Changing Places (42 page)

Rachel signed off and took up the phone to call her son. She smiled at the sound of his voice. ‘Hi, Alex, it’s Mummy,’ she said.

‘Mummy!’ Alex squealed. ‘You won’t believe where I was this morning!’

‘Where?’ Rachel sounded suitably curious.

‘Kidz Klub!’

‘And who brought you there?’ Rachel asked. The adventure playground was Alex’s favourite place to go.

‘Granny and Grandad. And then we went for ice-cream.’

‘Sounds like you’re having lots of fun. Maybe I should stay here.’

‘No, Mum! I do miss you, honest. Is Jamie okay? Does he miss me?’

‘He misses you,’ Rachel assured him, ‘but he’s fine. Are you looking forward to your weekend in EuroDisney with Daddy?’

‘I can’t wait, Mum, it’s going to be ace! Peter and Seán have both been there and they say it’s the best place in the world.’

Rachel laughed. If Alex’s best mates said so, then it must be true. ‘You’ll have a wonderful time, darling. I’ll call you before you go, okay?’

‘Okay, Mum. Do you want to speak to Granny?’

‘No, darling, I have to run. Tell her that I’ll call tonight. And tell her that I got her card.’

‘Okay, Mum, bye.’

‘Bye, Alex, love you.’

Rachel hung up, still smiling, and went to start lunch – Anna and Jill would be here in a few minutes. It was going to be a very simple meal of grilled chicken and salad. She’d
planned on making a Caesar salad, but remembered that Anna was completely off anchovies, and garlic was out too as her sister turned green at even the smell. Rachel gave up trying to be adventurous
and simply tossed the salad in olive oil and wine vinegar. At least she had been able to marinate the chicken pieces in a little soy sauce before grilling them so that would give the salad some
flavour. She was just cutting the chicken into bite-size pieces when she heard the girls coming up the path.

‘He definitely fancies you,’ Jill was saying as they fell in the door laughing.

‘Lucky me!’ Anna put down her bag and flopped into a chair, fanning her face and smiling at her sister. ‘Hi, Rache. Apparently Juan has the hots for me.’

‘His glasses mist up whenever she’s around,’ Jill sniggered.

‘That’s gross,’ Rachel retorted. ‘He must be ninety if he’s a day.’

‘Just turned sixty-five,’ Jill replied.

‘No!’ Anna stared at her in disbelief. ‘Jeez, he must have had a bloody hard life!’

‘Apparently he was quite a man for the ladies in his day.’ Jill leaned across Rachel and took a piece of chicken.

‘How’s the babs?’ Anna asked.

‘Sleeping peacefully.’

‘He’s a wonderful little fella, isn’t he?’ Anna patted her own tummy. ‘I hope this little one is half as well-behaved as its cousin.’

‘Are you feeling up to some lunch?’ Rachel asked.

Anna made a face. ‘Not really, but I suppose I’d better have something. Liam has me driven mad. Every night when he calls, he makes me run through what I’ve eaten for the
day.’

‘Ah, I think that’s nice,’ Jill laughed. ‘How’s life as a Factory Manager?’

‘It seems to be going very well although he’s working long hours. He says he wants to put in the time now so that he’ll be able to take a few weeks when the baby
comes.’

‘That’s good, you’re going to need him then,’ Rachel told her. ‘Trust me, you’ll need everyone then. By the way, girls, the post arrived.’ She nodded
towards the card on the table.

‘A postcard?’ Anna asked.

Jill picked it up and turned it over. There was a large, gaudy green shamrock on the front. ‘It’s from your mam!’

‘Oh, she’s a gas woman, isn’t she?’ Anna said. ‘Read it out, Jill.’

‘Great little artist, your son,’ Jill said, admiring the three stick figures beside the blue blob.

‘Leave it to her to send us a postcard from Ireland,’ Anna chuckled.

‘It’s so strange being here and them being back there, isn’t it?’ Rachel said as she served up their lunch. ‘I’m so glad they decided to settle in
Benalmadena. They seem really happy and it’s great that Jill is near enough to keep an eye on them.’

‘I think they keep an eye on me more than I keep an eye on them,’ Jill replied.

‘This is lovely,’ Anna told her sister, as she tucked into her salad. ‘By the way, did I tell you Mark called earlier?’

Rachel paused, the fork halfway to her mouth. ‘No.’

‘He was asking about you.’

Jill looked over at her cousin. ‘So, Rachel, are you going to do it? Are you going to take the job in Donnelly’s Real Estate?’

Rachel glanced at her sister. ‘Well, if there really is a job there . . .’

Anna rolled her eyes. ‘Rachel, Mark doesn’t hire people out of the goodness of his heart! He’s agreed that I can work half days and that he’ll take someone on to job
share.’

‘But does he realize that I don’t know anything about real estate?’

Jill laughed as she opened a bottle of wine. ‘Every woman knows something about real estate – mainly what she’d like and what she can actually afford!’

‘Mark isn’t looking for experience,’ Anna reminded her sister. ‘That would cost too much money and you know what a skinflint he is.’

‘So?’ Jill prompted Rachel as she munched thoughtfully on a piece of bread.

‘Well, as long as Jamie settles into the crèche okay, then yes, I’ll take the job.’

Anna beamed at her sister. ‘Oh that’s wonderful, Rache! The first thing we must do is buy you that sexy business suit you’ve always wanted.’

‘God, don’t do that,’ Jill warned her. ‘Mark will be all over you like a rash.’

Anna laughed. ‘You know, this calls for a celebration. Let’s go out tonight.’

Jill nodded. ‘Fine by me. I’m not on duty again until lunchtime tomorrow.’

‘But what about Jamie?’ Rachel asked.

‘Andy will mind him,’ Jill told her. ‘You’ve seen them together – he’s a natural.’

Anna shook her head as Jill offered her some wine. ‘Who’d have thought it, eh? I can’t believe you two are still together.’

‘Neither can I, sometimes,’ Jill admitted. ‘It’s the longest I’ve ever been with a guy. Of course, my mother thinks I’m mad buying Kitty out and going into
partnership with Andy but hey, I’ve got to take a chance sometime.’

‘Pat’s only upset because she’d prefer you two to get married first,’ Anna pointed out.

Jill laughed. ‘True, but I’m not rushing into that one.’ She looked across at Rachel who was gazing out at the coastline, lost in thought. ‘Are you okay,
Rache?’

‘Yeah, fine. I’m just trying to get my head around the idea of being a part of the workforce again.’

‘How do you think Gary will feel about you working?’

‘What’s it got to do with him?’ Anna retorted. ‘What Rache does with her life is none of his business any more.’

‘It’s okay, Anna,’ Rachel said, although she was touched by her sister’s protectiveness. ‘Gary is very happy for me. You know, we’re getting on better now
than we have in years.’

‘So are you getting back together again?’ Anna asked, wide-eyed.

‘Lord, no!’ Rachel was vehement. ‘Not a chance.’

‘Is he still seeing Her?’ Anna asked.

‘I don’t think so.’ Rachel looked from her sister to her cousin. ‘Did I tell you I went to see her?’

‘No!’ Anna stared at her. ‘What did you say to her?’

‘Oh, nothing. I had no intention of actually saying anything, I just wanted to see what she looked like.’ Rachel laughed wryly. ‘You’d want to have seen me creeping
around the shop – it’s a wonder I wasn’t done for shoplifting.’

‘So, what is she like?’ Jill prompted.

Rachel grinned. ‘At least a size bigger than me! She looks quite normal and very conservatively dressed.’

‘Well, she does work in a bookshop,’ Jill pointed out.

‘Is she pretty?’ Anna asked.

‘Not particularly. She’s not the sort of person you’d really notice – although Gary obviously did.’

‘Gary’s a bit like that himself,’ Anna said.

‘Anna!’ Jill shook her head at her cousin’s lack of tact.

‘Oh, you know what I mean, Rache,’ Anna appealed to her sister. ‘We couldn’t believe it when you took up with him after Eric – talk about opposites.’

Rachel sighed. ‘Oh Eric – I haven’t thought about him in years. I wonder what would have happened if we’d stayed together.’

‘You wouldn’t have Alex and Jamie,’ Jill said gently.

‘True, and whatever would I do without them?’ Rachel sat back and sipped her wine. ‘Gosh, it’s nice to be able to drink again.’

‘Rub it in, why don’t you,’ Anna complained. ‘I have got to teach Liam how to make some of those marvellous cocktails Juan has been giving me. They’re
delicious.’

Jill winked at Rachel. ‘Told you he fancied you. Maybe he’ll decide to follow you back to Dublin.’

Anna shuddered. ‘That’s not remotely funny. Oh, I can’t wait to see Liam again, although I will miss you, Jill.’

‘Remember, I’ll be back the week after next for Dad’s birthday.’

‘Of course – I’d forgotten about that. You know, that’s probably going to be the last chance we get to let our hair down for quite some time. It’s going to be a
very busy year for all of us.’

‘I don’t mind it being busy,’ Rachel said, ‘but I could do without the drama we had last year.’

‘Amen to that,’ her sister agreed.

Jill held up a hand. ‘I’d like to say something to you both and this seems as good a time as any.’

‘Uh-oh, she’s off.’ Anna rolled her eyes and Rachel kicked her. ‘Ouch, that hurt!’

Jill made a face at her. ‘I want to say something serious before I drink any more of this stuff, so no more interruptions, if you please. As Rachel said, there have been many changes in
each of our lives in the last year. Some heartache, many hard knocks but, thankfully, much happiness too, not least because of that wonderful little bundle in there.’ She nodded towards the
bedroom.

Rachel and Anna smiled at each other.

‘Regardless,’ Jill continued, ‘we have come through it all and out the other side, and we’ve done it together. I am proud of you two – hell, I’m even proud of
me! So I’d like to propose a toast, dear cousins. To the three of us and survival. All for one –’

‘– and one for all!’ Anna and Rachel chorused.

‘I have something to say too,’ Anna said, smiling at her sister. ‘Here’s to Rachel joining the workforce.’

Rachel clinked her glass against Anna’s. ‘And here’s to you becoming a mother!’

Jill looked at her two best friends and smiled. ‘To you both – changing places!’