The Bright Side (43 page)

My head spun. It was the second time in as many days when I’d discussed whether or not a child of mine had been picked up by the police
.

“Apparently not. But the guy’s threatening legal action. He’s got a broken nose and facial bruising.
Severe
facial bruising.
”

“I don’t understand. Who is this guy?” “What does it matter?
”

“It doesn’t, I suppose.
”

“It says his name’s Michael something, wait … Michael Rice. He’s an architect. He was out having a drink with his girlfriend when Robert, according to this anyway, just went for him.
”

There was no reply, but I thought I heard gulping. “Gerry? Are you there?
”

“Yeah.” “What is it?
”

“This girlfriend … does it mention her name?” “No. Why?
”

“Eh … Lisa’s got a boyfriend who’s an architect. I’m pretty sure his name’s Michael.
”

The blood drained from my head and for a moment the world looked very bright
.

“Jackie? Are you still there?” I hung up
.

Back
at
the
house,
Melissa
did
her
best
to
be
reassuring. “Let’s
not
go
jumping
to
conclusions,”
she
said.
“Let’s
wait
to
hear
from
Robert.
”

“ROBERT!” Niall yelled. “LAR LAR LAR!
”

“We could be waiting a long time,” I told her. “He’s only just started talking to me properly again. He’s hardly going to ring me up to discuss
this
, is he? I’m going over there. To his apartment.
”

“But he might not even be there. He’s probably working.” “If he hasn’t got fired …
”

“He won’t get fired, Jackie.
”

“I have to do something. I’m going.” “I’ll come with you then.
”

Momentarily, the idea appealed to me. Then I remembered the obvious. “What about Niall?
”

“It’ll just take me a minute to get him ready. He can come too.
”

“WE’RE GOING TO THE ZOO ZOO ZOO!” Niall roared. “YOU CAN COME TOO TOO TOO! LAR LAR LAR!
”

I had a vision of the three of us in the car, one of us hoarse, two of us deafened
.

“No,” I said firmly. “You stay put. I’ll be grand.
”

I grabbed my bag and turned on my heels before she could form an argument
.

“Aw!” said Niall
.

* * *

Robert’s
latest
apartment
–
his
third
since
he’d
left
home
– was
in
a
new
development
in
Ballsbridge.
He
was
living alone
for
the
first
time,
which
was
just
as
well,
given
the
size of
the
place;
it
was
like
a
fully-furnished
cupboard.
I’d pointed
that
out
to
him
during
my
first
visit,
presuming
he thought
as
much
himself.
But
no.
He’d
taken
offence
and another
epic
row
had
ensued.
I’d
tried
to
calm
him
down
by praising
the
relative
lack
of
litter
and
weeds
in
the
grounds
– only
about
half
as
much
as
at
his
sister’s
–
but
that
was
no good
either.
He
went
from
row-mode
to
fuming-silence- mode
and
I
ended
up
leaving
him
to
it,
not
fifteen
minutes after
I’d
arrived
.

I
parked
on
a
meter
around
the
corner
and
took
a
quick walk
(and
fag)
to
help
get
my
thoughts
together.
It
didn’t work.
My
thoughts
stayed
just
the
way
they
were,
separate little
rubber
balls
bouncing
around
in
my
skull,
crashing together
only
occasionally.
I
had
a
call
from
Gerry
as
I walked,
but I
ignored it.
A young
couple came
out the
main door
of
Robert’s
building
just
as
I
reached
it
and
I
briefly considered
running
in
while
I
had
the
chance.
But
I
didn’t
go
for
it.
I
rang
the
buzzer
instead
and
waited,
wringing
my hands
together.
There
was
no
reply.
I
buzzed
again,
with
the same
result.
Then
I
took
out
my
phone
and
called
him,
in case
he
was
in
there
but
not
answering
the
door.
I
got voicemail
again
.

“It’s me,” I said, looking around. “I’m outside … never mind.” I hung up
.

Robert was coming through the main gates with a bag of groceries. He was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses. I might not even have recognised him if it hadn’t been for his walk, which was just like Gerry’s – sort of John Wayne-ish, but not as comical. He was looking at the ground and didn’t see me until he was about thirty feet away. When he did, he turned and started off in the other direction
.

“Robert!”
I
called
out.
“Don’t
be
silly,
I
just
want
to
talk!” He’d
only
taken
a
few
strides
when
he
slowed
to
a
crawl, then
stopped.
I
guessed
he’d
concluded
that
he
looked ridiculous,
which
he
did.
He
turned
and
came
back
towards
me
.

“How are you doing?” I said as he approached
.

He didn’t reply until he was by my side. “Never better,” he said and swiped his card at the electronic door thingy
.

“Can I come in for a chat?
”

He nodded as the door clicked open, then held it open and did an exaggerated bow like a butler
.

Great
, I thought.
Sarcasm
.

It
had been quite
a while since
I’d been in
Robert’s place and
I
was
reasonably
impressed.
There
were
no
more
than
a dozen
or
so
plates
and
cups
lying
around
unwashed
and
the
dust
was
only
millimetres,
as
opposed
to
inches
thick.
He hadn’t
spoken
a
word
in
the
lift
or
the
corridor
outside
and
I hadn’t
gone
beyond
mumbling
pleasantries,
so
things
were
a little
awkward
as
we
took
our
seats
at
his
kitchen
table
.

“Tea?” he said by way of an opener
.

“No thanks. I value my health too much.
”

He shot me a look and was clearly on the point of saying something unpleasant. Then he removed his cap and then his sunglasses, revealing a blackened right eye
.

“Robert! Are you all right?” “I’m fine.
”

“You don’t look –” “I’m
fine
.
”

“Okay. If you say so. Do you want to tell me what happened?
”

“No.
”

“Maybe you –
”

“It was just a fight, all right? Nothing to get excited about.” “A fight over what?
”

“Nothing much. It doesn’t matter. Who told you anyway? I didn’t have you down as a
Sun
reader.
”

“I saw it in a shop. It’s on the cover.” “It sure is.
”

I bit the inside of my cheek for a moment. “Robert … was it Lisa? Your man’s girlfriend?
”

His good eye widened. “How the fuck do you know that?
”

“I spoke to your father. He told me Lisa has a boyfriend called Michael who’s an architect.
”

Robert half-turned away in disgust, then brought his fist down on the table so hard that his salt cellar jumped. “He’s had conversations with her about her fucking boyfriend? What the fuck’s the matter with him?
”

“Robert, please don’t sw–
”

“I’ll fucking swear if I want to! It’s my house. Apartment, whatever. This is all his fault and I’m telling you now, if I lose my job over this, that’ll be both of his kids who are never going near him again. Fucking
asshole
!
”

My hands trembled. “Don’t say that. Please.
”

“It’s the truth. And why are you defending him, for Christ’s sake?
”