Second Time Around by Colette Caddle Page A

did!’ Suzie was stunned. She could barely tolerate the child for an hour these days. How had she coped with him for an entire weekend?
    Aileen nodded. ‘You did. And it wasn’t easy. Even I could hear his carry on morning and night, and you trying to calm him down. You used to promise him surprises and treats if he
behaved.’
    ‘Jesus! I was as bad as Sharon.’
    ‘Worse.’ Aileen glanced over at her, looking guilty. ‘Sorry, but you did ask.’
    Suzie wasn’t sure that she wanted to hear more, but she knew she had to. ‘And the rest of the family?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Was I different with them too?’
    Aileen sighed. ‘You couldn’t do enough for them. When Jess moved out, you cooked and froze dinners for her to take home for the week.’
    Suzie groaned. Instead of empowering her children, she’d made them completely dependent on her. ‘Go on,’ she whispered.
    ‘Suzie—’
    ‘Please, Aileen.’
    ‘You gave her the money to buy her car and paid her college fees.’
    That didn’t surprise Suzie. She wasn’t short of money and she’d spent her life trying to make up for how John had treated her elder daughter. She frowned. Now where had that
come from?
    Aileen smiled. ‘In fairness, she’s a good daughter and was distraught when you had the accident. She never missed a day visiting you and she’d always call or drop in to me, to
let me know how you were doing.’
    ‘I sensed her presence at times,’ Suzie said, feeling guilty at how tough she’d been on Jess since seeing her with Louis.
    ‘I’ve been a bit too honest, haven’t I?’ Aileen said, looking upset.
    ‘No at all. I needed to hear that. I knew my memory was dodgy but I didn’t realise how much.’
    ‘It will probably come back in time.’ Aileen patted her hand.
    Suzie wasn’t so sure. ‘I’m going to have lots more questions, Aileen, but they can wait for another day. I’m tired now.’
    Aileen pulled into her driveway and turned in her seat. ‘I’m not going anywhere and I’ll tell you anything you want to know.’
    ‘Truly?’
    ‘Promise. I thank God for the day you moved in next door. You got me through my divorce; now it’s my turn to help you.’
    Suzie hugged her. ‘Thank you.’
    ‘Sorry we didn’t find your puppy.’
    ‘Ah, but we got to meet Percy!’
    ‘True enough.’ Aileen laughed. ‘Go and rest, Suzie, before Bobby comes over.’
    Once in the front door, Suzie paused to listen for sounds of her son, but all was quiet. Stretching out on her bed, she mulled over what Aileen had said. She was particularly
upset about Sharon. She had been criticising her daughter for ruining Bobby when it seemed she was equally responsible. And Aileen said she was a great mother? She snorted in disgust. It sounded as
if she had continued to treat her family like children, mollycoddling them like some unpaid housekeeper and childminder. Had Jess become a doormat for that swine, Louis Healy, because that was the
example Suzie had set? She hadn’t got around to discussing Noel, although she doubted her neighbour would have anything to say about her only son. He was a good lad who’d never given
her a day’s trouble and was growing into a fine young man.
    Suzie wondered who, other than Aileen, would be totally honest with her. There was her sister, of course, she was a straight talker, but something held Suzie back from confiding in her. Then she
remembered Nora.
    ‘Jesus!’ Suzie shook her head, incredulous. She’d been so busy reinventing herself and working on her bloody list, she hadn’t returned her old friend’s calls.
She’d phone her first thing tomorrow and arrange to meet, she decided. Perhaps Nora could come and stay for a couple of days. They used to do that, at least Suzie thought they had. She knew
for a fact that she hadn’t gone to Limerick. She hadn’t set foot in the county since the day she’d moved back to Dublin and didn’t plan to. Nora had come to her. She was a
kind woman and a