Minding Frankie - Maeve Binchy [81]
“You can say that again,” said Muttie.
“Stop that, Muttie, you’re making my head swell!” he said.
“It deserves to swell. I’ve told everyone about that Dr. Harris and how he wouldn’t charge me because you were a professional colleague of his and I was your Associate.”
Declan felt a slight stinging behind his eyes. By the time that Muttie died, Declan and Fiona would be in a totally different part of Dublin. Not only would Muttie and Lizzie have lost their trusted doctor, but his own parents would have lost their son and grandson.
Before he got to work, he met Josie and Charles Lynch.
“I believe the house next door to you is up for sale?” he said.
“Yes, the notice is going up tomorrow. How do you know already?”
“Moira,” he said simply.
“Lord, that woman can hear the grass grow,” Josie said.
“She’s been round to the house checking that there are no dog hairs. What kind of a world does she live in thinking that dogs don’t shed hairs?”
“She’s thinking of buying the house,” Declan said.
“Never!” Josie was shocked. “Lord, she’ll be practically living in our house!”
Charles shook his head. “Noel won’t like this … not one little bit.”
“Well, we always have Declan to stand up to her for us all.” Josie was good at looking on the bright side.
Not for long, Declan thought to himself.
· · ·
In the surgery that morning all the patients seemed to need to tell him some story or recall some instance where he had helped them. If Declan were to believe a quarter of the praise he got that morning, he would have been a very vain man. He just wished they had not chosen today to tell him all this. Today, of all days, when he was just about to change his life and leave them all.
He booked a table at Anton’s restaurant for dinner. He wanted to tell Fiona in good surroundings, not in the house they shared with his parents, where everything could be heard in some degree anyway.
“How did you hear of us, sir?” the maître d’ asked.
Declan was about to say that Lisa Kelly talked of little else, but something made him keep this information to himself.
“We read about it in the papers,” he said vaguely.
“I hope we will live up to your expectations, sir,” said Teddy.
“Looking forward to it,” said Declan.
It seemed a long day until Dingo would come to pick them up at seven.
A couple of weeks before, Dingo had been to a party in a Greek restaurant and danced unwisely on some broken plates. Declan had tweezed the worst bits out of the soles of Dingo’s feet. Money had not changed hands. It didn’t, usually, in Dingo’s case, but an offer of four trips in his van was agreed to be a fair exchange. This meant they could have a bottle of champagne when he told Fiona the great news.
Just before he left the surgery, Noel came by.
“Just three minutes of your time, Declan, please.”
“Sure, come on in.”
“You’re always so good-natured, Declan. Is it real or is it an act?”
“Sometimes it’s an act, but sometimes, like now, it’s real.” Declan smiled encouragingly.
“I’ll come straight to the point then. I’m a bit worried about Lisa. I don’t know what to do.…”
“What’s wrong?” Declan was gentle.
“She’s lost complete touch with reality when it comes to this Anton. I mean, she doesn’t know what’s real and what’s not. Listen, I should know. I know what denial is. She’s right in the center of it.”
“Is she drinking or anything?” Declan wondered whether Noel might have developed an alcoholic’s sudden lack of tolerance for any kind of drinking.
“No, no, nothing like that, just an obsession. She’s deluding herself all the time. There’s no future there.”
“It’s tough, all right.”
“She needs help, Declan. She’s ruining her life. You’re going to have to refer her to someone.”
“I’m not her doctor and she hasn’t asked anyone to refer her anywhere.”
“Oh, you were never one to play it by the book, Declan. Get somebody … some sort of psychiatrist to throw an eye over her.”
“I can’t, Noel. It doesn’t work that way. I can’t go in off the side of the road and say: Lisa, Noel thinks you are heading in the wrong direction, so let’s go and have