Maeve Binchy - Tara Road

'The machine?'

'Life-support machine.'

'Poor Marilyn. What a decision to have to make.'

'She thinks they made the wrong one, that's why she has no peace.'

'Well, if she has no peace, I sure as hell wonder whether she'll find it in Tara Road,' said Ria.

Marilyn lay in her bath and Clement sat on the bathroom chair as if he were somehow guarding her. Gertie had told her that Clement didn't normally go upstairs.

'Well, he does now,' Marilyn had said.

'It's just that when Ria comes back, he might you know, being only a cat, still think he's welcome up here.' Gertie had tried to be tactful, but wasn't making a good fist of it.

'I'm sure Ria's doing things in my house that I don't approve of either but we agreed that we would put up with that for the summer.' Marilyn sounded brisk and firm.

'But are there any living things in your house?' Gertie wanted to know.

'No living things,' Marilyn had said.

As Marilyn added more hot water to her bath Clement yawned a great yawn.

'I fought for you, Clement. Don't yawn at me like that,' she said.

Clement closed his mouth and went back to sleep. Marilyn wondered at all the living things that Ria had left behind her.

Andy arrived with a cold-bag full of food. He had also brought a bottle of wine. 'You look very nice,' he said appreciatively. 'Very nice indeed.'

'Thank you.' It had been so long since anyone had paid her a compliment. You look fine, sweetheart was the most Danny had said to her for ages. And in the last years Annie had said little except You look absolutely terrible in that colour . Rosemary had said she looked well when she dressed up but the implication was that it was not often enough. Hilary had remarked that fine feathers make fine birds. Her mother had said there was nothing to beat a good navy costume and a white blouse and that it was a pity when people with as much class and opportunity as Ria wore streelish-looking things that you wouldn't see on a halting site. True, Colm sometimes said she looked well. But it was more a compliment to the house or the garden, or Ria as part of the scene, than to herself.

So it was unusual to be admired openly by a man.

Then the cooking began by rubbing the garlic around the bowl for the Caesar salad. There was a lot of gesture, flourish and fuss but it tasted very good. And then they began on the potato cakes.

'Oh, they're latkes,' Andy said, a little disappointed. He had thought it was something totally unknown.

'Are they?' Ria was disappointed too.

'But I actually like them a lot. And these are Irish latkes so that makes them special,' he said.

So they laughed over that and over a lot of things. He told her about the conference and the madwoman organising it who was at such a level of stress she was almost ready to ignite. Arranging the seating plan for the conference dinner, a matter of no importance whatsoever, had her on heavy sedation.

'How did it go, the dinner, in the end?' Ria asked.

'No idea, it's tonight.'

'And you didn't wait for it?'

'I thought this would be more fun, and I was right,' he said.

Ria had made a strawberry shortcake which they had with coffee.

'You mean you didn't buy this at the gourmet shop?'

'No, my own two hands,' she laughed and stretched out her newly manicured hands.

'But you bought the pastry surely?'

'No way. I make pastry quick as looking at you.' Andy was very impressed. She was enjoying this in a childish way. She told him about the Internet lessons and asked did he think Marilyn would mind her using the laptop.

'Not a bit, I'll set it up for you.'

'I should ask first.'

'Look, it's like using someone's telephone, or the vacuum… it's not like a finely tuned piano or anything.'

'But suppose…?'

'Come on, where does she keep it?'

'It's in the study.'

They went into the pleasant book-lined room and Andy opened the machine. 'I'll show you how to boot it up then you'll be able to do it for yourself.' As he spoke the telephone rang and because they were not in the room with the answering machine Ria answered it automatically.

'Hallo?' she said as if she were back in Dublin and this was her phone.

'Ria? It's Greg Vine.'

'Oh Greg. How are you?' Her eyes met Andy's across the desk. The natural thing, the normal thing would have been to say 'You won't believe it but your brother is here.' That's what people would say if it were an ordinary situation surely. But then it might need a lot more explanation than was necessary. And might imply things which didn't need to be implied. So she said nothing about Andy Vine being four feet away from her with a half-smile on his face as he watched her.

Ria listened to Greg's apologetic request that she find a file for him. It was in the study. 'I'm in the study as we speak,' Ria said.

'Oh good.' He sounded pleased. 'Very technical books I'm afraid and lots of student papers. That's what I want you to get for me, can I direct you?'

'Sure.'

From Hawaii Greg Vine directed her to the wall with Student Notes on it and gave her a year, then a name, then a subject. Each time she repeated them Andy moved and found the document.

'It's just the first page and title of the publications this kid has done, and we need it today.'

'Today?'

'I was going to ask Heidi and Henry as a huge favour to call round and pick it up and e-mail it to me.'

'Heidi and Henry to come round here to pick it up and e-mail it to you tonight?' She repeated every word as if she were a halfwit but she wanted Andy to get the other end of the conversation. He understood immediately. He pointed to the piece of paper, and to the laptop and to his own chest. 'I could send it to you by e-mail myself if you let me use Marilyn's laptop.'

'You know how to e-mail?' He was surprised and pleased.

'Well yes, by chance I do, I went to a lesson this morning with Heidi.'

'Well, well, what amazing luck. I don't need to get Heidi and Henry out at all.' He was overjoyed at the good timing.

Andy had written down 'Get the password and his e-mail address'. And in moments the information was put in, and the message sent.

'It's on my screen now, I can't thank you enough. Who is giving this course anyway? You learned pretty quick.'

Ria remembered that Hubie had been a friend of the dead Dale. 'Oh some man… I didn't get his name.'

'Never mind. He saved us all tonight whoever he was.'

When she hung up they looked at each other. One bridge had been crossed almost accidentally.

'Well now, since they think in Hawaii that you're an expert at this, let's make you one,' he said.

Was he sitting a little too close to her? she wondered. 'Let me get my notes.' She jumped up and went for the sheet of paper that Hubie had given them all at the class.

Andy looked at them. 'My God, Hubie Green, he was one of the kids with Dale on the night of the accident.'

Ria looked at him levelly. 'Why didn't you tell me Dale was dead?'

He was shocked. 'But you knew, surely?'

'No, I didn't. I had to wait until Heidi told me.'

'But you mentioned his room, the way it was all laid out.'

'I thought he was in Hawaii. I asked you when was he coming back, you said in the fall.'

'Oh my God, I thought you meant Greg.'

There was a silence while they each realised how the misunderstanding had happened.

'You see they're so very cut up they can't even bring themselves to talk about it. To mention that you knew Hubie Green would bring it all back.'

'I know,' said Ria. 'That's why I pretended I didn't know his name.'

'You did it very well.' Andy was admiring.

'You know a funny thing? At home I am always so honest and undevious, and since I came out here I haven't stopped pretending and covering up things for no reason at all.'