Positively Yours Read online

  Erin enjoyed working with clients and discussing with them what they wanted to do with their property. Each project was individual and different and she could get lost for hours planning and sketching design briefs. To her, each job was as important as the next: she was not only helping someone change their home but putting her own mark on it, too.

  She was in a competitive business, and she had to work long and hard, but as the years went by, she didn’t mind spending hours measuring rooms, meeting tradesmen, working on budgets or getting quotes on kitchens, because it all kept her mind off the big white elephant in the room, the one thing she wanted more than anything, yet couldn’t get no matter how many suppliers she had on speed dial – a child of her own.

  5

  GRACE MILLER WAS searching online for a Hallowe’en costume for her golden retriever Coco when her phone rang.

  ‘Hi, Mum!’ Grace said, as she closed the internet down and made her way to the plush oversized cream couch that filled her living room.

  ‘Grace? How did you know it was me?’ her mum asked suspiciously.

  ‘We have Caller ID. Everyone in the States has it. I have told you this a million times! So how is everyone in Ireland?’ she asked.

  ‘Well, I know I’ll see you in America next week, but everyone else is just counting down the days until you are home, pet,’ said Patsy Slattery to her only daughter.

  Grace smiled as she looked around her large Californian home, imagining how her life was about to change. Grace and her husband Ethan were leaving ‘the golden state’ and America to go and live in Dublin. They were only moving there for a year, but it was still a big decision, and even though Ethan was the American and had never spent more than two weeks at a time in Ireland, it was Irish-born-and-raised Grace who was more nervous of the move. She had gotten used to her large house with its own swimming pool, the sun permanently shining in the sky, and the American way of life. And even though she couldn’t wait to live closer to her mum and family, she knew she would miss the climate, the twenty-four-hour outlet malls, and the American breakfasts – complete with pancakes, big omelettes, bacon, waffles, grits and coffee refills!

  Patsy started to fill Grace in on a welcome-home party that her two brothers wanted to throw for her in November. But before she moved home to Ireland, Patsy was coming over to visit Grace for a week. Not only to help Grace pack, but also to get some sunshine before the long Irish winter set in.

  ‘Your brothers are so excited to have their big sister home. And I know Ethan’s work say it is only for a year, but when you start your family you might decide Ireland really is a better place to raise a child!’

  Grace’s whole mood changed, and she sat up straighter on the couch and repeated what she had already said to her mother a million times.

  ‘Ethan and I are perfectly happy with our lives. We are a family already; we do not need screaming kids ruining that. How many times do I need to tell you? Please, Mum, no more talk of me having babies, it is not going to happen.’

  And with that Grace managed to get her mum off the phone and go back to searching for cute Hallowe’en outfits for Coco.

  ‘Who needs whining children, when I have you, Coco?’ she said, as she began ordering a dog’s Harry Potter costume.

  6

  GRACE WAS BUSY packing up the house in San Diego. They were renting it out for the year they would be in Ireland, so Grace needed to put in storage anything she wasn’t bringing home with her. She started with the photo frames, and carefully covered some of her favourites in bubble-wrap. It was while she was parcelling up the three silver wedding gift ones and the fancy glass frame Ethan’s sister-in-law Cindy had given them, that she came across an old photo album of the summer she had first come to America. She sat down on her bed and began flicking through the photos and memories.

  She smiled, remembering that time when, as gawky students, she and her friend Sharon had spent a summer working in San Diego. It was only supposed to be for a few months, in-between finishing college and starting ‘real life and real jobs’. They had arrived over and booked into a motel on Pacific Beach, and immediately Grace had fallen in love with the sunshine, the sea at her front door and the laid-back way of life. She had gotten a job in a restaurant called the Marina Grill, which overlooked the ocean. It had been popular with local residents and tourists alike, due to its stunning location, large fresh fish menu and famous beer-battered onion rings! The staff had all been young, and after their shift ended they had often closed the restaurant but stayed on drinking beer there until the early hours of the morning. Sharon used to join Grace and one of the other waitresses, Rachel, for a drink after her day working as a guide in San Diego’s SeaWorld, and the girls had many a fun night with the waiters and any Irish tourist that stopped in. It was while working there that she had met Ethan Miller.

  Ethan had been a local, and many a night had had a burger and fries in the Marina Grill. Grace had often served him, and found his confident and chatty manner a change from many of the quiet young Irish boys she’d known back home. Before long, the other waiters started teasing Grace that Ethan only wanted her to serve him. And it had been no surprise when – the evening he’d managed to make eating a basket of fries last two hours – he’d admitted that all he’d really been doing was waiting for Grace’s shift to end, so he could buy her a drink. When Grace had finally collapsed into her bed in the motel at 3 a.m. that night, Sharon had known that her friend was smitten. Soon all Grace had talked about was Ethan, but Sharon hadn’t complained: it had been great that her friend’s new boyfriend was a local, and could show them around California. And they had spent many a weekend piling into Ethan’s old jeep and exploring San Francisco, Los Angeles and even Tijuana. As the summer progressed Grace had fallen more and more in love with the golden state and Ethan. He was everything the Irish men she knew weren’t: blond, tanned, athletic and full of life. He said she was different from all the Californian blonde bimbos he knew, what with her long red Irish hair and clear green eyes.

  Before Grace knew it, the summer had been over and it had been time to go back to Ireland. Sharon had been eager to get back to Dublin and start a career in finance – after studying business for four years she’d been keen to make her mark on the Celtic Tiger – but Grace hadn’t wanted to return to ‘rainy old Ireland’. She had studied marketing, and as Ethan had kept reminding her, she could work in marketing in the States, too. The thought of working in America, where Grace was beginning to feel at home, with the man of her dreams beside her, had been too tempting. It had been a huge decision, but one she’d felt was right, so after returning to Ireland to pack her belongings and break the news to her family, Grace had bought a one-way flight to San Diego and begun her new life with Ethan in America.

  It had been exciting hanging out with Ethan’s friends and spending days on the beach trying to get her Irish skin tanned. Unlike along the East Coast of America, being Irish had still been a novelty in San Diego, and Grace had soaked up the attention, and questions like: ‘Do you know Bono?’ But the transition had been hard at times, too, and she had often been homesick, missing her family, and in particular her mum, a lot. When she had heard that her friend Sharon had not only gotten the big job in finance that she craved, but also met a man and bought a house with him, Grace had felt a little jealous. And there had been days when all she had craved were Denny Irish sausages and a bottle of Lucozade; but still, having Ethan had made up for all of that.

  She had moved into his rented duplex apartment, only a ten-minute drive from the beach. Ethan and his friend Alex had been setting up their own IT company, and even though Grace had found it hard when he worked late hours, he’d kept saying that it was all for her, and that one day his firm would be huge, and then they would be able to afford a house right on the beach.

  Once Grace’s working visa had come through, she had begun looking for jobs. Her marketing degree and Irish charm had stood her in good stead, and before long she had got a job in a
small yet busy marketing firm in Old Town San Diego. The firm had specialized in helping companies market themselves and San Diego to tourists, and Grace had been the ideal person for the job. Being Irish and a visitor not so long ago herself, she’d known exactly what Europeans wanted from a big trip to the States. From holidaying families to honeymooners, she had enjoyed helping tourists get the inside track on SeaWorld, the San Diego Zoo, and many other local haunts.

  Grace had got on well with the other girls who worked there, too, and even though at first she had been disgusted by the way health-conscious Americans would be up hours before work to go to the gym, and seemed to swing constantly between the South Beach or Atkins diets, it hadn’t been long before she’d adapted to their Californian lifestyle. Within a few months of living on the West Coast, she had been up jogging on the beach before work, too, drinking smoothies until they came out of her ears, and forgoing relaxing weekends for energetic mountain hikes with Ethan. Of course she still had her Irish appetite and loved it when visitors came over – because then she’d had an excuse to bring them out for pancakes! But the American way of life had suited Grace, and the day Ethan rang her to say his company had landed a huge contract she had known her life would be firmly based in the US. And, as promised, within weeks of his company’s success they had been able to afford a house nearer the beach. It had needed some renovation, but Grace had felt content. Being from Dublin and an island, she had never been far from the sea, so it had comforted her to know the ocean was close by. And Ethan had been happy to get the chance to put his own imprint on the run-down property. New projects always excited him.

  And then one weekend, while visiting a winery in Napa Valley, Ethan had gotten down on one knee and proposed. Grace had been overwhelmed by the romantic setting and the amazing diamond and emerald ring.

  ‘The emerald is to match your green eyes, and remind you of your home – Ireland,’ Ethan had said softly, sliding the engagement ring on to her finger. Grace had never been treated so well, and knew how lucky she was to have found the man of her dreams.

  Their new house with ocean views had been a far cry from the small city-centre house in Dublin she had grown up in, but Grace had relished the change, and as she’d agreed to marry Ethan she’d felt she was letting go of that Irish past.

  As Ethan’s career had soared so had their lifestyle, and Grace had become quite used to nice cars, houses and clothes, along with the sunshine and healthy living. And now, because of Ethan’s job, she was going to have to get used to Irish living all over again. Ethan’s firm were interested in expanding, and as Ireland was seen by many as the technical hub of Europe, they’d decided to open a new office in Dublin. Ethan’s business partner Alex had planned to oversee its start-up, but when his wife had suddenly become pregnant he had decided he wanted to stay in San Diego. And so, with only a few months to go before the new office opened, Ethan had agreed to uproot and move to Ireland. He would spend a year in Dublin employing staff, getting new contracts and making sure the firm was going well before returning to San Diego. Ethan had also thought a year back in Ireland would make Grace happy. And she had initially been delighted, thinking of how great it would be to be surrounded by family and friends and people who understood what The Late Late Show was and thought ‘Have a nice day!’ sounded corny and fake. But now, as the time got closer, she worried she had become too settled in America, and that Ireland might be a let-down. But then, as she looked back down at the old photo album and saw her friend Sharon’s face smiling back at her, she realized how lovely it would be to catch up with her and all the girls. She wondered, was Leeson Street still the place to be seen on a Saturday night?

  7

  BETH PRENDERGAST PULLED into a parking spot just near the door of the newly built Blackwood Golf Club. She checked her reflection in the rear-view mirror, and fixed her short blonde hair back with a clip before locking her black Audi A3 and entering the club. Beth spotted her dad sitting in a cosy looking armchair overlooking the eighteenth hole, with the Sunday paper in one hand and glass of white wine in the other. Beth hadn’t seen her father in a few weeks, so was a bit surprised to see how much weight he had lost.

  ‘How are you? Busy as ever with work?’ he asked, as Beth ordered a Diet Coke for herself.

  ‘Yeah, it’s tough at the top, Dad! But are you OK? You have lost weight.’

  ‘Oh, I’m fine. It’s just this new golf course. Ever since they relocated the golf club to here I just can’t resist playing an extra few holes each day! But it is keeping me young and fit, so don’t you worry,’ her dad said, as they both looked out over the new fairways.

  Beth’s father, William Prendergast, had been a member of the golf club for as long as she could remember. He loved the interaction with the other members, and spent many a Sunday afternoon enjoying the roast carvery, the Sunday paper and a glass of white wine. A few years ago the golf club had announced that it was relocating to Wicklow. Most of the members had complained, but for William it had been great news, as it had meant the club would be even closer to home. And when the doors had finally opened a few months ago, all the begrudgers had eaten their words, as the new club house was state-of-the-art, and the course itself fantastic! Nowadays William always seemed to be either on his way to or from the golf club whenever Beth had time to call him. She had felt guilty she hadn’t seen him in weeks, and known the best way to catch up would be over a nice Sunday lunch in his new home from home.

  As they ordered food Beth was reminded of her dad’s popularity. Many members came up to say hello, and ask how she was, and they all seemed to have time for William. He was, indeed, very charming, and a real gentleman, but she could not help feeling that his fellow-golfers knew her father better than she did. Being an only child and a girl, Beth had always found it hard to connect with her father. She knew her parents would have loved more children, and her avid sports-fan father would have loved a boy to teach golf to, but it had never happened. And as the years of trying for another sibling for Beth had progressed it had become obvious that Beth’s mum wasn’t well.

  Beth had only been ten years old when her mother had died after a long battle with breast cancer. She could barely remember the weeks after the death, everything had seemed like a nightmare. One minute she’d been in her mother’s bed listening to her reading The Worst Witch, the next her dad had been coming home from the hospital and explaining that her mum had gone to live with the angels in heaven. Beth had tried to finish the book on her own, but without her mum’s funny reading voices it hadn’t been the same, and she hadn’t wanted to ask her father, as all he had seemed to do was cry when he thought she couldn’t hear him. At night she’d hear sobbing coming from behind his study door. She’d been scared, and had just kept waiting for her mum to come home and explain what was happening, but she never had.

  Beth had been so lonely that she’d been glad when, after a few weeks, her father had suggested she spend the summer with her cousins in Cork. She’d missed her dad, but known he was busy with work, and she’d enjoyed the company: her boy cousins had taught her how to play cards, go-kart down steep roads, and keep the score in rugby. When she’d eventually returned to Wicklow at the end of the summer she’d realized her dad was finding it hard to deal with her. William had been old when she’d been born – and her being a girl was always going to be difficult for a man who couldn’t tell Barbie and Ariel, the little mermaid, apart. When September came around he’d sat her down and asked her if she’d like to go to school in Dublin. Beth had been excited, as she had always loved going to the big city with her parents, especially at Christmas, when she could gaze at the Switzers Christmas window display. But it wasn’t until her dad had explained that she would be boarding at this school that she had got scared. But before she knew it, William had had her uniform, books and clothes packed for St Teresa’s boarding school. Beth had looked jealously at the girls who had mums dropping them off. While her dad had given her an awkward goodbye hug Beth had watched o
ver his shoulder as mothers ran fingers through their daughters’ hair, kissed them all over their faces, and waved at them right up until the last second.

  Boarding school had been difficult at first for Beth, but the nuns had been very kind to the new motherless girl, and soon she had not only settled into life as a boarder, but started excelling at her studies, too. It was here that she’d been set apart from the other girls. Of course she’d loved the girly chats and the obsessing over any boys who came near the school, but Beth had been very hard-working, and had soon become a top student. She’d also known how proud it made her dad to receive her school reports, their pages filled with As and encouraging comments from her teachers. There had never been any chance she’d be on the top hockey team, but her brains had made sure that she was not only made a prefect in her final school year but also did brilliantly in her Leaving Certificate. Before long her school days had been over and she’d been heading off to UCD to study business and make her mark on the world.