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Jamie returned slanty-eyed and flushed with exhaustion from a weeklong stay in Belfast. He was grateful for some quiet time at Falcon after his adventures at the Gay Pride Festival, and was full of news and gossip. Dorothy listened enthralled to his stories of drug taking, orgies, and the occasional bit of queer bashing that needed to be dealt with in the appropriate manner.
‘I may not be a tough guy,’ the trainer sniffed indignantly, ‘but I can hold my own in a fight against those louts. Jerome was terrified he was going to take punch to the face, so the rest of us guys got in front of him. It would be a shame if he lost out on work because of bruising.’
Dorothy was fascinated by this insight into Jamie’s world, and was sorry to have to leave him behind and head off to Otter again. She made sure to first check and see if she had won anything on the Irish Open. Alas, she had not won a cent as the title went to an Englishman, and laughed at herself.
‘That’s what you get, Dorothy Lyle,’ she told herself sternly, ‘for taking a chance on a man because you like the way he looks. Let this be a lesson to you. The universe is telling you to take a break from gambling.’
After hugging and kissing her profusely, Jamie stowed her Louis in the spacious boot of the Mercedes, little realising one of the cases held the secret stash of Otter clothes. Advising him to avoid any provocation which might lead to subsequent bouts of fisticuffs, Dorothy waved him goodbye and took off yet again, grateful to be heading out of the city.
She made good time and the journey progressed without mishap, although she made sure to text her mother a couple of times in order to reassure her all was well. When she reached her destination, Elaine and Eddie were genuinely delighted to see her back in Kerry.
In less than ten minutes, they had her luggage unloaded and the car stowed away safely in the garage. Almost immediately, Dorothy saw how well they had settled in, and how the house once more had a lived-in feel to it. She could no longer sense its loneliness and she was happy because the house was happy.
Seeing the substantial amount of luggage emerging from the boot, Elaine eagerly offered to help with the unpacking. She exclaimed in surprise and pleasure when she saw all the cheap and cheerful garments Dorothy had brought. She readily accepted the items purchased for her and Eddie.
‘Jamie packed the big case with my good clothes, shoes and cosmetics for when I go out,’ Dorothy explained, as she gestured towards the largest Louis. ‘Not that I want to go anywhere just yet. Who would have thought being rich could be so exhausting?’
‘Is it true you won your money on the lottery?’ Elaine enquired hesitantly.
‘Yep. The Euromillions. It was one of the biggest jackpots ever. Did you hear about the massive win over in the UK last month? It dwarfs even mine. I hope the couple are all right because it’s a huge responsibility. You don’t realise how scary the whole thing can be until it happens to you. I suppose there will be even bigger wins in the future. The lottery gang thrive on the publicity the massive payouts generate.’
‘Wow,’ Elaine muttered, and Dorothy saw the other woman was at a loss for words. If somebody had said the same thing to you this time last year, you would have thought they were off their rocker.
To let Elaine off the hook, she suggested they go and find Eddie. He was only too happy to show her what he had done with the kitchen, and prepare a snack for her after the long drive.
Dorothy was pleased with the new bed she had chosen for the master suite and got an excellent night’s sleep. She quickly settled into a routine of doing very little except reading in the hot tub, lying around soaking up the sun, or partaking of one of Eddie’s inspirational meals.
Elaine allowed her two full days for the purposes of recuperation before suggesting it was time to embrace home makeover mode. Dorothy reluctantly conceded there was work aplenty to be done, and rather grudgingly left the comfort of her hot tub and got dressed so she could take a proper look around.
The cottage had been transformed since her last visit. Elaine and Eddie had visited all of their friends and relations, and retrieved one box of possessions from each. There were now books, CDs, paintings, lamps, ornaments and photographs dotted around the house, making it look as if they had lived there for years. It was so cosy and snug, Dorothy envied them.
A shiver of apprehension ran through her as she imagined herself rattling around her new mansion with nobody but her puppy for company. She refrained from mentioning her misgivings to the Loughnanes, since she seriously doubted they would understand her fears for the future. Folks assumed because you had money, all of your problems magically disappeared, and you need never worry about anything ever again. Alas, Dorothy was discovering nothing could be further from the truth.
It was too warm to light the fires, but Eddie assured her it would grow cold soon enough, and the woodpile in the shed would not last long. He was looking better, although Elaine confided he still had to be careful and not overdo things, as he had not yet regained his full strength. Dorothy was pleased to see that, so far, they both seemed well and happy.
From: Dottie8888@chatulike.ie
To: SRedmond@chatchat.com; ANorris@talkalot.com
Date: August 5th, 2011
SUBJECT: DRESSES AND SHOPPING
Hi Girls,
How’s it going? I’m back at Otter and busy sorting stuff out. We decided to order beds for the spare rooms and furnish them properly. It would be better to be prepared and have nobody use them, than to have no spare beds in the house, and folks rolling up expecting to be put up for the night.
Some of the rooms need painting, but only one is urgent and Eddie has undertaken to deal with that. I have unofficially set aside the top floor for Horace. A bit silly I know, but whenever I go up there, I can imagine him standing in front of an easel or staring out the window. We ordered a big bed for up there since it is an enormous space.
Elaine tried on one of my new maxi dresses, the blue print one I really liked - a lot. She looks so much better in it than I do, I am raging! I told her (bitterly) she is no friend of mine and henceforth will be cut out of the will. Naturally I gave her the damn dress!
We took a trip to Killarney and another one to Tralee and ordered more furniture and gym equipment. We were exhausted after all that retail, so we went back to sunbathing, enjoying Eddie’s cooking, and sitting in the hot tub talking shite. Back soon. Love Dot xx
Elaine had expended hours of work in the greenhouse and gardens. Dorothy dutifully admired everything, not exactly sure what to say, as she had something of a grey thumb herself, and for years had depended upon Horace to make her outside space presentable.
Most of the land, while not exactly wild, was very much as nature intended. The walks and nature trails winding around the back of the house had to be regularly maintained in order to prevent the rear of the property from becoming inaccessible.
The Zen garden had to be kept raked and free of weeds, while the small pond had to be monitored for algae and other interesting forms of wildlife. Dorothy hoped jars of frogspawn were not going to start making an appearance. She was not sure when frog-spawning season was scheduled to begin, although Elaine struck her as very much the kind of girl who would embrace that sort of thing.
From: Dottie8888@chatulike.ie
To: SRedmond@chatchat.com; ANorris@talkalot.com
Date: August 9th, 2011
SUBJECT: GLOBAL TRENDS AND HOT TUBS
Hi Girls,
Continuing to have a lovely time at Otter and attaching a few pics. It’s a shame that, weather wise, we are having a bad August, although we cope. When you’re sitting in a hot tub, it doesn’t really matter if it’s drizzling at the same time, assuming you don’t have a glass of wine in your hand.
Claudia called to say I shouldn’t be unduly concerned about the chaos with the international markets. She says she has taken steps to protect as many of my investments as possible. It took a while for what she was saying to sink in, as it has been three days since any of us watched the news. Yikes!
Nice to know the U.S.A. can have their credit rating downgraded the same as us lesser nations. Claudia says we ‘might pick up a few bargains’ in the markets, whatever that means. She also believes things will get worse before they get better. In fact, she says we are likely to see this level of disruption for years to come. Yikes again. Back soon. Love Dot xx
‘Claudia, my whiz of a financial adviser, says not to panic over the situation with the world markets. She says not to be tempted to dump your stock this week. Hold on to what you have and ride out the storm,’ Dorothy told the Loughnanes that same evening.
‘Thanks for the tip, Dot. I was intending to offload my shares in Dorian Ganley Holdings first thing tomorrow,’ was Elaine’s amused rejoinder.
During the second week, Saul called to remind Dorothy she owed him a meeting. Jamie also called to say her latest toy would shortly be arriving from Belfast. As she had decided to buy a small piano for Otter, Dorothy decided she might as well kill a few birds with one stone.
She drove back to Dublin and, using the shortlist provided by Patrick as her guide, quickly located a small upright model that would fit nicely in the corner of the living room. After arranging for it to be delivered, she crossed the task off her list. She was able to devote the whole of the next day to Saul and Ryanna, and spent it at Howth, discussing interior and exterior design matters.
She arrived back at Falcon late in the afternoon, and was delighted to find that Jamie had taken delivery of her new Porsche. He had managed to persuade the car registration centre at Greenhills to take them for the first appointment the next day.
One of the drawbacks to buying a car over the border in Northern Ireland meant it had to be registered with a revenue-approved centre in the Republic, and vehicle registration tax had to be paid. Dorothy would also be liable for the Value Added Tax, although in due course she would be able to reclaim the British equivalent.
It was a straightforward enough process, provided you had patience and money. It seemed to Dorothy as soon as your new car crossed the border, cash began to haemorrhage from your bank account.
After taking the vehicle to Greenhills and obtaining all of the necessary documentation, she took the decision to leave the Porsche safely at Falcon until the process was complete. It would be at least another fortnight before she would be able to have her Irish number plates made up, and was wary of taking a chance on the motorway.
If the traffic police spotted her in a brand spanking new, Porsche 911 Turbo S in metallic amethyst with British plates, there was a good chance she would be pulled over. A conversation with any officer of the law, on any subject, was something she preferred to avoid.
Accompanied by Viv and Yvonne, Dorothy completed her trip to Dublin with an outing to the musical of Grease. Saul and Ryanna also tagged along with their two eldest children. The lead singer playing the part of Sandy was a petite girl wearing a blonde wig. Dorothy was taken aback when the Newman children informed her she could easily have played Sandy, since she was just as pretty and little. It had been many years since she had thought of herself in those terms, hence it was a shock to hear a pair of pre-teens employing the adjective ‘pretty’ to describe her.
Briefly, she remembered what Bel had said about starting a new relationship, but almost instantly dismissed the notion. She was not ready for any of that nonsense just yet. Besides, hadn’t her sisters said she would know when the time was right? She had been on a dinner date with Dean Watson and flirted like a mad woman at the races. Plenty to be going on with!
Upon her return to Kerry, Dorothy regaled Elaine and Eddie with the story of her few days in Dublin. She did not neglect to tell them about her latest toy, or how Jamie had flirted outrageously with the fine looking (and very butch) inspector at Greenhills, and made a complete show of her. The Loughnanes were gobsmacked when she showed them the photographs of the Porsche. They were stunned to learn she had purchased such an impractical and expensive piece of metal.
‘But Dorothy, how much did it all cost?’ Eddie asked her, his eyes wide.
She shrugged. ‘The basic price was one hundred and forty thousand pounds, although that doesn’t include taxes and charges. I suppose by the time I’ve paid for everything, it will cost close to two hundred and forty thousand euro. I did order all of the optional features available for that model. I only hope it can dispense hot chocolate when the weather turns cold.’
This latest edition to her fleet naturally got them talking about a vehicle for Otter. Dorothy described the Range Rover Saul and Josh had chosen for the palace. The Loughnanes were dumbfounded when she blithely informed them she had spent somewhere in the region of seventy thousand euro on it.
They asked her if she would be interested in buying a car Eddie’s cousin was selling due to forced emigration. Dorothy readily agreed to look at it, assuming they considered it suitable. They certainly did consider it suitable and she got a terrific shock when she first clapped eyes on it.
It was a twelve-year-old Land Rover Defender in dark red. It had a 2.5 litre diesel engine, seating up front for three, and side facing seats in the rear for another four. Even with the rear seats in, there was still plenty of floor space in the back for groceries or equipment. According to Eddie, the Defender also had a tow bar, power steering, and a CD player. Naturally enough the mileage was high as the vehicle was old. He was thrilled with it.
Dorothy was unable to fathom why they were prepared to settle for such a heap of junk, when she would have gladly paid for any car they wanted. They wanted the Defender at a paltry €4,300, and the cousin was relieved to make the sale, since he badly needed the funds for Canada.
After handing over the cash and shaking hands all round, Dorothy followed the Loughnanes back to Otter in her Merc, while Eddie got used to the controls of the new vehicle. She hoped she would never have to drive it herself because it reminded her of nothing less than a tank.
The days ticked along in pretty much the same vein. When the heavy rain came, Dorothy would take off to Killarney to meet up with Jools and Bea and watch the progress being made with the hotel. She also spent many happy hours catching up on her reading and listening to music. The upright piano arrived within the week, meaning she could practice every day if she wished. She instinctively knew she was improving, even though Patrick was not there to confirm it.
The Loughnanes kept wetsuits in the garage and Dorothy occasionally watched them snorkelling with the wildlife. On the one hand, she envied them their skill and ability to get so close to nature. On the other hand, she had no real ambition to start bobbing around in the Kenmare River with a snorkel shoved in her mouth, gaping at the fish below and trying not to let water inside her mask.
When she confessed she had never snorkelled, they were quick to offer lessons. She told them she was not quite ready for that level of adventure just yet, but promised to consider it in due course. Taking a chance, she told them about her vision of swimming in the river with the big seal man, and also about the pool dream.
To her relief, they did not enquire if she was suffering from emotional problems. They simply said as soon as the big seal showed up, they would expect her to stop being such a wuss and, at the very least, learn to snorkel.
