I pop into Books and Brews, which is full of last-minute shoppers for the holiday. I browse a bit while looking around at the various nooks and crannies. But it appears that Niall isn’t working today.
Which leaves the apartment.
I climb the stairs to Niall’s floor, reaching their door and give a loud knock. After a few moments I try again, but againreceive no response. I put my ear to the door, to see if I can hear anything coming from inside the apartment, but I’m greeted with silence.
It’s either they aren’t home, or Niall looked through the peephole, saw it was me, and they are actively ignoring me.
Prepping for the worst, I take out a pen and write on the cover page of the chapters:
Hughie - Sorry I missed you before I went home for Christmas. But I thought you’d like to see what the class did with the final chapters of the book. The battle chapters flow brilliantly, and the ending you suggested could not have been any better. I hope to hear what you think of these pages, and hope you and Uncle Niall have a happy Christmas. ~Danny.
I fold the pages and slide them through the mail slot on the door, a thump echoing on the other end. I linger outside the door a few moments longer, hoping to hear the pages picked up or maybe even have the door open, but neither happen.
I take the stairs down, just me and my suitcase, to catch a ride to the airport.
To head home.
Part Three
38
The familiar sights of the drive from Bradley International to Wethersfield fly by as the Uber drives down I-91. The on-ramp to 291, the Hartford skyline, Dillon Stadium. I spent my whole life living here but it seems like it’s been ages since I’ve been here.
It’s also been a while since I’ve been able to sleep on a flight. I think I’ve been so exhausted over the past couple of weeks it didn’t take much to knock me out. It also could have been the mix of the gin & tonic and the melatonin I had at the airport preflight.
The Uber pulls up to the condo, which for some reason is fully lit up inside. It’s then that I see Mom sitting on the front steps. Of course she would be here to greet me.
“Oh Danny,” Mom pops off the steps, enveloping me in a hug as I set my bag down. We stand there for what seems like a century, neither of us saying anything.
I finally break away from her, noticing tears filling her eyes. “Why are you crying? You might get me started.”
Mom swipes her eyes with the sleeve of her sweatshirt, with a laugh. “Sorry kiddo. I just know you’ve been through a lot lately. And it’s just so good to see you. Let’s get inside before the snow picks up.”
I had waited a few days after the Hughie incident before calling Mom, to update her that something happened with Niall.I didn’t go into detail about it, but she knew something was off when she heard my voice. I just didn’t feel like getting into it at that moment.
What I don’t expect, when the front door opens, is the sheer amount of Christmas that has exploded in the condo. A seven-foot-tall Christmas tree sits next to the fireplace, a full Christmas village on display on the mantle with already filled stockings hanging. Garland snakes up the banister to the second floor. There’s even a bowl of Mom’s winter sangria sitting on the coffee table, complete with those moose mugs from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
I take in the rest of the decor and it finally sinks in. Mom moved her full Christmas into the condo, and I feel a smile pull across my face.
I also notice a note sitting on the bookcase:
Kept the place in top shape for you. Will be back after the New Year. Cheers - Aidan
“I hope you don’t mind. I just felt like you might need all this.” Mom moves to the coffee table, ladling two scoops of sangria into each mug. She passes me one, as we stand by the tree. “I especially thought, if anything, you’d need a bit of day drinking. Now, sit down and tell me what happened.”
While I had been intentionally vague on the phone with her, I now just word vomit everything that happened. How I lost Hughie in Dublin. How two of my students were the ones to find him. How Niall couldn’t, or wouldn’t, accept my apology. That he told me he needed space and it was best we didn’t see each other. How he essentially said Hughie had experienced enough bad parenting from his mother that he didn’t deserve to experience that under Niall’s watch.
“He really said that?” Mom takes a hefty sip from her mug, before placing it down on the coffee table.
“Not exactly, but it was what he was implying. It hurt, you know, when he said it to me. It still does. But I also kinda get it. Hughie’s been through so much and he’s just ten years old. And Niall entrusted him with me for months, and this one time I failed him.”
I take a sip of my sangria. Well, more like downing half the glass. Which is met with an immediate top off. “This one time I lost track of him. And maybe I can blame it on my lack of experience with kids. I don’t have my own, I don’t have any nieces or nephews and none of my close friends ever had kids. I just wish I had been given a second chance to show Niall I could be trusted. That people are allowed mistakes.”
“He might, you know. He’s taking on a lot, and probably has been for years, with his sister. I don’t think he expected to be thrust into the role of being a father. Daniel…it’s not like he was trying for it.”
A beeping sound comes from the kitchen, causing Mom to leave the room before I can respond. I hear the clatter of a pan hitting the stovetop.
Moments later, a plate of brownies hit the table in front of us. Brownies with a layer of York peppermint patties, garnished with Andes mint pieces and crushed candy canes. My favorite of Mom’s Christmas desserts, that she prepared for my arrival.
