“I’m rich,” I declared with a cheer when I bounced into the Allens’ house on Monday afternoon. Catching ahold of my work bag, I tossed it next to the cupboard under the stairs with a flourish before dancing into the kitchen. Rusted Root’s “Send Me On My Way” drifted from the radio on top of the microwave, and the song filled my heart with warm childhood nostalgia.
“I had the best first day ever at work, I made forty euro, and I get to go to two birthday parties today!” Pirouetting across the tiles, I toe-danced to the fridge and then tossed in a little toe-flick-toe for good measure. “What a time to be alive!”
“Claire,” Mam acknowledged with an indulging smile, as she rested a hip against the kitchen table, nursing a cup of coffee, “you’re full of beans.”
“Two birthday parties,” I reiterated, snagging a bottle of Gerard’s Sunny D from the fridge. “Today is a good day to be me, Mam.” I turned my attention to the other woman, whose fridge I was looting. “Hi, mammy number two.”
“Hello, Claire, pet,” Sadhbh Allen called over her shoulder, as she concentrated on putting the final touches to what I knew was my brother’s birthday cake. Packets of balloons, streamers, and birthday banners littered the kitchen table, a sure sign that the preparations for tonight’s party were in full swing. “It’s hard to believe it, isn’t it, Sinead? That this day eighteen years ago, you were in the throes of labor with our little Hugo boss-man.”
“Jesus, don’t remind me, Sadhbh,” Mam laughed. “Sixty-two hours of labor only to end up having an emergency Caesarean section.” Smiling, Mam shook her head before adding, “Pete passed out in theatre and chipped his collarbone on the metal tray going down.”
“And Joe ended up sitting at his bedside in the A&E for the night. I remember it well.” With a piping bag of icing in her hands, Sadhbh piped a thin border of blue icing to the cake. “I was only a few months along with Gerard and absolutely petrified of what was to come.”
“Ah, we figured it out along the way, didn’t we?”
“We sure did.”
“Did you use the red velvet base I made?” I asked, watching over her shoulder as she worked on the edible masterpiece.
“I sure did.”
“Yay!”
“The texture was so rich,” she added. “The perfect consistency.”
“You know, it was Gerard who told me to add the vinegar to the batter,” I explained between sips of my juice. “I thought he was crazy, but it was genius.”
“Oh, you should see him at the bakery,” Sadhbh agreed, using the corner of a napkin to clean up the corner of the silver cake board. “He spent the entire summer coming up with new recipes, and I have to tell you, girls, each one was better than the last, which is amazing considering he couldn’t turn on a microwave before the summer.”
“It’s in his blood.” Mam smiled. “He’s just like his father.”
“Yeah.” Forcing a smile, I pushed down the pang of grief that hit me when Joe Gibson’s face flashed through my mind. “He is.”
“Where are the boys?” Mam asked, thankfully giving me an out from my depressing memories. “At home getting ready for tonight?”
“Nah, Hugh’s still at work,” I explained, hoisting myself onto the island. “Some girl got sick, and he has to wait until her cover shows up. Patrick gave me a lift home from the hotel.”
“Oh?” Sadhbh arched a brow. “Meaning my rogue is on the missing list again?”
Yep. I hadn’t seen her rogue since he stormed out of my bedroom last weekend. We were in a fight, and a bad one, apparently, but I would never lose face in front of our mothers. Fighting or not, I have a level of loyalty to Gerard that went above and beyond frivolous teenage arguments. Even when he clamped the shutters firmly shut on his emotions, simultaneously blocking any exclusive access I may have had to the real him.
He’d been staying at Johnny’s house most nights since Mark’s return, meaning I had no late-night visitors to my room. Something I felt surprisingly bereft about.
“Gerard’s not on the missing list,” I heard myself defend, falling into the pattern of a lifetime. “He’s just … ”
“Being Gerard?”
“He’s with Johnny.”
“At the gym?”
“No, I think they’re prepping for Sean’s party.” Frowning I added, “Although, I doubt the bouncy castle will go ahead now that it’s raining again.”
“Oh, I almost forgot!” Mam walked over to her handbag and swiped a Tommen-crested envelope out of it. “The school’s newsletter arrived yesterday. They’ve decided to scrap this year’s fifth- and sixth-year skiing trip to Andorra.”
“What?” I wailed. “No! But it’s my turn! I’m finally old enough to go and it gets cancelled?”
“Oh, that’s right, Sinead, I read that, too,” Sadhbh agreed. “Apparently there was some issue with the school’s insurance.”
“Typical,” I huffed, folding my arms across my chest. “Just typical.”
“Tommen is holding a winter ball for the senior cycle to make up for it.”
“A winter ball?” My body thrummed with excitement. “Like a ball-ball? Like the ones they have in the States? With gowns and tuxes, and fancy-pants corsages?”
“Apparently so.”
“Shut the front door!” Squealing with delight, I clapped my hands together with vigor. “Are you serious? When?”
“The week of Christmas break.”
“Oh my God, oh my God.” I jumped down from the counter. “I need to prepare.” I paced the kitchen floor. “I need a dress and shoes, and jewelry, and – oh crap, I need to color coordinate with the girls, so we don’t clash. And then I need to book the hairdresser, and organize photographs, and transport, and get my nails done, and … ”
“Claire, love, it’s Halloween today,” Mam interrupted with a chuckle. “Calm down. You have plenty of time.”
“Plenty of time?” I gaped at her. “Mam, this is a ball. A real winter ball! These things take time to plan.”
“How would you know? You’ve never been to one,” Mam laughed. “And before you lose the run of yourself organizing photographers and limousines for your entire friendship group, you might want to think about who you’re going to go with first.” She winked at Sadhbh before adding, “Or is it just a given that you’re going to go with Gerard?”
“Uh … duh?” I stared blankly at her. “Who else would I go with?”
“Another boy, perhaps?”
The memory of Jamie’s giant tongue filled my mind, and I scrunched my nose up. “Ew.”
They both grinned in unison.
“Oh please.” I rolled my eyes. “Like it’s such a big surprise that I would want to go with Gerard.”
“They are good friends, Sinead,” Sadhbh noted, winking at my mam.
“Very good friends,” Mam agreed with a smirk. “Very good indeed.”
“So, is there anything you’d like to share with us?”
I blinked in confusion. “Like what?”
“You two have been spending a lot of extra time together.”
“And if he takes her to the ball, then I presume that means he’ll take her to his prom next summer.”
“Is it called the prom now? It was called the debs back in our day.”
“True.”
“It’s called the grads now,” I explained, and then beamed when I registered what had been said. “Oh my God, I’m going to the grads!” Excitement bubbled over inside of me. “Yay! Two dresses!”
“Then you better start saving all your money from that job you just started,” Mam teased.
“Nah, I think I’ll keep my money and spend Dad’s instead,” I laughed. “Where is he? I better get a start on my swindling.”
“At home in the office,” Mam replied with a cheerful smile. “Deadline, remember?”
Another pang of sadness struck me square in the solar plexus, but I quickly shook it off, reminding myself that if I had been the one to lose my best friend that day then I, too, would have locked myself away from the world.
Okay, so maybe not for an entire decade like my father had, but I understood the sentiment behind his actions, even if I didn’t understand the depression he battled on the daily.
Walking over to where my mother was standing, I wrapped my arms around her from behind. “Love you,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Queen.”
Because my mother was a queen. How she continued to love my father through his dark times was beyond admirable. I was sure they had their moments, but never once in the ten years since Joe’s passing had I heard Mam raise her voice to my father. Mam was a nurse and because of that, I knew she had a certain level of understanding into what was happening in Dad’s mind, but the way she unconditionally loved him through it all not only proved to me that people could be kind, but that true love could prevail.
My parents had loved each other since childhood and Mam continued to love Dad even when he didn’t have the strength to love himself.
The sound of the front door slamming filled my ears moments before the man of the moment himself strolled into his kitchen, swinging his car keys. “Mothers.”
The minute my eyes landed on him, standing there in faded blue jeans and a white t-shirt, a fierce blast of white-hot heat ricocheted through my belly.
Aw crackers.
“Claire-Bear,” he acknowledged with a polite nod.
“Gerard.”
“Where in the name of Jesus is your jumper?” Sadhbh demanded. “It’s raining cats and dogs out there.”
“I lost it at the disco last night, Mam,” he joked, referencing a Sultans Of Ping song. “When I was dancing … ”
“Gerard.” His mam narrowed her eyes. “You’re not funny.”
Proving Sadhbh wrong, my mam choked out a laugh. “Dancing in the disco,” she chuckled. “Very good, Gibs. I just got the reference.”
Gerard grinned in victory before training his attention on me. “I’ve been given orders by your bestie to chaperone you to the manor – and bring your costume.”
My heart leapt. “You have?”
He nodded. “Apparently, all the girls are getting ready over at the manor after Sean’s party.”
