“Missed you too, little munchkin.” I tweak her nose, and she giggles. “Tell me all your news, cutie.”
“I got my last toof. Look!” She parts her lips with her fingers, pointing at a row of cute little baby teeth.
“Well done, princess.”
She squirms in my arms. “I gotta show Uncle Ran.” It’s what she calls Ciarán. I’m chuckling as I set her down on her feet and she instantly crawls into my brother’s lap, showing him her teeth.
“Where are the others?” Shane asks, pouring water into his glass from the jug. I stand behind where he’s seated at the large table, pressing my body against the wall. Ma has joined Fiona in the kitchen, and they’re tending to dinner. Da has his nose stuck in theIrish Farmers Journal, but he did acknowledge me when I first arrived. Ciarán and his long-term girlfriend Susie are engaging my little niece.
“They should be here in a sec,” I say, just as Jabba and Chewie start barking like crazy out the front, heralding their arrival.
“Uncle Ro and Auntie Ash are here!” Chloe squeals, rushing past me on chubby little legs out into the hall. As much as I adore my little niece, my sore head does not appreciate her exuberance today. I might have had a few too many beers with The Frames last night, and I’m paying for it today.
Ma walks after her granddaughter, untying her apron as she goes.
“You didn’t travel together?” Shane asks, but I purposely ignore him, walking over to sit in Susie’s seat when she gets up to go to the toilet.
“Hey, bro.”
“Dil.” Ciarán eyeballs me curiously as he swipes a piece of brown bread from the basket and puts it on his side plate. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. I was, ugh…” I rub the back of my neck, wondering why this is so hard to get out. I clear my throat and try again. “I was hoping to talk to you after dinner about something. If you have time.”
“Color me intrigued.” He grins as he butters his bread. “Course, I have time. We’re heading over to Susie’s parents’ gaff later, but we can talk before I leave.”
“Cool. Thanks.” The chair scrapes across the tile floor as I get up.
Ro walks in with Chloe in his arms a few minutes later as I round the table and reclaim my spot against the wall. He lets her down, and she runs to help her mum in the kitchen. “Sup, bro.” Ro grabs me into a hug. “Glad you made it here alive. You’re a stupid fucker for getting on that bike so hungover.”
“What the fuck, Dil?” Shane sends daggers at me as he rakes an angry gaze over me from head to toe.
My oldest brother hates that I have a bike. He lost a good friend to a motorbike accident when he was twenty-three, so I get it. Shane was very vocal in his protests at the time I was buying my Kawasaki. I know it comes from a good place, but I’m not in the mood for his shite today. “Don’t start, Shane. I’ve already got a headache.”
Tingles tiptoe up my spine, and there she is. The Hollywood princess. Looking like a vision in a pretty dress with minimal makeup and the cutest nervous smile. Vivien continues to nuke all the brain cells in my head, and she currently commands all the blood flowing to my dick. It’s some kind of voodoo magic because one look is all it takes sometimes to make me so hard I see fucking stars.
It seems I can’t stay mad at Vivien for long. This morning, despite my cautious excitement and tinge of trepidation, all I’m feeling is immense gratitude to her for organizing everything yesterday. I know she must have gone to a lot of trouble to set it all up, and she did it out of the goodness of her heart. I was a moody asshole for arguing with her and then giving her the silent treatment. And Jamie is right. I’ll never win her heart if I’m short-tempered and ignoring her all the time.
“You’re a dickhead,” Shane says, but I tune his rant out as I stare at Vivien while Ma makes the introductions.
Shane spouts more bullshit about my bike and how I’m too reckless blah, blah, blah. Then we’re all sitting down, tucking into our roast dinner. The conversation is lively, as usual, while we eat, and the topics are ever changing. We talk about the farm, Fiona and Shane’s impending summer wedding, and Ciarán’s job at Microsoft, and that leads into a conversation about L.A. Vivien visibly tenses, and it’s clear why. Ro misses all the obvious clues as he continues to bombard her with questions about her hometown, and she’s growing more uncomfortable by the second.
“I’m sure Grace is sick of everyone asking her about L.A.,” I interject when Ma is speaking. Vivien is literally sweating bullets by now as the talk turns to celebrities.
“The only celebrity your mother has ever gushed about is Lauren Mills,” Da says, suddenly deciding now is a great time to enter the conversation. And what the fuck? How did I not know Ma is a fan of Vivien’s mother?
Poor Vivien is noticeably paler as she squirms in her seat. I suspect the cat’s about to be let out of the bag. There’s no way Vivien will not mention who she is now. Ash offers her friend a sympathetic look before she asks our parents, “Why have I never heard about this?”
“I used to go see all her movies before I was married and had you lot. Then the farm and family responsibilities took over,” Ma explains as she starts clearing the table.
I stand. “Sit down, Ma. I’ve got it.” Taking the stack of plates from her arms, I walk over to the sink and set them down.
“You’re all too young to remember this,” Da says. “But one of her movies premiered at the Savoy in Dublin, back in the day, and rumors were rife that Lauren was going to be there. We got your nana over to mind you lot, and we headed into town early so we could see her.”
“Unfortunately, Lauren had to pull out,” Ma continues as I walk between the table and the sink, clearing away the dirty plates and cutlery. “Her daughter fell out of a tree and broke her arm. She didn’t want to leave her. As a mother, I respected her even more for that.”
Vivien looks a bit spaced out, and I’m guessing she’s probably reliving the moment.
“She’s a fine mother and a fine actress,” Da adds. He’s been a lot more talkative today than usual. He’s generally happy to absorb the atmosphere and listen to all of us talking and arguingon Sundays. You can always tell he’s quietly proud and just soaking it all up.
