Mistake by Sheila O'Flanagan

Author:Sheila O'Flanagan [O'Flanagan, Sheila]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Headline
Published: 2019-05-29T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

I ring James Mallon the next day and ask him to do whatever paperwork needs to be done. We agree that the new name for the business will be StyleDrive, though until that’s registered I continue to accept bookings for Christy’s Chauffeurs. Meantime Alison sends me a link to the business start-up course. She says it’s subsidised, though it still costs three hundred euro. I reckon it’s money well spent, so I sign up.

This week, my driving is mainly in the city, which isn’t as much fun as longer trips. The summer camps have started in, so I don’t have to worry about Mica and Tom. I bring them to St Anne’s Park each morning, and Oladele’s mum, Grace, collects them in the evening, which is ideal; although Mum is picking them up on Friday because Oladele has a dental appointment. I think she was quite pleased when I asked her, as she hasn’t seen them all week.

‘You’re quite determined then?’ she said when I dropped in to see her in a break from airport pickups.

‘Quite determined about what?’

‘To keep the business going?’

‘Yes,’ I said.

‘Don’t let Dave feel like you’re neglecting him.’ She gave me a warning look and I had to bite back the retort that Dave never worries about neglecting me when he’s working. I reminded her that he was living the life in Wexford at that very moment, but I wondered if Mum used to worry that Dad might find someone else if she wasn’t at home whenever he walked in the door. Does she think that if I’m not around, Dave will fall into the arms of Julie Halpin again?

‘Dave has learned his lesson,’ she said when I asked her. ‘And as for your dad, I never had the slightest concern about him. It was that he worked mad hours and I liked to be there when he was home. That’s why I preferred to work mornings. He was mostly in bed then.’

Dad used to do a lot of evening shifts as a taxi driver. We had to be quiet getting ready for school in case we woke him up.

‘Which are you worried about more?’ I asked. ‘That I’m doing too much or that I’m pissing Dave off?’

‘Neither!’ Suddenly her tone was softer, more understanding. ‘I simply don’t want you chasing your tail to prove a point.’

‘I’m not trying to prove a point.’

‘When you were driving before, it was the odd time,’ she said. ‘You’ve only started talking about turning it into a proper job since Dave . . . well, you know. You’ve never felt the need to have a practically full-time job until now.’

‘Mum, this has absolutely nothing to do with Dave cheating on me,’ I insisted. ‘It’s about me wanting to step out for myself. It’s about time I did. And that’s it. I promise you.’

‘So long as you know what you’re doing,’ she said.

I do. And I told her that very firmly indeed.

Julie Halpin walks out of her front door at

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.