Pipe Dreams by Anne Schulman

Author:Anne Schulman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: GemmaMedia
Published: 2009-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Meany’s car bumped and banged along the rough road leading to Julie’s cottage.

“Don’t give up on me now,” he pleaded aloud to the frail rope which was threatening to give way again. Julie had been so furious when she left the farm she might never speak to him again. Well, she could have her precious heating and her gas cooker now. And he would throw the chair out if it made her happy. Better still, he could put it in one of the sheds. It would be grand to sit in while he ate his lunch.

Meany breathed a sigh of relief. Julie’s car was still outside the cottage.

“It’s open,” she called in answer to his knock. “I’m upstairs. Packing.”

“Where are you going?” Meany asked as he watched her throwing her clothes into a case.

“Back to Dublin.”

“Ah, Julie, don’t be like that. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. You can have your heating, I promise,” he said.

“You said that last night, Meany.”

“I know I did, but I got a terrible shock when they told me the price,” Meany explained.

“What do you expect? The farm isn’t exactly on the main road, is it? Or on the main gas supply for that matter either,” Julie said as she folded his favourite blue sweater and put it in the case. “It’s not going to work for us, Meany. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life fighting and begging every time we need something. I can’t live that way.”

“You won’t have to, I promise,” Meany said. “Please, Julie, stop packing. I’ll do whatever you want.”

Julie looked into his pleading eyes. He was such a softie underneath all his meanness. He couldn’t help it, she supposed. His mother had brought him up that way. She had turned meanness into a fine art.

“You’ll put in gas heating?” she asked.

“I will,” Meany replied.

“And get rid of that old stove? Buy a gas cooker?”

“Yes.”

“A new gas cooker?”

“A new gas cooker,” Meany repeated.

“And we’ll do the place up? Paint it from head to toe?” Julie pressed.

“Whatever you say.” Meany felt like a drowning man.

“And we’ll have a proper wedding?” Julie knew that this was the moment to iron things out. She might not get a chance like this again.

“Can’t we talk about that later?” Meany asked. At this rate every penny he expected to make from the sale would be spent before it ever reached the bank.

“Now is as good a time as any,” Julie said firmly. “I’ll help with the wedding. Pay for the food. And the cake.”

Meany cheered up. All he would have to do was stand a round of drinks. That would not be too bad.

“That’s fine,” he agreed.

“So that just leaves you with the cars and the flowers. The presents for the bridesmaids and the best man. Oh! And the photographer,” Julie said with shining eyes. She was lost in a wedding mist.

Meany was lost too. Did other people go through this? Or did they just get a licence and get married? Cars, flowers, photographs? It was all a bit too much.

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