All Because of You (Lakeview #2) (20 page)

“He’s about the same age as you, isn’t he Tara?” Isobel persisted as she stood waiting for the kettle to boil.

“Yes – we were in the same class at school.” Tara grinned. “It’s funny – he used to have a bit of a crush on me, actually.”

“He had a crush on
everyone
, Tara,” Emma said testily, spots of colour appearing on both cheeks.

“Right – I take it he tried it on with you too?” Tara replied laughingly, but inside she was a little miffed by Emma’s reaction to what had only been a jokey comment. Not unlike Isobel, her little sister seemed to really enjoy cutting Tara down to size. “Well, he hasn’t changed much over the years apparently.”

“Dave’s a nice lad though,” their mother said. “He’s done great things for the village over the last while, so whoever she is – a Dublin girl I’ve heard – I hope she makes him very happy.”

Again Emma rolled her eyes – Dave McNamara and his happiness evidently the last thing on her mind. 

“So how have you been?” Tara asked cheerfully, changing the subject. “Morning sickness any better now?”

Emma looked at her as if she’d grown two heads. “Morning sickness?” she grumbled. “It lasts all bloody day
.”

“There’s been no let-up at all, sure there hasn’t?” Isobel added, putting a mug of tea in front of her youngest daughter. “She’s been terribly misfortunate altogether with it. I never really suffered with that kind of thing at all when I was carrying ye, thank
the Lord.”

Hearing this, Tara quickly admonished herself for being so unfeeling about her sister’s plight; Emma was pregnant after all and must be finding it all hard going. Still, try as she might, she just couldn’t help but feel that Emma was keeping them all in the dark about the father of her baby for a very good reason. And if her sister had been messing around with someone she shouldn’t have been – namely a married or already attached man – then it was very difficult indeed to feel sorry for her.

Emma had always been the same at school – only interested in the boys who weren’t openly interested in her. Was it the challenge, the thrill of the chase? Tara couldn’t understand it. She knew that women like that existed, women whose only way of validating themselves was by proving their power over men – especially other women’s men – but she’d never been able to truly understand the psychology behind it and she hated to think that her sister might be one of them. What was the point?

Then again, she’d never been able to truly understand Emma anyway, the way her sister was so determined to feel continually hard done by, and so quick to play up to people in order to get out of anything she couldn’t be bothered doing. Like getting a job and earning enough money to put a roof over her own head instead of going back to her parents looking for handouts. Like taking responsibility for her own actions.

Then again, Tara thought, as she watched her mother fuss around her youngest daughter, why should Emma trouble herself about such things, when the people around her were fully prepared to do all of them on her behalf?

Later that evening, having just about had enough of Emma and her ‘misfortune’, Tara went to visit Liz.  

“You would have loved Natalie – she was an absolute scream,” Tara told her friend, as the two of them sat in Liz’s kitchen having coffee while Tara told her all about the holiday. “We had a such a laugh the day we went visiting the Pyramids. And do you know, I’ve never known anyone to be so frank and open about what they really wanted in life. The girl is beautiful, successful, has this amazing glamorous life and,” she told Liz enviously, “from what I’ve seen, a better wardrobe than Kate Moss, so she’s obviously loaded too. Yet all Natalie wants is to get married. Strange, isn’t it?”

Liz said nothing.

“To be honest, she reminded me a little bit of you in a way,” Tara went on. “You know, the way you were so excited about the prospect of marrying Eric and having a family of your own. It was all you wanted back then, wasn’t it?”

“Maybe the girl should be careful what she wishes for,” Liz said, her tone uncharacteristically sullen.

Tara looked at her, an amused expression on her face. “What? This coming from the happiest married woman I know?”

But her friend stayed silent, and just as quickly Tara’s amusement changed to a frown.

“Liz? What’s the matter?” she asked, setting down her coffee mug. “Has something happened?”

“I don’t know,” her friend replied.

For the first time, Tara noticed how drawn and anxious Liz looked today. She hadn’t really noticed anything untoward up to now  but, come to think of it,
she
had been doing most of the talking for the last half hour or so, whereas Liz had just sat there quietly listening and saying little more than a brief ‘really?’ and ‘that sounds nice’.

Tara sat forward in her chair. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I … I’m not sure. I could be just imagining it, but I think Eric might be … well, as I said I’m not sure.”

“You think he might be what, Liz?”

Then Liz quietly told her about Eric’s seemingly strange behaviour and the longer and more unusual hours he lately seemed to be working. 

“But what makes you automatically think he’s having an affair?” Tara asked, shocked by the admission. Liz never behaved like this before; she had always been one of the most rational people Tara had ever come across, and to see her worrying like this now was very disconcerting.
Was
there a chance that Eric was cheating on her?

“Tara, I don’t know how to explain it, and maybe it sounds silly to you, but I just know. Call it what you want, female intuition, whatever. He’s my husband, and lately he’s been acting very strangely, staying in Dublin for long periods of time – things like that. And then, when he is home, instead of spending time with us he goes out with Colm . . . and sometimes he even goes out in the evenings and doesn’t tell me where he’s going.”

At this something niggled in the back of Tara’s mind, but she was so surprised by Liz’s revelations that she couldn’t think of what. “But wasn’t that the plan? That he’d do all these extra hours so you could get the house finished?”

Liz shook her head. “Maybe it all sounds totally irrational to you, but you don’t know what’s been going on.”

“So tell me. Tell me what makes you think your husband, who I know adores you, is now cheating on you. Liz, it doesn’t make any sense.”

Liz’s expression closed over. “Fine – I’m sorry I said anything.”

“Oh, don’t be like that. I’m merely trying to get to the bottom of this, maybe try and give you a different perspective – ”

“Tara, don’t use your pyschobabble on me,” Liz cried suddenl
y. “I’m not one of your clients.”

“No, but you are my friend, and I’m trying to help you.” This was
very
worrying.  Liz and Eric were as solid as any couple Tara had ever known. “Look, maybe the move down here has taken its toll on Eric a bit more than it has on you. After all, he thought he’d find work of some sort here, didn’t he? It must be hard on him having to go back and forth to Dublin and leaving you and Toby so often, mustn’t it?”

“He doesn’t seem to have problems leaving us to go out with Colm,” Liz said petulantly.

“But he and Colm are friends, and you said before that it’s been difficult for you and Eric to get out together or find someone to look after Toby.” Then she had a thought. “Look, why don’t I ask my mum to pop over some night, and keep an eye on Toby? Or, even better – I could ask Emma. She isn’t doing much these days, and it would do her good to get in some practice before – ”

“No, thanks,” Liz said sharply, and Tara looked up, surprised by the vehemence in her tone. “Seriously,” she added, her voice softening a little, “I’m sure we’ll be fine. And you’re right – I probably am just imagining things.”

For a few minutes, the two of them sat quietly at the table, neither of them sure what to say. Shortly afterwards, the sound of the phone ringing broke through the silence and Liz stood up to answer it.

“Hi, Eric.” The cordless handset still held to her ear, she returned to the table and sat back down across from Tara. “Oh,” she replied then.

Tara looked up at the tone of her friend’s voice.

“I’m sorry to hear that, love.”

Well, Tara thought, whatever problems the two of them might be having, at least they were still on decent speaking terms. But by Liz’s concerned expression, it seemed that Eric was passing on some bad news. She stood up from the kitchen table, and wandered into the living room, wanting to give her friend some privacy.

“I know that,” she heard Liz saying in the background, “but you and your mum will just have to go yourselves. Well, we can’t very well drag Toby along with us. It’s a long drive up to Belfast, and anyway, what about the dogs?” There was a brief pause. “Yes, I know that, but there’s not a whole lot I can do about that. I have Bruno coming again on Thursday, and there are another two booked in so … look, we’ll talk about it when you get home, OK? All right, love – I’ll have a dinner ready for you. See you then.”

“Trouble?” Tara enquired, coming back into the kitchen. 

“Eric’s uncle just died,” Liz said sighing. “He was Maeve’s only brother, and he’s being buried on Saturday in Belfast, whe
re the family’s from. Thing is, much as I want to go with Eric, I can’t just drop everything, and go all the way up there for the removal on Friday evening – not with Toby and the dogs and – ”

“I’ll do it,” Tara offered quickly.

“What? How can you?”

“Honestly, Liz, I’ll do it. Go with Eric on Friday – and stay for the full weekend if you like. It would give me an excuse to spend some time with my godson – I don’t see enough of him as it is, and every time I do he seems to have grown another foot, or aged another year.” She smiled at Liz. “Honestly, it would be no trouble.  I have a couple of appointments Friday morning, but I can arrange to do those and the ones I have in the afternoon over the phone from here – if that’s OK with you. And I don’t work weekends so – ”

“You can do that? People won’t mind?”

“Not at all.” Well, no doubt some of them
would
mind having their sessions over the phone, Tara thought, but the prospect of a reduced fee would soon quieten them. And if her offering to baby-sit made things that bit easier for poor Liz, who seemed to be having a tough time at the moment, then it would be worth it.

“You’re sure? But what about the animals?”

“You let me worry about that. Looking after my favourite godson should be no bother, and walking and feeding a few dogs couldn’t be that difficult either.” OK, so she wasn’t the world’s greatest dog lover, but it couldn’t be
that
bad, could it?

“Tara, I really couldn’t ask you to do that,” Liz said.

“You’re not asking – I’m offering, actually I’m
insisting
. Go to Belfast with your husband for the funeral. I’m sure he’ll need you.”

“Well, I don’t know if he and his uncle were
that
close, but Maeve would obviously like us to go so …” Liz was finally coming round to the idea. “Now are you sure you’ll be OK with Toby? He can be a bit of a handful, you know.”

“Me and Toby will be fine,” Tara insisted. “We’ll have a ball. And I’m well able to look after a few mangy dogs.”

Liz grimaced. “Please, don’t say that in front of their owners, or I won’t have a business when I get back,” she said, raising a smile for the first time that day. Then she shrugged. “But, if you’re sure.”

Satisfied that Tara really wanted to do this, Liz flicked through her kennels diary. “Like I thought, there are only three dogs and one cat booked in over the weekend, which isn’t too bad. One dog is already here, and the others are due in on Thursday evening. Obviously, I won’t take any more bookings in the meantime, and I’ll make sure I’m back early on Sunday evening, so you won’t have to deal with any of the owners.” 

“Grand,” Tara replied briskly. “I’ll be down Friday morning and you can show me what needs to be done.”

“What about Glenn?” Liz enquired. “Won’t he mind?”

“Are you mad? Glenn will think he’s died and gone to heaven having the house to himself for a weekend. He’ll be able to watch Sky Sports morning noon and night. Although now that I think of it, he’s working Saturday morning anyway, so I’m sure he won’t miss me.”

“I suppose,” Liz looked thoughtful. “Do you know, it will be really strange – I don’t think me and Eric have had a single night to ourselves since Toby was born. I know Maeve will be there of course, but still.”

“Well, maybe the time away from here will do you two a bit of good. Help you get to the bottom of whatever it is that’s bothering you.”

Liz coloured a little. “I know – maybe I am just imagining things. You’re right, we might get the chance to have a proper chat in Belfast over the weekend. Maeve will want to stay at the family home, which means me and Eric will probably have to get a hotel somewhere. The circumstances aren’t ideal, but at least I might get the chance to find out why he’s been acting so strange lately.”

“Exactly,” Tara said, pleased that her friend’s spirits had lifted a little. “And I guarantee things will seem much better after that, Liz, and you’ll come home feeling silly for even thinking those things about Eric.”