Free Love My Enemy by Kate Maclachlan

another giggle building, in spite of her own
desperate situation. 'Perhaps Princess Anne won't find
out,' she whispered conspiratorially. 'And Zee's awfully
nice – honestly.'
    Mrs Gordon's drawstring lips disappeared inside her
mouth and the steely hairs on the end of her chin stood
to attention. 'Tragedy's wrecked that family so it has.
The boy's gone wild and the mother hardly moves
beyond that garden of hers. As for thon wee girl, well!'
    'Well what . . . ?' asked Tasha in surprise.
    'I fear for her, so I do.'
    'Fear for her?'
    'Aye, for her moral safety.'
    Tasha only just managed to turn her hysteria into a
boneshaker of a coughing fit. 'Why's that?' she
spluttered.
    'This is the second time in a fortnight I've seen her at
the O'Keefes' door.'
    'Is there some reason she shouldn't visit the
O'Keefes?'
    Indecision kneaded Mrs Gordon's round grey face
like a pound of pastry. 'It's really not for me to say. . . '
she muttered. 'I mean, I'm no gossip.'
    'No, of course not . . . I'd better get back to Zee then . . . '
    'On the other hand . . . you being a stranger. . . maybe
you need to know our ways – for your own good, of
course.'
    'Of course. You were saying . . . '
    'I've nothing against them myself, no, nothing at all.
But young Zara there – she should have more sense.
Stick to her own kind . . . especially after what her
family's been through. There's no knowing what young
Gary would do if he thought she was dilly-dallying with
one of them.'
    'One of them? With a Catholic, you mean?'
    'Exactly. Don't get me wrong, m'dear. I'm all for
peace – of course I am – just so long as they keep their
distance. Know what I mean?'
    Tasha was beginning to understand. 'My mother,' she
replied thoughtfully, 'and Miguel say that prejudice is
always wrong.'
    'So it is!' Mrs Gordon nodded emphatically. 'Sure we
all think that – but you have to use a bit of common
sense at the same time.'
    The old hypocrite was starting to irritate Tasha and
she was relieved when Zee shouted to her.
    'Come on, Tash! I'm fed up standing here.'
    'Go round the back,' urged Mrs Gordon. 'Have I not
told you the once?'
    'I've never met anyone like her,' Tasha whispered as
they crunched across the gravel.
    'Lucky you. Northern Ireland's full of Mrs Gs.'
    They walked around the side of the house past a big
square kitchen window which it was impossible not to
look through. Sure enough the whole O'Keefe clan was
assembled there, all ten of them sitting at a long table
eating strawberries. Twenty brown eyes fastened on the
girls like laser beams.
    Mrs O'Keefe opened the back door just as they
reached it. She was dark haired and the fine lines around
her eyes and mouth reminded Zee of hill markings on an
ordinance survey map. Her hands were thick and red
from heaving coal buckets and doing the washing up.
Zee thought she looked just like a Catholic and she was
ashamed of herself for thinking it.
    'What can I do for you?' Mrs O'Keefe asked, smiling
at them.
    'It's Conor we've come to see,' said Zee.
    They heard a wave of teasing inside, then Mr O'Keefe
shouted out to them. 'Come back later, girls, can you not
see we're eating?'
    Zee's heart pounded. He sounded scary but there just
wasn't time to wait. 'I'm sorry,' she called back. 'But it's
urgent.'
    There was more teasing, then Conor's mum smiled
again.
    'Pay no notice to that rabble,' she said. 'Come on
in, girls.'
    Conor wasn't hard to pick out at the table because he
had a face like a flamingo. His brothers were having a
great time.
    'You're a dark horse, Con.'
    'Not one girl, but two!'
    'Be quiet, you eejits!' barked Conor.
    Only the youngest two children, seated on either side
of their father, had more important things on their minds.
    'You've had seven strawberries already, Diarmaid!'
said one.
    'So have you.'
    'But I'm a year bigger than you. I need more.'
    'That's not—'
    'Quiet!' bawled Mr O'Keefe. 'If you're going to
fight, we'll give the last strawberry to our new neighbour
here.'
    The two kids