Last Chance Saloon - Marian Keyes [109]
‘But Icequeen’s impossible to con,’ Jason said.
‘That’s what I thought,’ Darren said. ‘But, stand on me, the girl is losing it. Take a look.’
The proof was passed before all the Doubting Thomas eyes. It was undeniable.
‘Maybe she’s having a nervous breakdown,’ Myles said, awestruck.
‘It’s the silicone,’ Jason concluded. ‘Turning her brain as soft as her new breasts. Mmmmm, my ideal bird!’
‘Bloody good news for us!’ Bruce pointed out.
Immediately there was a flurry of activity as everyone searched in their wallets for receipts to swizz Katherine with. Everyone except Joe.
39
‘What do you mean you can’t?’ Thomas whined at Tara.
‘I mean I can’t,’ she explained. ‘They need looking after, and it’s not fair to land Katherine with all the responsibility.’
‘They’ve had you all week. It’s Saturday night and you’re coming out with me and Eddie and his new bird, and that’s the end of the matter.’
‘Thomas, I can’t abandon the O’Gradys.’
‘What about me?’ Thomas stuck his bottom lip out in a sulky-little-boy pout. ‘When do I get to see you?’
Tara wavered. She and Thomas had been getting on so badly lately that she was relieved by his insistence on being with her. ‘I really feel I have a responsibility to look after the O’Gradys,’ she tried again. But when Thomas’s face darkened with the anger of rejection, Tara gave in. ‘Oh, all right. But you’re a disgrace,’ she complained, indulgently.
He strutted, and gave her a swaggery smile. ‘I am what I am. Tek me or leave me.’ Instantly he was sure of himself again and, though she could never explain why, Tara found his bossy ways very sexy.
Thomas masterminded what Tara wore, hoping to hold his own against Eddie and his sexy new girlfriend – ‘Wear your short black skirt, aye, the right short one, your highest shoes and that V-neck top. And hold in your stomach.’
Tara paid particular attention to her hair, make-up and accessories but a bucket of blue hair mascara wouldn’t have diverted Thomas from noticing her size. As he surveyed the finished product with bitter dissatisfaction, he complained, ‘You’ve got fatter since last weekend. This is what happens when you don’t go to the gym.’ She hadn’t managed to do any exercise all week because her routine had been shot to hell with hospital visits. ‘And I bet you haven’t been sticking to your diet, either,’ Thomas accused.
He was right. There was too much food around Fintan’s bed for a woman with no willpower. Everyone brought him chocolate, buns, crisps, popcorn, sweets and grapes as they tried to fatten the sickness away. JaneAnn had more faith in a daily infusion of ham sandwiches than in a daily infusion of medication. But Fintan barely looked at the goodies that surrounded him, and no one else had any appetite either. Except for Tara who couldn’t stop eating. Agitatedly, incessantly, her hand crammed food into her mouth, attempting to fill the hole burnt by her corrosive anxiety.
All the same, she’d hoped that Thomas would make allowances because of her ordeal, that he might issue a special dispensation to knock off her diet until life was back to normal. But fat – what other kind? – chance. ‘It’s been a difficult time, Thomas,’ she tried.
‘Where is all this going to end, Tara?’ Thomas demanded, in exasperation. ‘In Evans, that’s where. I’m trying to help you and, to be honest, you’re being very ungrateful.’
‘I’m sorry and I am grateful.’
‘Do you think I enjoy having to police you like this?’ Thomas asked.
Yes, actually, Tara thought. And immediately regretted it. He was difficult – sometimes even brutal – but she had to keep reminding herself that it was for her good.
Beryl stalked into the room and Thomas turned to her. ‘Who’s a good girl?’ he crooned. ‘Oh, who’s a pretty girl?’
If only he’d be as nice to me, Tara thought, wistfully. One day she’d pull it off. If she could just manage to stop eating. ‘Will I ring a taxi?’ she asked wearily.
‘Aren’t you going