Putting Out the Stars Read Online Free

Andrew – on the contrary, it was the first relationship they didn’t
dissect in great detail – but something had changed in Bref, definitely. There was a sort of excitement there that Laura had never seen before.
    She and Andrew met at least twice a week, sometimes more. Occasionally they called in and sat at The White House counter, chatting to Laura – one night the three of them went to see a play
at the Belltable – and Laura was just beginning to play with the possibility of her friend and her brother getting serious, when Andrew brought Breffni home to ‘meet’ his
parents.
    Of course, Brian and Cecily already knew Breffni well; she’d been in and out of their house practically all her life, sitting at the table during all of Laura’s birthday parties,
playing in the back garden with other little girls during summer afternoons, spending hours upstairs with Laura when they were older, even occasionally staying overnight on a camp bed in
Laura’s room.
    But this was something new; now she was Andrew’s friend.
    Laura would have loved to be there, just to see the reaction of her mother, in particular, to this new development. But since she’d moved out, invitations to dinner at home, much to
Laura’s private relief, had been limited to special occasions – birthday celebrations, Christmas Day, Easter Sunday – so she had to rely on Breffni’s account of the night.
Apparently Cecily had behaved perfectly all evening.
    ‘We got a gorgeous quiche, and a very posh salad with pine nuts. And strawberries for dessert – only Cecily would produce strawberries at the end of January.’
    ‘But what was it like – what did ye talk about?’ Laura couldn’t imagine it: Andrew and Breffni sitting down to dinner as a couple, with Cecily playing hostess. Much as
Laura adored her father, he couldn’t really be depended on to contribute much to the conversation – he usually preferred to leave that to Cecily, who was rarely lost for words. But what
on earth would she have found to talk about with Laura’s friend, in this unfamiliar social situation?
    Breffni was amused. ‘Can you not give your mother some credit? We chatted away quite pleasantly, actually – she asked after my parents, although she probably bumps into one of them
every time she goes outside the door. Oh, and she wanted to know all about my job – you never told me she was a secretary before she got married. And I asked her about the book club,
pretended I was thinking of starting one up with the work crowd. It was grand, really – all very civilised and polite. And, of course, your father was a pet, as usual. Didn’t say too
much, but kept making sure I had enough to eat – he must have passed me the salad half a dozen times.’
    Laura shook her head. ‘Well, that’s good; you’ve done the meet-the-parents thing and survived.’ She didn’t add
let’s wait and see what the verdict is when
it comes in
, but she knew Breffni was thinking it too.
    And then two weeks later, on a bitterly cold February afternoon, Breffni walked into the travel agency next door to her workplace and bought a ticket back to San Francisco.
    Laura was stunned when Breffni called around to her that evening. ‘What do you mean, leaving? You can’t leave, just like that. What about Andrew?’
    Breffni looked straight at her. ‘Actually Laur, Andrew finished with me last week.’
    Laura’s jaw dropped further. ‘What? Why didn’t you tell me? What happened?’ She crouched beside Breffni’s chair and put an arm around her shoulder. ‘Are you
all right?’
    ‘I’ll live.’ Breffni shrugged. ‘I would have told you, but you’ve been a bit caught up in college stuff lately; I didn’t want to distract you.’
    ‘Bref, are you crazy?’ Laura looked bewildered. ‘As if my stupid course work would be more important than you. What happened?’
    Breffni shrugged again. ‘Just that, really. He said he didn’t think we were going anywhere, blah