Second Hand Jane Read Online Free PDF

back
to the here and now as the train continued to judder along. Maybe
she would tag along with Nora next time she suggested hitting the
hotspots of Dublin. Mind you, the last time she’d shaken her groove
thung until the wee hours, it had taken her days to recover—so much
for being twenty-four, she thought with a rueful sigh.
     
    ***
     
    The train
sailed into Bray Station at five minutes past two o’clock and she
spied the girls waiting on the platform. Harry’s hand was held
firmly by Brianna, the buggy parked beside her with a backpack
sitting in it. All three waved out when they saw her disembark.
    Nora, Jess
noticed as she leaned in for a quick hug, looked as if she meant
business in her obviously expensive all-weather parka, cargo pants,
and hiking boots whereas Brianna was a bit more casual in her
sweatshirt, old jeans, and sneakers.
    “Oh goody,
you’re wearing the elephant suit!” Brianna grinned, kissing her
friend hello on the cheek and causing Harry to erupt into giggles
and make trumpeting noises.
    Nora frowned
and shook her head. “I’ll never know why when you finally did go
and buy yourself something new, you chose that.”
    Jess pulled off Harry’s woolly hat,
causing him to squeal and, handing it back, she told him to pipe
down before stating, “Because me and the elephant suit are a match
made in heaven. It is the most comfy outfit I have ever owned.
Besides, I’ll have you know I got wolf whistled at this morning
while”—she did a twirl—“wearing this, my Penney special, and I had those pink fluffy
slippers Mum sent me on, too.”
    “You never
did?” Brianna’s eyes widened.
    “I did.”
    “You go,
girl!”
    “Were you
walking past St Vincent’s then?” Nora sniggered, referring to the
Fairview-based psychiatric hospital.
    Jess hit her
playfully on the arm. “Don’t be so awful, action woman! Come on—you
look like you’re about to climb Everest, so we better get a move on
before we get crushed in the melee.” She was referring to the
handful of passengers getting on and off the train and the other
two laughed.
    The foursome
wound their way down to the promenade, which would take them to the
start of the cliff walk. The tide was out, Jess noticed, looking at
the crab hole-pocked sand as she listened to her friends chatter on
about their weeks that had been. Harry trudged alongside her,
looking mutinous and muttering about wanting his lemonade and
crisps now. It was a good job Brianna had had the foresight to
bring the buggy, Jess thought. He might like to think of himself as
a big boy of five these days but his little legs still got tired
and there was no way he would manage the two hour’s walk ahead of
them. The big girls would struggle enough without having to take it
in turns to piggyback him as well!
     
    ***
     
    An hour later,
the trio paused to draw breath and survey the scene splayed out
before them. Craggy green and brown cliffs stretched down to a
churning sea, its recalcitrant colour meshing with the sky.
Occasionally, a marauding gull would provide a splash of white
against the vista. The sense of nature’s power was overwhelming up
here, Jess thought, inhaling deeply and trying to harness a bit of
it.
    “Even on a day
like this, it’s gorgeous, isn’t it? We could be the only people in
the entire world.” Brianna sighed happily before plopping Harry
into his buggy. “You’ve done so well walking all this way,
sweetheart. I think you deserve a bit of a nibble. What do you
think?”
    Harry’s hand
was already outstretched in anticipation of sustenance and as
Brianna handed him his lunch box, a couple sailed round the corner
on mountain bikes, nearly mowing them all down.
    “Oi, watch it!”
she called out, receiving no more than an apologetic wave as the
cyclists disappeared down the hillside.
    Jess laughed.
“Well, almost the only people left in the world, aye Brie? And
you’re right; it is gorgeous. It reminds me of home.” She felt a
strong