Friends Like Us by Siân O'Gorman Read Free Book Online Page A

years ago now. Her little boy was ill. Only a small thing. But she was amazing. Had us all running around after her. Took total charge.’
    â€˜Sounds right,’ said Steph. ‘That woman is a powerhouse. Just back from Singapore, it seems. Big job in banking. Or something. And,’ she continued, ‘guess who’s organizing the drinks and the food?’
    The others shook their heads and shrugged.
    â€˜Paula O’Dowd. Or rather should I say Paul ? I bumped into him in the village a few months ago. He recognized me.’
    â€˜No!’ said Eilis.
    â€˜Jesus Christ. Paula! She kept that quiet. I mean, he did,’ said Melissa.
    â€˜Yes, he has been transitioning for the last ten years. Told me, he should have done it while at school. Wasted years of his life. Says he wishes he’d been braver.’
    â€˜That would have gone down well with Sister Attracta and the rest of the Abbey,’ said Eilis.
    â€˜Well,’ said Melissa, raising her glass. ‘Here’s to Paul and being brave.’
    â€˜To being brave,’ they echoed, smiling.
    â€˜So, as you can see we all have tales to tell. Some more interesting than others. So, all we have to do is get a list together, track people down and send out invites and gets responses.’
    â€˜Simps!’ said Steph.
    â€˜Easy peasy.’
    â€˜So…’ said Steph. ‘Now the business side of the evening is out of the way… how’s life, how’s work going Melissa?’
    â€˜Still there, at the paper. Still typing away. Won the O’Brien prize last year… having a bit of a run of it at the moment. But we’ve got a new editor… Liam Connelly… and I don’t think he’s as keen on me as the judges of the O’Brien prize are. He’s all about “the bottom line” and “entertainment”. And I’m all about the story. But that doesn’t sell papers, unfortunately.’
    â€˜So, what’s going to happen?’
    â€˜Well, either he’s right or I am. We’ll have to wait and see,’ she shrugged. ‘So,’ she changed the subject, ‘Eilis, how’s life at the hospital?’
    Eilis had never been exactly voluble, she was quiet and reserved, not one to blather and blabber, and Steph and Melissa knew and respected this and never expected fully in-depth answers.
    â€˜Grand, you know. Busy, stressful. Not enough tea breaks. The usual. Nice patients and narky relatives.’
    â€˜Narky?’ said Melissa.
    â€˜Well,’ said Eilis, thinking of that man with the blue eyes who was so worried about his mother. ‘I don’t blame them, you know, if they are narky. And get annoyed.’ She smiled. ‘Actually, one sent me flowers.’
    Steph and Melissa raised an eyebrow and shared a glance.
    â€˜Flowers?’ said Melissa. ‘That was nice.’
    â€˜Was there a card?’ asked Steph. ‘What did he say? Does he know you’re kind of married?’
    Eilis laughed. ‘It’s not like that at all… he was just saying sorry for shouting at me and to thank me for looking after his mother.’
    â€˜Well,’ said Melissa. ‘That sounds very nice, I must say. I can’t remember the last time anyone did something like that for me. The closest I get to someone showing appreciation is Jimbo, who sits beside me, buying me a drink on a Friday night. But then forgetting his wallet.’
    â€˜What was his name?’ said Steph.
    â€˜I don’t know, I didn’t ask and he didn’t say on the card. He knew I would know who he was. To be honest,’ she said, ‘they were quite nice. The flowers. Not your normal posh roses or anything like that. More rustic, like they were from a very fancy florist or from a really amazing garden, all berries and viburnum. Really lovely, actually.’ She smiled at the memory and Melissa and Steph caught each other’s eye.
    â€˜You