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Georgie’s reaction to the twenty thousand weighed heavily on Dorothy’s mind. It was clear from his relieved demeanour he had been in need of the money, and extremely grateful for it. It was one thing to conceal the true source of the funds and her new interest in gambling. Was it quite a different matter not to share any of the winnings?
She could not help but feel she was being tested in some way. You don’t believe the universe tests us. What on earth is going on with you, woman? After mulling the situation over for another couple of hours without reaching any clear conclusion, she took the decision to conduct an experiment, and monitor the results carefully.
She gave Jamie three thousand euro, telling him she had received good news from Claudia regarding her investments. The trainer became almost tearful. After kissing, hugging and thanking her profusely, he ran off to call Jerome in order to share the good news. Dorothy heard the words ‘dirty weekend’ featuring in the conversation and sighed gustily, momentarily envious that Jamie could make a booty call while she, despite her monetary advantages, could not.
Then she reminded herself if it was something she really wanted, she could begin to allow men into her life once more, not to mention her bed. Ergo, there was no point in moaning about a situation which was entirely of her own making. After sitting on one of the sofas and thinking about sex for ten minutes, Dorothy pulled her mind back to the even thornier subject of money. Nothing of one and so much of the other. Ain’t life ironic?
So far, she had only made cash gifts to Georgie and Jamie. On impulse, she had tucked a few thousand into the folds of the dress she had couriered to Simone. How should she proceed? Should she stop now? Simone might mention the cash to Amy, although it was highly unlikely since she was not a blabbermouth.
Apart from his wife, Georgie would not tell a living soul, that much was certain. Not being the most discreet of men, Jamie was possibly a wildcard. She could always take a chance he would not blab. If he did happen to mention it in front of others, she could always say she had given him a bonus because she was so pleased with her weight loss and overall feeling of wellbeing.
Nobody would argue the fact the trainer had been anything less than a huge support to her in recent months, hence it was unlikely they would begrudge him his three grand. In other words, she would very likely get away with doing precisely nothing for anybody else, if that was what she wanted. Was that what she wanted?
As it was a dry day, Dorothy wandered out to the sun terrace on the twelfth floor and gazed at the sunlight that seemed to sparkle off the mountains. She was reminded of the day she had first viewed the apartment, scarcely hours after collecting her winning cheque. She had sworn back then not to allow herself to become an infinite source of hand-outs. Yet here she was less than six months later, considering doing just that.
Since the fateful evening in January when she handed over the cheques in the cream coloured envelopes, Dorothy had given family and friends next to nothing of a monetary nature. Yes, she had paid for the stay at the health spa and the trip to Rome. Yes, she had treated Bel to a few new clothes and accessories. Given her resources, none of that was exactly earthshattering. Yes, she had chartered the Jetstream to Mallorca, and picked up the tabs for the limousines and hotel rooms. Given the holiday had been her idea in the first place, it was only right she pay for it.
She had certainly not volunteered to fork out for every meal or drink, or anything close to it. Whenever the bill came for the food, she always made a point of hesitating until all the wallets put in an appearance, before getting out her own and paying her share. Towards the end of the vacation when the twins had run low on cash, she had handed them each four hundred euro, with strict instructions to make it last for the rest of the stay.
On a number of occasions, she noticed Orla and Gemma eyeing her out of the corner of their eyes. Dorothy was aware it had not gone unnoticed by her sisters that she was not exactly throwing money around. In her attempts to send a clear message she was not an ATM for them all, had she inadvertently gone too far the other way? Perhaps she should test the water once more. She made up two envelopes containing five thousand apiece, then invited Helen and Patrick to her apartment for dinner.
Jamie helped her prepare the goat’s cheese starter and the monkfish main course. Then he went out to meet Jerome, leaving the other three to talk privately. Dorothy kept up a steady stream of social chitchat for the first hour. Once they had finished the main course and were more relaxed, she presented her guests with the envelopes. She disclosed to them how she had been very lucky with some recent investments.
Their reaction floored her. Helen and Patrick ripped open the packets and almost cried with gratitude when they saw the contents. Neither of them exactly lived on the poverty line, but neither were they flush with cash. Not since chunks of their pensions had been wiped out during the global market crash. They had not been in on the ground floor, so to speak, and had missed out on the initial splurge of cash gifts back in January.
Naturally she had paid them for their services. But apart from the occasional bottle of wine or box of chocolates, Dorothy could not recall giving either of them anything substantial until now. This provided a new insight into the situation. Had she lost sight of what was important because she had been so wrapped up in the notion of not becoming a meal ticket for those closest to her? Just because people took money from her, did it mean they loved her less? Or did it simply mean they needed - or in some cases - wanted the money, and did not feel she would miss it because she had so much?
As the Helen and Patrick experiment had gone so well, Dorothy decided to plough ahead with the project. She would have liked to visit Viv, but her friend was still living in Gorey, albeit busily packing for her move to Dublin. It would be another week before the van arrived with her possessions. She would then begin the task of setting up home for her and Yvonne in the premises on South Anne Street Dorothy had stumbled across on the way to visit her lawyer.
Dorothy would not have minded driving to Gorey to see how things were progressing, but resisted the temptation. She was aware Viv was under a certain amount of pressure and would not appreciate a visit, however well intentioned. The other woman had been in high spirits on the day of the marathon and looked very well. Her blonde hair had grown five inches since she had cropped it off in January, and was styled in a sleek bob.
Viv had also shed the weight she had gained earlier in the year and a few more pounds besides. She had laughed and joked with everybody after their 10K run, and assured anybody who asked that she was doing great. Dorothy had not been fooled by the act.
However hard she might try to hide it, Dorothy knew Viv was hurting over the breakup of her marriage, and the loss of her beloved tile shop. A shop that had made her a fortune during the building boom years, but which had rapidly become an albatross after the global meltdown. It would take her longer than a few measly months to adjust to her new life.
She resolved to hold on to Viv’s cash gift for another week or two. She would take it along when she paid a visit to the new apartment. By then, Viv might feel like talking about things, or she might not. Either way it was up to her friends to support her through the transitional period, and not pressurise her into sharing her private feelings before she was good and ready to do so.
As a result of these ruminations, Viv was not destined to be the next person on the list to benefit from a portion of the golf winnings. That honour went to the twins. They were delighted to receive envelopes from their mother containing ten thousand euro in relatively small denominations. They demanded to know what they had done to get into her good books, because they were resolved do more of it in future.
Throwing caution to the wind, Dorothy told them she had not intended to be miserly. It was just she had been so worried the family would be constantly looking for hand-outs, and so determined to send a clear message to the contrary, she had ended up drifting a little too far in the opposite direction. She was beginning to realise she could have been more generous, especially with them, as so far at least they had not received much.
The twins listened without interruption to what she had to say. Then, after exchanging a glance, they told her they did not blame her for being concerned about it all. They said she should not reproach herself just because she was struggling to get used to such a new and unusual situation. Their mother’s jaw hit the table in shock upon hearing this adult response.
They promptly spoiled the tender family moment by informing her a large chunk of the money would be used to whisk Deco and Emily away on a surprise trip to Disneyland Paris, and the balance was destined to be blown on clothes, music, gadgets, car accessories, and nights out. They then categorically stated if she did not keep throwing money at them, they would almost certainly cease to love her, hence she would do well to keep the moola coming.
After that conversation, Dorothy couriered a pair of designer jeans to Amy in France. The jeans had cash tucked into the folds and an accompanying note. This advised her friend to treat herself to a fancy frock, and use whatever was left to take Donal Mulligan away for a dirty weekend. Then, feeling remarkably like Father Christmas, she put together little packets for Bel, Amanda, and Horace.
As an afterthought, she made up an extra one for Saul. He had been working extremely hard and putting in very long hours. As it was midway through the year, she felt a little bonus would not go amiss as a mark of her appreciation. She did not want him to think she was taking him for granted.
Saul’s face lit up when he saw the five thousand in the envelope she discreetly passed to him, well away from Jake and the rest of the team. To her surprise, he dropped a kiss on her cheek, the first time she could ever recall him touching her except to shake hands.
‘Thanks, Boss,’ he grinned. ‘I’m going to call home now and see if that missus of mine will arrange a babysitter for this evening. If I take her out and ply her with oysters and champagne, I might get me some lovin’ tonight. The Lord knows I could use a bit after the week we’ve had on this site with your fecking pool. Talk about hardship.’
Dorothy left him to his phone call. Once again, feeling a little sad she had nobody to call in order to get some loving, she went to have a word with Jake and Lauren. She also spent five minutes simply standing and staring down into the enormous hole that had been dug out of the hill.
Two of the engineers flanked her at all times, clearly terrified she would fall in. As the hole was large enough to comfortably accommodate her old three-bedroom semi in Shankill, she felt they were entitled to be concerned. To their evident relief, she soon moved a safe distance away without mishap.
At first glance, the building project appeared chaotic, although Dorothy was only too aware that substantial progress had been made. By September, everything except the main house and leisure complex would be finished. Jake would then reallocate all available resources to those two structures, with a view to full completion by December.
It was a tight schedule, but Dorothy was positive she could do no more to help. She had given Jake carte blanche to hire whatever staff or equipment he needed, and had not quibbled at any of the expense incurred as a result.
