Page 9 of Family Secrets in Inishbeg Cove

‘Don’t worry, Jerry, it’s all going to be fine,’ she assured him before hanging up. She tossed the phone down on the bed and rubbed her hands over her face. Oh, God. What had she just done? She had promised to fix the situation, but she had no idea how she was supposed to do that. She had told Jerry – no, not just told him, she had promised him that she would sort this mess out. And yet she was on the west coast of Ireland and the books were in a shipping container on the east coast. Her team had tried everything possible yesterday and the custom officers still wouldn’t release them. Then there was the little problem that she had no car – and oh, just the minor obstacle that her daughters would probably never speak to her again if she left to go to Dublin. A tension headache began thumping inside her skull. She felt like heading out through the back door and running away from it all.

8

Faith was dreaming. It was a beautiful summer’s day in Inishbeg Cove. Gulls arced and soared above them in the azure-blue sky as she and Lucy ran along the sand towards the waves that broke gently on the shoreline. They flung off their flip-flops and jumped over the waves as they broke and hissed along the sand. In the distance Elizabeth was perched on a flat rock holding their towels and keeping an eye on them. She was always there, watching over them. Faith waved to her grandmother and Elizabeth’s face widened into a smile as she waved back to her, the lines at the sides of her eyes like sunbeams radiating from her face.

Faith woke with a start, her heart racing and her body sweaty. She looked around the bedroom and sighed happily. She was in Elizabeth’s cottage in Inishbeg Cove, it was summertime and they were on their school holidays. Then it hit her. Her grandmother was gone. Grief rammed into her like a runaway train. She looked across at her older sister in the adjacent bed, and saw she was awake too.

‘How did you sleep?’ she asked.

‘Not great. I just can’t believe she’s gone,’ Lucy replied, her voice choked.

‘I had a dream about her. We were down in the cove, playing in the waves like we used to when we were small. It felt so real…’ Faith felt crushed as she recalled it so vividly.

‘Let’s get up,’ Lucy said. ‘We’ve a busy day ahead.’

They climbed out of bed and headed downstairs. They saw their mother was already in the kitchen, seated at the table, her head in her hands. She was still in her pyjamas, which was the biggest shock for them: she never allowed anyone to see her in her nightclothes. Madeleine was always immaculately presented, but sitting here with her hair fuzzy from sleep, she looked frightful.

‘Mum,’ Faith began softly.

Madeleine startled; she clearly hadn’t heard them come in. She looked up at them, seeming surprised to see them there, as if she had forgotten where she was.

‘Did you manage to sleep?’ Madeleine asked, sitting up straight.

Faith shook her head. ‘Not really. I feel like I’m on autopilot. None of this feels real.’

‘We just need to get through the wake tomorrow and then the funeral, then I think I’ll sleep for a week,’ Lucy replied, stifling a yawn.

‘Is Kyle coming today?’ Madeleine probed.

Their mother missed nothing, Faith thought. She clearly thought it a little strange that Lucy’s husband hadn’t come down from Dublin yet.

Faith shot an anxious look in her sister’s direction; she wasn’t sure how much Lucy had told their mother about her marital troubles.

Lucy shook her head.

‘I thought he’d be here to support you,’ Madeleine went on.

‘He’s busy in work – he has a big deal closing so he couldn’t get the time off.’

‘So I’m not the only one under pressure…’ Madeleine remarked, nodding in solidarity. If there was anything Madeleine approved of, it was people prioritising their work.

Faith noticed that bags hung beneath her mother’s eyes and her lines looked deeper than usual. Madeleine seemed preoccupied, like she had something bigger on her mind.

‘Is everything okay, Mum?’ Faith asked in concern.

‘I need to go to Dublin,’ she announced suddenly.

‘To Dublin?’ Faith was shocked. ‘But we have to make the funeral arrangements today and we need to start getting the house ready if we’re going to have the wake tomorrow…’

‘I know, girls, but I had my boss on the phone this morning. I really need to sort out the issue with the books. I wouldn’t go unless it was urgent.’

‘What could possibly be more important than being here?’ Lucy demanded.

‘As I already explained, the books for Howard O’Brien’s book launch are stuck in customs.’

Lucy looked at her blankly. ‘And?’

‘Well, if I don’t sort this mess out, he’ll be at a book signing with no books to sign. The Taoiseach is going to be there, and the President too. It’s a disaster.’