Outings
It was 7.30am and the ladies practically skipped along the platform with excitement about
boarding the 8 o’clock Enterprise Express— except they had wheely cases to drag, and multiple
shopping bags to carry. The bags clinked with every step. Marion had a straw sunhat on, and a
backpack slung over each shoulder and was struggling to walk in new platform wedges.
‘Here, Marion’ shouted Jacinta ‘you look like one of them poor wee donkeys in Greece
with their overloaded panniers and deformed hooves’
‘awwwww, poor donkeys, they’re my favourite. I sponsor a wee one called Archie. He
writes me letters to tell me how he’s doing, so he does’ said Marion, stopping to pull a picture
out of her handbag.
Felicity grabbed her sides and shoved her forward ‘Put that away Marion, we’ve all seen
your Eeyore, multiple times. We need to find an empty carriage and get two tables’
Inside the train, they launched their cases into the overhead luggage shelf and carefully set the
plastic carrier bags on the tables. By the time they were at Portadown they were popping their
third bottle of prosecco and the put-on coughs which tried to conceal the first pop were now
unadulterated ‘WOO!’s. The tables were covered with a breakfast feast of chocolate filled
croissants, scones (with all the accoutrements) and mini bacon and sausage baps. They were
the loudest group and oblivious to the fact that they might be annoying the other passengers
who just wanted to enjoy watching the fields roll past on the way to Dublin.
These girls had known each other a long time. Felicity, Marion and Jacinta had been at school
together. Cathy was Jacinta’s sister and Gemma was Marion’s sister-in-law. Gemma topped up
the glasses on her table and reached it across the aisle.
‘God, I’m looking forward to a night in a hotel bedroom without Jimmy snoring on one
side of me and wee Chelsea star-fishing on the other’ sighed Cathy
‘I know, me too’ said Marion ‘my kids are up at 6 every day, even the weekends. I’m
looking forward to watching a show for grown-ups instead of CBBC. Apparently, the hotel
organises the transport to the theatre for us—we’ll be like VIPs, so we will. Hey—did yous hear
that Pixie Lott is playing Holly Golightly?’
‘Ye wha?’ spluttered Felicity, nearly choking on her wine ‘I thought we were going to the
cinema?!’
This was followed by everyone calling Felicity all sorts of stupid in a tirade of the finest Belfast
banter.
‘You thought you were paying two hundred quid for a trip to the cinema? ‘asked
Gemma, still chuckling ‘Drink up girls we’re nearly at Drogheda and we’ve two more bottles to
empty. We don’t want to be walking about with them’
At that point the Steward pushing the refreshment trolley passed by. He just looked at the
tables, shook his head and walked on not bothering to ask if they needed anything,
‘Right’ said Felicity, ‘we need to make plans for our fortieth birthdays in four years’
time’.
‘What’ll we do?’ asked Marion.
‘We’re not all in our thirties, you know!’ Gemma reminded them.
‘But it’ll be your fiftieth, won’t it?’ asked Jacinta ‘we’ll just celebrate all the birthdays
during one big trip. We could go to Marbs, Ibiza or Santa Ponsa. Wha’da’ya think? All inclusive,
like.’
Thinking required full glasses, so Gemma topped up again and passed the Prosecco across to
Cathy. She noticed every time Cathy was doing the refills, she never added to her own glass
but, instead, topped her Mimosa up with more pure orange juice. Nobody else was making
Mimosas now.
‘Well, it seems to me there might be other plans to make first’ said Gemma.
‘Wha’d’ya mean?’ asked Felicity.
‘Looks to me like we’re not all drinking. Cathy might have something she wants to tell
us…’ Gemma stopped as she could see the surprised look on Cathy’s face which was turning
postbox red.
‘She’s only just told me!’ exclaimed Jacinta, spilling the beans without needing to be
questioned ‘but I’m soo excited about being an Aunty again. We never thought Chelsea would
get a baby brother or sister! She’s already forty, y’know’ Jacinta had her face scrunched up and
was cocking her head and thumbing towards Cathy.
‘I’m still in shock’ said Cathy, her face now drained of all colour, before running for the
train toilet.
Flight of the dragonfly 