going to launch the supplement in a few minutes.”
Aisling looked at him mutely.
“Don’t have any more to drink, Aisling,” he added coldly.
“I’m not going to drive you home if you get drunk, so you’re on your own.”
With that he was gone, back to his besotted students and the whispering of colleagues who had seen everything.
Aisling slowly drained her glass and turned towards the stairs. So this is what heartache feels like, she thought numbly, walking slowly down the stairs, her beautiful new dress billowing out behind her.
The security guard at the door saw her walking towards him like a sleepwalker, her expression vacant and her eyes dull. He wanted to ask if she was all right, but he wasn’t sure how to do it.
CHAPTER FIVE
Jo parked the car and got out quickly, noticing Aisling’s car parked several spaces away. Great, she thought. She slammed the door shut and slipped her keys into her bag. We’ll be able to catch up on all the gossip.
Jo hadn’t walked more than five steps before she saw Aisling emerge from the front entrance. Even from a distance, Jo could see that her friend’s complexion was ashen, an expression of sheer pain on her
Jesus, Jo thought, shocked. What could have happened? She ran towards Aisling, feeling the silk of her dress shimmer loosely around her body as she moved and realising that dainty heels and no bra were not ideal for running on gravel.
“What’s wrong, Aisling? What’s wrong?” Catching Aisling’s hand in hers, Jo looked at her friend anxiously, her eyes seeking some reason for this terrible pallor, this frightening look of despair. Talk to me, Ash, please,” she pleaded.
“He’s left me. He’s in love with someone else,” Aisling said flatly, gazing into the middle distance with grief-stricken eyes.
Jo couldn’t believe what she was hearing; Michael had left her? How ridiculous! Michael adored Aisling, worshipped the ground she walked on, didn’t he?
Surely Aisling had got it wrong … or had she? Jo was dumbstruck. She simply didn’t know what to say. Aisling stood there silently, the lines around her eyes and mouth set in hard, unyielding creases.
“He’s not in love with me, you see said Aisling, like a child reciting a poem learned by rote.
“He’s in love with her and it’s all my fault.” She started to cry properly, great big heaving sobs which shook her body, as if she was coughing her last breath.
“Oh Ash.”
“I found out today Aisling wept.
“Fiona told me, she’d known for ages but she couldn’t tell me. I know she couldn’t tell me. And I was going to confront him, get him to say he was sorry and it would be all right. Everything would stay the same. But he won’t, he won’t…”
Aisling buried her head in Jo’s shoulder, sobbing onto the silver knitted wrap Jo had worn to cover her slip dress in case she felt chilly.
What could Jo do but hold Aisling, trying to ease the hurt with a friend’s arms when all Aisling wanted was her husband’s arms, and his voice telling her it was over, that he loved her and no one else. But Jo suspected that Michael wouldn’t be saying that. Not ever again, maybe. Who could have guessed, who’d have known, that this seemingly devoted couple were on their way to splitting up? Maybe she’d have seen it coming if she hadn’t buried herself in Richard’s life, neglecting her old friends for him.
“Come and sit in my car she cajoled.
“Please, Aisling, please.”
“Can’t. I have to go home to the boys. I told the babysitter I wouldn’t be long.”
Aisling sniffled and found a scrunched-up piece of tissue in her bag among the shopping lists and Saturday morning under-elevens’ soccer timetables. She took a deep breath and looked at Jo.
“Don’t be silly, Ash. Just sit with me for a few moments and stop crying. You can’t drive home like this.”
She steered Aisling over to her car, opened the passenger door and helped her in as if she was an
Aisling looked at him mutely.
“Don’t have any more to drink, Aisling,” he added coldly.
“I’m not going to drive you home if you get drunk, so you’re on your own.”
With that he was gone, back to his besotted students and the whispering of colleagues who had seen everything.
Aisling slowly drained her glass and turned towards the stairs. So this is what heartache feels like, she thought numbly, walking slowly down the stairs, her beautiful new dress billowing out behind her.
The security guard at the door saw her walking towards him like a sleepwalker, her expression vacant and her eyes dull. He wanted to ask if she was all right, but he wasn’t sure how to do it.
CHAPTER FIVE
Jo parked the car and got out quickly, noticing Aisling’s car parked several spaces away. Great, she thought. She slammed the door shut and slipped her keys into her bag. We’ll be able to catch up on all the gossip.
Jo hadn’t walked more than five steps before she saw Aisling emerge from the front entrance. Even from a distance, Jo could see that her friend’s complexion was ashen, an expression of sheer pain on her
Jesus, Jo thought, shocked. What could have happened? She ran towards Aisling, feeling the silk of her dress shimmer loosely around her body as she moved and realising that dainty heels and no bra were not ideal for running on gravel.
“What’s wrong, Aisling? What’s wrong?” Catching Aisling’s hand in hers, Jo looked at her friend anxiously, her eyes seeking some reason for this terrible pallor, this frightening look of despair. Talk to me, Ash, please,” she pleaded.
“He’s left me. He’s in love with someone else,” Aisling said flatly, gazing into the middle distance with grief-stricken eyes.
Jo couldn’t believe what she was hearing; Michael had left her? How ridiculous! Michael adored Aisling, worshipped the ground she walked on, didn’t he?
Surely Aisling had got it wrong … or had she? Jo was dumbstruck. She simply didn’t know what to say. Aisling stood there silently, the lines around her eyes and mouth set in hard, unyielding creases.
“He’s not in love with me, you see said Aisling, like a child reciting a poem learned by rote.
“He’s in love with her and it’s all my fault.” She started to cry properly, great big heaving sobs which shook her body, as if she was coughing her last breath.
“Oh Ash.”
“I found out today Aisling wept.
“Fiona told me, she’d known for ages but she couldn’t tell me. I know she couldn’t tell me. And I was going to confront him, get him to say he was sorry and it would be all right. Everything would stay the same. But he won’t, he won’t…”
Aisling buried her head in Jo’s shoulder, sobbing onto the silver knitted wrap Jo had worn to cover her slip dress in case she felt chilly.
What could Jo do but hold Aisling, trying to ease the hurt with a friend’s arms when all Aisling wanted was her husband’s arms, and his voice telling her it was over, that he loved her and no one else. But Jo suspected that Michael wouldn’t be saying that. Not ever again, maybe. Who could have guessed, who’d have known, that this seemingly devoted couple were on their way to splitting up? Maybe she’d have seen it coming if she hadn’t buried herself in Richard’s life, neglecting her old friends for him.
“Come and sit in my car she cajoled.
“Please, Aisling, please.”
“Can’t. I have to go home to the boys. I told the babysitter I wouldn’t be long.”
Aisling sniffled and found a scrunched-up piece of tissue in her bag among the shopping lists and Saturday morning under-elevens’ soccer timetables. She took a deep breath and looked at Jo.
“Don’t be silly, Ash. Just sit with me for a few moments and stop crying. You can’t drive home like this.”
She steered Aisling over to her car, opened the passenger door and helped her in as if she was an
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