'Let's have a night out soon,' he said when he climbed in beside her, 'a proper one.'
She smiled and put a hand on his thigh. 'I'd like that.'
'Right. Where to first?'
'Lauren's, Sheila's meeting us there – mind you, that girl is never on time.'
'Is Phil babysitting?' Conor asked.
'No, Lauren's mum has taken the babies for the night.'
'Maybe he'd like to come to the pub and watch the match.'
'From what I hear he's working very long hours.'
'I suppose two babies must be a lot more expensive than one,' Conor acknowledged. 'Oh, well, no doubt I'll find someone to go with.'
'What about your dad?'
'Mum's dragged him off to an amateur musical production in the parish hall.'
'Oh, he'll love that,' Dee giggled. 'If there's no one in the pub you could always go with them.'
Conor shot her a withering look. 'If you keep this up I'm going to drop you lot there instead.'
'No, please, anything but that,' she groaned. 'I won't say another word.'
They drove in comfortable silence for a while and then Conor shot her a sidelong glance. 'I didn't think you wanted to go at ail tonight.'
'I didn't,' she admitted, 'but now that it's here I'm quite looking forward to it. It should be a laugh.'
'You could do with that; you seem to have been a bit down lately.'
'Have I?' Dee considered telling him about her money troubles but what was the point? 'I suppose I'm just a bit tired. It's been a busy time.'
'It may get even busier now that you've been in the paper.'
'You think?'
'Dad's already noticed some new faces in the café. You might have to hire some help if he increases his order again.'
'No way, I can manage. Anyway, I couldn't work with anyone else.'
'You could operate shifts,' Conor pointed out.
'I never thought of that.' Dee pretended to give his idea some consideration but how could she possibly afford to pay someone? If the orders increased and she got an extra couple of catering jobs she would be able to cover her current debts and hopefully take out a new house insurance policy. So she'd have to work harder, it wouldn't kill her. She yawned widely and wondered what time she'd get to bed. Regardless of what time they got home or the fact that tomorrow was Sunday, she still had a busy day ahead.
'Why don't I take Sam out for a few hours tomorrow?' Conor said as if reading her mind.
'Where?' Dee asked, ever cautious.
He shrugged. 'We could go and watch the football up at the grounds and I have a new calf that I'm sure he'd love to meet. And yes, of course I'll lock up the dog,' he said as she opened her mouth to protest.
'Sorry. I think he'd love that, but are you sure you don't mind?'
'I wouldn't have offered if I did.'
And Dee knew that was true. With Conor what you saw was what you got. He was an uncomplicated man who said what he thought, not always showing the greatest tact. But Dee preferred it that way; at least she knew where she stood.
'Nice place,' Lisa murmured as they were led to their tables in the restaurant.
'It's a bit quiet,' Lauren complained.
Sheila rolled her eyes. 'Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to go mad after we've eaten. We need to line our stomach's first.'
'Could have done that with a burger,' Dee murmured, running her eye down the prices on the menu.
Lauren rolled her eyes. 'Oh, shut up, it's not often we go out. Anyway, the good news is, Phil is going to pick us up so we don't have a taxi fare to worry about.'
'Excellent.' Sheila put down the menu and opened the wine list. 'Let's have a little bubbly to get us in the mood.'
Dee groaned inwardly; so much for trying to keep a tight rein on her purse strings. Still, like Lauren said, they didn't go out often and she could always be careful in her selections. Soup and the pasta vegetarian dish, she decided, shutting the menu before turning her attention to trying to persuade Sheila that the Spanish sparkling wine was much nicer than champagne.
They ordered and then settled down for a chat. Lauren produced photos of the twins and they all cooed over the baby girls.
'They're so cute,' Sheila said. 'I can hardly remember my three at that age.'
'That's 'cos you were in a haze of exhaustion,' Lauren reminded her.
'True,' Sheila agreed with a grin. 'Still, at least you have Phil to help you; my Matthew was worse than useless. Any time they woke, he'd pretend not to hear them.'
'Phil knows he has to pull his weight,' Lauren assured her. 'If I have them for the day, he has to do his share at night.'
'But if he's out driving he needs to get some sleep too,' Dee pointed out, wondering if she really did want Phil to take them home tonight.
'He gets lots of time to snooze between fares, believe me.
'They're beautiful children,' Lisa said, wistfully. 'Who do you think they look like?'
The champagne had arrived and Lauren took a gulp before replying. 'I'm not sure, it's probably too soon to tell.'
Sheila laughed. 'Well, they have your beautiful eyes. They're such a strange shade of blue, almost like a stormy sea.'
'Very poetic,' Dee said with a grin.
'That comes from my dad's side. His mother was Scottish, they all had eyes like that.'
'I didn't know that.' Dee took a sip of her champagne and licked her lips. It might be horrendously expensive but it was gorgeous.
'My family are all from Dublin,' Lisa said, 'generations of them. Isn't that boring?'
'I don't think so,' Sheila said. 'They were all obviously happy here or they would have left.'
'I always wanted to leave.' Lauren drained her glass and held it out to Sheila for a refill. 'I wanted to move to London when I left school but my dad went ballistic and said no bloody way.'
'I didn't know that. What were you going to do?' Dee asked.
Lauren shrugged. 'Be a model or become an actress, something glamorous.'
'But if you'd done that, you wouldn't have your wonderful career in marketing, you wouldn't have married Phil and you wouldn't have the girls,' Dee pointed out.
'True,' Lauren acknowledged. 'Speaking of marriage, Dee, when are you and Conor going to take the plunge?'
'Yeah, I wish you'd hurry up,' Sheila added. 'It's ages since I've been to a wedding.'
'And I'm sure Sam would love a little brother or sister,' Lauren said with a wink.
'We're fine as we are,' Dee murmured, wishing they'd change the subject. Still, she'd known it was only a matter of time before it came up; it always did. Everyone always asked her. She wondered if Conor got the same hassle from his friends. Probably not. Guys didn't talk about stuff like that, did they?
'He won't hang around for ever, Dee,' Lauren was saying. 'He's not getting any younger and you can see that he's the kind who'd like to settle down.'
'Can you?' Dee asked curiously. She wasn't sure she could see that.
'Salt of the earth, as my dad would say,' Lisa laughed. 'They don't come much straighter than Conor.'
'So why don't you?' Lauren urged. 'You're not still hankering after Neil, are you?'
There was an awkward silence around the table at the mention of Sam's father and Sheila and Lisa shot Lauren reproachful looks.
'Course she's not!' Lisa said staunchly as Dee drained her glass and reached for the bottle.
'Then what are you waiting for, Dee?' Lauren said undeterred. 'Is there someone else?'
Dee bit her lip. 'No.'
'Then why not, love?' Sheila said gently. 'He'd make you so happy, you know he would.'
'Because,' Dee said softly, 'he never fucking asked me, okay?'
The women sat in stunned silence as Dee got up from the table and made her way through the restaurant.
'Shit,' Lauren muttered.
'Why did you have to push her like that?' Sheila said.
'I was only having a bit of fun. Anyway,' she nudged Sheila, 'you joined in.'
'I'll just go and make sure that she's okay.' Lisa stood up and hurried out to the loo after her friend.
'Well, well, well.' Lauren sipped her drink thoughtfully. 'I wonder what's going on there.'
Sheila shook her head. 'I don't understand it. I got the impression he was mad about her and she was the one holding back.'
'Maybe Conor doesn't want to be saddled with someone else's kid.'
Sheila's eyes widened. 'Oh, no, he's not like that and Sam's a great little lad.'
'Yeah, but not
his
little lad. Some men can't get past that.'
'I don't believe Conor's like that.'
Lauren shrugged. 'He hasn't asked her to marry him, have you any better ideas?'
'Should we go after them?'
Lauren shook her head and topped up the glasses. 'No. The best thing we can do is pretend it never happened and get her totally pissed.'
'Dee, are you okay?' Lisa rapped on the loo door again. 'Please come out.'
After a moment the door opened and Dee emerged, red-eyed and sniffing. 'Sorry.'
'Don't be silly, what have you to be sorry for?'
'Making a scene and spoiling the evening.'
Lisa grabbed some hand towels and shoved them into Dee's hand. 'You haven't spoiled anything. We shouldn't have been winding you up.'
'How come Lauren was going on at me about Conor and not you about Ger?' Dee protested.
'I would have been next,' Lisa assured her. 'Would you like to marry him?' she asked gently.
Dee sniffed. 'Of course I would.'
'I'm sure it's only a matter of time before he asks you because he is definitely mad about you. Has he ever used the L word?'
Dee shook her head and dabbed half-heartedly at her eyes. 'No. Maybe he's just staying with me until someone better comes along. Or maybe he already met her. All of those years he spent in Clare, Lisa – what if he met the love of his life down there?'
'Did he have a girlfriend down there?'
'I don't know; all he ever talks about is his mate Aidan, the farm and Aidan's mother's wonderful cooking.'
'I doubt if he lived like a monk when he was in Clare, Dee, but even if there was anyone special, he's not seeing her now, he's seeing you.'
'But he could be settling for me,' Dee insisted.
'Rubbish, the man is mad about you, it's obvious to everyone but you. Is he the right guy for you, though?'
Dee considered the question. 'I didn't think I'd ever be happy with another man after Neil left but with Conor everything's so . . . easy. Oh, lord, that doesn't sound very romantic, does it?' she chuckled.
Lisa shrugged. 'Ger isn't exactly 007 but he's mine and I love him.'
Dee nodded. 'Conor's like my other half. He understands me, we like the same things, have the same values, and, of course, he's great with Sam. We fit, if you know what I mean.'
'Have you told him you love him?' Lisa asked.
Dee shook her head vehemently. 'No way!'
Lisa grinned. 'You're so old-fashioned.'
'No, I just don't want to feel a total prat when he doesn't say it back.'
'Maybe you need to let him know you love him, without actually saying it,' Lisa suggested.
Dee wrinkled her nose. 'That sounds very complicated.'
'Well, we're not going to think about it any more tonight. It's a girls' night out, let's go and have some fun.'
'I can't go back out there,' Dee protested.
'You can and you will,' Lisa said, steering her towards the door.
'Sorry about that,' Dee murmured, taking her seat. She was relieved to see that their food had arrived and Lauren and Sheila were tucking in.
'Nothing to apologize for.' Sheila smiled. 'Eat up, the food is gorgeous.'
'Want to try some of my fish?' Lauren smiled at Dee. 'It's really good.'
'Thanks.' Stretching across she took a forkful of fish from Lauren's plate. 'Oh, yes, that's lovely,' she agreed and then bent her head over her pasta.
'How's your lamb?' Sheila asked Lisa.
'Very good, although not as good as Dee's,' Lisa said loyally.
'I had the shepherd's pie in Better Books last week and it was gorgeous,' Sheila agreed. 'You should open your own restaurant, Dee.'
'Too much work,' Dee replied.
Lisa laughed. 'And you have such an easy life at the moment!'
Dee shrugged. 'It's not so bad, really, and I can work my hours around Sam. I wouldn't be able to do that in a restaurant.'
'He seems to be much healthier these days,' Sheila remarked. 'I haven't seen him with a rash in months.'
'Would it not be better to expose him to more things?' Lauren asked.
'Sorry?' Dee looked up.
'I mean, you'd probably find that he'd get used to animals and foods if he was around them more.'
Dee thought for a while before answering. Her instinct was to tell Lauren that she didn't know what the hell she was talking about, but she'd already had one outburst tonight and she didn't want to ruin the evening completely. Anyway, Lauren didn't really mean any harm. She always shot straight from the hip when she drank and she'd made it clear in the past that she thought Dee was way too over-protective.
'It's an interesting theory, Lauren,' Dee said eventually, 'but I think I'll stick with the preventative strategy for now.'
'I think you've done an amazing job with Sam,' Lisa said, supportive as ever. 'You're a great mother.'
'Brilliant,' Sheila agreed. 'Do the twins eat well, Lauren?'
'So much goes all over them and the floor, it's hard to tell. I need a cigarette.' Lauren pushed back her chair and headed for the door.
'She's a bit prickly tonight,' Lisa observed.
'No more than usual after a few drinks,' Dee said with a grin.
'Now, now, ladies, no bitching on our night out,' Sheila warned.
'I think it's healthy to speak your mind,' Lisa said, slurring her words slightly. 'Much better than keeping it all inside.'
Dee and Sheila exchanged an amused look.
'I'm going to the loo,' Sheila announced. 'Order me a coffee, will you?'
'Not dessert?' Lisa asked.
'Oh, no, I'm stuffed,' Sheila said, patting her flat stomach.
'You'll have something, Dee, won't you?' Lisa said, signalling to the waiter.