Maeve Binchy - Evening Class

'Yes?'

I'd love to talk. I don't suppose you'd like to meet?'

'You're right, Paul. No bitterness, just no point.'

'Fran, can I talk to you a little on the phone?'

'It's a busy time.'

'It's always a busy time for busy people.'

'Well, you've said it.'

'But what's more important than Kathy?'

'To me, nothing.'

'And she is hugely important to me too, but…'

'But you don't want to get too involved.'

'Absolutely wrong. I would love to get as involved as I can, but you brought her up, you made her what she is, you are the person who cares for her most in the world. I don't want to muscle in suddenly. I want you to tell me what would be best for her.'

'Do you think I know? How could I know? I want everything in the world for her, but I can't get it. If you can get more, then do it, get it, give it to her.'

'She thinks the world of you, Fran.'

'She's pretty taken with you too.'

'She's only known about me a week or two, she's known you all her life.'

'Don't break her heart, Paul. She's a great girl, she's had such a shock. I thought she sort of knew, guessed, absorbed it or something. It's not such an unusual situation around here. But apparently not.'

'No, but she's coped with it. She's got your genes. She can cope with things, fair or unfair.'

'And yours too, lots of courage.'

'So what will we do, Fran?'

'We have to leave it to her.'

'She can have as much of me as she wants, but I promise you I won't try to take her away from you.'

'I know.' There was a silence.

'And are things… well, all right?'

'Yeah, they're, well, all right.'

'She tells me you're both learning Italian, she spoke Italian in the restaurant today.'

'Good for her,' Fran sounded pleased.

'Didn't we do well in a way, Fran?'

'We sure did,' she said, and hung up before she burst into tears.

'What are carciofi , Signora?' Kathy asked at Italian class. 'Artichokes, Caterina. Why do you ask?'

'I went to a restaurant and they had them on the menu.'

'I wrote that menu for my friend Brenda Brennan,' Signora said proudly. 'Was it Quentin's?'

'That's right, but don't tell Mr. Dunne. His wife works there, a bit of a prune, I think.'

'I believe so,' said Signora.

'Oh, by the way, Signora, you know the way you said you thought Fran was my mother and I said she was my sister?'

'Yes, yes…' Signora was ready to apologise.

'You were quite right, I hadn't understood,' Kathy said, as if it were the most natural mistake in the world anyone could have made, mistaking a mother for a sister.

'Well, it's good to have it all sorted out.'

'I think it is good,' Kathy said.

'It must be.' Signora was serious. 'She's so young, and so nice and you'll have her around for years and years, much longer than if she were an older mother.'

'Yes. I wish she'd get married, then I wouldn't feel so responsible for her.'

'She may in time.'

'But I think she missed her chance. He went to America. I think she stayed because of me.'

'You could write to him,' said Signora.

Signora's friend Brenda Brennan was thrilled to hear how well the classes were going. 'I had one of your little pupils in the other day, well, she was wearing a Mountainview blazer and said that she was learning Italian.'

'Did she have artichokes?'

'How do you know these things, you must be psychic!'

'That's Kathy Clarke… She's the only child, the rest of them are grown ups. She said that Aidan Dunne's wife works there. Is that right?'

'Oh, this is the Aidan you talk about so much. Yes, Nell is the cashier. Odd sort of woman, I don't know what she's at, to be honest.'

'What do you mean?'

'Well, highly efficient, honest, quick. Nice mechanical smile at the customers, remembers their names. But she's miles away.'

'Miles away where?'

'I think she's having an affair,' Brenda said eventually.

'Never. Who with?'

'I don't know, she's s

'Well, well.'

Brenda shrugged it off. 'So if you're thinking of making a play for her husband, go ahead, the wife isn't going to be able to cast any stones at you.'

'Heavens, Brenda, what an idea. At my age. But tell me, who was Kathy Clarke having lunch with in your elegant restaurant?'

'It's funny… she was with Paul Malone, you know, or maybe you wouldn't, very trendy accountant married to all that Hayes money. Buckets of charm.'

'And Kathy was with him?'

'I know. She could have been his daughter,' Brenda said. 'But honestly, the longer I work in this business the less surprised I am about anything.'

'Paul?'

'Kathy, it's been ages.'

'Will you come to have lunch with me, my treat? Not Quentin's.'

'Sure, where do you suggest?'

'I won a voucher at Italian class to this place, lunch for two including wine.'

'I can't have you missing school like this.'

'Well, I was going to suggest a Saturday, unless that's a problem.'

'It's never a problem, I told you that.'

She showed him the prize she had won at the Italian class. Paul Malone said he was very pleased to have been chosen as her guest.

'I want to put something to you. It's got a bit to do with money but it's not begging.'

'You put it to me,' he said.

She told him about this flight to New York for Christmas. Ken would pay most of it but he literally didn't have all of it and he couldn't borrow out there; it wasn't like here where people sort of lived on credit.

'Tell me about it,' said Paul Malone the accountant.

'He was so pleased when I wrote and told him that I knew about everything now, and I was so sorry if I had stood in their way. He wrote back and said that he loved Fran to bits and that he had been thinking of coming back to Ireland for her but he felt he would have messed it up all ways if he did that. Honestly, Paul, I couldn't let you see the letter because it's private but you'd love it, you really would, you'd be pleased for her.'

'I know I would.'

'So I'll tell you exactly how much it is. It's about three hundred pounds. I know it's enormous. And I know all that's in this building society account Fran has for me, so you see it's only a loan. When we get them together I can give it straight back to you.'

'How will we give it so that it doesn't look the way it is?'

'You'll do it.'

'I'd give you anything, Kathy, and your mother too. But you can't take away people's pride.'

'Could we send it to Ken?'

'That might be taking away his pride.'

There was a silence. The waiter came to ask were they enjoying the meal.

' Benissimo ,' Kathy said.

'My… my young friend has taken me here on a voucher she won at Italian class,' Paul Malone said.

'You must be clever,' said the waiter.

'No, I'm just good at winning things,' Kathy said.

Paul looked as if an idea had just struck him. 'That's it, you could win a couple of air tickets,' he suggested.

'How could I do that?'

'Well, you won us two lunches here.'

'That's because Signora organised it that someone in the class should get a prize.'

'Well, maybe I could organise it that someone could win two air tickets.'

'It would be cheating.'

'It would be better than being patronising.'

'Can I think about it?'

'Don't think too long, we have to set up this imaginary competition.'

'And should we tell Ken?'

don't think so,' said Paul. 'What do you think?'

'I don't think he has any need to know the whole scenario,' Kathy said. It was a phrase Harriet used a lot.

O C

When Lou was fifteen, three men with sticks had come into his parents' shop, taken all the cigarettes, the contents of the till and, as the family cowered behind the counter, there came the noise of a Garda car.