Free My Mother's Secret by Sheila O'Flanagan

she’d hoped as a mother. And when she eventually got around to talking to them and explaining … She shook her head. Maybe she’d leave them a bundles of neuroses that would come back to haunt her in the future. She hoped not. She’d done her best. She’d learned from her mistakes. Although it hadn’t stopped her making them.
    ‘By the way,’ said Pascal when they arrived at the house and he slid the key into the lock. ‘I meant to mention it earlier.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘That I love you.’
    At his words, her worries faded into insignificance. ‘I love you too.’
    He didn’t open the door but instead pulled her close to him and kissed her.
    ‘Why, Mr Sheehan!’ She giggled. ‘Is that a gun in your pocket?’
    ‘Let’s go inside and check it out,’ he said.
    When Jenny thought about it afterwards, the one positive thing she took out of it all was that at least they didn’t race up the stairs to the bedroom and tear the clothes off each other. There had been a time when they might have, but they were both hot and thirsty after the drive and so they headed for the kitchen instead. That was when Jenny realised the patio doors leading to the veranda were open. And when Pascal noticed the big banner saying ‘Happy Ruby Anniversary’. And when all of their invited guests shouted ‘Surprise!’ as Roisin appeared at the doorway.
    ‘Mum, Dad!’ she cried. ‘Welcome home. Happy anniversary!’
    Poppy, who was in charge of the music mix, hit play on the iPod and Frank Sinatra singing ‘It Had to Be You’ filled the room.
    Jenny and Pascal were in shock as Roisin took them by the hand and dragged them to the veranda.
    ‘My God,’ said Jenny when she saw how many people were there. And then, when Davey came forward and hugged her, she felt tears prickle at her eyes. Even Davey, she thought. That’s nice. Isn’t it?
    ‘Well done, Pascal!’ His older brother Charlie thumped him gently on the back. ‘Fair play to yeh! Forty years with the same woman. Couldn’t manage it meself, although maybe if it had been the beautiful Jenny I might have!’
    Charlie had been divorced from Peggy for the past fifteen years. He turned up at every family occasion although most of the women in the family wished he wouldn’t – he had a habit of patting them on the behind and calling them ‘darling’ or ‘sweetheart’, which drove them mad.
    ‘Congrats, Mum.’ Steffie edged out of Charlie’s reach.
    ‘Yay, Grandma. Yay, Grandpa!’ Daisy pushed her way forward to hug them.
    ‘Jenny. Pascal. It’s such an honour to be here.’ Breege Behan, who was chairwoman of the local community centre, added her words. ‘Such a wonderful occasion. Many congratulations. You’re an example to us all.’
    Jenny’s head and heart were pounding as she smiled blankly at her.
    ‘Forty years,’ said Roisin. ‘It’s so lovely to know that people can stay together. Breege is right, you’re an example to all of us – but I guess most especially to me and Paul. We’re hoping that we can match you sometime in the future.’ She glanced at Paul, who was busy uncorking the bottles of sparkling rosé wine that had been on special in Tesco the week before. Meanwhile Poppy and Daisy were handing glasses to all the guests.
    ‘A toast,’ said Paul when all of them had been filled. ‘To Jenny and Pascal. Marriage sometimes gets a bad press, but they’ve shown us how good it can be.’
    ‘Jenny and Pascal!’ cried the guests.
    ‘Speech,’ said Davey.
    ‘Um, well …’ Jenny looked at Pascal, a slightly hunted expression in her blue eyes.
    ‘This is a surprise,’ he said. ‘Well, of course it is, it was meant to be! So thank you for being so thorough about it.’
    There was a murmur of laughter.
    ‘I don’t know what to say,’ continued Pascal. ‘Other than that the first thirty-nine years are the hardest.’
    Everyone laughed. Jenny’s hand tightened around the stem of her glass.
    ‘So happy for you,’ murmured Sarah.