| |
Dorothy almost came to blows with Jamie on the morning before the marathon when he woke her at first light and demanded she go for a five mile run with him in the Phoenix Park. She insulted, threatened, cajoled and even attempted to bribe him into letting her off the hook, but a grinning personal trainer merely brandished a pair of running shoes at her, and refused to leave her room until she hauled herself out of bed and grudgingly began to pull on her exercise clothes.
Once she got into the swing of things, she enjoyed being out in the fresh air with the sounds of the birdsong in the trees offering encouragement. That did not stop her informing Jamie she was taking a long break from running as soon as the damn race was finally over. She also prophesied she would be in a state of collapse by the following day, and would doubtless falter after less than a mile.
Needless to say, she was wrong. When the race day finally dawned, she felt exhilarated, and chided herself for not having tried the experience years earlier. The buzz forty thousand women can create while congregated in one place really is beyond compare. Dorothy was totally caught up in the experience. She came close to crying with emotion when she heard the theme from Rocky, aptly called Gonna fly now, blasting out over the loudspeaker system. She could scarcely comprehend how far she had travelled, and how much her life had changed in fewer than six months.
Naturally, the day would not have been complete without the usual assortment of men running in drag. For the most part they were easily identifiable, the hairy legs being a dead giveaway. Some of the participants were wearing bin bags and other exotic paraphernalia. Dorothy and her friends had chosen brightly coloured shorts, and T-shirts with the name of their favourite charity emblazoned across the front.
Viv and Orla were running for Concern. Gemma and Amanda were running for the Temple Street Children’s Hospital, while Dorothy and Bel had the emblem of the Irish Cancer Society emblazoned across their bosoms. Even though Dorothy had received the usual forms, she had deliberately not requested sponsorship. She was there for the experience, and did not consider it fair to ask for money. She intended to send a donation to the three charities they were supporting, although had not mentioned this to the girls.
Prior to setting off on the run, all of the entrants did the required amount of stretching in Fitzwilliam Square North, as well as doing their bit for the massive Mexican wave. Bel suggested it would be more fun for everyone if the six friends stuck together as much as possible. None of them had any fault to find with the plan, and agreed it would be better than becoming separated half way around the course.
At the end of the third kilometre, Dorothy was pleasantly surprised to discover she was the fittest of the group. She began to tire at eight kilometres, but even then she slowed down to allow the others to catch up. Holding hands, they crossed the finish line sixty-nine minutes after they set off, fairly sweaty but absolutely triumphant.
Peter and Gordon were waiting for Gemma and Orla, accompanied by their six children. They cheered on their wives as Gordon’s nose twitched with excitement. Peter could not have been more different than his brother-in-law, with his wide nose and thick lips set in the placid, rather plain face he had inherited from his Greek grandfather.
Gerald certainly did not resemble a respectable solicitor as he cheered on his wife. His neat salt and pepper beard quivered with excitement, while his glasses literally hopped on his narrow face. Pat and Joey looked fit to burst with pride as they watched their three daughters crossing the finish line together. Dorothy doubted she would ever forget that moment. Especially when she spotted the twins and Jamie frantically waving at her and brandishing a large sign that read: ‘Go Mum! We love you loads!’
The six triumphant contestants hung around long enough to collect their medals, then they and their admiring entourage retired to Falcon. After showering and changing, they proceeded to undo much of the previous weeks’ good work by partaking of vast quantities of highly calorific food and alcohol.
In this endeavour, they were ably assisted by Helen, who was deeply appreciative of their stamina and zeal even though she did not share any of it, and abhorred exercise of any kind. At midnight, drunk but happy, they agreed that, come what may, they would run the race together again in 2012, and every year after that. Shortly after the witching hour, Dorothy wandered out to the sun terrace and gazed out over the city. Dear Lord. Thank you for today. Please let our lives always be this happy. Amen.
After the excitement and adrenalin of the marathon, June settled down and became positively humdrum. Dorothy made a concerted effort to catch up with everybody she knew. She scheduled a meeting with Claudia to make sure she had not suddenly run out of money and all was well with her portfolio.
She also touched base with Mia and Patsy at the catering company. She even paid a visit to Brother Damien to find out how things were faring with him at the shelter. Most importantly, she tried to pay more attention to the massive building project currently underway in Dublin 13. She occasionally asked herself the following teaser: If she had seen Otter first, would she have even bothered looking at the piece of land in Howth? Too late now to be thinking like that, was the response to her own question. You’ve started, so you had better finish it.
It wasn’t that she did not love the area, or was not looking forward to having such an upmarket home. It was just she could not help feeling nervous about what would happen when it was eventually finished. Would she end up living in a mansion on her own? Possibly with only a gardener and a dog for company?
It was difficult to visualise what her life would be like when the house was complete. At present the whole thing seemed like a distant dream. She acknowledged the reality was very different. The first half of the year had flown by, and the second would undoubtedly gallop. December was not exactly light years away. She ordered herself to get with the program and focus on the build before Saul lost patience.
When Dorothy finally caught up with him, the architect did have a number of issues he needed to clarify. She was pleased to find his overall mood was good and he had few gripes. He eagerly accepted the designer sunglasses she had purchased for him in Rome, and promptly discarded his old ones, saying they were nothing but chain store crap.
As she toured the site, she saw excellent progress had been made on the construction of the various buildings. She was shocked and amazed to see the pavilion was near completion. The roof was on, even if the doors and windows had yet to be added. Planning approval had been received quite promptly for the garage with accompanying apartment. Saul (somewhat sheepishly) admitted he had been digging out the pool for weeks, even without the final go-ahead from the authorities.
‘If we didn’t have so many men working here, there is no fecking way we would get this monstrosity finished by December,’ he told her. ‘We’d be talking next spring, or even summer 2012.’
But we do have all these men, and isn’t it fantastic they’re off the dole queues?’ Dorothy beamed at him.
Saul sighed. ‘I’m not denying the positive aspects of the employment we’re providing, Boss. That said, we wouldn’t need so much manpower if it wasn’t for you and your crazy notions. Creating the pool is proving to be a monumental task. Please tell me you didn’t have any more dreams about the dolphin fella while you were in Rome.’
‘It was more of a vision than a dream this time, and I had it when I was in Kerry. I discovered he’s not a dolphin. As a matter of fact he’s a seal,’ Dorothy beamed happily at the architect.
‘He’s a seal?’ Saul looked askance.
‘That’s right, a really big one,’ she tried smiling again.
‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph,’ he growled.
‘Please don’t start taking the Lord’s name in vain,’ she tapped him on the arm. ‘I’ve been meaning to say to you that when I was viewing Otter House, I realised how little I actually know about interior design. I really need a professional to get cracking on the house. Any thoughts on that?’
‘Well...’
‘Yes?’
‘I could ask Ryanna, if you like.’
‘Your wife’s a designer and you never said? Saul!’
‘She didn’t want to push herself forward. I offered to speak to you about it, but she felt embarrassed.’
‘Oh. Well, if she’s interested in the gig, ask her to contact me directly and we’ll set up a meeting. She can put one of those storyboard things together for me.’
And so, after seeing Ryanna’s mood board, and how she proposed to bring the themes from the sea and mountains into the house by the judicious use of natural fabrics and colours, as well as understated furniture like driftwood and bog oak, Dorothy found her designer without even having to try.
