Three Women Read Free

forget Harry and this ring.’
    ‘It’s a lovely engagement ring, Granny, but Luke and I are not at that stage yet,’ Erin stumbled on.
    Uncle Bill and Charley regaled them with details of a trip they had just taken to Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia.
    ‘We wanted to mark Charley’s sixtieth birthday,’ said Bill, ‘and it was a trip we both wanted to do. We have friends in Hong Kong and Sydney, so it was great. Exhausting going long-haul, but we both loved it!’
    ‘Pixie and I are hoping to go to Oz when I finish my exams in the summer,’ announced Jack.
    Nina caught Tom’s eye. This was the first time they had heard any mention of this from their son.
    ‘Are you going on holiday?’ asked Myles as he passed around the asparagus dish.
    ‘No, we hope to go for a year and do that whole down-under thing!’ laughed blonde-haired Pixie, squeezing Jack’s hand. ‘We’ve both got lots of friends out there, so it should be good fun!’
    ‘Half the country is out there,’ laughed Charley, ‘judging by the number of young Irish people we met on our travels. They were everywhere … and they all seemed to be getting plenty of work and enjoying it.’
    Nina got Jack to help her clear away the plates. He seemed besotted with this pretty Pixie of a girl, with her short, white-blonde hair and pretty face, and was obviously planning to spend the next year of his life on the other side of the world with her.
    The butter icing was perfect, thought Nina, as she put ten candles on the top of the birthday cake. Lighting them, she signalled to Tom to dim the lights on their side of the room as she carried the cake over to where Erin was sitting and everyone sang
    ‘Happy birthday to you,
    Happy birthday to you,
    Happy birthday, dear Erin …’
    Their daughter’s face was so happy as she blew out the candles and thanked everyone for coming. She is such a beautiful girl, thought Nina – beautiful not only on the outside, but also on the inside where it matters most.
    They finished up about midnight. Jack and Pixie had already gone and got the DART to town to Pixie’s place. Erin had decided to stay the night, while Myles offered to drive everyone else home.
    ‘Mum, it was such a lovely night,’ Erin said, hugging her. ‘Thank you.’
    ‘And thank you, Erin, for being such a good daughter,’ Nina said, kissing her goodnight.
    Lying in bed beside Tom, Nina couldn’t sleep.
    ‘You did hear what Jack said about going to Australia with Pixie?’ she asked.
    ‘Yes, I did,’ said Tom patiently, ‘like everyone else at the table.’
    ‘Did you know anything about this? Had he said anything to you?’
    ‘Nina, nearly every young person in Ireland is talking about emigrating or going to Australia or America or Canada … That’s the way it is because there are no jobs here for them. You know that from all our friends. Why would you think it would be any different for Jack than all the other guys in his class?’
    ‘I don’t want him to go,’ she said defiantly.
    ‘Well we can’t stand in his way or stop him,’ Tom sighed, turning to face her. ‘Jack’ll go away, but he will come back, just wait and see …’
    ‘What if he doesn’t?’
    ‘He will.’
    ‘I couldn’t bear it.’ Nina was so upset. ‘I couldn’t bear to lose him.’
    ‘Nina, we don’t own them. Jack is twenty-three years old and Erin is twenty-six … They have to make lives of their own. Erin is very keen on this Luke fellow – who’s to say he won’t end up working in London and then so might she?’
    ‘Tom Harris, don’t you dare upset me any more!’ she pleaded as she slipped into the reassuring curve of her husband’s arms.

Chapter Four
    ERIN COULDN’T BELIEVE it – luke was taking her to the fanciest restaurant in Dublin. ‘I told you that I’d make it up to you for missing your birthday dinner with your folks the other night,’ he laughed, ‘and I’m the kind of guy who keeps his promises.’
    It had been a nightmare