Page 18 of Family Secrets in Inishbeg Cove

‘No, not this year…’ Lucy replied tersely.

‘What is going on with you two?’ Madeleine asked. ‘First he doesn’t bother attending the funeral, and now you’re saying that you don’t plan on spending Christmas together either. Is there something you’re not telling me?’

Lucy bristled. ‘I already told you, Mum. He’s busy in work. He has a deal closing so he’s working long hours to get it across the line.’

‘Even I take Christmas Day off!’ she barked.

‘Look, I want to spend Christmas here in the village,’ Lucy went on, ignoring her mother’s remarks. ‘It wouldn’t be the same anywhere else.’

A hopeful smile spread across Faith’s face.

‘Well, look, if you girls want to spend Christmas together, why don’t you come to my place in Dublin?’ Madeleine tried. ‘I’ll even cook.’

Lucy knew their mother must be really desperate if she was offering to cook Christmas dinner. The woman was useless in the kitchen. They had no memory of their mother ever making a Christmas dinner, or even helping out with the preparations. Elizabeth had always made the dinner, with the girls acting as sous chefs, while Madeleine would sneak away to her room to catch up on work. When they were younger, their childminder had cooked all their meals for them until they were old enough to learn to cook for themselves.

Lucy shook her head resolutely. ‘We always spend Christmas in Inishbeg Cove.’

‘Lucy is right,’ Faith chimed in, sounding more confident. ‘It feels even more important this year, now that Nanna is no longer with us, that the three of us stay together in Inishbeg Cove for Christmas.’

‘I appreciate you girls taking such good care of me, I really do, but I thought that we’d all be heading back to Dublin before Christmas…’

Lucy shook her head. ‘I guess, Mum, you’re stuck here for Christmas whether you like it or not.’ She added taking perverse enjoyment in watching her mother’s displeasure.

Madeleine grimaced. ‘How wonderful.’

‘So, now that our Christmas plans are sorted, will we go get the tree?’ Faith asked with barely disguised childlike glee.

Madeleine blinked rapidly and pointed her thumb at her chest. ‘You expect me to join you on this ridiculous Christmas tree shopping expedition?’

‘Of course. We thought it would be a fun thing to do. It was always the first thing we did with Nanna as soon as we came down to the village for the holidays. Then we’d stop off for a mulled wine in The Anchor on the way home. It’s a Christmas tradition. And besides, you must be bored of being stuck in the house, I’m sure you could use a change of scenery.’

‘But what about these?’ She gestured to her crutches. ‘How would I get around the muddy farm?’

‘Don’t worry, we’ve already thought about that.’

‘Have you?’ She sounded suspicious.

They nodded enthusiastically. ‘You can use Nanna’s wheelchair,’ Lucy announced proudly.

Madeleine spluttered. ‘You expect me to use a-a … wheelchair?’

‘It’s only for a short while, to get around the farm,’ Lucy said.

‘No way! I refuse to use a wheelchair. I’m not disabled!’

Faith looked crestfallen. ‘I thought it would be nice for the three of us to spend some time together…’

‘Look, if you don’t want to go, don’t bother,’ Lucy sniped, growing tired of her mother’s protests. ‘Faith and I can manage just fine.’

‘All right, I’ll go.’ Madeleine sighed.

Faith’s face brightened. ‘You will?’

Madeleine made a dramatic display of pulling herself up to standing, ‘Well, you’re not really giving me any choice…’ she grumbled.

Less than thirty minutes later, the three of them were in Lucy’s Peugeot and she was driving up the headland towards the Flynns’ farm. The road climbed ever higher until they reached the gate. They drove through the stone pillars that marked the entrance and followed a gravelled track across the fields to the area where the Christmas trees were being sold. Madeleine was in the passenger seat and Faith was in the back, and they were bumped and jolted out of their seats as they drove over the rough terrain. When they arrived in the car park, they saw lots of families struggling to tie trees to their car roofs while others rejigged their boot space and folded down seats, desperately trying to make their tree fit. Excited children looked on, keen to get the tree home and decorated. Lucy silenced the engine and Faith climbed out to assist their mother.

‘Easy does it, Mum,’ she encouraged as Madeleine placed her crutches on the ground. Mud oozed thickly around them. It had rained heavily that morning and the ground in the car park was soft where it had been cut up by cars.