Minding Frankie - Maeve Binchy [93]
“It must be the way my face is set, Mr. Ennis. I assure you, I’m not disapproving of anything you do.”
“Good, good.” He seemed satisfied. “So you’ll smile a bit from now on, will you?”
“I can’t smile to order. It would only be a grimace,” Moira said. “You know … twisting my features into a smile … it wouldn’t be real or sincere.”
Frank Ennis looked at her for a moment.
“You’re quite right, Ms. Tierney, and I hope we will meet under some circumstances that do call for a real or sincere smile.”
“I hope so,” Moira said. She thought that he was looking at her with some sympathy and concern. Imagine, this man pitied her!
How ridiculous.
It was a long weekend and everyone was going somewhere.
Noel and his parents were taking baby Frankie to the country for two nights. They had booked a bed-and-breakfast place outside Rossmore. There was a statue of St. Ann and a holy well there; Josie and Charles were very interested in it. Noel said he would probably give the holy well a miss, but he would take the baby for walks in the wood for the fresh air. He had shown Moira the case he had packed for the journey. Everything was there.
Lisa was going to London. Anton was going to look at a few restaurants there and she was going to take notes. It would be wonderful. Moira had sniffed, but said nothing.
Frank Ennis said that he was going to take a bus tour. It would take in some of Ireland’s greatest tourist attractions. It seemed a very unusual thing for him to do. He had someone he wanted to show Ireland to and this seemed to be the best way. It was certainly going to be interesting, he told Moira.
Emily said that she was going to see the west of Ireland for the first time. Dingo Duggan was going to drive the van, taking Emily and Declan’s parents, Molly and Paddy Carroll. They would have a great time.
Simon and Maud were going with friends to North Wales. They were bringing sleeping bags and a sort of makeshift tent. They would take the boat to Holyhead and then might find a hostel, but if not, they could sleep anywhere with all their gear. There would be six of them altogether. It would be terrific fun.
Dr. Declan Carroll and his wife, Fiona, were taking Johnny to a seaside hotel. Fiona said that she was going to sleep until lunchtime both days. They had baby minders there to look after young children. It would be magical.
Dr. Hat was going to go fishing with three friends. It was an all-in weekend with no hidden extras. Dr. Hat said he was a poor old pensioner now and had to be careful with his money—Moira never knew whether he was joking or not. It certainly wasn’t the time to bring out one of those rare smiles.
Most of her colleagues were going away or else they were having parties or doing their gardens.
Moira suddenly felt very much out of it, as if she were on the side of things looking on. Why wasn’t she going somewhere, like sitting in Dingo’s van heading west or going to see some statue in Rossmore or setting out for the lakes in the Midlands with Dr. Hat and his mates?
The answer was only too clear.
She had no real friends.
She had never needed them in life—the job was too absorbing—and to do it right you needed to be on duty all hours of the day. Friends would find it very tedious to go out to supper with someone who might well have to disappear in the middle of the main course.
But it was lonely and restless to see everyone else with plans for the long weekend.
Moira announced that she was going home to Liscuan. She talked so little about her private life, people assumed that there must be a big family waiting for her.
“That will be nice for you, to go home and meet everyone,” Ania said. “You will have a great welcome, yes?”
“That’s right,” Moira lied.
Ania lived in a world where everyone was good and happy. She was pregnant again and taking things easy. The doctor had said that she needed bed rest, and so she lay at home contemplating a great future