Chapter Twenty-Eight

 

Aileen was first in the queue when the doors opened at the registry office and sat down to wait her turn. When her number was called she went to the window, her fingers crossed. As she waited, her heart raced.

‘I’m sorry, Miss Maguire.’ The clerk glanced over the top of his spectacles. ‘There’s no record of a male baby born to the lady in question.’

Aileen’s shoulders slumped. ‘What can I do now?’

‘Have you tried getting in touch with the Civil Registry in Roscommon?’

‘Do you think they might know?’

‘Well, it’s possible that your mother didn’t register the baby herself, therefore it could have been registered by someone else.’ He turned his back and picked up a leaflet. ‘Here’s the address and telephone number.’

Thanking him, she left. Her initial optimism was waning; after all, she didn’t have much to go on. On her way back, she purchased some writing paper and envelopes. She would try every avenue to find her brother.

Back at the sweet shop, Aileen made no attempt to interrupt her aunt as she served two young girls with jelly babies and liquorice sticks. Her da was in the kitchen, eating his lunch of beans on toast, and his eyes lit up when he saw her.

‘Ah, Aileen. Come, sit down and tell me what you’ve been up to. Have you been to the new Dunnes store?’ He glanced down at the carrier bag.

‘No, Da. It’s just some writing material.’

‘Have something to eat. We’re still eating out of cans.’ He got up and went into the scullery. As he opened the cupboard, she could see a row of canned soup.

‘I’m grand, Da. I’ll have a cup of tea, though. Dermot’s taking me out for something to eat later, so I don’t want to spoil my appetite.’

He brought in a cup from the scullery and poured tea from the pot. ‘Young Dermot seems keen on you. Not a bad looking lad.’ He sat down again. ‘You should come home, Aileen.’

She milked her tea. ‘I don’t know, Da. I don’t fit in here anymore.’

‘Don’t talk daft, Aileen. Lizzy’s all right. Just cut her a bit of slack. She’s overwrought with the new business and all.’ He shifted in his chair. ‘You could work here in the shop if you’ve definitely decided not to continue your secretarial course.’

She knew he meant it, but after what Lizzy had said, there was no way she could live here. ‘I won’t be finishing the course, Da.’

He nodded. ‘I’m sorry, love. Everything changed when I discovered your ma had been keeping secrets.’

‘She might have had a valid reason, Da. Can you remember anything else she might have said? I’m trying to make sense…’

He shuffled back his chair and stood up, and she could tell he regretted mentioning her ma.

‘Da, please!’

At that precise moment, her aunt decided to enter the room. Aileen closed her eyes and sucked in her breath.

Lizzie placed the shop keys on the table. ‘It’s been non-stop out there this morning.’ She placed her hand on Jonny’s arm. ‘When you’ve finished your lunch, we have an hour to sort out some of those boxes. Most of it is probably rubbish.’ She glanced at Aileen as she spoke.

‘Sure, will you sit down a minute, woman, and have something to eat.’

‘No, I’m grand. I had a snack earlier. We’ll eat later.’ She turned back to Aileen. ‘Are you going to be here for tea?’ Tea? Aileen hadn’t seen a decent meal being cooked in the two days since she had been back home.

‘No, thanks! I’m going out later.’

‘Well, while you’re here you can give us a hand upstairs.’

* * *

‘You might like to keep your mother’s jewellery,’ her da said, handing over the jewellery box.

‘Thanks, Da. That’s grand.’

He glanced down at the floor and pushed a box towards her with his foot. ‘This stuff belongs to you. What you don’t want, leave in the yard, and I’ll get rid of it.’ Her aunt was busy rummaging through some of her own belongings.

An hour later, they could see the brown-patterned lino on the bedroom floor, and most items had found a home in the other two bedrooms and elsewhere around the house. Aileen pushed her case underneath the bed to make more room.

‘Good idea,’ her aunt said. ‘We don’t want the place cluttered up again.’

Her da folded the empty boxes. ‘I’ll take these down to the yard and then open the shop.’

Aileen pushed shoes and slippers underneath the bed then glanced up at her aunt who appeared to be supervising her every move.

‘Don’t get too comfortable,’ the older woman said, opening a cupboard on the landing and placing an armful of blankets inside.

Her aunt’s snide remarks had been delivered as soon as her da was out of earshot. Aileen knew she should ignore her, but this time her tongue preceded her reasoning.

‘You think you’ve landed on your feet with my da, but he’ll soon realise what a vindictive bitch you are.’ Once she started, she couldn’t stop herself. ‘My ma was ten times nicer than you, and I’m glad you’re not her real sister.’

Lizzy’s mouth dropped. ‘How dare you! I can make life very difficult for you. So watch your tongue.’

‘And what do you suppose my da will say once he finds out what you say to me behind his back?’

Swallowing her anger, she went back to the bedroom and closed the door behind her. Damn the woman. She was determined to spoil things between Aileen and her da. If only she hadn’t come home. But she was here now, and all she could do was to hope that her da would tell her what he knew before she went back to Birmingham. It was the only way she was ever going to find her brother.