The Life You Left. Carmel Harrington

very persuasive, when I want to be. And anyhow, even though I may have an ulterior motive, he’s a nice man. I like him. The kids always have a laugh with him. And you never know. Stranger things have happened; he might just hit it off with Mary!’

      What she didn’t add was that she’d had another dream last night and she saw that Benji was going to be knocked down on Saturday. She figured that if Joey was at her house, then his dog would be ok. And if Benji is ok, then Joey couldn’t hurt himself. It was simple really. She instinctively felt that he needed to meet some people; she had deeply felt his isolation in her dream. He needed to get some confidence to get out and have some fun. Mary said she’d be happy to talk to him, try to build his confidence up a bit. It was worth a shot anyhow. She couldn’t just do nothing and wait for him to die.

      And maybe, if she was really honest, she was glad of this distraction, as it allowed her to dull the thoughts that were never far away, about Paul. If he loved her, how could he stay away? She didn’t have an answer for that, so turned her attention back to James.

      ‘Ok, sis, I’ll be there. It should be a laugh anyhow watching you in action! Should I bring my iPod, download the Greatest Love Songs ever from ITunes?’ He teased.

      ‘Ha Ha, very funny. I’m sure you already have them downloaded, part of your seduction technique when you lure unsuspecting bimbos back to your house!’

      ‘Ah, you’re only jealous of my Jagger moves!’ James responded with a laugh, then broke into song, “I got moves like Jagger, I got the moves like Jagger!”’

      Sarah giggling said, ‘Stop. My ears!’

      ‘And another thing Cilla, if you’re trying to set me up with Rita, forget it! Grannies are just not my thing!’

      ‘If it’s got a pulse and it moves it’s your thing!’ Sarah quickly replied laughing. ‘But no, you’re safe enough. Don’t think Rita would ever look at another man after Thomas. She loved him too much.’

      ‘Thank God for small mercies!’ James answered with a grin. ‘I’ll bring some booze with me. I’ve decided I’m going to stay with you guys for a few nights. I want to go to the funeral anyhow. I’d rather be there just in case anything weird happens.’

      Sarah was so relieved to hear that. She could do with his support with the children. ‘That would be great. I’m not looking forward to it. I’m not even sure what exactly I’m to expect and Edward is no help whatsoever. He just says to be prepared. But listen, I’m changing the subject for a minute. I’ve been trying to get hold of Paul and he’s dodging me. Not answering emails or his phone. Can you help me track him down?’

      ‘At fecking last, sis. I don’t know how you’ve waited this long to be honest, but never mind that now. I’ll track him down, leave it with me.’

      ‘What are you going to do?’ Sarah asked, intrigued.

      ‘I’ll start by ringing his boss. They might have a contact number for him. I’m sorry, sis, but I just don’t buy this whole depression story, and it doesn’t sound like the Paul I know. And before you ask, I’ll be discreet. This is the kind of stuff I do in the agency all the time. Don’t worry.’

      ‘Thanks bro. I owe you.’

      It was one of those rare October days where the sun was shining and it was also quite warm. Summer days had often been colder and darker than today was. The kids were out the back playing on their trampoline, Ella was in her Tigger bouncer jumping and down, squealing with delight at how clever she was. Lunch was almost prepared.

      Sarah was doing an antipasto for starters, served in a large dish in the centre of the table. She loved serving this kind of food that everyone can just dig into and share. This way they could take as much or as little as they liked. On the platter was Bruschetta Fegatini which consisted of toast – made with Italian style bread – covered with chicken liver pieces sautéed with just a hint of chilli. Carpaccio, wafer thin slices of prime beef, served raw with a dressing of vinaigrette and shavings of fresh Parmesan and Prosciutto, an uncooked, dry-cured ham which was exquisite and would satisfy even the biggest carnivore. Her kids adored this type of food. She also had Cannellini beans and Tuna served with olive oil, lemon juice, and a little sliced onion, with a touch of garlic, salt and pepper. And of course, the old faithful served at every dinner party in their house, garlic bread. Katie was addicted to the stuff and thought it was the height of sophistication to have a starter of garlic bread before any main course. Following the antipasto she was going to serve a Seafood and Chorizo Risotto. She could make risotto with her eyes closed and this recipe was a firm favourite. James adored it and she wanted to give him a little treat. And the added bonus was that Risotto was really inexpensive, but didn’t look it.

      She’d prepared most of it, but would actually finish it when everyone had finished their starter. For dessert she had made Banoffi cupcakes. This was often a dessert she made for friends the odd time she entertained. She made her usual cupcakes but added some mashed banana to the mixture instead of fruit or nuts. Then when they were cooked she took the top off the cupcakes making a little hole in the centre of them with her heart shaped cookie cutter. She then poured the Banoffi caramel into the hole, topped this with chopped bananas and some whipped cream. It really was very good and as Mary had said that cupcakes were her favourite, she wanted to surprise her with these.

      James was bringing the alcohol, although she did have a bottle of red and white ready to go too. The kids had made place names for the table; they were excited at the thought of a dinner party. They even made a place name for Benji and put it on the floor beside a bowl of water they put down. She was just going to make some lunch for Ella soon and have her fed before everyone arrived. That way she would hopefully sit happily in her high chair when they all ate. It was all about timings with a little baby!

      Putting Ella into said highchair she spied James out in the garden with the kids. He was a big child himself, he had his shoes off already and was jumping up and down on the trampoline like a lunatic. The kids were squealing with delight jumping on top of him every time he fell down.

      Ella was in high spirits and had picked up that something important was happening. She was a really sociable baby, loved having people all around her, so she was literally bouncing up and down in her highchair, too excited to eat her food.

      James walked in the back door gasping for breath. ‘That trampoline is a killer. That’s better than any workout at the gym!’ he declared with a clink of bottles banging together as he placed the wine on the floor.

      Sarah laughed; he was puffing from the exertion. ‘Grab a beer and sit down. You’ll survive!’

      ‘Something smells gorgeous. Banoffi cupcakes?’ James asked hopefully.

      ‘The one and only.’ Sarah answered.

      ‘Before the others get here, I have to talk to you about Paul.’

      ‘Did you find anything out?’ Sarah asked quietly. Looking at her brother’s face she figured he had and she wasn’t sure she’d be pleased at what he was about to disclose.

      ‘Yeah, I know where he is. You’ll not like it, sis.’ He said slowly.

      ‘Go on, tell me. I’ve been imagining all sorts. Nothing could be worse than my imagination.’ She braced herself for James’s words.

      James wasn’t so sure. ‘Saz, he’s in London.’

      Sarah grappled for the kitchen counter to steady herself. She had imagined many scenarios as to where Paul could be, but none of them involved him being in a different country. She’d just assumed he was in Ireland somewhere, maybe in a cottage in Cork or Kerry like one of the holiday lets they’d had in previous summers with the kids. They didn’t know anyone in London, so she was at a loss as to why he was there.

      ‘Ok, here’s the deal. I rang his company and asked to speak to him. And the receptionist told me that he didn’t work in Ireland any more. I asked her why, and she informed me that he’d been promoted and taken a transfer to their London Headquarters. He moved over there over five