Cecelia Ahern - P.S. I Love You

“Hold on!” John exclaimed very seriously.

“What?”

John's blue eyes twinkled. “It's April now and you haven't opened it yet.”

“Oh, I forgot about that! Oh no, should I do it now?”

“Go on,” encouraged Sharon.

Holly picked up the envelope and slowly began to open it. There were only eight more to open after this and she wanted to treasure every second before it became another memory. She pulled out the little card.

A Disco Diva must always look her best. Go shopping for an outfit, as you'll need it for next month!

PS, I love you . . .

“Ooooh,” John and Sharon sang with excitement, “he's getting cryptic!”

Seven

HOLLY LAY ON HER BED like a demented woman, switching the lamp on and off with a smile on her face. She and Sharon had gone shopping in Bed Knobs and Broomsticks in Malahide, and both girls had eventually agreed on the beautifully carved wooden stand and the cream shade, which matched the cream and wooden furnishings of the master bedroom (of course they had chosen the most ridiculously expensive one, it would have been wrong to spoil tradition). And although Gerry hadn't physically been there with her as she bought it, she felt that they had made the purchase together.

She had drawn the curtains of her bedroom in order to test her new merchandise. The bedside lamp had a softening effect on the room, making it appear warmer. How easily this could have ended their nightly arguments, but perhaps neither of them wanted to end them. It had become a routine, something familiar that made them feel closer. How she would give anything to have one of those little arguments now. And she would gladly get out of her cozy bed for him, she would gladly walk on the cold floor for him, and she would gladly bruise herself on the bedpost while fumbling in the dark for the bed. But that time was gone.

The sound of Gloria Gaynor's “I Will Survive” snapped her back to the present as she realized her mobile phone was ringing.

“Hello?”

“G'day, mate, I'm hooooome!” shrieked a familiar voice.

“Oh my God, Ciara! I didn't know you were coming home!”

“Well, neither did I actually, but I ran out of money and decided to surprise you all!”

“Wow, I bet Mum and Dad were surprised all right.”

“Well, Dad did drop the towel with fright when he stepped out of the shower.”

Holly covered her face with her hand. “Oh Ciara, you didn't!” she warned.

“No hugs for Daddy when I saw him!” Ciara laughed.

“Oh yuck, yuck, yuck. Change the subject, I'm having visions,” Holly said.

“OK, well, I was calling to tell you that I was home, obviously, and that Mum's organizing dinner tonight to celebrate.”

“Celebrate what?”

“Me being alive.”

“Oh, OK. I thought you might have an announcement or something.”

“That I'm alive.”

“O . . . K. So who's going?”

“The whole family.”

“Did I mention that I'm going to the dentist to have all my teeth pulled out? Sorry, I can't make it.”

“I know, I know, I said the same thing to Mum, but we haven't all been together for ages. Sure when's the last time you've even seen Richard and Meredith?”

“Oh, good ol' Dick, well, he was in flying form at the funeral. Had lots of wise and comforting things to say to me like, 'Did you not consider donating his brain to medical science?' Yes, he's such a fantastic brother all right.”

“Oh gosh, Holly, I'm sorry. I forgot about the funeral.” Her sister's voice changed. “I'm sorry I couldn't make it.”

“Ciara, don't be silly, we both decided it was best you stay,” Holly said briskly. “It's far too expensive to be flying back and forth from Australia, so let's not bring it back up, OK?”

“OK.”

Holly quickly changed the subject. “So when you say the whole family do you mean. . . ?”

“Yes, Richard and Meredith are bringing our adorable little niece and nephew. And Jack and Abbey are coming you'll be pleased to know, Declan will be there in body but probably not in mind, Mum, Dad and me of course, and you will be there.”

Holly groaned. As much as Holly moaned about her family she had a great relationship with her brother Jack. He was only two years older than her so they had always been close when growing up, and he had always been very protective of her. Their mother had called them her “two little elves” because they were always getting up to mischief around the house (this mischief was usually aimed at their eldest brother, Richard). Jack was similar to Holly in both looks and personality, and she considered him to be the most normal of her siblings. It also helped that she got along with his partner of seven years, Abbey, and when Gerry was alive the four of them often met up for dinner and drinks. When Gerry was alive . . . God, that didn't sound right.

Ciara was a whole different kettle of fish altogether. Jack and Holly were convinced she was from the planet Ciara, population: one. Ciara had the look of her father, long legs and dark hair.

She also had various tattoos and piercings on her body as a result of her travels around the world. A tattoo for every country, her dad used to joke. A tattoo for every man, Holly and Jack were convinced.

Of course this carry-on was all frowned upon by the eldest of the family, Richard (or Dick as he was known to Jack and Holly). Richard was born with the serious illness of being an eternal old man. His life revolved around rules and regulations and obedience. When he was younger he had one friend and they had a fight when they were ten, so after that Holly could never remember him bringing anyone home, having any girlfriends or ever going out to socialize. She and Jack thought it was a wonder where he met his equally joyless wife, Meredith. Probably at an anti-happiness convention.

It's not as though Holly had the worst family in the world, it's just that they were such a strange mix of people. These huge clashes of personalities usually led to arguments at the most inappropriate times, or as Holly's parents preferred to call them, “heavy discussions.” They could get along, but that was with everyone really trying and being on their best behavior.

Holly and Jack often met up for lunch or for drinks just to catch up on each other's lives; they had an interest in each other. She enjoyed his company and considered him to be not only a brother but a real friend. Lately they hadn't seen much of each other. Jack understood Holly well and knew when she needed her space.

The only time Holly caught up on her younger brother Declan's life was when she called the house looking for her parents and he would answer. Declan wasn't a great conversationalist. He was a twenty-two-year-old “boy” who didn't quite yet feel comfortable in the company of adults, so Holly never really knew that much about him. A nice boy, he just had his head up in the clouds a bit.

Ciara, her twenty-four-year-old little sister, had been away for the entire year and Holly had missed her. They were never the kind of sisters to swap clothes and giggle about boys, their tastes differed so much. But as the only two girls in a family of brothers, they formed a bond.

Ciara was closer to Declan; both of them dreamers. Jack and Holly had always been inseparable as children and friends as adults. That left Richard. He was out on his own in the family, but Holly suspected he liked that feeling of being separated from those in his family he couldn't quite understand. Holly was dreading his lectures on all-things-boring, his insensitive questioning of her life and just the whole feeling of being frustrated by comment after comment at the dinner table. But it was a welcome-home dinner for Ciara and Jack would be there; Holly could count on him.