Part 38 (1/2)
”I'm Holly,” she mumbled and took his hand lightly, not wanting to be overly rude.
”Holly, that's a lovely name.” He held her hand for much too long and Holly was forced to look up into his eyes. He had big blue sparkly eyes.
”Eh...thanks,” she said, embarra.s.sed by his compliment, and her face flushed.
Charlie sighed to himself. Even she had fallen for it, his only hope of satisfaction for the night gone.
”Can I buy you a drink, Holly?” Steve asked smoothly.
”No thanks, I have one here.” She sipped on her water again.
”OK, well, I'm just going to bring these drinks down to my table and then I'll be back to buy the lovely Holly a drink.” He smiled at her creepily as he walked away. Charlie rolled his eyes as soon as he turned his back.
”Who the h.e.l.l is that eejit?” Holly asked, looking bewildered, and Charlie laughed, delighted that she hadn't fallen for him. She was a lady with sense even if she was crying because she missed her husband after only one day of separation.
Charlie lowered his voice, ”That's Stevie, boyfriend of that blond b.i.t.c.h who was here a minute ago. Her dad owns this hotel, which means I can't exactly tell her where to go, although I would love to. Not worth losing my job over.”
”Definitely worth losing your job over, I should think,” Holly said, staring at the beautiful woman and thinking nasty thoughts. ”Anyway, good night, Charlie.”
”You off to bed?”
She nodded. ”It's about time; it's after six,” she tapped on her watch. ”I hope you get home soon,” she smiled.
”I wouldn't bet on it,” he replied and watched her leave the bar. Stevie followed after her and Charlie, thinking this was suspicious, made his way closer to the door just to make sure she was OK. The blonde, noticing her boyfriend's sudden departure, left her table and arrived at the door with Charlie at the same time. They both stared down the corridor in the direction Holly and Stevie had headed.
The blonde gasped and her hand flew to her mouth.
”Hey!” Charlie called out angrily as he witnessed a distressed Holly pus.h.i.+ng a drunken Stevie away from her. Holly angrily wiped her mouth, disgusted with his attempts to kiss her. She backed away from him. ”I think you've got the wrong idea here, Stevie. Go back to the bar to your girlfriend.”
Stevie wobbled slightly on his feet and slowly turned to face his girlfriend and an angry Charlie, who was charging toward them.
”Stevie!” she shrieked. ”How could you?!” She ran from the hotel with tears streaming down her face. She was closely followed by a protesting Stevie.
”Uggghh!” Holly said with disgust to Charlie. ”I did not want to do that at all!”
”Don't worry, I believe you,” Charlie said, placing his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. ”I saw what happened through the door.”
”Ah well, thanks very much for coming to my rescue!” Holly complained.
”Got here too late, sorry. But I must admit, I did enjoy her witnessing that,” he laughed, referring to the blonde, and bit his lip feeling guilty.
Holly smiled as she stared down the corridor at Stevie and his frantic girlfriend screaming and fighting with each other.
”Oops,” she said, smiling at Charlie.
Holly knocked into everything in the bedroom as she tried to make her way back to her bed in the darkness. ”Ouch!” she yelped, stubbing her toe on the bedpost.
”Sshhh!” Sharon said sleepily and Holly grumbled all the way to her bed.
She tapped Denise on the shoulder continuously until she woke up.
”What? What?” Denise moaned sleepily.
”Here.” Holly forced a mobile phone in Denise's face. ”Phone your future husband, tell him you love him and don't let the girls know.”
The next day Holly and Sharon went for a long walk on the beach just outside Galway city. Although it was October, the air had warmth in it and Holly didn't need her coat. She stood in a long-sleeved top and listened to the water gently lapping. The rest of the girls had decided to go for a liquid lunch and Holly's stomach wasn't quite ready for that today.
”Are you OK, Holly?” Sharon approached her from behind and wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulders.
Holly sighed. ”Every time someone asks me that question, Sharon, I say, ”I'm fine, thank you,” but to be honest, I'm not. Do people really want to know how you feel when they ask how are you? Or are they just trying to be polite?” Holly smiled. ”The next time the woman across the road from my house says to me, ”How are you?” I'm going to say to her, ”Well, actually I'm not very well at all, thank you. I'm feeling a bit depressed and lonely. p.i.s.sed off at the world. Envious of you and your perfect little family but not particularly envious of your husband for having to live with you.” And then I'll tell her about how I started a new job and met lots of new people and how I'm trying hard to pick myself up but that I'm now at a loss about what else to do. Then I'll tell her how it p.i.s.ses me off when everyone says time is a healer when at the same time they also say absence makes the heart grow fonder, which really confuses me, because that means that the longer he's gone the more I want him. I'll tell her that nothing is healing at all and that every morning I wake up in my empty bed it feels like salt is being rubbed into those unhealing wounds.” Holly took a deep breath. ”And then I'll tell her about how much I miss my husband and about how worthless my life seems without him. How uninterested I am in getting on with things without him, and I'll explain how I feel like I'm just waiting for my world to end so that I can join him. She'll probably just say, ”Oh that's good,” like she always does, kiss her husband good-bye, hop into her car and drop her kids at school, go to work, make the dinner and eat the dinner, and go to bed with her husband and she'll have it all done while I'm still trying to decide what color s.h.i.+rt to wear to work. What do you think?” Holly finally finished and turned to Sharon.
”Oooh!” Sharon jumped and her arm flew away from Holly's shoulders.
”Oooh?” Holly frowned. ”I say all that and all you can say is 'Oooh'?”
Sharon placed her hand over her b.u.mp and laughed. ”No, you silly, the baby kicked!”
Holly's mouth dropped open.
”Feel it!” Sharon giggled.
Holly placed her hand over Sharon's swollen belly and felt the tiny little kick. Both their eyes filled with tears.
”Oh Sharon, if only every minute of my life were filled with perfect little moments like this I would never moan again.”
”But Holly, n.o.body's life is filled with perfect little moments. And if it were, they wouldn't be perfect little moments. They would just be normal. How would you ever know happiness if you never experienced downs?”
”Oooh!” they both shrieked again as the baby kicked for a third time.
”I think this little boy is going to be a footballer like his daddy!” Sharon laughed.
”Boy?” Holly gasped. ”You're having a boy?”
Sharon nodded happily and her eyes glistened. ”Holly, meet baby Gerry. Gerry, meet your G.o.dmother Holly.”
FORTY-FOUR.
”HI, ALICE,” HOLLY SAID, HOVERING in front of her desk. Holly had been standing there for a few minutes now and Alice hadn't said a word yet.
”Hi,” Alice said shortly, refusing to look up at her.
Holly took a deep breath. ”Alice, are you mad at me?”
”No,” she said shortly again. ”Chris wants to see you in his office again. He wants you to write another article.”
”Another article?” Holly gasped.