Read Online The Better Woman by Ber Carroll - Free Book Online Page B

go and get yourself another drink!’
    Sarah laughed. On the inside, though, she wondered why the boys left her so cold. Had the passion she’d shared with John been for real? Would there ever be anyone who would come close to him?
    The student parties began to get more adventurous as the year went on. On one occasion, when Tim’s dad was away for the weekend, twenty or so of the class went to stay at the family farm. After some drunken nocturnal games in the hay barn, the rooster called the start of the next day. Fiona had the bright idea of joining the rooster on the roof of the chicken pen, which promptly collapsed under her weight. She landed on her bottom, the alarmed chickens flapping and squawking around her. The stories from that particular weekend were relayed over and over, and never failed to bring tears of laughter.
    On another weekend, the university social club hired a train to Tralee. Students lurched from carriage to carriage, drinking, cheering and singing. But when the train arrived at Tralee Station, nobody wanted to get off; they were having far too much fun. The organisers and railway staff conferred and decided to allow the party to continue at the platform. A few hours later, the train departed at its scheduled time and the party, still going strong, trundled back to Cork.
    Easter involved a rented house in remote Connemara and a few bottles of poteen; everything else was a blur.
    Parties aside, Sarah was very focused on her studies and hercareer, but she was still not entirely sure what area of business she wanted to work in when she graduated. She decided to attend the milkrounds to hear what the prospective employers had to offer.
    â€˜The milkrounds are for students in their final year,’ Emma pointed out. ‘There’s no need for us to sit through hours of boring presentations. We can relax for another couple of years.’
    Sarah shrugged. ‘I’m interested, that’s all.’
    â€˜And I’m interested too,’ said Tim, who had overheard their conversation. ‘I’ll go with you if you like, Sarah.’
    So Sarah and Tim went to the milkrounds together. They listened to the speakers, watched the videos and pored over the information packs. They agreed that all the employers seemed to promise fulfilling and successful careers. But one stood out above the others.
    â€˜I think I want to work in banking,’ said Sarah.
    â€˜Me too,’ Tim concurred. ‘All that money flowing in and out. Irresistible!’
    It wasn’t just their future careers, Sarah and Tim concurred on lots of things. Sometimes she caught herself regretting that she hadn’t gone out with him when he’d asked her. But it was too late now. Louise, his girlfriend, looked like she was going to be a permanent fixture.
    The end-of-year exams were staggered over two weeks of beautiful weather. The papers held a few surprises but Sarah was well prepared. The weather broke on the last day, hail pelting down, soaking them en route to the Western Star.
    â€˜To think we were out in the beer garden this time last year,’ Tim commented, shaking white pebbles of hail from his dark hair.
    â€˜To sunshine and the U S of A,’ toasted Emma when they hadcompleted the arduous task of ordering drinks from the overcrowded bar.
    Sarah clinked her glass and tried to quell her envy. Emma, Fiona, Tim, and Louise were all off to New York for the summer. Tim and Louise had green cards; the others were hoping to work illegally. Sarah would have loved to go. But how could she let Peggy down? Who would cover for Mr Fahey when he took his hard-earned summer holidays? Who would catch up on all the book work that slipped Peggy’s notice these days?
    Not for the first time, Sarah was niggled with resentment that she was so tied to her grandmother and the shop.
    I can’t even take a summer off! How will I ever be able to get away to build my own career?
    The answer obviously