Gary and Sean had been close buddies for over thirty years. They’d grown up together in the same area of Dublin and had always shared a fascination for things that went fast…from homemade go-carts to BMX bicycles, then eventually on to street bikes. Somewhere along the line between those came fast girls and then fast women. While Rachel didn’t exactly fit the “fast” category, she’d certainly been lusty and spontaneous enough to catch Gary’s eye and, more importantly, meet the approval of his mates.
He stood up, wiped his hands on a greasy rag, and tossed it onto the workbench. “Throw me another one of those,” he said to Sean, who reached into a half-empty twelve-pack of Heineken and obliged. “Well,” Gary said, opening it with a loud hiss, “in fairness, marriage is never a win-win, but if I have to take the plunge, I suppose the odds are in my favor this time.”
“Yeah, well, just as long as it doesn’t change you,” Sean said, waving the can in his hand dismissively. “Although at least Rachel never tries to come between you and your mates. Hell, she even keeps the brew flowing every weekend after the rides. How many birds would give us the thumbs-up on that?”
“Cheers,” Gary said, not entirely comfortable with this line of conversation—about weddings and being changed and all that. He’d just wanted to hear Sean’s take on what he should do about the ring if it all went south with Rachel. “One more thing, you can’t breathe a word of this. As far as the rest of the lads are concerned, I bought the ring and I proposed. I got it under control. Okay?”
“Say no more. You have my word,” Sean said solemnly.
Gary laughed. “I’d better. All right, throw us over yours now. Mine’s good to go.” It was almost an unspoken pact between them to meet at Sean’s house on Sundays after their Saturday rides to keep their bikes in tip-top shape. Because of his injuries, Gary wasn’t up to riding just yet, but today was a good excuse to catch up with his friend.
“And speaking of coming up trumps, I suppose you’ll have a big payout coming soon—from the cab company, I mean,” Sean said.
Gary frowned. He hadn’t thought of that.
Sean saw the hesitation in his face and laughed. “You do know you can take ’em to the cleaners, don’t you? They’ll expect that kind of thing. Aren’t the Yanks themselves always suing one another left, right, and center?”
Sean was right. The cab company was probably waiting for a summons to come through the mail, and here Gary was sitting around like a fool and doing nothing about it. “You know, you could be onto something there.”
Sean shrugged. “You’d be stone mad not to. From what you told me, it’s all cut and dried.”
That was true. There he was in the middle of Manhattan, minding his own business, when this gobshite comes out of nowhere and mows him down. Ofcoursehe should get recompense for that. And for all the money he’d had to pay out for the hospital bills too, although in fairness, his health insurance covered most of it. But thinking about it now, wouldn’t the cab companies have insurance for that kind of thing? So really, he was stupid not to at least inquire about it.
“You’re right.” He’d phone a solicitor first thing after the New Year. In these troubled economic times, nobody could afford to let opportunities like that go astray. And wasn’t he entitled to it after all? As it was, he was still suffering, and if not for the fact that the lads were willing to wait for him, he’d have missed the New Year’s bike ride. In fairness, because of the hospital stay, he’d been forced to postpone one construction job, and who knew how many others his injuries would put a stop to?
Not to mention a few quid would come in handy right now.
“Listen, thanks a mill again for holding off on the big ride until I’m up for it,” he said to Sean. “These bloody ribs will take a while.”
“No problem. Sure we’ll do it as a team, same as always,” Sean assured him. “The rest of the lads are fine about it. They’re all on for the party too.”
“The party…yeah,” Gary replied, grabbing a fresh cloth while Sean applied the engine cleaner. On the way back from New York, Rachel had come up with the bright idea of throwing a big do to celebrate their engagement.
“We can have it at the bistro on New Year’s Eve, when everything’s already set up for a party,” she’d gushed, her mind already racing with the possibilities, and he could do nothing else but agree.
“One thing I am learning about all this engagement stuff…” He grinned. “Lots of booze and partying. Can’t balk at that, I suppose.”
“Too right,” Sean agreed, taking one last swig and tossing his empty can across the garage and into the recycle bin. “I’ll make sure you’ll have the stag night to end all stag nights too. Rachel didn’t waste any time pulling this one together, did she? A New Year’s Eve engagement party.” He pulled his towel back and gave it a stinging flick that landed on Gary’s arm. “Very fancy.”
“Dickhead. You’ll regret that when I’m back in fighting form,” Gary said, grabbing another beer from the box and tossing it to Sean.
“Sure, are you ever any other way?” his mate replied with a wink.
Chapter 19
“Wait a second,” Brian said, pausing to take a sip from his wineglass and then setting it on the bar. He looked at Ethan in disbelief. “You bought a two-carat Tiffany’s rock for Vanessa?”
Ethan looked at his friend, wondering why he sounded so surprised. “Yes, it’s been in the cards for a while. I thought you knew that.”
“Well, I knew you two were close, but I didn’t think it was that serious actually. But more to the point, then you went andlostthe bloody thing?”
“In a word, yes,” Ethan muttered. “And thank you for summing it up in a way that makes me sound like an absolute plonker. I know I can always count on you for that,” he added, raising his own glass for a toast, which Brian gladly accommodated.
“Glad to be of service,” Brian quipped, finishing off the last of his Montrachet with one swig. He motioned to the barman for another.
Ethan shook his head. “I thought we agreed to meet foraglass, not three.”
“No such thing as one. What’s the point?” Brian retorted. “Besides, you haven’t told me how Vanessa reacted when you told her what happened.”
