Maeve Binchy: Circle of Friends

"What's his name?" Eve asked.

"Sean. Sean Walsh. He's going to live in the shop."

"Ugh?" said Eve. "Will he go to your house for meals?"

"No, that's the great thing. He won't. Mother asked him to come to Sunday lunch and he made some awful speech about not assuming, or something."

"Presuming."

"Yes, well whatever it is he's not going to do it and it seems to mean coming to meals. He'll fend for himself he said."

"Good."

Eve approved of that. Benny spoke hesitantly. "Mother said.."

"Yes?"

"If you'd like to come any time.. that would be .. It would be all right."

Benny spoke gruffly as if fearing the invitation would be spurned.

"Oh, I'd like that," Eve said.

"Like to tea on an ordinary day, or maybe midday dinner on a Saturday or Sunday."

"I'd love Sunday. It's a bit quiet here on Sundays, a lot of praying, you see."

"Right, I'll tell her." Benny's brow had cleared. "Oh, there is one thing though.."

"What is it?" Benny didn't like the intense look on Eve's face.

"I won't be able to ask you back. Where they eat and I eat, it's beyond the curtain, you see.

"That doesn't matter at all." Benny was relieved that this was the only obstacle.

"Of course, when I'm grown up and have my own place, you know, my cottage, I could ask you there," Eve said earnestly.

"Is it really your cottage?"

"I told everyone." Eve was belligerent. "I thought it might only be a pretend cottage," Benny said apologetically.

"How could it be pretend? It's mine. I was born there. It belonged to my mother and my father. They're both dead, it's mine."

"Why can't you go there now?"

"I don't know. They think I'm too young to live on my own.

"Well, of course you're too young to live on your own," Benny said.

"But to visit?"

"Mother Francis said it was sort of serious, my own place, my inheritance she calls it. She says I shouldn't be treating it as a doll's house, a playing place when I'm young.

They thought about it for a while. "Maybe she's right," Benny said grudgingly. "She could be."

"Have you looked in the windows?"

"Yes."

"Nobody's gone and messed it all up on you?"

"No, nobody goes there at all."

"Why's that? It's got a lovely view down over the quarry."

"They're afraid to go there. People died there."

"People die everywhere." Benny shrugged. This pleased Eve. "That's true. I hadn't thought of that."

"So who died in the cottage?"

"My mother. And then a bit later my father."

"Oh."

Benny didn't know what to say. This was the first time Eve had ever talked about her life. Usually she flashed back with a Mind Your Own Business, if anyone asked her a question.

"But they're not in the cottage, they're in Heaven now, Benny said eventually.

"Yes, of course.

There seemed to be another impasse. "I'd love to go and look through the window with you some time," Benny offered.

Eve was about to reply when Maire Carroll came by. "That was a nice party, Benny," she said.

"I didn't know it was meant to be fancy dress though."

"What do you mean?" Benny asked.

"Well, Eve was in fancy dress, weren't you, Eve? I mean that big red thing, that wasn't meant to be ordinary clothes, was it?"

Eve's face tightened into that hard look that she used to have before.

Benny hated to see the expression come back.

"I thought it was quite funny myself," Maire said with a little laugh.

"We all did when we were coming home."

Benny looked around the schoolyard. Mother Francis was looking the other way.

With all her strength Benny Hogan launched herself off the wall down on Maire Carroll. The girl fell over, winded.

"Are you all right, Maire?" Benny asked in a falsely sympathetic tone.

Mother Francis came running, her habit streaming behind her.

"What happened, child?" She was struggling to get Maire's breath back, and raise her to her feet.

"Benny pushed me.." Maire gasped. "Mother, I'm sorry, I'm so clumsy, I was just getting off the wall."

"All right, all right, no bones broken. Get her a stool." Mother Francis dealt with the panting Maire.

"She did it purposely."

"Shush, shush, Maire. Here's a little stool for you, sit down now.

Maire was crying. "Mother, she just jumped down from the wall on me like a ton of bricks .. I was only saying

"Maire was telling me how much she liked the party, Mother. I'm so sorry," Benny said.

"Yes, well Benny, try to be more careful. Don't throw yourself around so much. Now, Maire, enough of this whining. It's not a bit nice.

Benny has said she was sorry. You know it was an accident. Come along now and be a big girl."

"I'd never want to be as big a girl as Benny Hogan. No one would."

Mother Francis was cross now. "That's quite enough, Maire Carroll.

Quite enough. Take that stool and go inside to the cloakroom and sit there until you're called by me to come away from it."

Mother Francis swept away. And as they all knew she would, she rang the bell for the end of break.

Eve looked at Benny. For a moment she said nothing, she just swallowed as if there were a lump in her throat.

Benny was equally at a loss, she just shrugged and spread out her hands helplessly.

Suddenly Eve grasped her hand. "Some day, when I'm big and strong, I'll knock someone down for you," she said. "I mean it, I really will."

"Tell me about Eve's mother and father," Benny asked that night.

"Ah, that's all long ago now," her father said. "But I don't know it.

I wasn't there."

"No point in raking over all that."

"She's my friend. I want to know about her."

"She used not to be your friend. I had to plead with you to let her come to the party," Mother said. "No, that's not the way it was."

Benny couldn't believe now that this was so.

"I'm glad that child's coming here to dinner on Sunday, Eddie Hogan said. "I wish we could persuade that young skinnymalinks above in the shop to come too, but he's determined not to trespass, as he calls it."

Benny was pleased to hear that. "Is he working out well, Eddie?"

"The best you ever saw, love. We'll be blessed with him, I tell you.

He's so eager to learn he almost quivers like Shep there, he repeats everything over and over again, as if he's learning it off by heart."

"Does Mike like him?" Benny's mother wanted to know.

"Ah, you know Mike, he likes nobody."

"What does he object to?"

"The way Sean keeps the books. God, it's simple to understand, a child could do it, but old Mike has to put up a resistance to everything.

Mike says he knows everyone's measurements, and what they paid and what they owed. He thinks it's like a kind of insult to his powers to write things down."

"Couldn't you keep the books, Mother?" Benny suggested suddenly.

"No, no, I'd not be able to."

"But if it's as simple as Father says "She'd well be able to but your mother has to be here this is our home, she runs it for you and me, Benny.

"Patsy could run it. Then you wouldn't have to pay Sean.

"Nonsense, Benny," her father said.

But she wasn't to be stopped. "Why not? Mike would like Mother being in there. Mike loves Mother, and it would b something for Mother to do all day."

They both laughed.

"Isn't it great to be a child?" said her father. "To think that the day isn't full already," agreed her mother.

Benny knew very well that her mother's day was far from full. She thought that it might be nice for Mother to be involved in the shop, but obviously they weren't going to listen to her. "How did Eve's parents die?" she asked. "It's not a thing to be talking about."

"Why? Were they murdered?"

"Of course not." Her mother sounded impatient. "Why then..