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Oliver O’Keefe’s son was charged with assault, along with the son of a former Garda. The news made the headlines the following week, which should have made me very happy. But by then I had other things on my mind.
I knew it would happen, we both did. We didn’t talk about it until it was confirmed by that little blue line on the stick of the pregnancy test I got at the pharmacy in Cork. I drove all the way there to buy one where nobody would know or care who I was.
We sat on my bed early one morning and stared at that little stick, both holding our breaths. Then it showed positive. I couldn’t move or breathe. There it was: clear, cold proof of what we had been half hoping, half fearing. A new life inside me. Something that would one day be someone—a human being that would change both our lives forever.
I looked at Colin’s shocked face. He was as white as a sheet. “Bloody hell,” he whispered. “I’m going to be a dad.”
“Looks that way, yes,” I said.
He took my hand. “You’re ice cold. Are you as scared as I am?”
“Terrified,” I whispered.
“And excited? I am. What an adventure it’ll be. Bringing up a kid. Being parents, a family.” He sighed and smiled. “We’ll do it. Together.”
I couldn’t help smiling. “Yes, we will. And we have a little time to prepare and plan. But first we have to get through the cast party and the launch of the magazine in a few days.”
“And the wedding? You have to marry me now, you know.” He kissed my hand. “Please, please say yes this time. I don’t want my son to be a—”
“Or daughter,” I interrupted.
“Yes, yes, or daughter. Whatever it is, the kid won’t thank you for not making me respectable.”
I sighed. “Oh, okay then. I’ll marry you.”
He squeezed my hand and tumbled me down on the bed. “Finally! Jesus, you’re one stubborn woman.”
I touched his face. “I know, but...oh, I don’t want a big splashy wedding.”
“What? And I had this dream of getting married Hollywood-style in Marbella and selling the rights to the pictures to Hello Magazine. I see you floating down the aisle in a dream by Dior.”
I bashed a pillow into his face. “Shut up!”
Colin laughed and hit me back with the pillow. “I don’t give a damn how we do it as long as we do it. Don’t know how we’re going to keep away the sharks though. I mean the media sharks.”
“Leave it to me. I think I know how to get us married without any fuss.”
I got to work the next day and went to have a chat with the parish priest in the little village down the road from the cottage. I came clean about not being much of a mass-goer and that my faith was less than solid. I also told him of Colin’s first marriage that wasn’t real but still some kind of relationship. Father Bob smiled benignly and said the church would never turn away a lost sheep. And two lost sheep wanting to get married in God’s house would pose no problem at all. But we had to do a marriage course, which consisted of an hour or two of pleasant chats about marriage, parenthood and Catholic family life.
“Not too scary at all,” Colin declared afterwards as we walked back to the cottage. “We didn’t even have to swear to stick to those rules.”
“But you’ll have to stick to the wedding wows,” I argued. “Till death do us part. Are you sure you want to stand in front of a priest and several witnesses and promise all that?”
“I’ve never been surer. But you didn’t tell me how we’d do this wedding.”
I told him. It would be small, simple and secret. No photographers, except Dan with his precious camera. The news would break the next day, but then we would be far away, on honeymoon in a secret spot: Ahakista, that remote village on the edge of Ireland. I had already booked a week in a holiday cottage there.
Colin agreed to it all without blinking. “That’s the least difficult part. But when the news about us being married comes out, there’ll be a whole new ball game. We’ll be followed around by photographers for the next few years, as long as my career holds. Pictures of us arguing, of us kissing, of us naked will appear in the gossip press. Rumours will fly. Every time one of us appears near someone else of the opposite sex, there will be talk of a rift, of ‘marriage problems’, or even imminent divorce. Are you ready for that?”
I laughed. “I know what journalists are like. I can take it, don’t worry.”
“We have to make plans,” Colin said, looking worried. “Where do we live, what will happen to your career, or mine.”
I stopped walking. “I have been thinking about that. A lot. Obviously, you can’t live with me here in the cottage while I run The Knockmealdown News.”
He laughed. “No, babe, I’m afraid not. But you in LA? I can’t quite picture you on Rodeo Drive in stilettoes, shopping and having coffee with your girlfriends.”
“Damn right you can’t,” I agreed. “That’s not going to happen. But there must be more to LA than that. I know that workwise, I can freelance. Maybe report on American politics for Irish newspapers. I’ve already been in touch with The Examiner and The Indo. I think one of them might bite. So I’ll work from home, wherever your home is. Where in LA is it?”
“Malibu,” Colin mumbled. “Yeah, I know, it’s the fashionable place to live. But I hate it. Thought we could sell up and move to somewhere quiet nearby. But for now, I’m right on the beach behind high walls, but with great views of the ocean. Not the greatest place for kids, but...”
I put my hand on my stomach. “I’m sure the baby will be happy wherever we are for the first year or so. Don’t panic, sweetheart, we’ll be okay. I’ll come to LA as soon as I’ve settled things here. Jerry won’t be happy when I tell him I’m leaving.”
“Maybe Johnny Keegan could come back now that the bullies have been caught?” Colin suggested.
I sighed. “That would be perfect. But not possible. I already spoke to Johnny and, even though he was pleased to hear about the arrests, he said he and Madlena were so happy in Ahakista and Drago loves it so much. There’s no way they’ll ever leave. But I have an idea...”
“Tell me.”
“Audrey. She could run the paper with both hands tied behind her back, metaphorically speaking. I’ve never met anyone so clued into journalism and marketing. All I have to do is convince Jerry.”
“Sounds like a good choice. But what about Jake?” Colin asked, a note of panic in his voice.
“I’ll have him microchipped, and he’ll be one of those VIP pooches who travel with their owners wherever they go.”
“Great. You’ll have to wrap things up here before you can think of moving anyway.”
I nodded. “Yes. I have to give in my notice and settle Audrey into the job, and—” I stopped, tears stinging my eyes.
Colin stared at me. “What’s wrong?”
I started walking again, turning my face away. “I know it’s silly, but...I suddenly felt so sad about leaving this place—this little cottage, the town and all the people I’ve made friends with in such a short time.”
He put his arm around my shoulders and fell into step beside me. “You can come back here as often as you want. Why don’t we make this our Irish base? Tell Jules we’d like to have the cottage on a long lease. I’m sure she’ll be happy not to have to go through the hassle of letting it again.”
I punched him on the shoulder. “There you go with your magic wand again. Solving everything by throwing money around.”
He pulled away. “You don’t like that idea?”
“I love it, you eejit. It’s just that I find it odd to have someone else taking charge. I’ve always been my own boss.”
Colin put up his hands. “You can be my boss too, if you want. I love domineering women.”
“Then you’ve truly struck gold.” We’d reached the front gate to Jules’s property. “Come on, let’s go and tell Jules.”
Colin stopped me. “But the ring. Don’t forget the ring. I don’t know what kind of engagement ring you want.”
I laughed. “Surprise me.”
***
And he did. The ring was presented to me just before we left for the big party at The Bianconi Inn. A pear-shaped-cut diamond glinting in a blue velvet box. Big, flashy, vulgar—and totally irresistible.
I stared at it, speechless.
Colin, devastating in a tux, laughed and pushed it on the third finger of my left hand. “There. We’re officially engaged.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off it. “Holy shit,” I exclaimed. “It’s...it’s...huge.”
“Suits you.”
I spread out my fingers and held my hand out. “Hmm. Not sure. Must have cost a—”
Colin’s mouth on mine silenced me. “Yes, it did, but as they say in those ads, you’re worth it.”
“Feck off!” But I couldn’t stop looking at it. God, I adored it. It was as if Colin’s love for me was in every facet of that diamond, glinting back at me.
“We can change it for something else,” Colin mumbled.
I looked at him. “Are you kidding? I’ll never take it off.”
“Thank God for that. Jesus, you’re one difficult, complicated woman. But I love you.”
I grinned. “Me too. You. Would you call this a happy ending?”
“No. But maybe a happy beginning?” He took my hand. “Let’s go to the party and show off.”
THE END