“Aoife, Aoife! Oh Jesus, she’s fainted, bring her inside!”
The small woman, who Cassidy assumed was Louisa, ushered the boys over and they lifted Aoife tenderly into the house. Louisa turned to Cassidy her eyes filling with tears. “Oh Cassidy, we are so happy to meet you. I am Louisa O’Malley and this is my husband Gearóid.”
Cassidy hugged them both tightly before another girl stepped forward. She was like Rory with long dark brown hair, cut straight with a fringe. She was tall too and towered above Cassidy. She was stunning, Cassidy smoothed her own hair and gave up as it bounced back up to crown her head and covered half her face.
“Don’t crowd her mama. I’m Annie, Rory and Darragh’s sister. Rory has gone out for a….stroll?” She looked at Louisa who nodded at her looking embarrassed.
Annie put her arm around Cassidy’s shoulder and ushered her into the house.
“Yeah, a stroll, he'll be back soon. Come in and meet the family while I check on Aoife. Don't be worrying now; she'll be grand in a minute. A fecker for the fainting. Every year at midnight mass at Christmas time. Lucky her eh? Getting to leave early!”
She laughed then, a loud hearty sound, accompanied by snorts and a leg smack that only came to an end when Louisa elbowed her in the ribs. She looked at Louisa and grimaced. “Sorry mama, Fr Connors’ mass is a bit long, interesting of course…just a tad tiring.”
“That’s grand Annie; I think we all got your meaning.” Louisa was trying and failing to look annoyed. Cass stared at her. “Are you sure she’s all right. I can come back another time.”
“You will not indeed,” Annie exclaimed.
“Sure, you’re here now and we were just talking about you not five minutes ago. I’m sure Rory will be only delighted to get reacquainted.” Cassidy caught the mischievous smirk and decided then and there that she like Annie O’Malley.
Before she could respond, she was ushered in through the front door and looked around at the lovely homely atmosphere of the large family room. A huge open fire blazed against the far wall, a timber railway track sleeper acted as a mantel piece that held a treasure throve of trinkets and photo frames. There were so many of them! Her own little family was a much smaller and quieter affair. Looking around, Cassidy noticed that there were photos everywhere; picture frames of all shapes and sizes adorned the walls. As if the person hanging them had cared little for the symmetry of them and instead wanted to show off her children and family with pride.
Cassidy was led to an armchair and sat down sinking into the plush red fabric.
“Here Cassidy, drink this. It’s a cold night and we’ve all had a bit of a shock.”
Cassidy looked up into Darragh’s eyes and smiled, glad of a familiar face. She took the glass and swirled around the amber coloured liquid. Taking a glup she coughed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“Yeah, it’ll do that to you the first time, maybe small sips.”
Cassidy nodded at Darragh and tried to answer while her throat burned. She counted six pairs of eyes watching her with frozen smiles and anxious looks on their faces.
“Right, how about some introductions?” The cheeky one moved towards her with his hand out.
“I’m Rian O’Malley. Rory’s younger, more intelligent and much more handsome brother.”
He winked at her and she smiled back at him. Wrong on one count anyway. He was gorgeous, but didn’t hold a candle to Rory in her eyes.
“I’m Gearóid, the dad.” The huge shy-looking older man came forward. He was big and redheaded like Darragh and Aoife, but had a softer, shyer look. Cass stood up and shook their outstretched hands. Annie stepped forward. “Well, now you’ve met us all. Except our Aoife.”
They chatted with Cass for the next couple of hours and spoke of Harry and Aoife.
Cass felt comfortable and relaxed into the chair feeling sleepy.
The front door burst open suddenly and Rory fell in still singing.
“I’m homeeeeeeeeee. Oh my lovely rose of Clare, you’re the sweetest girl I know. You’re the queen of all the roses and the pretty flowers that growwwwwwwww.” Annie winked at Cass and slapped her lightly on the knee. “Lover boy is home. Looking forward to this. Give him hell girl.” Cass stood and wrapped her arms around herself.
Louisa walked up to him and stood with her hands on her hips.
“What the hell do you call this, Rory? What are you doing comin' home here drunk, and in that state?” “Sorry mama.” Rory tried to look sorry, but failed miserably when he stood up on a dining room chair and threw his arms out.
“I have done something stupid, and for that I am heartily sorry. I have hurt the girl hiccup; I love and am now feeling very sorry for myself. Sooooo, I went out for a pint or two, hiccup, and now I am a tincy wincey bit drunk.” He made a gesture with his thumb and forefinger moving them together.
“Come down off that chair, you big eejit.” Gearóid O’Malley, was standing in the doorway smirking at his son. “Dad, dad! Come sing a tune with me. Oh-wait! Wait I feel a little bit-”
And then he puked. Cass eyes widened as she watched him projectile vomit across the room. “Told you it would be good,” Annie whispered into Cass’s ear.
Cass watched as the family gathered around Rory, Rian and Darragh grabbed Rory’s arms and lifted him off the chair. His father knelt down and began to clean up the mess.
“Come on Ror, to bed with you.” Rory was dragged still singing from the room without even glancing in Cass’s direction. “Cassidy, I can only apologize.” Louisa moved over beside Cassidy and made a face. “Again,” said Annie half under her breath. Louisa turned to Annie and pointed in the direction of the door.
“Out Annie!” Annie opened her eyes wide and without a backward glance left the room. Cass stood biting her thumbnail and feeling out of place and alone.
“Um, I think I will go back into town and find a bed and breakfast, if I could just call a cab?”
“Not at all darlin' I won’t hear of it. He will be right as rain in the morning and you’ll not get a bed and breakfast this close to Christmas in the town anyway. I have a bed made up for you in the spare room and no one will bother you there. Get some sleep eh? Rory, will be very sorry in the morning no doubt. You are our guest here as long as you would like to stay.” Cass nodded at Louisa and managed a weak smile.
(Cass)
A good word never broke a tooth.
Irish proverb
Cass woke up to birds singing and the winter sun beaming through the curtains. She crawled out of bed and stretched looking out the window. Where the hell was Rory? There was a soft knock at the door.
“Come in.”
Louisa stepped into the room with a bundle of clothes in her hands.
“Morning lovey, I have some clothes for you here. I saw that you didn’t bring any with you.”
“Um. I left in a hurry and didn’t bring anything with me. I can go to a shop and pick up a few things if you point me in the right direction.”
“Not at all Cass. I have some spare clothes here that my sister left. You are about the same size. I’ll leave you to it and breakfast is on the table. Young Rory will be having a bit of a lie in I’d imagine, and a few hangover cures as well. I must apologize for his behaviour last night. He’s not a drinker you know. Something must have burrowed well under his skin for him to lose the head like that.” Louisa looked at Cass and softly and put her hand on her shoulder.
“What he did was appalling Cass. And we are so sorry for the pain that this has caused you and your family. I know his heart was in the right place, but his brain seems to have left the building temporarily.” Cass put her hand over Louisa’s hand and smiled at her.
“I know Louisa. I know his intentions came from a good place.”
“There is no pressure here Cass. You are free to speak your mind and to come and go as you please. I hope you’ll be staying for Christmas. It would be a pleasure to have you here.”
Louisa started to tear up
and her hands were shaking slightly. Cass hugged Louisa to her and felt her sob slightly against her.
“Of course I’ll stay; I’d be honoured to spend time with your family.”
“Right, ladies, sob fest over?”
Cass raised her head to find Rian leaning on the doorframe grinning at them.
“Come on ma, let her go. I’m bringing Cass into the village to show her the castle.”
“All right, all right,” Louisa laughed. “Off you go young ones and have fun.”
Cass studied Rian, he was all cheeky boy to Rory’s man.
“Cass, I’ll give you five minutes to change and then meet me in the kitchen. I’ll show you the local sites while big brother is nursing his sore head. It’ll do him no harm to wake up and find out that you’re here, in County Clare.”
He nodded in Cass’ direction and left the room.
Cass threw on the skinny blue jeans, black Ugg boots and a black ribbed polo neck Louisa had left her. She left her hair down and added her grey winter hat and gloves. The Irish wind was like the Devon wind. Deceptive in its bite. While the sun shone down, the wind would have the nose frozen off you in minutes.
She tiptoed passed the room where the lads had deposited Rory the night before. She stopped and pushed lightly against the door. It gave easily and she snuck her head around the room and spotted Rory naked asleep on the bed. The smell of Guinness and whiskey made her crinkle her nose. He was sleeping soundly.
“Doesn’t he make a lovely sight altogether?”
Cass jumped and looked around to see Aoife standing behind her. Cass noticed how thin she was, how fragile. She was more like Darragh in colouring. Red wavy hair and golden eyes. She was breathtakingly beautiful and waif-like.
“Sorry,” said Aoife, holding her hands up. “Didn’t mean to scare you. He’s such an eejit at times, but something tells me you already know that.”
Cass nodded at her smiling. “He is one of a kind for sure Aoife.”
“You’d think so, but there are three others just like him under this roof at the moment. Well I should discount dad from the number. He at least thinks with his brain more than with his dick.”
Cass dropped her mouth open. The words coming out of the gentle mouth didn’t fit.
“Oh sorry Cass, sometimes it just slips out.” Cass burst out laughing and shut Rory’s door.
“Rian’s going to bring you around Bunratty today. To see the castle and the old folk park and Durty Nellies. I might join you both if that’s okay?”
“Of course, I’d love that. Durty nellies?”
“It’s our local pub. Nice little place, great food and some craic too. They have impromptu sessions, singing and the like. One of the oldest pubs in Ireland.”
“Sounds great, am I dressed okay?”
“You’re grand. Come on, we’ll make a day of it. It'll do Rory good to wake up and find out we kidnapped you for the day.” She winked and elbowed Cass in the ribs.
“Is Annie coming too?” Cass had taken to Annie straight away and felt comfortable in her company.
“Nah, she works on a Saturday and Mama and Dad mind the twins. She might come down later though.” Cass nodded at her. “Oh right, she a veterinarian isn’t she?”
“She is, I see you’ve been kept up to date by big brother.”
“Girls, come on for heaven sake!” Rian's voice came from the kitchen. Aoife rolled her eyes, “Come on Cass, best not keep the cranky arse waiting.”
The three of them got into a jeep and drove off down the lane leaving Louisa standing watching them with a look of relief on her face. Maybe Aoife would open up to Cass. Maybe it would be the start of the healing process for them all, Cass included. She went into the house, picked up the phone and rang directory enquires.
(Rory)
Good as drink is,
It ends in thirst.
Irish proverb
Rory woke up holding his head in his hands.
“Jaysus wept,” he muttered.
What the hell had happened last night? He tutted loudly screwing his eyes up at the sounds around him. Tick, tick, tick. Why was the damn clock so loud! His phone was vibrating on the nightstand. He threw out his right hand and grabbed it to his chest, keeping his eyes closed he pressed the accept button and brought it to his ear.
“O’Malley.”
“It’s Paul, where the heck were you last night? I’ve been trying to get hold of you.”
Rory shot up straight in the bed. “What’s happened? Is it Cass? Is she okay?”
“She’s gone.” Rory opened his eyes and rubbed a hand over his face.
“What the fuck do you mean gone, Paul? Gone where?”
“To Ireland. She took a flight to Shannon airport yesterday. I tried ringing you all last night.”
Rory ended the call, bounded out of bed and pulled open his bedroom door. He ran up to the kitchen where his parents and his granny O’Malley were enjoying a cup of tea.
“Did someone come here? A girl named Cass. Is she here?”
His father looked him up and down. “Jesus Ror, do they not supply clothes in London?” Rory starred at him and then dropped his eyes to his naked body.
Granny O’Malley chuckled.
“Gearóid, it’s nothing any of us haven’t seen before. Although, everything seems to have increased in size since I last saw it. A good thing surely?” Rory groaned and grabbed a tea towel from the stove covering himself. Louisa stood up and poured her tea down the sink. “She came last night, while you were in the pub. You were so bladdered by the time you came home, you never even noticed her here. She’s gone to Bunratty with Rian and Aoife, about three hours ago.” Rory slapped his forehead.
“Three hours ago! Why didn’t you wake me, for God sake? What the hell did she go with Rian for? Oh for the love of God mam!”
Gearóid laughed. “Son, you have it bad. They are probably in Nellie’s having a pint at this stage. Why don’t you take a leisurely walk into the village and meet up with them?”
Rory took off down the corridor and jumped into the shower, his head still pounding as he turned the dial to cold and let it wash over him. Cass here! At my house. Why the hell did I have a drink last night? You didn’t you had ten. Damn it all to hell! Rian too, of all people! He’d better keep his cheeky Irish chappie routine away from Cass. Rory has seen his brother in action and was all too aware that Rian could charm the knickers off a nun! Brushing his teeth, and drying himself at the speed of light, he pulled on a sweater and a pair of jeans hopping from foot to foot. He raced back to the kitchen and grabbed the keys of his car, stopping to steal a slice of toast from his dad's plate, despite his protestations. He shouted “Bye Lads,” and left the house driving out the gate in the direction of the village.
Rory stood at the door of Nellie’s pub and looked over to the group of people sitting beside the fire in the old pub. He smiled when he saw Cass. She was laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe properly. Rian was regaling them with a story of a blind date that he had tried to set Annie up on. The pub was busy and Rian stood up and started to make his way to the counter to order some drinks. He called back to the group.
“I rang mama and told her we’d eat here. Is that okay with you girls?”
“Definitely,” smiled Aoife. “Cassidy, the garlicky potatoes here are legendary.”
“Sounds great,” said Cass. Rory moved through the small crowd in front of him.
“Hey.”
Cass turned around and saw Rory standing behind her.
“Hey yourself,” she smiled tentatively at him. Rory nodded towards Aoife and Rian and then turned back to Cass smiling softly.
“Can we talk?”
She nodded at him, grabbed her bottle of beer and followed him upstairs to a quiet alcove.
“It’s great to see you, Cass. I didn’t think. Well I didn’t think I would, after everything. I know I fucked up.” He rubbed a hand through his hair. “I’m glad you came Cass.”
“I need
ed to see you, Rory. I don’t want to end it like I did. I’m sorry for the sabotaging of your family. I can get a hotel if it makes you uncomfortable.”
“Not at all, you’re more than welcome to stay. There’s plenty of room. Listen, mama said you were there last night, when I was a bit worse for wear.”
“Yeah, just a little bit worse for wear,” Cass laughed shaking her head.
Rory smiled at her sheepishly and bit his bottom lip. “I’m mortified. Really. I’m so sorry about that; I don’t usually drink more than a couple of whiskeys. Probably better off, eh?”
“Probably.”
“I see you met the lads and Aoife.”
“She seems nice. I like her.”
“Yeah, she is nice. She’s a great girl. You remind me a lot of her.”
They moved in close, so close their heads were almost touching. Rory held Cass’ hand and rubbed her knuckles lightly and began to talk.
“When Aoife was born, I was so excited. After two brothers along came a little girl, a beautiful baby sister. I went to see her in the hospital all wrapped up in a pink blanket. I fell in love with her there and then. She had a full head of red hair like dad and she never cried when I held her. She just looked at me with the biggest golden coloured eyes. Then she was taken away from us and they put in a special unit. Dad sat me down and told me that she was very ill. She had been born with Cystic Fibrosis.
I stayed up all that night and prayed that she would be okay. I told God that he could take anything he wanted from me, just let Aoife be okay. She got a bit better and came home. She was the quietest little thing. Always smiling and so quiet and happy. She was always in and out of hospital as a child. Wheezing and coughing, any infection could have killed her. As she got older she deteriorated. She spent a lot of time in bed and I spent a lot of time with her. Talking to her and reading to her, she liked Celtic legends the best and fairy tales. Even as a child, she would giggle at the part in the fairy tales when the prince would kiss the princess and wake her up. About six years ago, when she was eighteen, she collapsed at home. I had to resuscitate her. We knew then that her own lungs were dying inside her. She became more withdrawn and she talked all the time about when she would die. What she wanted us to do at the funeral. The doctors told us that she needed a lung transplant, but the chances were slim. She needed a very specific donor. One that had a rare blood type. Most people don’t even carry donor cards. They never even think about it. We are so caught up in our own mortality, that we forget that we can help people, save people, even in our death. When we got the call three years ago, we had all but given up. And then the phone rang. Aoife was to be brought to a specialist hospital in Dublin. There was a match, a perfectly beautiful match. Aoife had a serious chest infection for three months before the operation. When a recipient is ill, the transplant can’t go ahead and the organs are basically forfeit. Her infection cleared just a week before the transplant. A week before Cass. Just like that, as if it was meant to be. Fate intervened. As if by some kind of miracle she was infection clear and the lungs were a match and the blood group. It was the perfect time. Every component was right. We didn’t dare to hope, but it went ahead and we waited and waited. A large percentage of transplants fail. The body sees the organ as a foreign object and rejects it. But in Aoife’s case everything went fine. And then Aoife came home. And for the first while she was back, the old Aoife, laughing and joking. No infections, no coughing and gasping for breath, but inside she was different. She wouldn’t talk about the transplant; she wouldn’t talk about the donor, about Harry. He was in all our lives then Cass. An unknown entity, a faceless, voiceless hero who saved my baby sister.”
Juice: The O'Malleys Book 1, contemporary Adult Romance Page 17
