Thirty-seven. Holly stared up at the tall Georgian building and her body tingled with excitement

HOLLY STARED UP AT THE tall Georgian building and her body tingled with excitement. It was her first day of

work and she felt good times were ahead of her in this building. It was situated in the center of town, and the busy

offices of magazine X were on the second floor above a small cafe. Holly had gotten very little sleep the night before

due to nerves and excitement all rolled into one; however, she didn’t feel the same dread that she usually felt before

starting a new job. She had phoned Mr. Feeney back immediately (after listening to his voice message another three

times) and then she had shared the news with her family and friends. They had been ecstatic when they heard the

news, and just before she left the house that morning she had received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from her

parents congratulating her and wishing her luck on her first day.

She felt like she was starting her first day at school and had gone shopping for new pens, a new notepad, a folder

and a new briefcase that made her look extra intelligent. But although she had felt excited when she sat down to eat

her breakfast, she had also felt sad. Sad that Gerry wasn’t there to share her new start. They had performed a little

ritual every time Holly started a new job, which was quite a regular occurrence. Gerry would wake Holly up with

breakfast in bed and then he would pack her bag with ham and cheese sandwiches, an apple, a packet of crisps and

a bar of chocolate. Then he would drive her into work on her first day, call her on her lunch break to see if the other

kids in the office were playing nicely, and return at the end of the day to collect her and bring her home. Then they

would sit together over dinner and he would listen and laugh as Holly explained all the different characters in her

office and once again grumble about how she hated going to work. Mind you, they only ever did that on her first

day, every other day they would tumble out of bed late as usual, race each other to the shower and then wander

around the kitchen half asleep, grumbling at each other while they grabbed a quick cup of coffee to help them get

started. They would give each other a kiss good-bye and go their separate ways for the day. And then they would

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start all over again the next day. If Holly had known their time would be so precious, she wouldn’t have bothered

carrying out all those tedious routines day after day...

This morning, however, had been a very different scenario. She awoke to an empty house in an empty bed to no

breakfast. She didn’t have to fight for her right to use the shower first and the kitchen was quiet without the sound

of his fits of morning sneezes. She had allowed herself to imagine that when she woke up Gerry would miraculously

be there to greet her because it was tradition and such a special day that it wouldn’t feel right without him. But with

death there were no exceptions. Gone meant gone.

Now, poised at the entrance, Holly checked herself to see that her fly wasn’t undone, her jacket wasn’t tucked into

her knickers and her shirt buttons were fastened properly. Satisfied that she looked presentable, she made her way

up the wooden staircase to her new office. She entered the waiting room area and the secretary she recognized from

the interview came from around the desk to meet her.

“Hi Holly,” she said happily, shaking her hand, “welcome to our humble abode.” She held her hands up to display

the room. Holly had liked this woman from the moment she had met her at the interview. She looked to be about

the same age as Holly and had long blond hair and a face that seemed to be always happy and smiling.

“I’m Alice by the way, and I work out here in reception as you know. Well, I’ll bring you to the boss man now. He’s

waiting for you.”

“God, I’m not late, am I?” Holly asked, worriedly glancing at her watch. She had left the house early to beat the

traffic and she had given herself plenty of time to avoid being late on her first day.

“No, you’re not at all,” Alice said, leading her down to Mr. Feeney’s office. “Don’t mind Chris and all the other lot,

they’re all workaholics. They need to get themselves a life, bless them. You wouldn’t see me hanging around here

anytime after six, that’s for sure.”

Holly laughed; Alice reminded her of her former self.

“By the way, don’t feel that you have to come in early and stay late just because they do. I think Chris actually lives

in his office, so you’ll never compete with that. The man isn’t normal,” she said loudly, tapping on his door lightly

and leading her in.

“Who’s not normal?” Mr. Feeney asked gruffly, standing up from his chair and stretching.

“You.” Alice smiled and closed the door behind her.

“See how my staff treat me?” Mr. Feeney laughed, approaching Holly and holding out his hand to greet her. His

handshake was once again warm and welcoming, and Holly felt immediately at ease with the atmosphere between

the workers.

“Thank you for hiring me, Mr. Feeney,” Holly said genuinely.

“You can call me Chris, and there’s no need to thank me. Right, why don’t you follow me and I’ll show you around

the place.” He started leading her down the hall. The walls were covered by framed covers of every X magazine that

had been published for the last twenty years.

“There’s not much to the place; in here is our office of little ants.” He pushed open the door and Holly looked into

the huge office. There were about ten desks in all, and the room was packed with people all sitting in front of their

computers and talking on the phone. They looked up and waved politely. Holly smiled at them, remembering how

important first impressions were. “These are the wonderful journalists who help pay my bills,” Chris explained.

“That’s John Paul the fashion editor; Mary our food woman; and Brian, Steven, Gordon, Aishling and Tracey. You

don’t need to know what they do, they’re just wasters.” He laughed and one of the men gave Chris the finger and

continued talking on the phone. Holly presumed he was one of the men accused of being a waster.

“Everyone, this is Holly!” Chris yelled, and they smiled and waved again and continued talking on the phone.

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“The rest of the journalists are freelancers, so you won’t see them hanging around these offices much,” Chris

explained, leading her to the room next door. “This is where all our computer nerds hide. That’s Dermot and

Wayne, and they’re in charge of layout and design, so you’ll be working closely with them and keeping them

informed about what advertisements are going where. Lads, this is Holly.”

“Hi, Holly.” They both stood up and shook her hand and then continued working on their computers again.

“I have them well trained,” Chris chuckled, and he headed back out to the hall again. “Down here is the boardroom.

We have meetings every morning at eight forty-five.”

Holly nodded to everything he was saying and tried to remember the names of everyone he had introduced to her.

“Down those steps are the toilets, and I’ll show you your office now.”

He headed back down the way they had come and Holly glanced at the walls feeling excited. This was nothing like

she had ever experienced before.

“In here is your office,” he said, pushing the door open and allowing her to walk in ahead of him.

Holly couldn’t stop herself from smiling as she looked around at the small room. She had never had her own office

before. It was just big enough to fit a desk and filing cabinet. There was a computer sitting on the desk with piles

and piles of folders. Opposite the desk was a bookcase crammed with yet more books, folders and stacks of old

magazines. The huge Georgian window practically covered the entire back wall behind her desk, and although it

was cold and windy outside, the room had a bright and airy feel to it. She could definitely see herself working here.

“It’s perfect,” she told Chris, placing her briefcase on the desk and looking around.

“Good,” Chris said. “The last guy who was here was extremely organized, and all those folders there will explain

very clearly what exactly it is you need to do. If you have any problems or any questions about anything at all, just

come ask me. I’m right next door.” He knocked on the wall that separated their offices.

“Now I’m not looking for miracles from you, because I know you’re new to this, which is why I expect you to ask

lots of questions. Our next edition is due out next week, as we put them out on the first day of every month.”

Holly’s eyes widened; she had a week to fill an entire magazine.

“Don’t worry.” He smiled again. “I want you to concentrate on November’s edition. Familiarize yourself with the

layout of the magazine, as we stick to the same style every month, so you will know what kind of pages will need

what type of advertisements. This is a lot of work, but if you keep yourself organized and work well with the rest of

the team, everything will run smoothly. Again, I ask you to speak to Dermot and Wayne, and they’ll fill you in on

the standard layout, and if you need anything done, just ask Alice. She’s there to help everyone.” He stopped talking

and looked around. “So that’s about it. Any questions?”

Holly shook her head. “No, I think you covered just about everything.”

“Right, I’ll leave you to it so.” He closed the door behind him and Holly sat down at her new desk in her new office.

She was slightly daunted by her new life. This was the most impressive job she had ever had, and by the sounds of

things she was going to be extremely busy, but she was glad. She needed to keep her mind occupied. However,

there was no way on earth she had remembered everyone’s name, so she took out her notepad and pen and started

to write down the ones she knew. She opened the folders and got to work.

She was so engrossed in her reading that she realized after a while that she had worked through her lunch break. By

the sounds of things, no one else from the office had budged an inch. In her other jobs, Holly would stop working at

least half an hour before lunchtime just to think about what she was going to eat. Then she would leave fifteen

minutes early and return fifteen minutes late due to “traffic,” even though she would walk to the shop. Holly would

daydream the majority of the day, make personal phone calls, especially abroad, because she didn’t have to pay the

bill, and would be first in queue to collect her monthly paycheck, which was usually spent within two weeks.

Yes, this was very different from her previous jobs, but she was looking forward to every minute of it.

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“Right Ciara, are you sure you’ve got your passport?” Holly’s mum asked her daughter for the third time since

leaving the house.

“Yes, Mum,” Ciara groaned, “I told you a million billion times, it’s right here.”

“Show me,” Elizabeth said, twisting around in the passenger seat.

“No! I’m not showing it to you. You should just take my word for it, I’m not a baby anymore, you know.”

Declan snorted and Ciara elbowed him in the ribs. “Shut up, you.”

“Ciara, just show Mum the passport so you can put her mind at rest,” Holly said tiredly.

“Fine,” she huffed, lifting her bag onto her lap. “It’s in here, look Mum... no, hold on, actually it’s in here... no,

actually maybe I put it in here... oh fuck!”

“Jesus Christ, Ciara,” Holly’s dad growled, slamming on the brakes and turning the car around.

“What?” she said defensively. “I put it in here, Dad, someone must have taken it out,” she grumbled, emptying the

contents of her bag in the car.

“Bloody hell, Ciara,” Holly moaned as a pair of knickers went flying over her face.

“Ah shut up,” she grumbled again. “You won’t have to put up with me for much longer.”

Everyone in the car went silent as they realized that was true. Ciara would be in Australia for God only knew how

long, and they would all miss her; as loud and irritating as she was.

Holly sat squashed beside the window in the backseat of the car with Declan and Ciara. Richard was driving

Mathew and Jack (ignoring his protestations), and they were probably already at the airport at this stage. This was

their second time returning to the house, as Ciara had forgotten her lucky nose ring and demanded that her dad

turn the car around.

An hour after setting off, they reached the airport in what should have been only a twenty-minute drive.

“Jesus, what took you so long?” Jack moaned to Holly when they all finally trudged into the airport with long faces

on them. “I was stuck talking to Dick all on my own.”

“Oh give it a rest, Jack,” Holly said defensively, “he’s not that bad.”

“Ooh, you’ve changed your tune,” he teased, his face all mock-surprise.

“No I haven’t, you’re just singing the wrong song,” she snapped, and she walked over to Richard, who was standing

alone watching the world go by. She smiled at her oldest brother.

“Pet, keep in touch with us a lot more this time, won’t you?” Elizabeth cried to her daughter as she hugged her.

“Of course I will, Mum. Oh please, don’t cry or you’ll get me started too.” A lump formed in Holly’s throat and she

fought back the tears. Ciara had been good company over the last few months and had always succeeded in

cheering Holly up when she felt that life just couldn’t be worse. She would miss her sister, but she understood that

Ciara needed to be with Mathew. He was a nice guy and she was happy that they had found each other.

“Take care of my sister.” Holly stood on the tips of her toes to hug the enormous Mathew.

“Don’t worry, she’s in good hands,” he smiled.

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“Look after her now, won’t you?” Frank smacked him on the back and smiled. Mathew was intelligent enough to

know it was more of a warning than a question and gave him a very persuasive answer.

“Bye, Richard,” Ciara said, giving him a big hug. “Stay away from that Meredith bitch now. You’re far too good for

her.” Ciara turned to Declan. “You can come over anytime you like, Dec, maybe make a movie or something about

me,” she said seriously to the youngest of the family and gave him a big hug.

“Jack, look after my big sis,” she said, smiling at Holly. “Ooh, I’m gonna miss you,” she said sadly, squeezing Holly

tightly.

“Me too,” Holly’s voice shook.

“OK, I’m going now before all you depressing people make me cry,” she said, trying to sound happy.

“Don’t go using those rope jumps again, Ciara. They’re far too dangerous,” Frank said, looking worried.

“Bungee jumps, Dad!” Ciara laughed, kissing him and her mother on the cheeks again. “Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll

find something new to try,” she teased.

Holly stood in silence with her family and watched as Ciara and Mathew walked hand in hand out the door. Even

Declan had a tear in his eye but pretended his eyes were watering because he was about to sneeze.

“Just look at the lights, Declan.” Jack threw his arm around his baby brother. “They say that helps you sneeze.”

Declan stared up at the lights and avoided watching his favorite sister walking away. Frank held his wife close to

him as she waved at her daughter constantly while tears rolled down her cheeks.

They all laughed as the alarm went off when Ciara walked through the security scanner and was ordered to empty

her pockets, followed by a frisk.

“Every bloody time,” Jack laughed. “It’s a wonder they agreed to let her into the country at all.”

They all waved good-bye as Ciara and Mathew walked on until her pink hair was eventually lost among the crowd.

“OK,” Elizabeth said, wiping the tears from her face, “why don’t the rest of my babies come back to the house and

we can all have lunch.”

They all agreed, seeing how upset their mother was.

“I’ll let you go with Richard this time,” Jack said smartly to Holly and wandered off with the rest of the family,

leaving Richard and Holly standing there slightly taken aback.

“So how was your first week at work, darling?” Elizabeth asked Holly as they all sat around the table eating lunch.

“Oh, I love it, Mum,” Holly said and her eyes lit up. “It’s so much more interesting and challenging than any other

job I’ve done, and all the staff are just so friendly. There’s a great atmosphere in the place,” she said happily.

“Well, that’s the most important thing, isn’t it?” Frank said, pleased. “What’s your boss like?”

“Oh, he’s such a doll. He reminds me so much of you, Dad, I just feel like giving him a big hug and a kiss every time

I see him.”

“Sounds like sexual harassment in the workplace to me,” Declan joked, and Jack sniggered.

Holly rolled her eyes at her brothers.

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“Are you doing any new documentaries this year, Declan?” Jack asked.

“Yeah, on homelessness,” he said with his mouth full of food.

“Declan.” Elizabeth scrunched up her nose at him. “Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

“Sorry,” Declan said and spat the food out on the table.

Jack burst out laughing and nearly choked on his food while the rest of the family looked away from Declan in

disgust.

“What did you say you were doing, son?” Frank asked, trying to avoid a family fight.

“I’m doing a documentary on homelessness this year for college.”

“Oh very good,” he replied, retreating back to a world of his own.

“What member of the family are you using as your subject this time? Richard?” Jack said slyly.

Holly slammed down her knife and fork.

“That’s not funny, man,” Declan said seriously, surprising Holly.

“God, why is everyone so touchy these days?” Jack asked, looking around. “It was just a joke,” he defended himself.

“It wasn’t funny, Jack,” Elizabeth said sternly.

“What did he say?” Frank asked his wife after snapping out of his trance. Elizabeth just shook her head dismissively

and he knew not to ask again.

Holly watched Richard, who sat at the end of the table eating his food quietly. Her heart leapt out to him. He didn’t

deserve this, and either Jack was being more cruel than usual or else this was the norm and Holly must have been a

fool to find it funny before.

“Sorry Richard, I was just joking,” Jack said.

“That’s OK, Jack.”

“So have you found a job yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“That’s a shame,” he said dryly, and Holly glared at him. What the hell was his problem?

Elizabeth calmly picked up her cutlery and plate of food without a word to anyone and quietly made her way into

the living room, where she turned the television on and ate her dinner in peace.

Her “funny little elves” weren’t making her laugh anymore.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-29