Chapters (47)
‘Tummy bug, the doc says. I’ve just picked up some medicine for him and I’m taking him home.’
‘You’d better get your eggs, then. He looks fit to drop.’
The young boy looked up at Lorcan, then back at his mother and snuggled closer to her. ‘I’m quite capable of knowing how to look after my own son.’
Lorcan took a step back as though she’d physically slapped him and the flash of pain that crossed his face was clear for everyone to see.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said, her face flushing. ‘I didn’t mean—’
‘Siobhan,’ Brighid said, bustling towards us. The glance she sent Lorcan told me that she’d not only heard the exchange but also seen the distress it had caused him before he’d hidden it beneath the blank expression he now wore. And she, unlike me, also clearly understood the reasons behind it.
‘I thought you two had left,’ she said, wrapping one arm around his waist and the other around mine. ‘Have you decided to stay after all?’ She laughed, squeezing me a little closer.
‘And what can I do for you, Siobhan?’ Her tone was still friendly but, with her actions, it felt as if she was providing a support, a show of solidarity with Lorcan – and, by extension, me – against this new arrival.
‘I was just seeing if you had any eggs? Tommy’s not well and I thought that’d be easy on his stomach.’
‘Ah, now. That’s not so good, is it, young Tommy? I’ll sort you some out. Now, off you go, you two,’ she said, turning to us. ‘Travel safe.’
Lorcan bent and kissed Brighid’s cheek. ‘We will, thanks,’ he said, releasing the case handles to give her a hug. As he pulled back, there was another exchange between them, this time unsaid but just as clear. Lorcan gave the tiniest of nods and turned to the cases as Brighid hugged me and Bod. ‘Look after that boy,’ she whispered. ‘He’s nowhere near as tough as he likes to make out.’
With Siobhan and her son looking on, this didn’t exactly seem the right moment to point out that I would likely hardly see Lorcan between now and Christmas when we’d be back here for the wedding, but Brighid’s sharp, knowing eyes brooked no argument. Siobhan stood aside so that we could get out of the door and Lorcan indicated for me to go first as Brighid took Siobhan and her son off further in the pub, pulling the heavy door closed behind him.