The next guest gets my full attention.
This week has been a tumultuous week for the country, says the presenter Jasmine Chu, and especially so for my next guest. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our new Taoiseach, Ruth Brasil.
Pops looks at me in surprise. He sits up, turns the TV up.
Thank you, Jasmine, she says sitting down.
Taoiseach, how’s your week been, she asks.
The audience laugh. So does she.
Jasmine, it’s been a wild and wonderful week in many ways. I think what is most important is ensuring that there is stability and contentment within the people of this country. While everything has been going on behind the scenes, I suppose it’s very important to keep the calm and the balance for this country, for us to continue to prosper and move forward … I zone out a bit as she continues the politician-speak about how everything has changed but nothing has changed.
So can you tell us how it felt for you personally, when you heard you were to become the next Taoiseach of this great country.
I was on my way to an event actually. A business event in Malahide organised by the president of the Chamber of Commerce, where I was to speak to the attendees about women in business. So I must apologise to all those who had gathered at the event to hear me speak and to those who I let down. I received the phone call from the Taoiseach to say that he was stepping down, that he was putting me forward and that I was to go to the party immediately for a vote.
Pops looks at me, fist in the air proudly. They’ll know now, Allegra. I hope they’re all watching.
My heart is pounding. I feel vindicated. I hope that Carmencita is watching. If she isn’t, she’ll hear about it. Of course she will. She was mentioned. She’ll be delighted. Everyone who was at the party, Becky, Garda Laura, all those who thought I’d lied about securing the minister as a guest speaker, will believe me now. Even Tristan and Genevieve, who said they believed me but probably doubted me, will have proof. And yet it doesn’t make me feel better. It’s too little too late. Nothing can change what transpired.
They talk about the Taoiseach, her inspirations growing up, and her aspirations for politics.
A young woman from Valentia Island said to me recently – and thank you, Allegra Bird, if you’re watching – that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. And I have to say when I heard the expression it gave me pause. It made me take stock of who was around me, who I want to be, and the traits of those great people I have been surrounded by, as a result of which I have been able to flourish. Because I think that’s what great support does, great mentors and friends, support and guidance, it helps you flourish. I would not be in the position I am in now if it weren’t for those very special five. I want the same for this country. I want this country to be surrounded by the best so that it too can flourish.
Pops reaches out and grabs my hand. And that’s really all I need.
He’s my one. He’s always been my one. The most powerful, my everything. My five people all in one.
Look, Allegra, look, Pops says, pointing to a creature moving on the beach.
What is it, I ask, wriggling my toes in my Wellington boots. My socks are wet. I jumped too much, splashed too hard, I don’t like the feeling of wet feet in my boots. But I like my boots. They’re new. They’re yellow with fish on them and Pops gave them to me this morning as a present because I am five years old today.
Let me tell you about the hermit crab, Pops says, hunkering down close to the crab. Come closer, pet, don’t be afraid, he says, taking me by the hand and leading me from my rock to the sand. He knows I don’t like to touch these things like he does, but he always tells me not to be afraid and I try not to be. I hunker down beside him.
The hermit crab has a soft abdomen, a soft body here, he points, so it needs to be protected by its shell.
Like a snail.
Yes, like a snail. That’s also a gastropod. But different to the snail, Allegra, because as the crab grows, it requires a larger shell. Sometimes they swap shells with other crabs, the bigger crabs leave their shells for the smaller crabs, and so on, like a chain. But sometimes there aren’t enough shells to share and the hermit crabs argue over it. But they usually try to be fair and so they line up, and they wait for the right shell to come along. They’re very picky about their shells, they need them to be just right, but they never keep the same shell forever, they’re always growing and finding new shells to fit them.
We watch as the hermit crab tries to crawl into its new shell.
Later that evening I’m crawling around the living room with the shoebox from my new Wellington boots over my head.