Page 55 of Family Secrets in Inishbeg Cove

Lucy took her sister’s hands and clasped them inside her own. ‘Hey, don’t go getting upset. Even though it’s only the two of us, we’ll make today special. We have one another, that’s all we need.’

Faith nodded. ‘Let’s open our gifts,’ she said, wiping her eyes and making her way over towards the Christmas tree. Two presents sat beneath it: one she had bought for Faith, and one that Faith had bought for her. They knelt beside the tree and exchanged gifts.

Suddenly Lucy realised that, this time next year, if everything went well in her pregnancy, she would have a little baby to buy presents for. She felt her stomach fill with butterflies; she was still terrified that something would go wrong. Every time she felt a glimmer of excitement bubble up inside her, there was always a worrisome thought to replace it, like some endless whack-a-mole game. She felt overwhelmed by all that was ahead of her. She thought about shopping for the adorable Christmas babygros she had dreamed of dressing her infant in, and taking her baby to see Santa Claus, but she had always imagined doing these things with Kyle by her side. Now she would be doing them on her own.

‘Happy Christmas, sis,’ Faith said, handing her a gift wrapped in brown paper tied with a pine-green velvet ribbon. Lucy was tugging on the end of the ribbon to pull it free from its knot when there was a knock at the door. The sisters looked at one another in confusion, wondering who could be calling on Christmas morning.

‘I’ll get it,’ Lucy said, picking herself up from the floor. ‘It’s probably one of the neighbours.’

She walked out to the front door and opened it to see that overnight the ground had been covered in a thick blanket of virgin snow. Everywhere looked beautiful and pristine, but it was the person standing there that shocked her most. She rubbed her eyes, sure that they must be deceiving her. Her husband stood on the path before her. Kyle was there.

‘K-Kyle,’ she stammered in disbelief, her brain trying to catch up as it worked it out what was happening.

‘Hi.’ He grinned nervously, raking his fingers through his hair.

‘Wh-what are you doing here?’ she asked.

Suddenly Madeleine appeared from behind him. ‘I brought him,’ she said.

‘Mum?’ Lucy cried in disbelief.

‘What’s going on?’ Faith asked, coming up alongside her, having heard the commotion at the door.

‘Is there room for one more?’ Madeleine asked sheepishly, making her way forward on her crutches.

‘Of course there is, Mum,’ Faith said, flinging her arms around her mother. Lucy remained rooted to the floor in shock.

‘What’s going on?’ Faith asked, looking from Lucy to Madeleine to Kyle, then back to Lucy again. ‘I thought you were stuck in work?’

Lucy was rendered speechless. None of this made any sense. First, she’d had the shock of seeing Kyle, and then her mother had appeared right behind him. She and Faith had been coming to terms with spending Christmas Day just the two of them, and now their mum and Kyle had landed on their doorstep out of the blue.

‘Can someone give me a hand here?’ Madeleine said, using her chin to point towards the back seat of the car.

‘Here,’ Faith said, coming to her rescue and finding the back seat of the car covered in gifts. Lucy helped Faith to pile them into a tower in her arms.

‘Girls, are you going to make us stand outside here in the freezing cold?’ Madeleine chided. ‘Come on, where are your manners?’

Lucy and Faith stood aside as Madeleine made her way into the house, Kyle following her sheepishly. They headed into the living room and set the gifts down beneath the tree.

Madeleine exhaled heavily as she unwound her scarf.

‘Will someone please tell me what’s going on?’ Lucy asked once they were all inside the room.

‘Oh darling,’ Madeleine began. ‘You two need to talk. Come on, Faith.’ She linked her younger daughter’s arm and led her out of the room. ‘I’ll explain everything in a moment. Let’s leave these two alone.’

43

Faith entered the kitchen behind her mother and closed the door behind them, sealing them into the room. Madeleine exhaled loudly and flopped down onto a chair.

‘Are you going to tell me what’s going on, Mum?’ Faith began.

‘Could a woman at least have a cup of coffee first? I’ve been in the car for hours. I’m exhausted.’

Faith shook her head in frustration, but filled the kettle and set it on the Aga to boil.

‘You’ve some explaining to do,’ she admonished a few minutes later, as she set the mug of coffee down on the table in front of her mother.

‘I guess I do.’ Madeleine grinned sheepishly as she cradled the mug. ‘But I couldn’t sit across the table from Lucy on Christmas Day watching her look so miserable when this should be one of the happiest times of her life. I knew that Kyle was probably feeling the exact same way on the other side of the country. I just needed to get the two of them together. I know there’s a chance that my plan could fail spectacularly, but I had to at least try. I hope I’ve done the right thing and that Lucy isn’t cross with me for interfering, but I really believe that if they could just talk, they’ll be able to sort things out.’