Chapter 39

Make sure you marry someone who laughs at the same things as you.

J. D. Salinger

It's easily an hour after the end of Charles's event by the time we get to Miller's, where his sister-in-law, Rachel, greets us and brings us to a reserved table in the adjoining restaurant.

Both the pub and the restaurant are old-style, with interior brick walls, dark furniture, gold fittings and an enormous fire blazing in the hearth. Although it's a gas fire, there's a big basket of peat on the granite hearth and a faint background smell of peat that's warm and homely. The walls of the restaurant are covered in old posters from Irish travel and transport companies, some extolling the virtues of touring Ireland by coach and others suggesting that passengers allow the train to take the strain. I'm fascinated by them and by the times they evoke.

The table is set for four – Pamela, Ellis, Charles and me – but Rachel takes a chair from an unoccupied table and sits down to chat with us while one of the waitresses brings pitchers of iced water.

‘So, Izzy, tell us about yourself.' Both her voice and her expression are warm and friendly.

I embark on my well-worn life story and am gratified that she seems genuinely interested in my job at the port.

‘It sounds fantastic,' she says. ‘I'd love the power.'

‘I'm not that powerful.' I laugh.

‘Oh, but you are,' she insists. ‘Being able to stop a six-axle lorry. Being able to search it. Being able to arrest someone.'

‘I don't do any arresting,' I correct her. ‘But if a case is brought, I often end up having to give evidence in court.'

She's hugely thrilled by this.

‘It's like a TV drama,' she says.

I don't want to burst her bubble by saying it's far less streamlined than a TV drama and that I'm always terrified I'll say the wrong thing. You have to be really careful to answer questions exactly the right way so that the case doesn't get thrown out on a technicality. It's happened, though thankfully not to me.

‘There's so much material there for your next crime novel.' She turns to Charles, who shakes his head and says he's not sure about another crime novel.

‘Don't be stupid,' says Rachel. ‘A Caribbean Calypso will sell millions.'

‘You haven't read it yet,' he says.

‘But it sounds fantastic,' she tells him. ‘And you know how much I like crime fiction.'

‘Who are your favourite crime writers?' I ask.

‘All of them.' She grins. ‘My mum has a huge collection of Ngaio Marsh passed down from her own mum. I love Ian Rankin, and Jo Spain too. And Corinne Doherty and Janice Jermyn.'

I'm pleased she likes the same writers as me. I tell her that I have a signed copy of one of Janice's novels, and she's envious.

‘You never get signed copies of anything for me,' she says to Charles. ‘Hopefully Izzy can be my gateway to my favourite authors from now on. I'm really looking forward to Janice's next one,' she adds, turning back to me. ‘The Mystery of the Missing Mallet was great.'

‘Wasn't it?' I beam at her. ‘Did you guess the murderer?'

‘Not until two thirds of the way through. And even then—'

She's interrupted by the waitress asking if we're ready to order, and Pamela says that we really should, because the kitchen will close shortly, so Rachel excuses herself and goes back to the bar while we choose our food. I opt for lasagne. Everyone else orders the hake.

I'm sorry Rachel can't stay, but I can see that both pub and restaurant are busy and she has better things to do than sit with us. But I can't help feeling pleased that at least one member of the Miller family seems perfectly normal, both when it comes to books and reading, and in general conversation. There's nothing hidden about Rachel. She's a nice person.

The lasagne when it arrives is good, and so is the garlic bread that accompanies it. As I eat, I listen to Pamela, Ellis and Charles talking about the event and about people they know, and I feel like I've finally been accepted into the family.

I feel even more accepted later in the evening when Charles's brother, Nick, joins us for a drink. Although it seems unfair to say it, he's like a lesser version of Charles – less intimidating, less handsome, less interesting. But he's good company and tells some amusing anecdotes about being a pub landlord that keep the conversation flowing. He also talks about his two daughters, Emily and Louisa, telling Charles that he'll have to give them plenty of notice so they can be back home for the wedding.

‘Chas still has to get his divorce first.' It's Ellis who says this, although in an entirely practical way.

‘I forgot about that.' Nick gives Charles a gentle thump on the back. ‘Got to disentangle yourself from one Mrs Miller before making it legal with the next.'

‘Indeed,' says Charles. ‘It's all in hand.'

I excuse myself and go to the Ladies'. I give myself a few minutes there and see that I've got a message from Celeste asking how things are going.

Pretty good. The event was successful and the rest of the Millers seem normal

Yay!

TBH I kept thinking Ariel would show up. But she didn't. I'm hoping she's been put in her place once and for all

Celeste had been both horrified and highly amused at the notion of Ariel having to cook for me. We'd had a long conversation about the entire situation and she'd suggested that Ariel might be trying to win him back. I said that women fighting over men was so last century and that he wasn't a prize. She laughed and told me to follow my heart, but that even if I broke it off with him I should keep the beautiful Ice Cube engagement ring.

We exchange a few more texts, then I decide I'd better get back to the group. But before I do, the door to the Ladies' opens and Ellis walks in.

‘Are you OK?' she asks.

‘Why shouldn't I be?'

‘You've been gone for ages.'

‘Were you sent to find me?'

‘No. I'm the only one who noticed you'd disappeared. The others are deep in conversation about Charles's potential next crime novel. Even Nick, who has zero interest in books, is keen on another murder mystery. He wants Charles to set it in the pub.'

‘Rachel suggested a customs setting earlier,' I remind her. ‘And Charles himself wasn't against the idea when I brought him around the port. Though I'm not sure how we can tie it in to the Caribbean. I have a feeling he enjoyed the research there a lot more than he enjoyed wandering around Dublin Port with me.'

‘Good point.' Ellis grins. ‘Look, I admit I was sceptical about you and him at first. But you're good for him. Both because you helped him out of his writing funk and because you make him live in the real world.'

‘His world is the real world too,' I say.

‘Not entirely,' she tells me. ‘He makes most of it up, after all.'

We both laugh.

‘But Ellis,' I add, ‘my relationship with your brother shouldn't be defined by what I can do for him. It should also be what he can do for me. Love is a two-way stream. We should be supporting each other.'

‘Oh, wow.' Her eyes widen. ‘You're more like Ariel than I thought.'

Pamela said that to me too. They can't both be right, surely? I ask Ellis why she thinks we're alike.

‘She and Charles . . . it was always about what they could do for each other. She made him the success he is. He's the leading light in her agency. It's symbiotic.'

‘I didn't mean supporting each other's careers, though obviously that's part of it. I meant supporting each other's lives.'

‘You're deeper than I gave you credit for,' she says. ‘I'm so sorry I underestimated you. Mainly because you're young and pretty.'

‘I'm nearly thirty,' I say. ‘Not that young. And thanks for saying I'm pretty. It's not something you ever think about yourself.'

‘We've all underestimated you,' she says. ‘We thought you were overwhelmed by Chas. But now I wonder if it's Chas who's been overwhelmed by you.'

I smile at her and say I should get back to the table, even if nobody has missed me.

But at least one other person has, because when I slide into the seat beside Charles, he puts his arm around me and says he was thinking of sending a search party out for me.

‘I was afraid they'd frightened you off,' he whispers.

‘Not at all,' I tell him. ‘I think I'm getting the hang of the Millers at last.'

He laughs and kisses me on the cheek.

From across the table, Ellis winks at me.

#HappyFamilies