Page 37 of Coming Home to Inishbeg Cove

Chapter 24

Penny

I felt like skipping the whole way home to my parents’ cottage. The birdsong sounded sharper and the sun shone a little brighter. I had just reached the house when Mam appeared at the front door.

‘Penny—’ she began. Her brow was furrowed in concern.

‘What’s wrong?’ Surely she wasn’t annoyed with me because I didn’t come straight home after leaving the café?

‘I tried to call you,’ she continued.

‘Did you not get my text? I just went for a walk after work. Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you.’ I walked towards her but Mam remained stock-still on the doorstep, blocking my entrance.

‘It’s not that…’ she whispered.

‘Well, what is it then?’ Her behaviour was starting to worry me. Had someone spotted Tadgh and me kissing in the dunes and already told Mam? You couldn’t cough in this village without someone reporting it. If that was the reason for Mam’s strange behaviour, I would have some explaining to do.

She looked around to make sure no one was listening, before pointing back into the house. ‘Joe is here,’ she hissed.

I fell back to reality with a bang. The time spent in the dunes with Tadgh felt like another world. Words were crashing around in my head: Joe, my husband, here. In Inishbeg Cove. Joe was here.

‘He’s here? In the house?’ I managed. My first thought was for Lucy. I hadn’t had time to prepare her. This was going to be confusing for her.

‘He arrived about two hours ago,’ she whispered. ‘He’s in the kitchen with your father and Lucy. The cheeky fecker is acting like nothing ever happened, but he won’t fool me. Does he think we came down in the last shower?’

‘Oh God.’ My stomach lurched. ‘How’s Lucy been with him?’

‘She was a bit shy at first, as you’d expect when she hasn’t seen her father in three months.’ Mam never missed an opportunity to get a dig in where Joe was concerned.

I took a deep breath and braced myself. For so long I had wanted Joe to do this. I had spent days praying for him to show me that he cared enough to follow us, but as the weeks had passed, I had given up all hope. Why now? Why today? It was almost as if he had a sixth sense, as if he knew I was about to leave him and start something new with Tadgh.

Mam stood to one side and I walked past her into the hallway. With a pounding heart, I made my way towards the kitchen. I knew I couldn’t keep running forever. No matter what the future held for Joe and me, we had to talk. The time had arrived for us to decide where we went from here.

‘Mama!’ Lucy cried as soon as I appeared. I scooped her up.

‘Ook, Dada came.’ She pointed towards Joe, who was sitting at the table. Instantly I noticed that he had lost weight. His paunch was gone, and his face, which looked tired and drawn, was slimmer than I remembered, maybe because his beard was gone too. His eyes were red-rimmed and shadowed. He looked terrible. He was sipping a mug of coffee. I found myself cringing because it would have been made with instant granules instead of coffee beans, like he preferred. Then I reminded myself that instant coffee was the least of our problems. Dad was sitting opposite him, looking as if he wished he was anywhere else.

‘Penny,’ Dad said, standing up from the table. ‘Well, I’ll let ye two talk...’ He excused himself and left so that it was just me, Lucy and Joe left in the kitchen together.

‘I wasn’t expecting you,’ was all I could think of to say. ‘Where’s your car?’

‘I was afraid that if I told you I was coming, you would refuse to see me,’ he admitted sheepishly. ‘I got the train to Limerick and then a taxi. You know I hate driving on those roads.’

Silence cloaked the air between us.

‘So, how’ve you been?’ he tried again.

‘Honestly? It’s been tough. Really tough.’

‘I’ve missed you, Penny.’ He stood up and came towards me. He moved to put his arms around me, but I put up a hand to stop him and he stepped back, looking suitably chastened.

‘Come up here, Lucy, to see Daddy,’ he tried to cajole her but she clung to me like a koala, burying her face in my neck.

He sat back down at the table.

‘It took you long enough,’ I said eventually.

‘I’m sorry. My head has been all over the place.’