Page 69 of Love Unlocked

The interior is unsurprisingly like an interiors magazine. Stylish and cool, impeccably tasteful. Signature armchairs, funky lights, pops of colour in otherwise muted palettes.

Melody had called this meeting with Ed and Prunella. She’d received many missed calls from both of them, and a formal email from Ed on the reality of not dropping a new episode on time. She’s going to communicate like a grown-up now.

‘I’m sorry for my reaction to Walter Whelan appearing on New Day,’ Melody begins. ‘I believed the love lock story was my story. I thought we agreed that I would follow up on it.’

‘We did,’ Ed says firmly.

‘I understand,’ Prunella says, big blue eyes full of wonder and innocence. ‘But to explain from my side what happened. The love lock story is such a big story and on New Day we cover big stories, especially local ones. What people are talking about is what we talk about,’ she says, sounding like an ad. ‘We read the newspapers in the morning and this story was in every single tabloid paper. Plus I was a part of the podcast and I couldn’t not discuss it. I can’t run New Day stories by you and I can’t control if a member of the production crew or one of the researchers goes out and invites a guest onto the show. I sometimes only know that morning myself.’

She almost has Melody with that wide-eyed honest face.

‘Prunella, it was you who personally reached out to Al Collins from Bridgespan. I know because I was there in his office when you emailed. His secretary told me.’

She blinks once. But Melody doesn’t want to hear another beautiful lie so she moves on.

‘I most likely would have agreed to it if you’d explained it to me first. Then I would have reacted more rationally. But I’ve also learned that I’m not good at sharing things. The love lock story wasn’t my story, it’s a Night and Day story which means it’s ours. Relationships not being my strength, I recognise it as my weakness and I apologise. I’ve been solo for a long time and I need to learn to work more as a team.’

None of this is easy for her to say but Prunella is gracious in her acceptance. ‘So you’re back?’

‘If you’ll have me. I’m seeing out the rest of the contract. We need to continue with the love lock story. The responses are still flooding in to my social media.’

‘To the pod’s Instagram account too,’ Ed agrees. ‘People want more.’ He dives into the listening figures and the increase in subscriptions, along with the mountains of emails and messages he’s been receiving. ‘Plus my next door neighbours are obsessed with their dogs, put love locks on the Grace Plunkett Bridge with their dogs names and now they’re convinced their dogs have fallen out.’

‘As a non-dog owner, educate me, how can they tell that?’ Melody asks, laughing.

‘Apparently one dog keeps dragging the other dog’s bed out into the garden,’ Ed says, with a roll of his eyes. ‘They update me with news of their rift every day.’

‘What have you got in mind, Melody?’ Prunella asks.

‘I want to dig into it a bit more,’ Melody replies. ‘I have almost one hundred stories from people about how everything was going fine in their relationship until the day the locks were removed. A simple argument over the dishwasher, or a jigsaw puzzle, or sometimes bluntly ended via text or phone call, out of the blue to end the relationship.’

Prunella’s eyes fill.

Melody is confused, but continues.

‘Same for me,’ Ed agrees. ‘The podcast website has received similar responses.’

‘There’s something in this, Ed, isn’t there?’ Melody says, still surprised by it.

Ed laughs. ‘I’m not one to usually believe in things like this, but something is happening here.’

Melody becomes excited. ‘I want to know why people put love locks on bridges. You know me, I find PDAs weird. What’s the psychology behind it? Is it for people who had fragile relationships and needed this thing to strengthen them? Is a PDA a sign of a strong relationship or a vulnerable one? Do couples want to turn heads or are they getting something from it personally? I’m no expert but we should get one.’

Ed nods, writing it down.

Prunella’s tears suddenly stream down her face and she bounces up to grab a tissue from an elegant ceramic tissue holder on the kitchen counter.

‘Sorry,’ she mumbles, turning her back.

Melody frowns at Ed and he shrugs. They continue.

‘We need to look at what the bridge means and why it’s so important. Let’s tell people about Grace Gifford and Joseph Plunkett. Who they were, why they’re so important to Irish culture and our political background. Let’s tell them about the extraordinary woman. Let’s play the song ‘Grace’, maybe a live performance. I’ve got a list of performers here that I know I could invite to the studio,’ Melody says, pushing her list towards Ed who surveys it in admiration, with impressed nods. ‘Grace’ is one of the most popular Irish ballads of all time. ‘Bridges represent connection, a kind of magical hovering over water, suspended. Does it make people feel lighter, like they’re defying gravity, does it give them new perspective, does it feel like being in love? Did the magic of the bridge, the representation of Grace and Joseph Plunkett, really hold people together and when their locks were removed did it really unlock their love, and suddenly lose the soul of Grace and Joseph? The collective hope and belief of people was broken?

‘If we somehow find a way to replace the locks, would couples reconnect? Or would they need the power of Grace Plunkett, the nearby walls of Kilmainham Gaol that hold the spirit of their love, the collection of anguish, love, hope and bravery of the people inside that helped cultivate relationships all around the world?’

She pauses.

They both stare at her.