He turned back to face her, his face shadowed by the low burning light, “Goodnight, Caitlin.”
Her heart pounded painfully in her chest at the dimpled smile he gave her; and as the door closed behind him, she raced to the window and watched him disappear into the night.
2
Caitlin
As the saltyocean air wafted into the kitchen’s open windows and blended with the scent of freshly-baked bread, Caitlin took a deep breath in an attempt to ease her anxieties about the upcoming dinner party with the Kelly family.
She was thrilled to see Sophie, of course, and genuinely enjoyed spending time with the rest of the Kellys, but simply knowing that she had to be within a ten-mile radius of Daniel made her blood boil.
“I really appreciate you helping me so much with all of this,” Noah’s comforting voice bellowed over the sound of the oven timer. “Oh, shoot. I almost forgot the potatoes in the oven.” He spun around and shuffled over to the stove as quickly as a man of his age and stature could manage.
“You know I love cooking with you, Dad,” Caitlin replied warmly, looking over her shoulder at her father hurriedly yet expertly micromanaging five different dishes at once. “I think the seafood chowder is going to be a hit, too.” She bit her lip, knowing she would ruin the mood by interrogating her father about Daniel, but she needed answers.
Caitlin paused and looked up from the soda bread dough she had been carefully kneading, and turned to face her father. “Listen, can we talk about something really quick, though?”
Her father’s face dropped as he frowned, “It’s about Daniel, isn’t it?” He turned off the stove and leaned against the counter, turning to face his daughter.
“Well, yeah,” Caitlin replied, tucking a stray lock of wavy red hair behind her left ear. “Um, I’m guessing you already knew he was coming into town, then?” she asked, frustration and a hint of betrayal rising in her voice. She wiped her flour-coated hands off on her splotchy apron and crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at him.
Noah looked down at the cottage’s wooden floor and sighed, swallowing a lump in his throat, “Cait, I know you two don’t get along, but the Kellys are like family. What am I going to do, tell Daniel he can’t come?” He threw up his hands in resignation.
“I-I mean, I don’t know,” Caitlin sputtered, as she rested her elbows on the kitchen island counter and buried her head in her hands for a few seconds. “He showed up at the pub last night after you left, and he was a major pain in the ass. He’s as smug as ever.”
“Honestly, why can’t the two of you just get along? You’re adults now, for Christ’s sake!” Noah’s tone became annoyed as he pulled a dish out of the oven and placed it onto the counter, nearly dropping it as he winced reflexively. “Ah, shit. I burned my finger.”
Caitlin felt guilty for a moment as she realized how stressed her father was and how much importance he placed on these gatherings. He had been cooking for hours, and it was all culminating in drama between his daughter and her childhood nemesis. “Just...why couldn’t you warn me first or something if you knew he was coming into town?” She sighed, standing up straight and resumed kneading the second batch of soda bread as her father removed the first from the oven.
“I didn’t think you two were still so angry with each other,” Noah said dumbfoundedly, seeming genuinely confused at his daughter’s dilemma. “I swear I didn’t know it would upset you so much. I just wanted this dinner to go well, and I guess it was the last thing on my mind.”
His daughter sighed, kneading the bread more forcefully as she became more irritated at the prospect of Daniel parading around the cottage and getting on every single one of her nerves. She grimaced, squeezing the dough in her hands angrily. “He told me last night that he’s sticking around. Like, he’s going to be in town for much longer than just the dinner. Did he say anything to you about that?”
He shrugged as he toted the many large dishes and serving trays from the kitchen into the dining room and placed them upon a massive table for his guests.
She narrowed her eyes at his reaction, and had the sinking feeling that there was more he knew, but wasn’t saying. “I bet he doesn’t even have a real reason to stay here. He left for Trinity College, why would he come back now?” she hissed, glancing out the open kitchen window, as if she was paranoid that by merely speaking of Daniel, she would inexplicably summon him.
“You should give him a chance,” Noah suggested gently as he put a large, weathered hand on his daughter’s shoulder and attempted to reason with her. “I think you both need to move beyond your difficult pasts and try to get along for the sake of both of our families.”
“Do you remember that time when we were kids and he put mud and bubble gum in my hair?” Caitlin asked. “Mom had to give me that awful bowl cut right before school picture day...it was traumatic, Dad.” She shuddered at the mental image of her fighting back tears in her school picture, her frowning face framed by a choppy bob that barely grazed her ears.
“You guys were nine years old,” her father said somewhat exasperatedly. “Boys will be boys, you know?” he mumbled, immediately regretting his statement as Caitlin spoke up.
“You know how much I absolutely hate that saying,” Caitlin growled. “It’s so stupid and ridiculous. ‘Boys will be boys?’ Really? Why don’t girls get the same excuse to be mean and horrible all the time?” She sat down at the dining room table to take a break from cooking; she had been on her feet toiling away in the kitchen for at least four hours. “And besides, he continued his shitty behavior all the way until he moved away to Dublin. He was so cruel at Mum’s funeral.”
“Hey, now. Your mother has nothing to do with it, you know what Daniel was going through at the time,” Noah said cautiously, his tone becoming pained and quiet. “I understand why you’re upset, and you’re right that I shouldn’t make excuses for him. But you were just as cruel to him sometimes, too.”
“Only because I had to defend myself!” Caitlin boomed, her green eyes lighting up with indignant rage. “I didn’t start any of this shit! He did!” She slammed a fist onto the table before biting her lip, instantly regretting her outburst. Noah frowned at her disapprovingly, but his expression softened, “I understand, Love,” Noah replied sympathetically, breaking the uneasy silence. “I’m sorry for your discomfort, but he’s right, we will be seeing much more of him, and you should strive to resolve your differences, for the sake of our families.”
“Yeah. Okay, Dad.” She huffed indignantly, glancing out the window again as she heard the roar of a car engine approaching. “Speak of the devil, our guests are here,” Caitlin groaned.
Before she could continue sharing more stories of Daniel’s childish torment, Caitlin and her father’s conversation was interrupted by a loud, brisk series of knocks at the door. “Welcome to the circus,” she whispered under her breath as Noah jumped up from where he had been sitting and hurried over to the front door to let his highly anticipated guests inside the beautiful oceanside cottage.
Six people greeted Noah as he opened the door: Rory, the stern, steely-eyed patriarch of the family, his loving wife, and their four children, three boys of varying ages (including Daniel) and one daughter, Sophie.
“Wonderful to see you, Noah,” Rory said in a gruff yet polite tone, shaking hands with him and nodding at Caitlin in brief recognition. “Wow, it smells fantastic in here. You two have been cooking up a storm, it seems.” A barely perceptible smile crept across his wrinkled, angular face.
Noah laughed heartily, shaking hands with Rory at first before pulling him into a hug. “You know how seriously we take our food, my friend,” Noah guffawed and patted Rory on the back before pulling away and greeting his wife and children. “All of you, make yourselves at home, as always. It’s a privilege to see you all tonight.”
