Page 65 of Coming Home to Inishbeg Cove

Chapter 43

Penny

I woke the next morning to the sound of birdsong and the sight of sunlight. I got out of bed, walked over to the window and pulled the curtains back to see a brilliant blue sky. The sea was as still as glass and tranquillity had been restored to the village once more. The previous day’s maelstrom could almost have been a figment of my imagination. Mam was right: things didn’t seem quite so bleak as they had the night before. I had been worried I would wake up feeling full of regret for being so impetuous, but I actually felt a bubbling sensation, a mixture of exhilaration and excitement, that I was embarking on a new phase in my life.

Lucy was still sleeping peacefully. I sat down on the edge of the bed and stroked her perfect skin, which was as smooth as velvet. This was not just the dawn of a new day, but the dawn of a new era in both our lives. I just hoped I was doing the right thing for her – but every cell within me told me we belonged in the village.

I left Lucy to sleep and went down to the kitchen. Out of habit I flicked the switch on the kettle but, when it didn’t fire up, I realised that the electricity was still out. While the rest of the house was still asleep, catching up from our late night, I decided to take a walk up the main street to see how the village had fared during the storm.

I stepped outside to see that the sky was washed clean, but rivers of water ran down either side of the street as the floodwater receded back towards the sea. I continued along the main street where gritty debris and bits of driftwood tangled in seaweed, lay strewn around the road. I saw several business owners standing outside their shops wearing gloomy expressions as they counted the cost of the storm. I knew many of them couldn’t get insurance cover because of the village’s history of flooding. These businesses were their livelihood and, in a place the size of Inishbeg Cove, most of them barely turned a profit. Many of the businesses here weren’t commercially viable and instead were run on a break-even basis for the benefit of the villagers. Further along I saw Mrs O’Herlihy crying and shaking her head as she surveyed the damage in her shop. I looked at the devastation all around me, heartbroken to see the village in this state. It would take months for the businesses to recover, if they ever did. I suddenly thought about Ruairí, and decided to walk on towards the café to see how he was doing. I desperately hoped he had managed to avoid being flooded.

I found him standing just inside the café door, using a yard brush to sweep murky brown water out of the café onto the footpath outside.

‘Ruairí, I’m so sorry,’ I said as I looked around at the devastation. The wood running along the bottom of the counter was starting to come away and warp as the water soaked into it. It would cost thousands to repair the damage.

‘I thought you had left,’ he said, stopping for a moment and resting on the handle of his brush.

‘It’s a long story.’ I shook my head. ‘The village really took a hammering.’

‘Well, I’m counting my blessings this morning. I think I got away pretty lightly, all things considered.’

‘What do you mean?’ I was confused by his positivity. His business was in tatters – how was he able to look on the bright side so soon? Surely he was entitled to be angry and concerned for the future? I was devastated seeing the café in this state, and it wasn’t even my business. He was a better person than I was, I thought.

His brows furrowed in surprise. ‘Didn’t you hear the news?’

‘What news?’

‘About Tadgh?’ he continued.

The blood seemed to still in my veins. My senses seemed to sharpen: every sound was heightened. I could hear my heart hammering inside my rib cage.

‘No, what happened?’ My breath caught in my chest. I really hoped he wasn’t going to give me bad news.

‘He was hit by a falling tree on his way back from the restaurant last night. Senan found him, but they reckon he’d been lying there for a few hours at that stage. Then the ambulance couldn’t get into the village because the road was flooded. Eventually they got him airlifted to Limerick Hospital. He’s in intensive care.’

‘Oh my God.’ I gasped, feeling as though Ruairí had just punched me in the gut. I struggled to catch air and my legs grew weak. ‘I need to get to him,’ I said, turning and hurrying out of the café.

∞∞∞

‘What’s wrong, love? You look shook!’ Mam said as I breathlessly rounded the kitchen door a few minutes later.

‘Tadgh ... hospital ... I need to get to him.’ The words felt staccato and disjointed as they left my mouth. I began to fumble around the kitchen, searching for my car keys.

‘What on earth are you saying?’ Mam asked, confused by my behaviour.

‘Tadgh is in hospital,’ I repeated.

‘My goodness, what happened to him?’ Mam asked.

‘Apparently he got hit by a falling tree. He’s in intensive care.’

‘Oh Lord, save us!’ Automatically, she reached up to her forehead and made the sign of the cross. ‘Joe took your car, remember?’ She lifted Dad’s car keys off the hook hanging at the end of the run of cupboards. ‘Here, take your father’s car,’ she said, handing me the keys. ‘I’ll mind Lucy but be careful, Penny – there will be a lot of trees down and flooding on the roads still.’

‘I will. Oh, and Mam, I love you,’ I added as I hurried out to the car.