No Ordinary Love by Anita Notaro

Author:Anita Notaro
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781409095200
Publisher: Transworld

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THE NEXT DAY WAS HAPPY BEDLAM WITH MADDY’S GANG, AND I spent most of the day helping her mum and trying to persuade her to chill. Compared to my family, Maddy’s were a cross between the Waltons and the Brady Bunch, and they constantly got involved in each other’s lives without being asked, said whatever they liked and yet you just knew they’d always be friends. Because they’d known me practically all my life, they embraced me as one of their own, and just spending time with them always cheered me up. This year they wanted to know everything about the changes I’d made, and I got hugged and kissed more than usual as they all congratulated me and wished me well. They’d even bought me a ‘mobile-warming’ present of a pair of old-fashioned deckchairs, because Maddy told them being at my new place was just like being at the seaside.

Connie hugged me loads and told me how much she loved me, which she did often, and because it was such a contrast to my own mum, it never failed to make me gulp. And this year it hit home even more than before, and I resolved once again to talk to my own mother as soon as I could.

When Maddy finally dropped us off the following afternoon I knew I’d miss their warmth, but I was ready for the simple life once more. I spent the next few days catching up on paperwork, giving the van a good clean and indulging Pete with two-hour treks in remote parts of County Wicklow, where there were plenty of new smells and lots of nasty stuff to roll in.

Becky and I had planned to spend New Year’s Eve together, but our small family reunion never happened, simply because she forgot and made other plans and, for once, I hadn’t bothered to nail it down. I was disappointed although not surprised; it was just that, this year, I really wanted to show her my new life and talk openly for once. For the first time, I realized that I hated having a sister I didn’t really know. However, not sharing our lives bothered me but not her, or so it seemed.

When Maddy heard she dragged me off to a ‘luvvie’ party, and we had a great time, and Ronan texted both of us around midnight so she was happy. Clodagh had an unexpected date with Joe, who’d come back early from his ski trip because there was no snow. She rang us at midnight, so all was well with the world.

Between us, we’d made a ton of resolutions. Maddy wanted to ‘Become a star and get laid’; Clodagh was slightly more modest, declaring her number-one ambition was to start her own business, with ‘Find a nice man’ a close second; while I didn’t want anything really, except maybe to see where my friendship with Mike took me, but I was trying to be philosophical about it and it seemed to be working. I felt no pressure, although I was hoping he’d be at the party.

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