Nora just looked at me. ‘That’s what they all say,’ she said, turning to the older, bearded man. ‘Don’t they, Arthur?’
He nodded. ‘We don’t tend to believe the word of developers,’ he said, politely. ‘As a rule. Telling the truth is not in their interests.’
‘Now, please. All of you. Go home. There is nothing to protest about and you are all, frankly, wasting your time.’
‘Kettle’s boiled!’ said a voice behind Nora. All this time, Nellie had been blithely making a pot of tea in an old enamel teapot. ‘Hello Tabitha,’ she said cheerily as if this was nothing more than an enjoyable picnic. ‘Join us for a brew? I’ve got some nice fruit cake.’
The older man, Arthur, cleared his throat and stepped forward. ‘With respect, Ms Thomas, we are going to protest until the land remains under the protectorate of the school. As it has, for the last 300 years. And I hope you don’t mind,’ he went on politely, ‘we’re going to exercise our democratic right to protest. We won’t be in your way, but we’ll just be here until we can be sure that the safety and future of Dalkey greenery is assured. One felled tree is one too many.’
From the yard, I heard the bell go for break time and the immediate hysteria of children’s voices racing out into the sunshine.
‘Mum…’ I said, fixing her with my beadiest eye. ‘Go home.’
‘We are here in support of the trees and wildlife.’ Her fellow protestors all nodded in agreement. ‘Nature has no voice that we can hear, so the Dalkey Wildlife Defenders will remain here until the Copse is safe from the developers. Now, let me introduce you to everyone. You know Nellie.’ Nellie waved her tin cup at me. ‘And this is Arthur. A veteran of these protests, just like me and Nellie.’
‘Arthur Fitzgerald,’ he said, holding out his hand, which I had no choice but to take. ‘Doctor of Geology. University College Dublin. Retired. But not retired activist… this is something you never retire from.’
‘The fire never goes out,’ agreed Nora. ‘And this is Robbo Cunningham.’ She gestured towards the dreadlocked man who nimbly stepped over the kettle on the gas stove to shake my hand.
‘Pleased to meet you,’ he said, politely. ‘I may not have been at Mizen Head or Mullaghmore, but I like to think I play my part in the good fight. Fracking is my thing but anything environmental, really.’
‘And last,’ said Nora, ‘but not least is Leaf.’
‘Just Leaf,’ said the young woman in the man’s cardigan, shaking my hand. ‘I don’t do surnames. Leaf is not my given name, though,’ she explained. ‘That’s Sinead. I think I’m more a Leaf than a Sinead, don’t you? I never felt right being Sinead, you know, like I was born with the wrong name. But as soon as I decided I was a Leaf, I felt totally different about myself. Like I had found me.’
Arthur had piped up and we all turned to listen. ‘I remember when we were at Mullaghmore, the ancient stones of the Burren in the county of Clare,’ he said. ‘Nora, you were there, and Nellie. Well, it was over twenty years ago now and the council wanted to build a huge coach park right beside the stones. Well, that couldn’t be right, not at all. And as they wouldn’t give in or come to some agreement after the letters I wrote… well, we had to dig in.’ He gave a chuckle. ‘Well, we didn’t actually dig in. That’s what the council wanted to do. The digging was what we wanted to avoid. Isn’t that right, Nora?’
‘How could I forget, Arthur? You facing down the bulldozer. Nellie sitting on top of the stones.’
Nellie nodded happily. ‘I nearly fell off,’ she said. ‘Several times. But there was no way that bulldozer was coming anywhere near us. We were younger then...’
‘Okay,’ I said, keen to put an end to this trip down memory lane and get back to the matter at hand, i.e., moving the protestors on. ‘What if we ran a school-wide project on the trees and wildlife as a learning experience for the children? I just know how much they would gain from that. We will also promise to plant more trees on the school grounds. Recreate the Copse. And anyway, we may not even sell it. The board might not pass it. So, why don’t you go home and I will keep you all fully informed about the situation.’ I looked at them. ‘Okay?’
But no one seemed to be listening particularly. Arthur was nodding away pleasantly. Nora was fiddling with her coat buttons. Nellie was digging through her handbag on the ground next to her. Leaf was stretching her neck out and it was only Robbo who seemed to paying any real attention.
‘We’re not going,’ he said. ‘I’m so sorry, Ms Thomas. We don’t want to inconvenience you or the children. But we can’t go.’
‘Why not?’
‘We can’t abandon the trees to an unknown fate, Tabitha,’ joined in Arthur, patiently. ‘They’ve all been here longer than we have. They are wiser and stronger than anyone of us, yet they are defenceless against the chainsaw.’
‘We’re staying,’ said Nora. ‘Aren’t we, Nellie?’
‘Oh yes,’ said Nellie. ‘I’ve got my hot water bottle just in case it turns a bit nippy. We’re used to a sit-in.’
‘So, we’re not going anywhere,’ Nora reiterated.
‘Right…’ I stood there, not knowing what to do. ‘But I would really like it if you would.’
They all shook their heads. ‘Sorry,’ said Robbo. ‘We can’t. Even if we wanted to.’
‘We are beholden to stay,’ explained Leaf. ‘It’s what we have signed up for. Saving the natural world from evil.’
‘Evil is slightly strong…’ I looked at them all. ‘Please?’
‘Sorry, Tabitha. We’ll be here for as long as it takes.’
And there was nothing more I could do except walk away, leaving my mother and her posse of protestors behind.
Chapter Nine
Back in my office, I thought I would just lay my head on my desk and stay there, motionless. Maybe forever. What with Rosie, and Red’s return, the protest was a confusion too far.
A knock on my door. ‘Still here?’ It was Red.
I’d spent eighteen years wondering about him and now he was here, I wished he would go back to California again. We could neither be colleagues or friends, however much we tried to pretend otherwise. It was just too awkward, the weight of our history clouding everything.
‘Red…’ I forced a smile. ‘How’s it going?’
‘Well, despite the fact that I don’t have a beard,’ he said, ‘it’s been surprisingly good.’
‘There’s still time.’ I smiled weakly. ‘Between now and the end of term to grow one.’
‘I could,’ he said. ‘I still have every chance of looking like a proper teacher.’ He smiled. ‘Listen, I wanted to ask about setting up a drama club with the girls. It could be a lunchtime thing, if we can get access to the hall. I asked them today if they were interested and they were all excited by the idea. It’s something I always did in the States: a lunchtime drama group, and I thought that we could get something together here. It’s what they need at this age. Something non-competitive, that’s not based on academic work. And they get to play. Something girls forget to do after a certain age. Or rather they are not encouraged to do.’
Red had always been enthused about teaching, ever since we first trained together. He loved working with young people and it was heartening to see that he hadn’t lost his spark. ‘That sounds like a great idea,’ I said, smiling. ‘We just have to get permission from parents and work out the logistics. Will you talk to Mary about it in the morning?’
‘Okay… thanks Tab.’ I waited for him to go, but instead he lingered, as though there was something else.
‘Tab, I was wondering…I hope you don’t mind me asking but I’ve just seen your mother… protesting. What’s going on?’
‘Oh that?’ I said airily. ‘Nothing really.’