Minding Frankie - Maeve Binchy [113]
“So you say.” Lisa knew it all.
“Is it going to be as hard to get rid of you as the twins?” Emily asked.
“Right. I’m going. Thanks, Emily. You’re amazing. If I’d just come back from America, I’d be on all fours rather than going straight in to work. I’m nearly a basket case and I was only in Scotland!”
“Well, you were probably much more active on your holiday than I was on mine,” Emily said.
Rather than work out what Emily might have in mind, Lisa left. As she walked up the road she thought about Scotland. They had stayed in five different hotels and in every one of them Anton and she had made love. Twice in the place where they had the honeymoon suite. Why did Anton not miss this and want her to stay with him every night? He had kissed her good-bye when they got to Dublin Airport and said it had been great. Why did he use the past tense? It could all have continued when they were back home.
It was meant to continue.
He had said he loved her—four times he had said it—two of them were sort of jokey when she had got things right about various hotels and restaurants, but twice when they were making love. And so he must have meant it, because who would say something like that at such an intense time and not mean it?
In the thrift shop there was a beautiful green and black silk blouse. An “unwanted gift,” said the lady who had brought in. It was still in its box with tissue paper. Emily hung it up on a clothes hanger and tried to price it.
When it was new it had probably cost a hundred euros, but nobody who came here would pay anything remotely like that. The lady who had donated it wouldn’t be back to see how it was priced, but in any event Emily didn’t want to price it too low. It was beautiful. If it were in her own size she would happily have paid fifty euros for it. She was still holding it when Moira came in.
“Just checking where Frankie is,” she said abruptly.
“Good morning, Moira,” Emily said, with pointed politeness. “Frankie has gone to the park with Mrs. Carroll, Dr. Declan’s mother.”
“Oh, I know Mrs. Carroll, yes. I was just making sure nobody had put Frankie in a ‘File and Forget’ file.” Moira smiled to take the harm out of her words. It was not entirely successful.
Emily had a touch of frost in her voice. “That would never happen to Frankie Lynch.”
“You mean well, certainly, Emily, but she’s not your responsibility.”
“She’s family.” Emily’s eyes glinted. “She is the daughter of my first cousin. That makes her my first cousin once removed.”
“Imagine!” Moira wasn’t impressed.
“Can I do anything else for you, Moira?” Emily was managing to hold on to her manners, but only just.
“Well, I’m going out to the heart clinic and the woman who runs it is like a clotheshorse. She’s interested in nothing but clothes.”
“I believe she’s a good heart specialist also,” Emily said.
“Oh, yes, well, I’m sure she is, but she’s always commenting on what you wear.… I was just wondering if you had anything … well, you know …”
“This is your lucky day. I have this beautiful green and black blouse. It would look so good with your black skirt there. Do try it on.”
Moira looked very well in it. “How much?” she asked, in her usual charmless way.
“Would be over a hundred in the shops. I was going to put fifty on it, but you’re a good customer, so shall we say forty-five?” It was more than Moira had intended to spend, but they agreed on forty-five and Moira headed off towards the heart clinic in her finery. The shabby gray blouse she had been wearing was wrapped up in the bottom of her briefcase.
As soon as she was gone, Emily telephoned Fiona at the clinic.
“I know this is a bit sneaky …,” she began.
“I love sneaky,” said Fiona.
“Moira Tierney is on her way to you wearing a smashing new blouse she bought here. She may start to regret her buy and grizzle about the price, so build her up to the skies.”
“Will do,” Fiona said enthusiastically.
By the time Moira reached the clinic, there were quite a lot