Jess came home from work and cooked dinner quickly. Amy and herself had managed to get tickets for the production of a new Roddy Doyle play in the Abbey, and had agreed to eat and then get a bus into the city.
Where the hell was Amy? At this rate they’d be late! She hated getting to the theatre after it started and disrupting everyone in their seats, or having to stand in the back row until the interval. She’d give Amy a piece of her mind when she saw her. She tried to text and phone Amy again, but her phone was off.
She went upstairs to get ready and glanced inside Amy’s room. She couldn’t believe it when she saw that Amy’s pink and grey patterned suitcase, which was usually flung on the floor in her spare bedroom, was missing. She didn’t mean to be nosy but even at a glance she could see that Amy’s hair straightener and make-up and wash bag were also missing. Flummoxed, she sat on the bed. Amy had made no mention of going away for a night or two. The rest of her clothes still hung in the wardrobe, the floor was covered in her shoes, and her expensive Mulberry handbag was sitting on the dressing table, so it wasn’t like she had decided to move out!
Maybe she had gone home. Jess punched the O’Connors’ number into the phone but there was no reply there. She tried Tara and Aisling and Sarah, but none of the girls had heard from Amy or had a clue where she was. She even sent Dan a text. Maybe Amy had gone back to the apartment.
Dan phoned her immediately. ‘Jess, is Amy OK?’ he asked, his voice filled with concern.
‘Everything’s fine,’ she lied. ‘I was just wondering where she was. I think she’s actually gone to Tara’s. Sorry to have hassled you.’
‘Jess, thanks for being such a good friend to her at the moment. I know how much support you’ve been to her, and I really appreciate you letting her live with you,’ he said. ‘This has been an awful time, but I know we’ll get through it . . . we still love each other and that’s what matters.’
As she was listening to Dan Jess got a sudden appalling feeling that maybe Amy had arranged to see Matt. Shit! Don’t say she was with him!
Jess hadn’t Matt’s number, but she did know where his family lived, and a quick call to directory enquiries put her through to Marie Kerrigan’s home in Clontarf.
‘Hi, Mrs Kerrigan, is Matt there?’ she asked. ‘I’m a friend of his.’
‘I’m sorry, dear, but Matt’s not here,’ replied his mother. ‘Do you want to leave a message and I’ll tell him when he gets back?’
‘Gets back?’
‘Yes, dear. Matt’s gone down the country for a night or two with a friend.’
Jess almost dropped the phone. Surely Amy wasn’t stupid enough to go off with Matt? Shit! She had to stop her from destroying her life with someone like that!
‘If I want to contact him, do you know where he’s staying, by any chance?’ she probed.
‘Well, Matt didn’t actually say, but I know it’s one of those big hotels in Kilkenny.’
‘Thanks,’ Jess said, almost dropping the phone as she considered what to do.
1. She could stay here and do nothing and go to see the play on her own.
2. She could try to do something to stop her best friend making the biggest mistake of her life!
There was no contest. She had to interfere for Amy’s own good! Anyone with eyes in their head could see Amy and Dan were meant for each other and that it was just a matter of time before they both got sensible and got back together. Matt Kerrigan turning up like a proverbial bad penny could ruin everything, and Jess Kilroy had no intention of letting that happen.
She dialled the O’Connors again to make sure that Amy hadn’t just gone home for a few nights. She let the phone ring and ring and eventually Ciara answered it.
‘Ciara, it’s Jess,’ she shouted. ‘Is Amy there?’
‘Don’t think so.’
‘Can you go and check?’ she demanded. ‘Go and see if she’s left her pink case there, or moved stuff into her old bedroom?’
‘What?’ Ciara sounded peeved that she had to go and do anything.
‘For heaven’s sake, Ciara, will you run up and check Amy’s bedroom!’
Ciara sounded half-asleep and Jess could imagine her slowly walking up the stairs.
‘Hurry up,’ she yelled down the line.
‘She’s not here,’ Ciara said, puzzled. ‘Mum and Dad are gone to Cork for the night for Auntie Sinead’s sixtieth birthday party, so there’s no one here except me and the dog.’
‘Shit!’ Jess couldn’t disguise the mounting sense of panic in her voice.
‘What’s wrong?’ asked Ciara. ‘What’s the matter?’
Jess hadn’t intended to, but she found herself telling Ciara all about her concerns for her sister and Matt Kerrigan.
‘Matt Kerrigan’s back? I don’t believe it!’
‘He’s back in Dublin and Amy’s already met up with him a few times.’
‘Feck! I don’t believe Amy’d be so stupid as to give that wanker the time of day!’
‘Well, they’ve had dinner twice and he’s always texting her,’ informed Jess. ‘Also, I know for definite that he’s gone away for a couple of nights, and I’m really worried because Amy’s not answering her phone, and her case is missing, and her make-up bag.’
‘Double feck!’ said Ciara succinctly, summing up the situation. ‘Where are they?’
‘I think that the two of them are in Kilkenny,’ said Jess firmly. ‘I’m not going to let Amy make a fool of herself with Matt again and screw things up with Dan!’
‘But what can we do?’ Ciara grasped the urgency of the situation, too.
‘Stop her,’ said Jess firmly, making a decision. ‘She’s not answering her phone but they are only in Kilkenny, it’s not that far away. I’m going to drive down and try and get her to see sense.’
‘Can I come, too?’ asked Ciara.
‘Sure. I’ll collect you in about fifteen minutes, so be ready!’
Jess was glad that Ciara had agreed to come with her. Heaven knows what kind of reception they’d get from Amy. It was only because she cared so much for her best friend that she was prepared to do this and intervene. Amy might never speak to her again, but she had to somehow try and stop her making such a catastrophic mistake!
Ciara, in black jeans and a T-shirt and grey hoodie, was ready. Jess chatted to her about college and discovered that her friend’s sister was a lot more interesting than Amy usually let on. Ciara was studying Philosophy and Classical Studies at UCD, and despite appearances seemed to be a good student.
‘Sometimes I feel my brain is going to burst with all the thoughts and ideas that fill it!’ she confided. ‘It’s kind of weird, as I expected to hate college. I detest all that D4 snobby crowd that always hang out in the canteen, but the rest of the students are OK. I’m in an experimental dance group, and at the moment we are working on a piece about global warming and its effect on mankind. We have rehearsals all week in college and hope to perform it in about a month’s time.’
‘Ciara, that sounds really interesting.’ Jess praised her, realizing that the awkward crazy kid who used to be the bane of herself and Amy’s life was actually growing up to be pretty decent. ‘I wouldn’t mind seeing it. I’m sure that something like that would be great for the kids in the school where I teach: get them to be more aware of the world around them.’
‘We haven’t performed much to audiences yet, but kids would be great as they’d get it, and we could show them some of the moves and routines we’ve created.’
Jess smiled. She remembered when Ciara used to dress up in a pink ballet tutu and go to ballet lessons. She’d waltz around the O’Connors’ house doing constant pliés and pirouettes. She’d always been good at dancing, and here she was taking it on to the next stage.
‘What do you think Amy’s doing?’ Ciara mused aloud as they saw a road sign for Kilkenny.
‘She’s probably having dinner or a drink with him,’ sighed Jess, putting her foot on the accelerator. ‘With any luck we should be there in about half an hour or so.’
As they neared Kilkenny they both fell silent, unsure of what the plan ought to be.
‘Do you even know what hotel Matt and Amy are staying in?’ asked Ciara.
‘No, but we’ll find them.’
They drove around for a bit. They stopped at a massive hotel on the outskirts, but discovered that there was no Matt Kerrigan registered there. They tried two smaller places and drew a blank, but then, when Jess asked in the Castle Hotel overlooking the river near Kilkenny Castle, they got a response.
‘Mr Kerrigan checked in here a few hours ago.’ The receptionist smiled.
‘Has he gone out to dinner?’ asked Ciara. ‘Or is he still in the hotel?’
‘I think Mr Kerrigan and his partner had dinner earlier in the dining room, and they might still be in the bar.’ The receptionist smiled again before turning to answer the phone.
Ciara and Jess raced to the bar. There was a big group of business men in one corner, and a few couples, but no sign of Matt and Amy.
The barman was helpful, and told them that Matt and his partner had been sitting at the table over near the window only a few minutes earlier, but must have just finished their drinks.
Jess sauntered over to the table he’d pointed out. Matt’s signature, she saw, was on the hotel docket for room 305. She signalled for Ciara to join her in the lobby.
‘They’re here, on the third floor!’ whispered Jess. ‘But what should we do?’
They’d come here so impulsively, and now neither of them was sure what their next move should be.
‘We’ve got to stop Amy making an utter prat of herself,’ insisted Ciara. ‘That’s our mission.’
Nervous, they got into the lift, and found the room easily on the third floor. They could hear talking and laughter coming from inside.
‘What are we going to do?’ whispered Ciara. ‘It sounds like Amy’s there.’
Jess took a deep breath and knocked on the door. She felt like a private detective on a case. She held her breath, terrified, as Matt came to the door and answered it wearing a pair of pale-blue boxers.
‘Jess, isn’t it? You’re Amy’s friend. What the hell are you doing here?’ he demanded.
‘I need to talk to Amy,’ she said, standing her ground. Ciara was like a mute statue beside her.
‘Amy?’ Matt seemed puzzled. ‘What are you talking about?’
Suddenly the door opened wider as Matt’s girlfriend appeared, curious. Her dark eyes flashed as she asked in a strong Belfast accent: ‘Who are these two?’
‘I’m sorry, Matt, there’s been a misunderstanding,’ said Jess, praying that the ground would open up and swallow her. Ciara was trying to stop giggling, and had run off down the corridor leaving her to take the flak.
Making up a story about being there for an annual teachers’ conference and spotting him in the distance in the lobby, and presuming that Amy was with him, Jess somehow managed to extricate herself from the situation and get back out of the hotel and to the car park, where Ciara was laughing and smoking.
‘Jess, you are so crazy!’ she teased. ‘Now I know why Amy likes you so much. You are a blast!’
Jess began to laugh herself. It was so ludicrous that she had to see the funny side of it. Amy would kill her when she found out. The problem was, they still had no idea where Amy was and who she was with!
They stopped off in a small café for coffee and a snack, going over the humiliation of what they had done and reliving every awful detail, before the long drive home.
‘Try texting Amy again,’ Jess suggested as they drove back to Dublin.
Thirty minutes later, a relieved Ciara said, ‘Hey, she just texted me back. You won’t believe it, but she’s at my gran’s. Gran had some kind of a turn and was in hospital, but they are back in Gran’s house now and Gran’s asleep. Amy said that she’s going to stay there tonight with her. Poor Gran. I’ll call over to her tomorrow.’
‘Phew,’ said Jess, wondering how she was ever going to explain what she had done to her best friend.
‘Remember, nobody knows about us being down in Kilkenny,’ Ciara warned, ‘and that’s the way to keep it!’
Jess glanced over. Amy was always saying that Ciara was like a sphinx and that sometimes you could get nothing out of her.
‘What about Matt?’
‘He’s not going to tell Amy he’s off in a hotel with some girl from Belfast!’
‘I suppose not!’ Jess agreed.
‘Did you see the look on his face?’ teased Ciara.
‘Did you see her face?’ laughed Jess, and the two of them got hysterics replaying it over and over again in their heads, both swearing to each other to keep it a secret.