Positively Yours (3 page)

Once Grace's working visa had come through, she had begun looking for jobs. Her marketing degree and Irish charm had stood her in good stead, and before long she had
got a job in a small yet busy marketing firm in Old Town San Diego. The firm had specialized in helping companies market themselves and San Diego to tourists, and Grace had been the ideal person for the job. Being Irish and a visitor not so long ago herself, she'd known exactly what Europeans wanted from a big trip to the States. From holidaying families to honeymooners, she had enjoyed helping tourists get the inside track on SeaWorld, the San Diego Zoo, and many other local haunts.

Grace had got on well with the other girls who worked there, too, and even though at first she had been disgusted by the way health-conscious Americans would be up hours before work to go to the gym, and seemed to swing constantly between the South Beach or Atkins diets, it hadn't been long before she'd adapted to their Californian lifestyle. Within a few months of living on the West Coast, she had been up jogging on the beach before work, too, drinking smoothies until they came out of her ears, and forgoing relaxing weekends for energetic mountain hikes with Ethan. Of course she still had her Irish appetite and loved it when visitors came over – because then she'd had an excuse to bring them out for pancakes! But the American way of life had suited Grace, and the day Ethan rang her to say his company had landed a huge contract she had known her life would be firmly based in the US. And, as promised, within weeks of his company's success they had been able to afford a house nearer the beach. It had needed some renovation, but Grace had felt content. Being from Dublin and an island, she had never been far from the sea, so it had comforted her to know the ocean was close by. And Ethan had been happy to get the chance to put his own imprint on the run-down property. New projects always excited him.

And then one weekend, while visiting a winery in Napa Valley, Ethan had gotten down on one knee and proposed.
Grace had been overwhelmed by the romantic setting and the amazing diamond and emerald ring.

‘The emerald is to match your green eyes, and remind you of your home – Ireland,' Ethan had said softly, sliding the engagement ring on to her finger. Grace had never been treated so well, and knew how lucky she was to have found the man of her dreams.

Their new house with ocean views had been a far cry from the small city-centre house in Dublin she had grown up in, but Grace had relished the change, and as she'd agreed to marry Ethan she'd felt she was letting go of that Irish past.

As Ethan's career had soared so had their lifestyle, and Grace had become quite used to nice cars, houses and clothes, along with the sunshine and healthy living. And now, because of Ethan's job, she was going to have to get used to Irish living all over again. Ethan's firm were interested in expanding, and as Ireland was seen by many as the technical hub of Europe, they'd decided to open a new office in Dublin. Ethan's business partner Alex had planned to oversee its start-up, but when his wife had suddenly become pregnant he had decided he wanted to stay in San Diego. And so, with only a few months to go before the new office opened, Ethan had agreed to uproot and move to Ireland. He would spend a year in Dublin employing staff, getting new contracts and making sure the firm was going well before returning to San Diego. Ethan had also thought a year back in Ireland would make Grace happy. And she had initially been delighted, thinking of how great it would be to be surrounded by family and friends and people who understood what
The Late Late Show
was and thought ‘Have a nice day!' sounded corny and fake. But now, as the time got closer, she worried she had become too settled in America, and that Ireland might be a let-down.
But then, as she looked back down at the old photo album and saw her friend Sharon's face smiling back at her, she realized how lovely it would be to catch up with her and all the girls. She wondered, was Leeson Street still the place to be seen on a Saturday night?

BETH PRENDERGAST PULLED
into a parking spot just near the door of the newly built Blackwood Golf Club. She checked her reflection in the rear-view mirror, and fixed her short blonde hair back with a clip before locking her black Audi A3 and entering the club. Beth spotted her dad sitting in a cosy looking armchair overlooking the eighteenth hole, with the Sunday paper in one hand and glass of white wine in the other. Beth hadn't seen her father in a few weeks, so was a bit surprised to see how much weight he had lost.

‘How are you? Busy as ever with work?' he asked, as Beth ordered a Diet Coke for herself.

‘Yeah, it's tough at the top, Dad! But are you OK? You have lost weight.'

‘Oh, I'm fine. It's just this new golf course. Ever since they relocated the golf club to here I just can't resist playing an extra few holes each day! But it is keeping me young and fit, so don't you worry,' her dad said, as they both looked out over the new fairways.

Beth's father, William Prendergast, had been a member of the golf club for as long as she could remember. He loved the interaction with the other members, and spent many a Sunday afternoon enjoying the roast carvery, the Sunday paper and a glass of white wine. A few years ago the golf club
had announced that it was relocating to Wicklow. Most of the members had complained, but for William it had been great news, as it had meant the club would be even closer to home. And when the doors had finally opened a few months ago, all the begrudgers had eaten their words, as the new club house was state-of-the-art, and the course itself fantastic! Nowadays William always seemed to be either on his way to or from the golf club whenever Beth had time to call him. She had felt guilty she hadn't seen him in weeks, and known the best way to catch up would be over a nice Sunday lunch in his new home from home.

As they ordered food Beth was reminded of her dad's popularity. Many members came up to say hello, and ask how she was, and they all seemed to have time for William. He was, indeed, very charming, and a real gentleman, but she could not help feeling that his fellow-golfers knew her father better than she did. Being an only child and a girl, Beth had always found it hard to connect with her father. She knew her parents would have loved more children, and her avid sports-fan father would have loved a boy to teach golf to, but it had never happened. And as the years of trying for another sibling for Beth had progressed it had become obvious that Beth's mum wasn't well.

Beth had only been ten years old when her mother had died after a long battle with breast cancer. She could barely remember the weeks after the death, everything had seemed like a nightmare. One minute she'd been in her mother's bed listening to her reading
The Worst Witch
, the next her dad had been coming home from the hospital and explaining that her mum had gone to live with the angels in heaven. Beth had tried to finish the book on her own, but without her mum's funny reading voices it hadn't been the same, and she hadn't wanted to ask her father, as all he had seemed to do was cry when he thought she couldn't hear him. At night she'd hear sobbing
coming from behind his study door. She'd been scared, and had just kept waiting for her mum to come home and explain what was happening, but she never had.

Beth had been so lonely that she'd been glad when, after a few weeks, her father had suggested she spend the summer with her cousins in Cork. She'd missed her dad, but known he was busy with work, and she'd enjoyed the company: her boy cousins had taught her how to play cards, go-kart down steep roads, and keep the score in rugby. When she'd eventually returned to Wicklow at the end of the summer she'd realized her dad was finding it hard to deal with her. William had been old when she'd been born – and her being a girl was always going to be difficult for a man who couldn't tell Barbie and Ariel, the little mermaid, apart. When September came around he'd sat her down and asked her if she'd like to go to school in Dublin. Beth had been excited, as she had always loved going to the big city with her parents, especially at Christmas, when she could gaze at the Switzers Christmas window display. But it wasn't until her dad had explained that she would be boarding at this school that she had got scared. But before she knew it, William had had her uniform, books and clothes packed for St Teresa's boarding school. Beth had looked jealously at the girls who had mums dropping them off. While her dad had given her an awkward goodbye hug Beth had watched over his shoulder as mothers ran fingers through their daughters' hair, kissed them all over their faces, and waved at them right up until the last second.

Boarding school had been difficult at first for Beth, but the nuns had been very kind to the new motherless girl, and soon she had not only settled into life as a boarder, but started excelling at her studies, too. It was here that she'd been set apart from the other girls. Of course she'd loved the girly chats and the obsessing over any boys who came near the school, but Beth had been very hard-working, and had soon become
a top student. She'd also known how proud it made her dad to receive her school reports, their pages filled with As and encouraging comments from her teachers. There had never been any chance she'd be on the top hockey team, but her brains had made sure that she was not only made a prefect in her final school year but also did brilliantly in her Leaving Certificate. Before long her school days had been over and she'd been heading off to UCD to study business and make her mark on the world.

Beth probably could have commuted from Wicklow to the UCD campus each day, but after eight years of living away from the family house it had no longer felt like home, and so she'd moved in with friends and started living the student life. Of course she'd still seen her dad as often as she could, but they'd both known they would never be that close. Even the summers she had spent home from boarding school had never been relaxed. Beth had tried to be the companion she imagined William would have wanted – she'd read up on golf, rugby and business so she could talk to him – but it had never really worked, and by the end of August each year she'd been looking forward to returning to her small all-girls boarding school.

Looking back, Beth realized how trying to become strong for her distant father had shaped her character, making her more determined to succeed in her studies, and then her career. But as her dad tucked into his vegetable soup and talked about how he and his friends were planning a golf trip to the Algarve, Beth found herself longing for a deeper relationship with him. Even though they were sitting right beside each other they somehow could never be as close as she was sure her dead mother would have liked them to be.

After a pleasant afternoon Beth got up to return to Dublin. She didn't know if it was the wine talking or the fact that they
hadn't seen each other in almost two months, but her dad gave her an extended hug.

‘I know I don't say it enough,' he said, ‘but I want you to know how proud I am of you. You have turned out to be a fine woman, so clever. I just hope one day you will make me even prouder by giving me the pleasure of walking you up the aisle. We could even have the wedding in this new club house! Everyone tries to book their wedding here now, but I have been here long enough to get you a slot.'

Beth sighed. Her dad knew that there'd been someone in the background for the last year, but she hadn't wanted to admit she was seeing a divorced man who could barely commit to dinner, let alone marriage, so she'd avoided all conversations about boyfriends and men, and her dad had been too much of a gentleman to push her for information. But she was sure he was wondering why his only daughter hadn't settled down.

‘I'm just not at that stage, yet. But I promise you, you'll be the first to know when I need a wedding venue, and the club house would be a great one!' And with that she gave her dad a hug and picked up her bag.

‘I just want you to be happy. That's all your mother would have wanted, too,' William said, as he sat back down and stared out of the window at the now dusky evening.

‘I know, Dad, and that's all I want, too, to be happy. Just like you and Mum were.'

But as Beth drove home alone, in her brand-new car, to her perfect yet empty apartment, stopping to buy the
Sunday Business Post
along the way so she could get ahead of any financial news, she wondered if somewhere along the line she had forgotten what real happiness was, and had been striving for something altogether different.

THE SOUND OF
ABBA filled the crisp autumn air as Beth walked through the gates of Lansdowne Rugby Club. Tonight was the office end-of-summer barbecue, and every year Burlington Stockbrokers took over the rugby club and invited all the staff and their partners. As usual, Beth had no partner, and arrived on her own. She fixed the straps of her cream Karen Millen dress and walked into the club house. Beth always felt slightly self-conscious on nights like tonight. Years of working in a very male-orientated office had made her want to project a very strong image of herself in front of her work colleagues. She hated to let her guard down and allow anyone to see behind the work facade, and yet, at dos like this, after a few drinks, people expected to see the true Beth.

She headed for the food, and, as she helped herself to a burger and salad, heard her work colleague, Graham O'Reilly, call her name. He waved for her to come over to where a big gang of men were sitting, stuffing themselves. Beth made her way over, and it wasn't until she sat down that she saw Tom was in the group. He was holding a beer in one hand and a mobile phone in the other. His phone was pressed to his ear, and he seemed to be deep in conversation.

‘Doesn't he ever take the night off?' Graham whispered to Beth. ‘No wonder his marriage broke up years ago! His poor
ex-wife! He's totally obsessed with work. But then I suppose I would be, too, if I was that wealthy and successful!'