Alice couldn’t believe their luck. The weather had held. What a perfect June evening to celebrate Sean’s twenty-first birthday. She’d made him a special breakfast that morning and given him her present of a surfboard and some Quiksilver shorts.
‘Mum, it’s just what I wanted. Dara and I can’t wait to give it a try in August.’
She was nervous about him learning to surf, but Conor and Jenny had made her realize that she couldn’t wrap him in cotton wool for ever!
All day long his friends had been calling and texting, and Sean was so excited. A big group of them had gone to Chicago for the summer, but they had still remembered him and phoned. In September, when they all got back, there would be a night for his college and school friends but tonight’s celebration was a family one. Indeed, it was a very special one as Conor and Lisa had surprised them all by getting engaged while away in Croatia, and were planning to get married the following summer.
Tanned and happy, Conor had helped his mum to string fairy lights all around the garden, and take out the barbecue and set it up for cooking. Alice had marinated lots of chicken in a rich hickory sauce, and made prawn and vegetarian kebabs and her usual homemade beefburgers. There were chunky sweet potato fries, and small baby new potatoes, and big bowls of tossed green salad. She put the finishing touches to a big chocolate cake with twenty-one candles on it, and, looking around the kitchen and garden, thought everything looked ready to go.
Jenny, in a pretty pink gingham dress, was setting up the glasses, while Dylan tried to fit as much drink as he could into the fridge to chill, as it was so hot and balmy outside. Sean had uploaded music on his iPhone, and set up speakers to play it in the garden.
Alice’s dad, Barry O’Connor, had arrived early and was sitting with a Guinness outside, chatting to Sean, Hugh and Sally.
She had a few minutes to change out of her work clothes and into the simple beige linen shift dress and her slingback shoes. A slick of peach lipgloss and she was good to go. Everyone was in great form, and when Dara and his parents arrived Alice couldn’t stop herself crying as the two boys posed for photos. This day was so special to all of them. Next year, hopefully, Sean and Dara would be up to going off on the traditional student visa working for the summer in America. Three of the girls from Sean’s course at college had turned up wearing the shortest skirts she had ever seen, and were making a huge fuss of her son, along with Nick, Brian and Eoin, some of his old school friends.
Liam and Elaine arrived as she began to light the barbecue and cook. Elaine, in a revealing wraparound dress, was nervous as Liam introduced her to the family. Alice did her best to be polite, even though she had no interest in having a conversation with Elaine and was only letting her attend for Sean’s sake.
Joy arrived with Fergus and Beth both in tow. She gave her godson the Xbox 360 Kinect he was dying for.
‘Thanks, Auntie Joy,’ he said, delighted.
‘Fergus is a sweetheart,’ said Alice, hugging the tall man with the glasses and great sense of humour who was such easy company and was crazy about blonde-haired Joy. ‘You know he’s mad about you!’
‘I know.’ Joy blushed. ‘Can you believe it?’
Patsy, Tim, Jenny and Lisa all helped Alice with the cooking, and everyone came up with their plates to help themselves to burgers and chicken and kebabs. Hugh and Conor poured out the drinks. ‘What a spread!’ said Dylan, filling his plate with a bit of everything.
Alex arrived with flowers for her and a present for Sean. He’d had his hair cut, was wearing a red and white striped shirt, and was unaware of the stir he caused by kissing her full-on in front of everyone. She laughed, seeing Liam’s reaction to the new man in her life. He looked seriously put out!
‘I didn’t know that you were seeing someone,’ he said peevishly as he followed her into the kitchen to get more drinks.
‘Alex is a lovely man,’ she said, grabbing a bottle of tonic water from the fridge and some ice. ‘You hardly expected me to live my life on my own, Liam, did you?’
She could see he was uncomfortable. ‘Alex works with Hugh; he’s the senior partner there. That’s how we first met.’ She smiled, getting another gin and tonic for Joy before slipping back outside. ‘And as I said, he’s a lovely man.’
It was getting dark when they lit the candles and carried the cake out to the garden on a tray. Sean was just like he used to be as a kid: all excited as he blew the twenty-one candles out, with everyone chanting and singing and cheering, toasting Sean and then toasting Conor and Lisa.
Later they sat and chatted, Alice delighted to see that Sean’s girlfriend Becky was sitting on his lap. She’d flown back from France for the weekend to surprise him.
When everyone was fed and well-served with drinks, Alice finally sat down herself, Alex coming over to take the seat beside her.
‘Great party!’ he said. ‘Great kids.’
She appreciated the compliment.
‘Sean’s having a wonderful time. That’s what matters.’ She laughed, holding his hand, relieved to see how well Alex fitted in with everyone. Funny how it had all worked out … if she hadn’t gone to work in Hugh’s office would she ever have met Alex? Fate was a strange thing. She still couldn’t believe how they’d found each other.
They stayed outside till midnight, Alice slipping away to bed not long after Alex went home, leaving the young crowd and cousins to party on into the night.