“Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the donkey,” Edel Kavanagh shouted when we walked into her kitchen late the following Friday.
Well, Johnny walked in. Calling my manic, half-hunched hobble a walk was a bit of stretch.
“You’re like a pair of drowned rats,” she said, setting a pot of her famous stew on the table. “There’s been torrential rain hammering down all day and you two lunatics decide to go out in it!” Banging and rattling cupboard doors, she set the table for the two of us as she continued to rant. “And don’t even get me started on the gale-force winds outside. You could’ve been killed by a falling tree out there!”
“Relax, Ma,” Johnny coaxed, pressing a kiss to her cheek before making a beeline for the pot of spuds on the stove. “It’s only a bit of rain, and no trees maimed us.”
“I made no such decision,” I grumbled, collapsing in a heap at the table. “I opted for tea and biscuits by the fire. Your son was the one who forced me into a 10k run.” When I shook my head, an impressive amount of rainwater sprayed around me. “So, you can blame him for any cases of sudden onset pneumonia.”
“Ah, Johnny,” Edel scolded, disappearing into the hallway only to return a few moments later with a couple of towels. “Would you look at the condition of poor Gerard?” she said before proceeding to dry my hair like I was a small child. “You know he has asthma.”
“Thanks, Mammy K.” Forcing out a wheezy cough for extra effect, I grinned up at my best friend while his mother fussed over me. “It always gets worse in bad weather.”
“Bullshit,” Johnny shot back, tone incredulous. “You have no more asthma than I have, ya bleeding chancer.”
“You don’t.”
“Pneumonia then.”
“The only thing you’re going to have wrong with you is my toe up your hole if you don’t pack it in.”
“Jonathan!” Edel gasped. “Apologize to Gerard right this instant.”
“For what?” Johnny demanded, eyes widening in disbelief. “He’s the one faking a chronic lung disease!”
“We don’t threaten anyone’s backsides with our toes in this house,” his mother countered, hands on her hips. “You know better.”
Turning a comical shade of purple, Johnny opened his mouth to respond only to bite down on his fist with a growl instead. Pulling out a chair, he sank down at the table and glared at me. “I apologize, Gerard.”
“Thank you, Jonathan.” I grinned. “All is forgiven.”
“What a relief,” he deadpanned, but the kick I received under the table assured me that he wanted no such forgiveness. “Where is everyone?”
“Shannon’s next door trying on Halloween costumes with Aoife,” Edel explained, pointing a thumb in the direction of Lynchy’s annex. “Your father’s at work, and the boys have gone to the cinema with Darren.”
“Darren?” Johnny’s brows snapped up in surprise. “He’s back again?”
“He’s their brother, love,” Edel replied calmly. “It’s Seany’s birthday tomorrow so Darren travelled down for the weekend.” Giving her son a knowing look, she added, “He’s welcome to visit them as much as he wants.”
“Hm,” Johnny muttered under his breath, but made no other comment. I didn’t blame him.
Darren was a dick to my best friend, and sure, a whole heap of crap had gone down in the past year that caused them both to set aside their differences, but at the end of the day shit stuck.
“Speaking of Halloween costumes … ” Edel disappeared down the hallway once more, this time returning with a pair of familiar leather pants. “These should fit you just fine now, Gerard.”
“It was no trouble, love.”
“Aw shucks.” I beamed at her. “You really are Wonder Woman.”
“I don’t think he’ll be needing them, Ma,” Johnny chimed in. “Himself and Claire are on the outs.”
“Wow.” I glared at the side of his head. “Thanks for that, friend.”
“Oh, no! Are you in a fight, love?” Edel asked, taking a seat beside her son. “You haven’t broken up with the girl, have you? Because she’s a keeper, Gerard Gibson.”
“No, I haven’t broken up with her,” I grumbled, feeling that familiar pain in my chest at the thought of Claire. We hadn’t spoken since last weekend. Since her date with Jamie. I wasn’t even sure if we were still supposed to be wearing matching costumes tomorrow night, or if she had replaced me with Jamie. Fuck, now I was mad again. “I would never break up with her.”
“True,” Johnny mused. “Because breaking up with Claire would mean that you actually asked her out in the first place.” Smirking, he added, “And we all know you’re too pussy for that, lad.”
“Language, Jonathan,” Edel scolded, clipping her son around the back of the head, before locking her attention on me once more. “You haven’t asked the girl out yet?” When I shook my head in response, she looked at me like I was sporting flowers out of my ears. “Why in the name of God not?”
“Because … ”
“Because?” Johnny pushed, still smirking.
“Because,” I replied, dropping my head in my hands. “Just because.”
“You know, I’m not sure if I’m entirely comfortable with this scenario,” I declared a while later, as I sat on the couch in the annex, with a squawking blob of blond curls on my lap. “He seems very nice, but I’m not supposed to hold babies.”
“Why not?” Shannon laughed, from her perch next to me, where she was protecting her nephew’s head from lagging. “He really likes you, Gibs.”
“Because my mam said so,” I admitted honestly. “One time, I dropped my cousin from Scotland on his head, and there was like this whole heap of drama.” Shifting in discomfort, I glanced down at the chubby little hand trying to snatch up my finger and felt a surge of panic. “I mean, Thomas was fine afterwards. It was only a mild concussion. He didn’t even have to stay in the hospital that long, and the doctors were able to correct the whole eye thing, but Mam was adamant that I wasn’t to hold any more babies.”
“Okay, maybe that’s enough holding for you.” Wisely intercepting her son before he came to harm, Aoife backed away slowly. “In future you can just wave at Uncle Gibsie from a distance.”
“Good decision,” I agreed with a solemn nod.
“Here,” my best friend said, bounding over to Aoife before Shannon had a chance to stand up and snatch him up. “Give your Uncle Johnny a cuddle.”
“No fair,” Shannon huffed as she slumped back down on the couch and folded her arms across her chest. “It’s my turn.”
“Don’t worry, Shan,” Johnny shot back with a wink, as he swaddled her nephew to his chest with a terrifying amount of confidence. “I’ll cuddle you later.”
“Oh shit,” I choked out a laugh. His girlfriend’s cheeks turned as red as apples. “Little Shannon.” I playfully nudged her shoulder with mine. “Sounds kinky.”
“Evening,” a familiar voice filled the air as Joey appeared in the doorway, clad in oil-stained overalls.
“Evening.”
“Lynchy.”
“Hi, Joe.”
Ignoring the rest of us, Joey strode through the open-plan kitchen/living area, not stopping until he reached his girlfriend, who was sitting cross-legged on the rug, neatly folding stacks of their son’s tiny clothes.
“Hey, stud,” Aoife said, craning her head up to smile at the lad towering above her.
“Queen.” Crouching down, he tipped her chin up and kissed her once. “You good?”
“All good, Joe,” she replied, catching ahold of his chin with her small hand. “You?” To anyone else, it might look like she was staring into his eyes with loving affection, and hell maybe she was, but I had a feeling that she was checking for something. His sobriety.
“All good, Molloy,” he quietly assured her with a wink before reaching into the pocket of his overalls and retrieving a packet of Rolos. Tossing them onto her lap, he stood back up and moved for the kitchen sink. “So, where are the boys?” Joey called over his shoulder, as he washed up. “They usually hang out here on a Friday night. It’s Ollie’s turn to pick the movie.”
Ah shit.
“Actually, Darren’s home for the weekend,” Shannon took one for the team and answered her brother, while the rest of us held our breath. Because while Johnny might take issue with the eldest Lynch sibling, it paled in comparison to the animosity that oozed from Joey. “He took Tadhg, Ollie, and Sean to the cinema.”
Silence.
You could hear a pin drop.
Double shit.
All four of us watched Joey turn off the tap and reach for the towel hanging on the cupboard door.
Finally, when I didn’t think I could take another second of the silence, he asked, “Did he come over here?” Clearly the question was directed at his girlfriend because he was staring at her with a look of blazing protectiveness in his eyes. “Molloy?”
“Joe,” she began to say with a sigh. “Don’t get mad—”
“Did he come over here?” he repeated, enunciating his words slowly. “Did he see my son?”
“He asked to,” Aoife explained with a sigh. “I told him that I would have to talk to you about it first.”
“And you, Molloy?” He never blinked once. “What did he say to you?”
“Chill, Joe, it’s all good,” she replied. “He was perfectly polite.”
Her response seemed to appease Joey because relief flashed in his eyes. “Okay.” He nodded once, shoulders relaxing. “Good.”
“Joe, he really wants to make amends,” Shannon offered gently. “He asks about the three of you all the time.” Climbing off the couch, she padded over to her big brother and placed her hand on his arm. “I know you guys have your differences, and I get that, okay? I do. More than anyone. But Darren is AJ’s uncle, too. The same as Tadhg, Ols, and Sean. The same way I’m his aunt. Won’t you even consider letting him meet his nephew?”
“You mean the same uncle who tried to pay my son’s mother to abort him?” Joey replied flatly, making a beeline for his son. “No, Shannon, I won’t reconsider.”
“Shite,” Johnny muttered, handing AJ over to his father. “I don’t blame you, lad.”
“Not helping, Johnny,” Aoife and Shannon groaned in unison.
“What? You don’t step on another fella like that. Brother or not.” Shrugging unapologetically, Johnny turned to his girlfriend. “I’m sorry, Shan. I know Darren’s your family, baby, and you want to keep the peace. I get it. I do, and you know I’ve got your back no matter what, and I’ve always supported women’s rights to choose for themselves. But if the shoe was on the other foot and he had tried to get you to abort my kid behind my back?” Johnny shook his head. “I don’t know if I could handle it as calmly as your brother here.”
“See,” Joey bit out, as he cradled his son in his arms. “He gets it.”
Yeah, I got it, too, but I wasn’t nearly smart enough to throw my two cents into this delicate conversation without making a mess of it. Therefore, I jumped up and rubbed my hands together before saying, “Do you know what I think might help ease the tension in here?”
“Oh God, what?” Shannon groaned, looking almost fearful of what I might say.
“Why don’t you girls scamper off and try on your Halloween costumes for tomorrow night’s party, while Lynchy and Cap handle the code brown in that kid’s nappy that everyone is pretending to not be able to smell. Meanwhile, I’ll throw a batch of cookies together.”
“We don’t have eggs,” Aoife sighed. “Dammit.”
“Never fear, blondie,” I replied, rolling up my sleeves. “I’m a man of many talents – one of which happens to be the ability to improvise.”
Joey arched a brow. “Since when did you start baking?”
“Oh, Lynchy, you’re not the only one who leveled up last summer,” I chuckled, moving for the kitchen. “Now, chop chop and change that kid before the smell sticks to my nostrils.”
