cove sea-salted caramel because I felt I should order something.

‘Save the best until last. What can I get you, little lady?’ Greg asked Lucy.

She pointed to the image of a unicorn ice cream on the children’s menu.

‘Great choice,’ he said, taking our menus.

After a few minutes Greg returned with our ice creams. Mine arrived in a large sundae glass with warm caramel sauce on top. I felt queasy just looking at it. Lucy’s was vanilla ice cream with a unicorn-shaped wafer sticking out of it, accompanied by three little bowls of toppings: chocolate buttons, pastel-coloured sprinkles and mini marshmallows. I didn’t want to think about how much sugar was in it. Her face lit up with excitement as Greg placed her ice cream in front of her, and my heart swelled. Mam had been right. I couldn’t stay in bed moping any more; it wasn’t fair on Lucy. I dipped my spoon into the sauce and brought it to my lips. It was as smooth as silk. At any other time it would have been divine, but my appetite just wasn’t up to it. I pushed the glass away.

Suddenly I spotted Tadgh at the counter, chatting to Greg. Greg disappeared for a few minutes then returned with three tubs of ice cream and handed them to Tadgh.

‘Hey there,’ Tadgh said, stopping at our table on the way out. He nodded at Mam. ‘Hello, Mrs Murphy.’

‘How are you, Tadgh?’ Mam said, smiling.

‘I thought you would have gone home?’ he said, looking at me.

‘I decided to stay on a bit longer.’ I looked down at my fingers as they twirled the spoon through the sticky caramel.

‘You never took me up on the offer of a free lunch. Please say you’ll come.’

‘Sure,’ I said, deliberately non-committal.

‘How about tomorrow?’ he continued. ‘Wednesday isn’t usually too busy, so I’ll be able to escape the kitchen and join you for a bit. I’ll make sure I’ve something extra-special on the menu for Lucy.’

Lucy beamed up at him.

‘They’d love to,’ Mam cut in before I had a chance to think of an excuse.

I glared at her, but she and Tadgh were too busy smiling at one another to catch my annoyance. She’d always had a soft spot for him.

‘Great,’ I said, forcing myself to sound enthusiastic.

‘He’s a lovely fella,’ Mam said after he had left. I knew she had never understood why we broke up.

I groaned internally. Having an awkward lunch with Tadgh was the last thing I needed.