Behind Every Cloud (11 page)

“
Your house really is beautiful,
”
she said
,
wanting to change the subject.
“
Was it your girlfriend who did the décor?
”

“
God, no,
I wouldn
’
t have let her near it! She
’
d have had everything black and white and stainless steel. An interior designer friend of mine did it.
”

“
Well, whoever it was
,
they did a great job.
”

“
Thank you. I
’
m very happy with it. Would you like to see around?
”

“
I
’
d love to. I
’
ve never been in a house as nice as this – well, except maybe Frank and Judith
’
s, where I met you
.”

“
Yes, I suppose for Mars this is considered a nice house,
”
he teased.

He smiled as he saw that she was blushing again. He s
howed her around the house
,
pleased that she was so impressed with everything. They ended up in the basement.

“
This is where I have my office and in this next room I hold my wine courses,
”
he said, opening the door for her.

“
Do you hold many every year?
”
she enquired as she looked around the airy bright room. There were large French windows looking onto the back garden
.

“
Well, I lecture for the Wine Board and prepare students for the Certificate exams. On top of that I bring my employees here on a regular basis to update their knowledge and for wine tastings.
”

“
Employees? How many do you have?
”

“
Fifty, last count.
”

“
My goodness! Fifty
!”
she exclaimed, amazed
. “
What do they all do?
”

“
Well, I have ten wine shops and an import business and I
’
m about to start an online business as well.
”

Ellie was gobsmacked. No wonder he could afford this house! She guessed he was still in his twenties. She turned
to him, her blue eyes widening.

“
Goodness gracious, what a success you
’
ve made of your life – and you
’
re still only what . . . twenty-nine . . . thirty?
”

“
Do I look that old?
”
He pretended to be offended.
“
A
ctually, I
’
m twenty-eight,
”
he laughed
,
seeing her stricke
n look.

“
Gosh, you must have been a genius at school.
”

“
No way! I dropped out before my Leaving and went
to France to work in a vineyard. My parents were horrified. They wanted me to go to university but I hated school and I knew I wanted to be in the wine business so off I went. I
spent five years there and made lots of contacts before coming home to open my first wine-shop.
”

Ellie was impressed
. “
I hated school too and was useless at studying.
”

“
Yes, but you like what you do now, don
’
t you?
”
He cocked his head to the side and
looked at her with interest.
“
I remember you told me some funny stories about the beauty salon the first night I met you.
”
He was grinnin
g as he recalled it.

“
I like the clients and the two girls I work with but the job itself is pretty boring. What I really would have liked was to have become a vet. But with my Leaving results that was out of the question. I
’
m not that smart.
”

“
Being smart has nothing to do with passing exams,
”
he said gently.
“
It
’
s important to love what you do. I do. I love working with wine
.
Hey
,
I see your glass is empty. Let
’
s go back upstairs.
”

She followed him up to the living-room again, admiring the lovely paintings lining the walls. This really was an exquisite house. She sighed, thinking of the poky little houses she and David had been looking at on the Internet and could barely afford.

Over another glass of wine they chatted on
,
until Ellie realised that it was getting on for ten o
’
clock.

“
Oh goodness, look at the time
!
I
’
m sorry, I do go on sometimes. I
’
d better go,
”
she said
,
standing up.

“
I
’
ve really enjoyed talking to you. You livened up my e
vening. I look forward to seeing you next Monday night.
”

“
Oh
God, I
’
m sorry, I almost forgot to pay you and that
’
s the reason I called around,
”
she said, embarrassed, as she reached into her bag for her purse. She handed him the €300 for the course.

“
Thanks
.
Hold on a jiffy, I have to go downstairs to get you a receipt.
”

He turned to go but Ellie stopped him.
“
Don
’
t worry about it. You can give it to me next Monday.
”

“
Fine, I look forward to seeing you then,
”
he smiled as he shook her hand.
He showed her out and Ellie walked home, swinging her bag, thinking that with Sam as the lecturer the course was going to be very interesting.
She was really glad that she
’
d decided to do it.

9

Ronan was tired of the stand-off with Louise. The strain of living in a house with someone who hadn
’
t spoken to him in a week, along with the uncertainty at work and his dire financial situation
,
was all taking its toll on him. He was feeling
completely stressed out. At least Louise seemed to be making an effort. She hadn
’
t been out of the house since Sunday, or so she said, so at least she hadn
’
t been shopping. On Wednesday he went to the doctor who prescribed some medication for him and warned him to chill out. When Conor rang and asked him to meet him that night for a pint he jumped at the chance to escape another night of silence. At the least a few pints would help him relax.

Louise was relieved to hear Ronan say he was going out for a few pints as it meant she could at last retrieve the stuff she
’
d bought in Kildare the previous Sunday from Melissa
’
s house. The moment he
’
d left the house she rang her friend.

“
Hi
,
Mel, it
’
s me
.
Ronan
’
s gone out for a few hours and I
’
d like to come around and collect my stuff straight away
.”

“
Hi
,
Lou. I
’
m sorry
,
but I
’
m just about to go out actually. I
’
m meeting my sister in Wong
’
s for a Chinese.
”

“
Oh Mel, I have to have it now. Couldn
’
t
you drop if off on your way?
I
’
m dying to have it and I may not be alone again another evening this week. Puhleease?
”
she be
gged.
“
It won
’
t take that long. Can
’
t you ring your sister a
nd explain you
’
ll be ten minutes late?
”

Melissa sighed. Louise had been bossing her around ever since they
’
d been at national school together and she was still at it.
“
Okay, I
’
ll be around in ten.
”

She dropped the bags off shortly after and was greeted by an excited Louise.

“
You
’
re an angel! I can
’
t wait to see everything again. I
’
ve almost forgotten what I bought
.”
Her eyes were sparkling and her face aglow.

“
Did that guy Alan ring you?
”
Melissa asked her.

“
No, not yet,
”
Louise replied as she took the bags into her bedroom,
“
but he will. I know he will
.”

How great to be so sure of yourself, Melissa thought enviously, as she drove away.

Louise emptied all the bags on the bed and looked with excitement at the mound of clothes. She had to work quickly. First she cut off all the labels and price
-
tags and then burned them, along with all the bags, in the incinerator in the garden
.
Ronan would not be out there till the weekend at least. She had already burnt all the receipts the previous Monday when Ronan had left for work. She couldn
’
t risk him finding any trace of this latest spree. She had been quite shocked to see that she had spent just over
€900,
and that was without the leather jacket and trousers that Alan had paid for. God, it was amazing how quickly it all added up!

Caressing the beautiful clothes she carefully stored them all away. She couldn
’
t resist changing into her new lingerie, a DKNY top and the 7 For All Mankind jeans. Wow! The jeans fitted her like a glove. She felt fantastic!

When all the evidence had been secreted away she was in such a good mood that she opened the last bottle of wine that they had in the house. By the time Ronan came wearily in, she was in great form and ready to forgive him.

“
How was Conor?
”
she asked him, taking him by surprise
.
“
Did you have a nice evening?
”

His shoulders visibly relaxed. The cold war was obviousl
y over! She looked very attractive, curled up as she was on the sofa.

“
Great. Conor says hello.
”
He
’
d said no such thing but a little lie wouldn
’
t hurt.

“
Would you like a glass of wine?
”
she asked, getting up to get him a glass.

He didn
’
t really want one but he wasn
’
t going to upset the apple-cart now.
“
Yes, just a small one,
”
he replied
,
noticing that there wasn
’
t much more than that left in the bottle.

“
You look very nice,
”
he remarked.
“
Are they new jeans
?”

“
Course not! I
’
ve had them for years. I just haven
’
t worn them in yonks,
”
she said, taking him at his word and handing him a miniscule glass of wine. She poured the remainder of the bottle into her own.

Ronan didn
’
t think he
’
d ever seen the jeans before but then she had so many pairs that he could have been mistaken. He wasn
’
t very observant of what women wore at any time. So he let it go.

Going up to bed he was pleasantly surprised to discover that she
’
d obviously decided to move back in with him. He considered initiating sex but
,
after the few drinks and with all the stress he was feeling
,
he didn
’
t think he
’
d be able to get it up. Instead, he kissed her chastely as he turned out the light and turned over.