‘What?’
‘Nothing. So, tea?’
‘Milk, actually, Mammy. A fine, big glass of milk.’
‘Coming up.’ I poured it out. ‘Would you like a straw? Some Nesquik. I could put it in a sippy cup?’
He looked up again. ‘Sorry Mammy, did you say something?’
‘Here’s your milk.’ I put his glass down beside him.
‘Delicious.’ He took a big gulp. ‘I feel healthier already,’ he said, eyes returned to the paper as I cracked an egg into the frying pan and stood for a moment watching it sizzle.
‘Your friend Clodagh’s in here,’ he said. ‘At the back. In the going-out pages…’
‘The social column?’ I looked over his shoulder at the paper and there indeed was Clodagh, standing with Max wearing a black tuxedo and not smiling. ‘He looks his usual friendly self,’ I said.
‘What’s that?’ Michael didn’t take his eyes off the paper.
‘It’s just that for some reason Clodagh is going out with a man who doesn’t seem to like people. Or smiling.’ I slid the egg from the pan onto his plate.
‘Mmmhmmm.’ Michael buttered more toast, and stared at Max for a moment.
‘He needs milk,’ he said.
‘Who?’
‘Clodagh’s fella. He looks pasty. Pale. As though he’s spent his life in a dark room. He needs a glass of milk. Put colour in his cheeks. Look at me.’
‘What?’
‘No, look at me. Actually look at me. See my cheeks. What colour are they?’
I peered at his face. I hadn’t been so close to him in years or paid so much attention. ‘You do look healthy,’ I admitted. ‘Definitely not pasty. A high colour, one might say.’ Heightened by the white of the teeth, I thought.
‘See!’ he was triumphant. ‘Now, I think that milk is what is wrong with Rosie. It’s her vegetarianism. If she would just eat normally, then maybe she wouldn’t be short of breath and feeling all light-headed.’
‘You are prescribing a glass of milk.’
‘That’s right.’ His eyes moved to another page.
‘I wish I’d known this,’ I said. ‘I’m sure other people need to know the miraculous benefits of milk.’
‘Well, now you do.’ It was hard to believe now what a breath of fresh air Michael seemed when I met him. Exotic, really. A twenty-five-year-old suit-wearing, briefcase-swinging, young conservative. Couldn’t have been more different to Red, which is exactly what I thought I needed. Even his need to keep his socks on when we slept together seemed endearing. Cold feet, I thought. Podophobia, perhaps. Athlete’s foot? Strange but surmountable. Who, after all, didn’t have strange habits, weird predilections?
‘Do you think we should encourage her to take a year out after the exams? Not go straight to college. Take a breather?’
‘A breather? I know, why don’t we let her just lie around all day and watch daytime television? Maybe encourage her to take up smoking. Or rolling her own cigarettes and wearing tie-dye clothing? Perhaps develop a Jack Daniels habit? Hmmm?’
‘Michael…’
‘She doesn’t need a year off. Okay, so it’s a tough year but this is how you prove yourself to yourself. You get through things. It’s something you wouldn’t understand,’ he said. ‘You’re not thinking straight. What with the protest and everything. Lucy has brought me up to speed. I can’t say I’m not shocked that your mother is involved. Exactly the kind of thing she would do. Rabble-rousing. She’d protest about the closing of a door.’ He paused. ‘So, what stage are you at?’
‘Just thinking about it. Trying to come to a decision. I can’t think of another way we can raise money. The school is falling apart. But it’s impossible to make clear-headed decisions when you have a group of well-meaning and extremely pleasant protestors outside.’
‘Welcome to my world,’ he said grimly.
‘And one of them is your mother I don’t want to give in just because they are there. I can’t seem to decide. I don’t feel that anyone is on my side… not even Mary…’ Or Red, I thought. ‘I feel quite alone…’ I never unburdened myself to Michael. I had become used to just living in my own head and it felt good to let it out but when I looked up, Michael was concentrating hard on his phone.
‘I downloaded this app,’ he said. ‘It’s to see how well I sleep. I had eight and a half hours last night… isn’t that good? Going to go for nine tonight. Good solid REM.’
‘That sounds like a great ambition,’ I said. ‘Good luck with it.’ He hadn’t listened to a word I’d said.
‘It’s all about letting the body relax. You know I spend all day rushing about, everyone wanting a piece of me and then it’s so hard to switch off… hot milk is the answer…’
‘I am so delighted for you…’
‘Jesus!’ He looked up suddenly. ‘What’s the time?’
‘Nine a.m.’
‘Jayze, Terry’s going to be here in a minute.’
Within moments we heard the sound of the horn of the ministerial car and Michael rushed out of the door, calling goodbye to Rosie upstairs. From the living room window, I saw Terry in the front of the car, facing front and, in the back, was Lucy the Marvel. They never stopping politicking.
Chapter Fourteen
‘This year, weather girl. Next year president of the world.’ Clodagh slapped down some magazines. ‘She’s taking over the planet. She’s on the cover of four of these.’
‘She gets away with leather trousers,’ I said. For the cover of the Irish Woman, Bridget was in an Aran jumper, her hands around a hot chocolate. Strapline: ‘Getting Cosy with TV’s latest superstar’.
‘TV’s latest monster more like,’ said Clodagh. ‘Listen to this. “Always take off your make-up. I never go to bed without making sure I’m cleansed and toned,” said the red-haired beauty. “I drink three litres of water a day and it’s muesli for breakfast. No Full Irishes for me!” the weather-girl laughed.”’ Clodagh sighed and rolled her eyes. ‘She sounds so bloody nice, doesn’t she? Little do they know… She told me I was getting old. But in a nice way. Well-meaning.’ Clodagh pulled a face.
‘But you’re not. You’re forty-two.’
‘Yes, in a rational, normal world, I am the proverbial spring chicken. But I was chatting to Jackie, the make-up artist, and we were talking about Botox, does it work, where the best place to go is.’ She held up her hand. ‘Before you say anything, I’m not doing it. We were just talking. Starving myself is one thing, being injected with an unknown substance is a step too far in the pursuit of youthful loveliness. Anyway, we didn’t realise that Bridget, who I thought was on her phone, Snapchatting or whatever. Tindering probably. She’s single and on the look-out, apparently. So Jackie is pretty militant about Botox, she says your choice is to have it or never go outside, stay in permanently darkened rooms.’
‘You forgot ageing gracefully.’
‘There’s that. Or there’s ageing disgracefully. Anyway, so we are chatting away and guess who pipes up? Got it in one. So Bridget says, “The problem is, Clodagh, you got old. It happens to everyone. You’ve had your moment in the sun.” And then Jackie says it’s the sun that’s the problem and everything got a bit confused, but when I asked Bridget if she had meant to be so rude, she said she wasn’t being and that she was so sorry if she hurt my feelings, but had I ever thought about buying a cat because they are great company when you are old.’
‘She’s just got a weird sense of humour.’