Roisin had had a continual rush at school from one thing to another while the back of her mind was meditating on the crotchets and quavers of her evening�s calling. In all the hurly burly of the day, her mouth smiled at the right times and her lips said the right words. She had rushed off home with the children and she and Cassie had made the evening meal and all the plates and knives were washed and dried. She had done her duty for every conceivable person under the sun and now the rest of the evening was hers.
Roisin carefully took her sheaf of sheet music and selected the particular piece, which she intended to practice. She pinned it to the front of the large fridge freezer, which was the handiest improvised music stand she could find. Strong magnetic counters on each corner tacked it into position for easy sight-reading. The only fly in the ointment was Cassie�s limitations in helping out with the children�s homework. Cassie had gallantly volunteered to stay with the children so that Roisin could practice undisturbed. This was the theory and, well meaning as the other woman was, there was an obvious weakness in this plan which Roisin could spot a mile away.
Dismissing her fears, she trusted to luck, took up her violin and braced it against her chin. She took up her bow and was precisely poised to coax out of her instrument, those precise flowing tones of the opening bars when��.
�Mum, I�m stuck with my algebra. Can you help?� came Michael�s desolate wail.
How did Nigel Kennedy ever become the most talented violinist of the modern age, Roisin groaned inwardly. Well, first he was a man. That made a big difference. Either he was a bachelor, married only to his artistic muse, or alternatively, his wife was wonderwoman or else they had an excellent battalion of servants on hand. Cassie, bless her, had suffered from a misspent youth. All the consequences of those years of erotic daydreams of her PE teacher when she should have been knuckling down to her school work were coming back to haunt her and, by extension, Roisin. For someone whose mathematical ingenuity had nearly enabled her to get away with scamming the firm that they had both worked for, she had barely scraped her way through Maths �O� level and had imagined that she had promptly turned her back on quadratic equations the moment when she left school. Now that she was called upon to help with the education of two intelligent children whose virtuous application and thirst for knowledge was limitless, she was aware of her limitations. It was all Roisin�s fault for encouraging them to have questioning, inquisitive minds, she said to herself with rueful self-mockery. She wished she had concentrated more on her studies instead of lusting after the girl next door but try telling that to the adolescent headstrong of the Cassie Tyler at the time.
�Roash, I�ve been trying my best to cover for you but you know that algebra isn�t my best subject,� Cassie said apologetically.
Laying down her violin and bow with a sigh, she mentally switched like lightning from the sheet music in her head to the algebraic equations which had been dinned into her memory and which she recalled surprisingly well. Roisin smiled when she popped her head round the living room door and saw Cassie�s apologetic expression and that very unusual look of helplessness and that she had tried her very best and it was now Roisin to the rescue. Thank heaven Roisin had been a dutiful schoolgirl and had always done her homework on time or they would be really struggling.
She sat herself down with the poor boy and saw at once the point on which he was stuck. She conjured up the correct words with an incredible mental jump to his level of thinking.
�Will you be all right to carry on from there, Michael?� she asked with a winning smile.
Niamh watched with amusement from underneath her fringe of dark hair that fell over her eyes while her gaze was fixed on her homework. She was sure that Michael knew more than he let on. After all, if he was bright enough to start reading Sherlock Holmes stories, she could not understand how the relatively simple matter that he asked Mum to help with would perplex him so much. From Michael�s point of view, the schoolwork was beginning to be tougher and homework was taking up more of his spare time. It was easier when he was younger.
With a ticking clock in her mind, she managed by a superhuman effort to ease Michael past his particular problem and stayed with him until she was sure that he had understood what she had told him. Cassie could sense the unease in Roisin�s manner and chimed in at the right time.
�I think that you can let mum go back to the kitchen and carry on with her practising. Are you all right, Niamh?� Cassie enquired of the little girl who had plugged on industriously at her homework. She had the knack of totally switching herself from the world once her concentration was engaged.
Niamh nodded, pleased that her quiet presence in the background had been noticed.
�I really must get on with my violin practice or I shall be hopeless at the next rehearsal.�
Roisin�s guilt at shutting herself off from the rest of the family and falling behind in her self-imposed task was painfully obvious to Cassie.
�You take yourself away, babe. I�ll pass you a cup of tea later if you want one.�
Roisin gave Cassie that brilliant loving smile that had made Cassie go weak at the knees when Roisin climbed out of her unassuming background photographic frame and she saw her for who she was.
�Why are you so busy, mum? It�s like you�ve got homework. Grown ups don�t have homework,� Michael asked.
�It�s a choice that I made after talking it over with you all,� Came Roisin�s defensive reply. "It�s something I need to do to express myself. Any musician will tell you that.�
�That sounds fine to me, kids,� Cassie intervened. �I�m not into the music that Roisin plays but if it makes her happy, it�s something she needs to do. You don�t stop learning when you leave school.�
The sheer solid weight of maturity said so plainly and simply had the desired effect. Cassie�s total seriousness made the children sit up and take notice.
�And you are playing with judges and lawyers?� Michael enquired.
�About right. Most of the barristers from law firms in London, John and another judge, a couple of civil servants, oh yes Babs who used to be at Larkall and Karen who�s still there�..�
Cassie smiled inwardly at Roisin�s most interesting description at this point.
���..And Neil, who also used to be at Larkhall and Jo, the barrister who defended Lauren in court so brilliantly. It�s quite a gathering.�
�And they really think that our mum is good enough to play with them?� pursued Michael.
�I sure am,� Roisin grinned confidently.
�Right, kids, you�ve got homework to finish off and mum has her violin to practice,� Cassie broke in as the voice of authority. Jesus, if my mum had talked to me that way, I would have flown off the handle. Correction, came the afterthought, she did try to speak that way and I was a complete rebellious brat. �Are you really sure you don�t need any more help and can manage by yourselves, or at a push, with me if you�re absolutely stuck.�
Michael looked at Cassie and decided that he could manage after all. Roisin looked round nervously and saw Cassie�s raised eyebrows, silently asking her what are you waiting for.
�I�ll see you later on when I�m finished.�
�You�re only going to the kitchen, mum,� Michael said loudly. Stupid me, that�s perfectly true. Why did I not think of that earlier on?
Roisin took the stage in her mind, or rather went to the fairly tidy kitchen, straightening a tea towel on the way and tidying the salt and pepper pots into their accustomed places. She took up her violin and bow once again and forced her mind to detach itself from �must do�lists and mathematical equations that were threatening to crowd her mind. Now, she straightened the sheet music, which had slipped a bit and took up her violin and bow and took it from the top.
Delicately, she coaxed the soft flowing tranquil stream of notes from her violin and Roisin was immediately lost in her world. This time, on her own, she could explore the music for herself even if it described the merest suggestion of a line drawing without all the width and depth of musical expression to properly colour in all the musical tones. To her mind, she faithfully followed the gentle sweep of the music.
�Mum is good, isn�t she,� Niamh spoke to Cassie from the other room while peace prevailed. Michael and Niamh could shut themselves off into their homework but the gentle melodies from the kitchen was a gentle backdrop to the serenity of the evening.
�She is, Niamh.� A commonplace remark like that totally understated her admiration for the woman with which she had chosen to share her life. She had heard Roisin play the violin before but her total confidence of purpose was something she had not heard before. Maybe she will enjoy the performance when it takes place. Chances are, none of her old friends will see her head off for Babs� church. After all, she couldn�t think of any of those outrageously out and proud dykes to be Bible bashers as well.
Roisin could see that she was getting near to the bottom of the right hand sheet and there were a few trickier places where she needed to go over them. The only problem was that she didn�t want to stop. She didn�t quite know what to do when��
Suddenly, the hideously atonal repetitive sound of the telephone rang. By some oversight, the cordless phone had been left in the kitchen.
�I�ll get it,� Yelled Roisin.
The hideously enthusiastic voice began to read off the script at her and
�Good evening, I am calling from Staybrite windows. You have been selected for the chance in the lifetime of having double glazing fitted as part of a special offer for the chance of having your name put into a prize draw being held in your area. First prize is the complete costs of this..."
�If you don�t mind. I play for the London Symphony Orchestra. I have an important performance tomorrow night at the Royal Albert Hall and I can�t be interrupted. If I want your services, I�ll look in the phone book and contact you. Now goodnight.�
Cassie and the children burst into laughter at the unexpectedly ingenious way that she had sent packing, the increasing profusion of cold calling. Roisin had been increasingly irritated by the way that they had presumed to call her by her Christian name by people who she had not met in her life and then gone on to compound their ignorance of her by asking after Mr. Connor. That feeling building up and this mindless interruption was the last straw.
�Hey, babe. I�ve never thought of that one. I�ll try that one next time we get a call.�
�I thought we were supposed to tell the truth,� Niamh asked inconveniently.
�I�ll go to church next week and ask the father for forgiveness for my sins. I�m sure he�ll understand,� Roisin answered a little sheepishly at her slight stretching of the facts. It was emotionally true however and in a good cause.
�You�ll be forgiven anything Roash. I know you so well by now.�
The warmth in Cassie�s voice and the look in her eye told Roisin that while her rehearsal wasn�t going that great, she had everything else in her life that she could have wished for.