Page 41 of Coming Home to Inishbeg Cove

‘Ook, Daddy came back.’ She turned and pointed to Joe and me. I watched Tadgh’s face change as Lucy’s words registered. Our eyes met. There was an unmistakable gleam of hurt lurking in them. I found myself looking away. How the hell was I supposed to explain this to him? I prayed he wouldn’t say anything to Joe about what had happened in the dunes the previous day.

‘Tadgh, this is Joe, Joe, this is Tadgh,’ I said, feeling flustered as I introduced them.

‘Not many waves for surfing,’ Joe remarked, stepping to the side to let Tadgh go past us.

‘I’m paddling out to catch crabs, so the weather is perfect, actually.’

‘What do you do with the crabs?’ Joe asked, clearly intrigued.

‘Well, I run the restaurant above you there set into the cliff,’ Tadgh said, pointing towards it.

‘Imagine, Penny,’ Joe said, turning to me, ‘in all the years I’ve been coming to this village, you’ve never taken me there! Well, hopefully we’ll get there soon, Tadgh, and I’ll get to sample some of those crabs.’

‘Sure,’ Tadgh said. ‘I might see you there some time.’ His eyes flashed with anger as he passed me, and I longed to be able to run after him and explain it all. What must he think of me? Just hours ago, we had been wrapped in each other’s arms, and now here I was, reunited with my husband and playing happy families once again.

‘Do you know something, Penny?’ Joe said, oblivious to my turmoil, as we walked back to the cottage.

‘What?’

‘I think that being in this village even for a day has given me so much clarity. The fresh air, the landscapes, the absence of all the hustle and bustle that is our life in Dublin – my head feels so much better for it.’

‘Well, I’ve always said this village has magical qualities.’

He nodded. ‘Instead of rushing back to Dublin, I think we should stay for a bit longer.’

His words brought me back to reality. Had Joe really thought that as soon as he arrived, we’d all pile into the car and go on our merry way back to Dublin, reunited as a family once again? Surely not. I knew we needed to work on our marriage, but I still didn’t know what the future held for us. So much hurt had been concreted between the fractures that it was going to take an awful lot of time and labour to chisel it away again. And even if we did succeed, would we be able to rebuild our relationship again on a solid foundation or would we just be left with the fragments of a shattered marriage?