The three of us hadn't been together in almost thirty years. We had been co-workers in a youth project back in the day, working mainly with teenagers who were unemployed. Here we were, 30 years later, meeting for lunch in Dundrum. It was my idea to get the old crew together again after I'd learned that Triona had recently been widowed and had been through a really tough patch. I'd always stayed in contact with Kathryn but Triona had married, left Belfast and had settled in Newry. She had two kids, raised her family and worked part-time.
We had great fun reminiscing over lunch, telling tall tales and laughing at our shared experiences. I was glad that Kathryn and I had succeeded in cheering Triona up, but all too soon lunch was over and she had to leave to pick up her teenage girls from college. We saw her to her car and waved goodbye. promising to do this again sometime. When she had gone Kathryn turned to me and said,
"Poor girl. She's had it tough of late. Well, what are you for doing now Mr Murphy?"
I replied that I had no plans and Kathryn asked would I like to visit her caravan in Newcastle for a coffee.
"Sure, that would be great."
I followed her car and in 10 minutes we were pulling into a caravan park near Murlough beach. Eventually she pulled up outside a rather nice mobile home on the edge of the site just behind the dunes leading to the sea. She fiddled with her door keys and then invited me in saying,
"Excuse the mess. I'd have tidied up if I'd been expecting visitors."
"Looks great to me."
It was, a two bedroom, fully furnished home with a lounge area and kitchen diner. The main window looked towards the sand dunes, the left to open fields and the curtained right, to a neighbours caravan.
"This is cosy. How long have you had it?"
"About 20 years believe it or not. I like to get down here as much as I can and I love walking the dog over the dunes and along Murlough beach. It's so peaceful in comparison to Belfast."
We both sipped our coffees in silence. The we both babbled at the same time, stopped and laughed.
"No you first Kathryn. What were you going to say."
"Oh. I don't know. It's a bit, awkward."
"What is it. You know you can speak freely."
"I was just wondering are you and Sheila happy?"
"Awkward, I laughed! Forward, I'd have said. Well, now that you ask, yes. We're great but we have our regrets."
"Such as?"
"Well, not having kids for one thing. And then Sheila's health has been a problem, as you know, after the cancer treatment. It's always at the back of your mind no matter what the doctors tell you that it's cured, and then of course there's the side effects."
"Side effects?"
"Yeah, well, you know." I stumbled and blushed.