She walked in.
‘Hi guys,’ she said, smiling. She gave a little wave.
Jimmy just blinked at her and looked over at Norman, whose mouth was hanging open.
‘Eh …’ said Trish, looking at them uneasily now. ‘Oops. Did I come at a bad time?’
‘Trish …’ said Norman. He looked like he’d seen about eleven ghosts. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Jesus. I’m sorry Norman. You said you’d be here today. I thought I’d surprise you. I’m sorry. Look, I’ll just go …’
‘No,’ said Norman. ‘No, come in a minute.’
She walked slowly into the room, her hands pulling her coat tightly across her.
‘What’s going on?’
‘Where have you been?’ said Norman.
‘I’ve been working. I told you. But Nuala called me this afternoon to say she was coming in, so I was able to get away.’
‘I called Baldoyle, Trish. They said you weren’t there.’
‘What? You called Baldoyle? Why?’
‘I … I wanted to talk to you.’
‘About what?’
‘About … because … Aesop is gone missing. I was wondering if … you’d heard from him at all.’
‘What do you mean he’s gone missing? Where?’
‘We don’t know. We haven’t heard from him since yesterday.’
‘Oh no! That’s awful! But listen, I talked to him yesterday.’
‘What? When?’
‘I don’t know. In the afternoon. Just before I called you to say I was working.’
‘Why didn’t you say anything?’
‘I only spoke to him for a minute, Norman. I had to phone you and run out the door or I’d be late.’
‘What did you talk about?’
‘Nothing really. I think he was just apologising about the other time, y’know, when you lot were in Cork. I told him I’d talk to him later.’
‘But … but … and did he say where he was or anything?’
‘No. I was on the phone for a minute, just. He didn’t say anything.’
‘Fuck,’ said Norman. He ran a hand over his head, staring at the floor.
‘Norman, you look awful. Do you think Aesop …’
‘We don’t know where he is, Trish,’ said Dónal. ‘Look, will you ever come in properly and take off your coat.’
They all made their way over to the couches by the coffee table, saying nothing. When they were sitting down, Norman looked up suddenly.
‘Trish, where the fuck were you yesterday and today? Tell me the truth now.’
Dónal and Jimmy didn’t even have to look at each other. They both got up and went into the control room. This sounded like a job for inch-thick soundproofed glass. Christ, as if there wasn’t enough going on around here.
‘What?’ said Trish, once the door was closed behind them.
‘Where were you? I called Baldoyle. You weren’t there. They said you wouldn’t be in till Monday. What the hell is going on?’
Trish shook her head slightly.
‘Norman … why are you being like this?’
‘Like what? You tell me one thing and then I find out something else. What way am I meant to be?’
‘Where do you bloody think I was?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t even want to think about it.’
‘So you think I’m lying to you?’
‘What am I meant to think? I just drove over to your place and the girls haven’t seen you.’
‘I was at work!’
She opened her coat.
‘Look! I stayed in the dorm last night because it was snowing by the time I finished and I knew I wouldn’t get a taxi. I haven’t been home yet to change. I was hoping we could go together and then go out for the night. Jesus, what’s the matter with you?’
Norman looked at her uniform. But … well that didn’t necessarily mean that what she was saying was true, did it?
‘I don’t know!’ said Norman. ‘They said in Baldoyle that …’
‘Baldoyle?’
‘Yes!’
‘Christ, Norman, Nuala doesn’t work in Baldoyle. She works in the hospice in Raheny. I told you that ten times. I was nowhere near Baldoyle.’
‘Wh … what?’
Norman blinked. Had she? He spent so much time just gazing at her that sometimes he couldn’t even hear what she was saying.
‘But … but … I thought …’
‘What, Norman? What did you think?’
‘Just that … well, when Aesop went missing all of a sudden, and then the next thing you’re called in to work out of the blue … Jesus, I’ve been so freaked out. I was sure …’
He was staring at his shoes. She didn’t say anything. When he looked up, he saw a tear trickle down her cheek.
‘I thought we were past that,’ she said quietly.
‘I couldn’t get hold of you!’ said Norman. ‘I tried everything. No one knew where you were. No one knows where Aesop is. All at the same time. I didn’t know what … what …’
‘I told you where I was, Norman.’
‘But I … I called your work and …’
She had a tissue out and wiped at her eyes. Then she sniffed her nose and looked over at him.
‘So it’s like that, then, is it? That’s the kind of person I am to you.’
‘No, Trish. Please. I was … I just made a mistake. I was worried about Aesop but I was sure his stalker was finished with all that shit. So when you call me to say you were working, all I could think of was …’
‘I know what you were thinking, Norman. And I’m sorry.’
‘For what?’
‘For making you think those things about me.’
‘You don’t.’
‘I obviously do. But we can fix that.’
‘No, Trish. No …’
She was crying properly again now.
‘I hope Aesop is okay,’ she said, standing up and starting to button her coat again. ‘I really do. Let me know if I can do anything to help.’
‘Where are you going?’
‘Home.’
‘I … I’ll call you later.’
‘Please don’t.’
‘What?’
‘Norman, I can’t deal with people freaking out on me. Not people I want to … be with. I needed you to be steady for me. I really needed …’
‘But I am … I want to be.’
‘I know. Maybe you do.’
She put a hand on his arm.
‘But I can’t tip-toe around you. No matter how I feel about you. To know that that’s what you think of me … what’s going on inside you every time I’m not around. I just can’t do that. It’s not worth it.’
She walked to the door and Norman ran over to her, taking her arm.
‘But Trish …’
‘I’m sorry Norman. Please, go and find Aesop. I hope to God he’s okay.’
‘Can I not …’
‘Please Norman,’ she shook her arm away from him, her eyes red and streaming. ‘Don’t do this to me. I really thought … I thought that we might …’
‘Trish,’ said Norman. ‘Don’t … don’t go.’
‘I have to. I’m sorry.’
‘Please Trish. I … I love you. You’re all I have, Jesus. I love you. Please don’t. Please don’t.’
He was whispering now.
She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, pulling the door open.
‘You don’t, Norman. That’s not love. It’s something else and I can’t deal with it.’
*
Jimmy and Dónal had watched all this through the glass. You didn’t need subtitles to know what was going on.
‘Poor cunt,’ said Jimmy, watching Norman go off to the toilet.
‘Yeah. That didn’t go well, whatever it was.’
‘It was about Trish and Aesop.’
‘What? He wasn’t … was he? With her?’
‘No. Of course not. But Norman got it into his head that she was up for it. So did Aesop actually. Ah, it was just something stupid. She wanted to meet Aesop to tell him something. There was probably nothing in it, but you know what Aesop’s like. Fucking drama queen that he is, he was sure she wanted him to shag her. Norman must have picked up on it too.’
‘So … Norman thought the two of them were off shagging the last two days?’
‘Looks like it. And it looks like she didn’t appreciate him thinking that.’
‘Fuck.’
Back in the main room, Norman was back from the toilet.
‘Sorry man,’ said Jimmy. ‘Whatever that was, I hope it works out.’
Norman ignored him.
‘We know he talked to Trish at lunchtime,’ he said. ‘But we don’t know where he was when he was talking to her. We know he called that one, Alison, at some stage last night. But we don’t know where he was then either. Do we know any fucking thing else at all?’
‘No,’ said Jimmy. ‘Except that something happened to make him want to leave the band and join Leet.’
‘What would make that happen?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Well think. Cos that’s all we’ve got to go on.’
‘He was always against stopping The Grove. Even after I told him I might not be able to play much with everything going on here, he still said he didn’t want to join Leet. It’d mean he was always away and he’d miss home and … and …’
‘Yeah?’
‘Fuck,’ said Jimmy, understanding breaking across his face.
‘What?’
‘Helen.’
‘What? My Helen? What about her?’
‘He said … he wanted …’
‘What Jimmy?’
‘I know where he is. Fuck! Why didn’t I think of it before?’
‘What about Helen, Jimmy?’
‘He’s fucking mad about her, Norman.’
‘I told him I’d fucking throttle him if he so much as …’
‘I know! That’s why he spoofed you yesterday about rehearsals. He was trying to get away from you so he could go down there and try and hook up with her! That’s where the fucker is!’
‘Are you sure?!’
‘Yes! Call her. Call her now. Quick.’