“If this is going to work, you’re going to have to meet us both halfway. That means no more passive-aggressive jabs or snide comments about my husband. Deal?”
Oscar winces as guilt flickers in his eyes. “No more digs at Kieran, I promise.”
“Thank you.”
I fiddle nervously with my hands, unsure of what to say, and from the looks of it, Oscar feels the same way.
He quickly waves down a waitress to order a pot of coffee and a ginger tea for me, but soon enough silence settles once more between us.
“So…how’s married life?” he eventually asks.
“You don’t need to pretend to care. I appreciate you’re not the biggest fan of the Sullivans.”
“No, but like I said, I’m trying. So, tell me what’s going on with you.”
“You really want to know?”
“I do.”
“Okay. Well, it’s pretty interesting living at Ronan’s, considering Ciara is about to give birth to twins any day now.”
“You’re not living in the city?”
“No, Kieran moved us out to Washington Heights because the security at Ronan’s estate is so much stronger.”
“Good…that’s good.” He stares down at his clasped hands. “So, Ciara is having twins?”
“A boy and a girl.”
“That’s…”
“A lot?” I chuckle as Oscar noticeably shudders.
“Just the thought of one baby has me breaking out in hives.”
I try not to wince at his words.
“I don’t know how Mom managed to have three of them. Though, I think if Alice was born first, she would have stopped after one. I swear, she never stopped crying for the first four years of her life.”
The mention of our sister has my stomach sinking.
I know I should talk about her more to keep her memory alive, but sometimes it’s just too painful to think of how life could have been if she were alive.
Thankfully, the waitress arrives with our drinks, and I eagerly reach for my tea just to have something to do with my hands.
I take a sip. “Have you finally thrown out Mom’s old porcelain cat collection? Now that both Mom and Dad are gone, we can finally get rid of it.”
To my surprise, Oscar throws his head back and laughs.
“I completely forgot about the porcelain cats.”
“Seriously? Those things haunted my nightmares from the ages of five through ten. They were hideous. Considering how expensive they were, they looked like I could have made them in kindergarten class.”
“And yet, Mom loved them.”
“And Dad loved Mom.”
Oscar smiles. “He sure did.”
