Auntie Mags released her vice-like grip and Jo stepped back, grateful to be able to take in a deep lungful of air that did not smell of Mags’s knock-off Chanel perfume (‘Chanelle Number 6 – sure, it’s the same stuff, only a tenner a bottle’) and gin.
‘I’m grand thanks,’ Jo said. ‘I want to keep a clear head.’ That much was true. She had to pack and get organised and wrap her head around her impromptu trip away with a virtual stranger. Thankfully, they weren’t going far. Derry was nestled on the border with Donegal and Ewan was keen to explore Inishowen and the north of the county. They were places Jo was already quite familiar with, but nonetheless she wanted to do a little touristy research of her own before they set off.
She took off her jacket and sat down, her mother sitting down opposite her.
‘Did Clara settle okay?’ she asked her mother.
‘She did. She’s in your bed all cosied up. Mags read her bedtime story, so that was definitely an experience for her.’ Her mum gave a quick glance towards Mags and Jo couldn’t help but laugh. They were such a double act, and even if, at times, Mags could be a bit full on, she had a heart that was made of pure gold and she kept Jo’s mum in high spirits.
‘She’s a good wain,’ Auntie Mags said, her face solemn. ‘That wee pet. She’s lucky to have you all, you know. You’re good people. The best.’
‘Now, now, Mags. Don’t be getting emotional. We’re at least two gins away from that being an acceptable part of the evening,’ Jo’s mum laughed. ‘Or maybe we’re not? Jo, are you going to tell me how this evening went or keep me in suspense? I’ve been on my nerves all evening. These gins have been entirely medicinal.’
‘That’s true,’ Mags agreed. ‘And I’ve only been drinking to keep her company. It’s never good to drink alone,’ she said with a wink.
Jo pushed aside her feelings about how Lorcan had reacted. There were so many feelings there to unpack. Instead, she wanted to focus on the offer that Ewan had made her, even if telling her mum that he had thought she showed real talent made her blush furiously.
‘He thinks I have potential,’ she said. ‘Real potential.’
She watched as her mother beamed and Mags reached a hand out to squeeze her friend’s arm.
‘I knew it!’ her mother said, and Jo was sure that she could see tears forming in her eyes. ‘I bloody knew it!’
‘Oh, don’t cry, Mum. Because if you cry, I’ll cry.’
‘And I’ll cry too,’ Mags said. ‘And I’m told I’m not allowed to do that for at least another two gins.’
‘Okay, I won’t cry,’ Jo’s mum replied, ‘but that doesn’t stop me being proud. And I am prouder than ever! Do you believe in yourself now?’
‘I do,’ Jo told her. And it was true. She did. She was buoyed by a blossoming sense of new possibilities opening up to her. ‘And there’s more,’ she began. ‘He wants to mentor me for a couple of days.’
She explained to her mother the plan that Ewan had outlined for her. Three days and two nights, as his guest, while he did his own research.
‘He seems like such a nice man, Mum,’ she said. ‘And it’s not often an opportunity like this comes around. I can’t say no – and I already have the time off. He really, really liked the book.’
‘Holy God,’ Mags exclaimed, quickly downing her gin. ‘Either I drink faster or I break my own rules and start crying anyway.’
Jo just watched as her mother looked at her, an unreadable expression on her face. She felt a knot tighten in her stomach. ‘Mum, you do think it’s a good thing, don’t you? I mean, if you think it isn’t… I’ll see if he can just draft me some notes or something and…’
Her mother stood up and crossed the room before she perched on the arm of the sofa beside Jo and put her arm around her shoulder. Her voice was almost a whisper. ‘I’m so proud of you. My heart could burst. Of course you have to take this opportunity. This could be your big moment, you know. Your time to shine. When I think you’ve had this talent all along…’ She kissed Jo gently on the top of her head.
‘Ah, frig it!’ Mags squealed, downing her drink. ‘I’m going to cry anyway!’ and she crossed the room to pull the two of them into a huge hug.
Clara sat on Jo’s bed with her arms crossed, her eyes narrowed and her lip distinctly petted. ‘But it’s not Saturday night and you don’t sleep anywhere else ’cept on Saturdays.’
‘That’s true, Clara. I don’t. Not usually. But this is different because this is a chance I got just last night and I have to take it.’
‘A chance?’
Jo could see Clara was confused and, knowing that her little sister was having issues with separation anxiety at the moment, she realised she had to play this very carefully indeed. ‘Well, you know sometimes if we go into town and, maybe it’s a sunny day and we’re walking home?’
Clara nodded.
‘And I say, “Will we get an ice cream in Fiorintini’s for a wee treat?”’
Clara nodded again.
‘And it’s not an everyday treat, just a sometimes treat?’
Clara nodded again and her brow became just a little less furrowed.
‘Well, this is like that. It’s not an everyday sleepover, but a treat sleepover.’
‘Can I come then?’ Clara asked, her eyes wide at the thought.
‘Sorry, dotes. It’s only for grown-ups. I’m going to be working there. Writing some of my stories. Besides, I have a really important job for you to do when I’m away.’
‘What is it?’ Clara, who loved to feel very important indeed, asked eagerly.
‘Well, I need someone to sleep in this bed for me to keep it warm and to look after Mammy since Daddy is still away.’
‘Can Buttercup sleep here too?’ she asked, as her eyes darted to her well-loved teddy resting on one of the pillows.
‘Of course she can! But only if she promises not to steal all the covers, or snore too loudly.’
‘Teddy bears don’t snore, you silly billy!’ Clara scolded.
‘Do little girls called Clara snore and steal the covers?’ Jo asked, one eyebrow raised.
‘Nope,’ Clara said, sliding herself off the bed and grabbing her teddy. ‘Only big sisters called Jojo. Who snore so loud!’ And there it was, Clara’s giggle.
‘I do not!’ Jo protested.
‘You do! Louder than Daddy Pig!’ By now, Clara was almost hysterical with laughter at her teasing and Jo wanted to scoop her up and hold her very tight.
‘Clara Campbell, I love you just how Big Nutbrown Hare loves Little Nutbrown Hare. All the way to the moon…’
‘And back,’ Clara answered, solemnly.
‘You’ll be a good girl for Mammy, won’t you? I’ll ask her to take you for an extra big ice cream since I won’t be here.’
‘Yes!’ Clara punched her fist in the air and grinned. With that, she was gone, a whirlwind in a primary school uniform and a mass of red curls. Buttercup swinging under her arm.
That, Jo thought, went a lot better than it could have. Clara was one of two stumbling blocks to her excitement about her trip. Lorcan was the other. They hadn’t exchanged a call or a text or even liked each other’s social media posts since the reading. He had left before the event had ended, which had given Jo no chance to try and clear the air with him. She had been fired up and ready to challenge him as to why he had been so judgemental, but he clearly didn’t want to be challenged. Whereas they had progressed to a steady stream of messages over the previous few days, the silence was deafening. Jo knew she owed him nothing. She knew she shouldn’t give him space in her head, but yet there he was.