Tied Up with a Bow

by Sheila Connolly

  The small stack was weighted down by an old earthenware jug, whose neck was wide enough to allow people to drop in their euros and their entry slips, but too narrow to permit someone to go fishing around inside. Not that Maura expected enough in the way of coins to make stealing it worthwhile, but why make it easy? Still, the idea was to have fun and attract some more people into the pub on a Saturday night. It might be the best chance before everybody got caught up in holiday preparations and visiting relatives.

  She peered out the front windows. It looked to her like the Thing had grown by only a foot or two since she’d last looked the day before. Was Thing going to be finished by tomorrow? If not, how far would Thing have grown by then? Enough to be recognizable as whatever it was? Or wouldn’t it be done until the last minute on Sunday? Maura made a mental note to go out and ask the builders when they showed up. Actually it didn’t matter if it went any farther before tomorrow night—it would be fun to read the guesses, especially from those patrons who’d had a pint or two first.

  As she straightened out the tables and chairs at the pub and polished the tabletops, Maura found herself wondering whether Danny would come by after school today. Maybe Hannah wouldn’t approve of him hanging out in a pub, at least without supervision, or was worried about imposing on Maura, who she’d only just met. Maybe Anne had said something warning her off Maura, although Maura couldn’t think of any reason why she would do that. Maybe Danny had found some friends at the school and would be spending time with them, which was probably the best solution. But if he did show up at Sullivan’s, Maura would be happy to offer him someplace quiet to sit and do his homework, and keep him supplied with hot chocolate. Or maybe she could even put him to work? The floors could always use sweeping, the tables and bar-tops always seemed to need wiping. She could draw the line at his handling anything like liquor, or even collecting the empty glasses, but Sean couldn’t object if she gave him a few chores to keep him busy, once his homework was done. And she could pay him a small amount for his work, when he earned it. If Hannah didn’t object.

  Mick arrived only a few minutes later, and when he walked in Maura looked past him and noticed that there was some new activity around the Thing. “Morning, Mick. I want to talk to the guys across the street for a sec.”

  “Warn them off, like?”

  “Just tell them not to spill the beans, unless they think they’re going to finish today, and then I probably couldn’t stop them. I won’t be long.”

  Maura stepped out the front door. It was chilly this morning, and she was glad she’d worn a sweater. There were few cars passing on the road, so she crossed easily and greeted the workers. “Morning. Can I ask you something?”

  “Not if it’s when we’ll be done with this creature. It’s a work of art, see, and it moves as the spirit moves us.”

  “Good. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. By the way, I’m Maura Donovan. I own Sullivan’s over there. I’ve been watching you guys work for the past couple of days.”

  “Are yeh after asking what it’ll be when it grows up?”

  “No!” Maura grinned. “I don’t want to know until it’s finished. You see, I got to thinking that maybe because I don’t know what it’s going to be, most other people won’t either, and I thought maybe I could have a raffle where everybody would guess. For a small contribution, of course, but most of it would go to some charity or other. But that means you can’t tell anybody what it’s going to be or you’ll spoil the fun. Unless, of course, you’ll be finishing by the end of the day today?”

  “Not hardly. The grand unveiling’s to be Sunday after church, so yeh can rest easy. Might there be something in it fer us?”

  “You mean, like a pint after you knock off work? Sure. As long as you don’t say what you’re building. And I’m guessing there won’t be enough of it put together to make it clear by the end of today? The raffle’ll start tomorrow morning.”

  “I wouldn’t be holdin’ me breath on it bein’ finished before the end of the day.”

  “Great. Stop by later today. Or you can come to the party tomorrow. Are there others like this around?”

  “A few. And they’re not all the same, if that’s what yeh’re askin’, so they won’t be spoilin’ yer surprise.”

  Maura smiled. “Great. That’s all I wanted to know. Don’t forget to stop in later.”

  “Ta,” said the leader.

  Maura went back to the pub. “Like I guessed, Thing won’t be done until late tomorrow, probably, and they promised to go slow,” Maura told Mick. “By the way, if any of those guys comes in, I said their pints would be on the house, as long as they kept their mouths shut. And no, I didn’t ask what it was, and they didn’t tell me. So it looks like we’re set to go.”

  “Good to know.”

  “Any other music nights scheduled before the holiday?” Maura asked. And their talk turned to ordinary matters like restocking the liquor supply and ordering more glasses and what the best timing would be to start gathering materials for the kitchen renovation.

  Rose arrived shortly before noon. “Did yeh like what I did with the flyers? It looks good in the window. Any questions about the raffle?” She looked around the room, where there were only five or so people scattered among the tables.

  “Not so far,” Maura told her. “But I did talk to the guys building the Thing, and they said they were in no hurry—they’ll still be working on it tomorrow. And I asked them not to tell anyone who asked just what it was going to be.”

  “Do yeh know yerself?” Rose asked.

  “Nope. I said I didn’t want to know. I’ll be as surprised as anybody else. By the way, nice jar you found. I’m glad it’s big—it might make people want to put in more money just to fill it up. Only one guess per coupon, right? And a euro for each coupon?”

  “That was my thinkin’,” Rose said.

  “And nobody’s going to walk out of here carrying a heavy china jug—hard to hide.”

  “Exactly. Unless there are several guys workin’ together, and a couple of ’em created a fuss while the other ran out with the money. They’ll be sadly disappointed when it comes time to divvy up the proceeds.”

  “Rose, please remember that this is Sullivan’s—we’re lucky to have a handful of customers at any one time, even on a Saturday night. The idea of them banding together to steal maybe fifty euros makes me laugh. And since everybody around here knows everybody else, somebody would be bound to recognize at least one of them.”

  Rose smiled at her. “Ah, Maura, do yeh really think I’m worryin’? We’ll be fine.”

  “I hope so!”

  • • •

  The day passed slowly. Every now and then Maura would check the progress on Thing, but true to their word, the guys there weren’t in any hurry. Thinking of the materials she’d seen, it probably could have been thrown together in a day, but she wasn’t going to complain if they took their time. The longer it remained unfinished, the more curiosity built up, and that could only help business at Sullivan’s.

  As the afternoon wore on, Maura found herself watching for Danny. Why? she wondered yet again. Because she felt sorry for him? Because she identified with him? Based on her very brief acquaintance with his mother, she kind of doubted they’d stay long in Leap. Hannah looked like a city girl—woman. She didn’t know anyone in Leap, except her cousin Anne, and Anne seemed kind of resentful of her unexpected—and unwanted?—company. Maura was willing to guess that Hannah was taking a break to get her bearings before she decided what her next step would be. Sadly, though, it was Danny who would suffer, getting dragged around the country, in and out of schools, because his mother was scared of something. Or someone.

  A couple of pairs of kids wandered by, and then Danny, on his own. He looked hesitant, peering in through the front window of Sullivan’s, then looking away, over at the inn across the road. Maura wondered what his mother had said to him.

  Mick came up behind her. “That would be Danny?” he said
.

  “Yes. It looks like he’s not sure he’d be welcome. Or maybe his mother told him to stay away from us. There must be some kind of story there but I don’t know what it is. Or who to ask. But I was thinking that he might like to earn a little money, helping us clean up here. Is that legal?”

  “Yeh talked to Sean, did yeh not?”

  “Shoot, I forgot—I was too busy talking to him about raffles. But next time I see him I’ll ask about Danny, and paying him to help out. I don’t think he’d stick to the letter of the law. I only wanted the boy to have some pocket change, and give him something useful to do. As long as he does his homework,” Maura ended dubiously.

  “Let me talk with the lad,” Mick said, and before Maura could protest he was out the door.

  Chapter Seven

  After serving a few rounds of drinks, Maura looked up to see Mick and Danny come in together, deep in conversation. Mick looked up at her and smiled. “I’ll be showin’ Danny here the back room now.”

  “Great,” Maura said, but they were already beyond hearing. She topped off a couple more pints of stout, delivered them, and then dropped into the chair next to Billy’s.

  Before she could speak, Billy said, “Looks like Mick has himself a new friend. Or is it the other way round?”

  “Either way, I like it. I’m glad Danny came back.”

  “Yeh thought he might not?”

  Maura shrugged. “I don’t know. I still haven’t worked out all the details about where a pub fits in places like Leap. All I ever knew was Boston, which is definitely a big city, and there a school kid wouldn’t have thought about going into a pub—or bar—alone. But a lot of things are different there. School let out pretty early, but there were a lot of single mothers who had to work just to feed their families. That’s what Gran did for me. The thing is, that meant a lot of the kids had nowhere to go, so they’d be out on the streets. And then they got into trouble.”

  “But not yerself?” Billy asked.

  “No, not me. I was one of the boring good kids. I came straight home and did my homework while Gran was still at work. When I got old enough, I started cooking our supper. And when I was a little older, I was working after school, at whatever I could find.”

  “And that’s why yeh want to look out fer Danny?”

  “I guess so. Of course, his life must be completely different. Leap’s a small town. Maybe he’s a stranger now, but how long will that be true? Mick said there were like fifty kids at the school here, and he’ll know them all in a few days. But I don’t know what to think about his mother. I think she’s scared of something. I could be wrong—I’ve barely met her.”

  “She’s runnin’ from somethin’, I’m thinkin’,” Billy said. “If she’s not runnin’ from the law, then mebbe it’s a man.”

  “I’ve kind of wondered the same thing, Billy. How easy is it to disappear in Ireland, if you want to? I mean, if someone is looking for you?”

  “That depends. Yeh know Anne’s a relative of Hannah’s, and that’s where Hannah turned. Family looks after family. Same’s true of yerself. Yeh might not have known it, but it was yer gran who saw to it that my friend Mick would look after yeh. Yeh’ve seen plenty of it by now, have yeh not?”

  Maura smiled at him. “I guess I have. I know it works. I kind of keep thinking it can’t last. But I like it, and if I can help Danny and his mother, I will, as much as I can.”

  Mick and Danny came out of the back room then, and Maura went to greet them. “Hi, Danny. It’s good to see you again.”

  “Mick says I can help out here at the pub, and you’ll pay me. Is that right?”

  “It is,” Maura told him, “so long as you get your homework done first. And you can’t deliver drinks or anything like that. You’re just a bit too young.”

  “I know. Mam’s cousin Missus Sheahan, she thinks havin’ a kid around the place would put off some of the regular guys. She didn’t want me hanging around, but there really wasn’t anyplace to sit that was out of the way. And I didn’t want Mam to lose her job because of me. I promise I’ll work hard if yeh’ll give me the chance.”

  “As long as your mother agrees,” Mick said firmly. “And if Garda Sean Murphy should come in, we’re not going to hide you. Yeh’re just helpin’ us out, and we’re lookin’ after yeh. He’s a good man and he’ll understand.”

  “I’m glad of that. But . . .”

  “What?” Maura asked.

  “Can yeh trust the gardaí around here?”

  “We can, and we do. Have you been to Skibbereen yet?” When Danny shook his head, Maura went on, “That’s the nearest town—we’re just a small village here. But even though it’s a town, there are still only a dozen or so gardaí there. There’s not much crime around here, and Sean told me once that most of the time when there is a crime—like somebody takes something from a shop, or even makes off with a sheep—the gardaí usually know who did it before they even start looking.”

  “The city’s not like that,” Danny said dubiously.

  “You mean Dublin?”

  Danny nodded. “Mam said I shouldn’t talk about where we were before, although she had to tell them at the school or they might not have taken me.”

  “So she doesn’t want people to know where to find you both?” Maura asked carefully.

  “We’ve no family to be looking fer us,” Danny said, sounding almost defensive, and Maura noticed he hadn’t quite answered her question.

  “I know what you mean, Danny. I don’t have anybody left in my family. Well, I do have a mother, but until this past year I hadn’t seen her since I was a baby. But people around here have looked after me—that’s how I ended up with this pub, and a small cottage a few miles away. And Mick’s gran loaned me her car so I could get around. Don’t worry—we’ll look out for you. Now, you should go and tell your mam where she can find you when she gets off work. And if she has any questions, she can talk to us.”

  “Thank you, Maura,” Danny said formally. “And Mick. I’ll be right back.” Danny turned and headed quickly for the door.

  “Polite kid. And cautious, isn’t he?” Maura said to Mick. “There must be some sort of trouble, because they seem to be hiding, maybe, and his mother told him not to say too much.”

  “Give her time to come to trust us,” Mick told her. “Fer all we know, she might be a drug dealer who made off with a lot of cash, or maybe she murdered someone.”

  Maura faced him, hands on hips. “Do you really believe that?”

  “No, but I’m sayin’ it’s possible. And she has little reason to trust strangers, comin’ from the city. Just don’t push too hard. She could tell yeh that Danny can’t be here after school, and that’s her right.”

  “I’m only trying to help, Mick!” Maura protested.

  “I know that, but Hannah may not. All I’m sayin’ is, take it slow.”

  “Got it. So, are we ready for tomorrow?”

  “Were are, I’m thinkin’. Have yeh given any thought to what yeh’ll do if people want to start guessing tonight?”

  “You mean, ahead of our carefully planned schedule?” When Mick gave her a quizzical look, she added, “Just joking, you know. Anyway, the Thing isn’t going to change between now and tomorrow morning, and the guys promised they wouldn’t hurry. So I suppose if people want to put in their guesses now, that’s fine. And they can certainly put in more than one guess, as long as they pay for each of them. I don’t think this is going to be a big moneymaker, but I do believe people like to think they have a stake in the result, especially if it costs them only a euro. You know, I still have trouble using that word. Is a euro worth more than a dollar?”

  “Depends on when yeh ask. Right now it’s a bit more, but that could change. If yeh think of a euro as worth a dollar, yeh’ll be happily surprised when you add up the till at the end of the day.”

  “And the math will be a lot easier,” Maura added.

  “That it will. Relax, will yeh? If no one comes to play, it’s no
loss.”

  “That’s true,” Maura replied. The idea gave her some comfort: at least she was trying something new, and if it didn’t work out, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

  • • •

  Just past six, Seamus and his band of friends started drifting in. “Good evenin’ to yeh, Maura Donovan. I hear yeh’ve taken up gamblin’, like I suggested.” He grinned to soften his statement.

  “What, our piddly little game of chance? It’s for a good cause.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “I haven’t really decided. You tell me: who needs a bit of cash for the holidays? A family? The school? I won’t consider the church, since they’ve got enough fund-raisers of their own going. Any ideas, Seamus?”

  “You could set up a fund for those of us who find themselves short of coin but are perishin’ fer a pint?”

  “Nice try, but I don’t think that qualifies as a charity. You can keep thinking about it. I assume you want a pint now?”

  “Please. Even if I have to pay.”

  “Coming up. Is your whole gang going to be here?”

  “Where else would we be? The cattle are in the barn and fed, and the wives are lookin’ fer a bit of peace and quiet while they put together supper. We just wanted to check out how yer plans are goin’.”

  “Fine, so far. I think.”

  Seamus leaned over the bar. “Any word on what that structure might be?”

  “Nope. I don’t know, and I told the guys who are putting it together not to share—in exchange for a free pint for them.”

  “Ah, so yeh’re bribin’ ’em to keep their mouths shut. Smart woman, you are.”

  Once Seamus had settled himself at a table, Maura set about filling pints. She looked up from the bar to see Danny, followed by his mother—her shift at the bar must have ended. Since it was fairly dark already, Maura couldn’t read Hannah’s expression, but she put on a smile anyway.