Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 48730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 244(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48730 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 244(@200wpm)___ 195(@250wpm)___ 162(@300wpm)
“Is she available?” Judy asked, a thread of…something behind her words.
“Mom, it’s for you,” I said, swinging the door open wide.
As Mom greeted the social worker, I went straight to the kitchen. I’d planned ahead, knowing Judy would be back. I didn’t want the kids anywhere near that woman. Reaching into the back of the spice cupboard, I pulled out the bag that I’d hidden there.
“Water balloons!” Ronan yelled, completely oblivious to what was happening in the living room. “Where did those come from?”
“Take them out back?” I asked Richie, handing him the bag of water balloons.
“No problem,” he said, kissing my head. “Let’s go, jokers!” he called out.
The younger two ran out the back slider, but Saoirse and Cian stubbornly kept their places at the table.
“Please,” I said quietly, looking between them. “I don’t want her to even look at you.”
Saoirse immediately got to her feet, glumly following Richie out back, but Cian remained seated.
“Cian.”
“The fuck is she gonna do?” he asked, scowling toward the living room.
“Hopefully nothing,” I replied, stepping closer. “Don’t give her a reason, yeah?”
He swore under his breath and got up. “Keep an eye on her?”
“I will.”
With a nod, he went outside, closing the slider behind him.
My hands were shaking, but I’d already left Mandy alone too long with the woman who could completely upend our lives, so I strode back into the living room like I didn’t have a care in the world.
“—you understand why there’d be some concern,” Judy was saying to Mom, perched at the edge of the couch. “Of course I’m sure your oldest is very responsible, but leaving an eighteen-year-old to take care of four children for long periods of time is a recipe for disaster—as we have seen from the reports of your youngest on the roof.”
I didn’t correct her that Ronan wasn’t the youngest. The less she knew about us, the better.
“Aoife isn’t the parent here,” Mom said so firmly that I almost believed her. “I am, and I’m perfectly capable of parenting my own children.”
“Yes, well—”
“I’ve spoken with Ronan about climbing out his window, and it won’t happen again,” Mom continued. She shrugged nonchalantly, and my mouth almost dropped open in surprise. She was playing the part so well. “He has a bit of an obsession with astronomy, so we’ve agreed that a telescope in the backyard is a far safer way to look at the stars.”
The bullshit was so thick I could taste it. Ronan didn’t give a shit about the stars. The kid was an adrenaline junkie. He climbed onto the roof because it was high and dangerous. I watched on in amazement as my mom played her part perfectly. Part of me didn’t want it to end because it was as if I was watching the mother I’d had before Dad died. The one who was present and supportive and fucking normal.
I watched as Mom gave Judy a tour of the house, apologizing about the mess in the boys’ room like she’d actually been upstairs in the last year. They made their way into the kitchen while Mom talked about the cost of groceries and feeding growing boys and a picky eight-year-old. By the time Judy made moves to leave the house, she was practically eating out of my perfect mother’s palm.
“I’ll make note of all of this,” Judy said as my mom guided her toward the front door. “From what I can see, I don’t think we’ll have any reason to visit again.” She chuckled. “As long as there aren’t any more kids on the roof!”
I stood at the window and watched until her car left the curb out front, and then it felt as if my entire body deflated.
“She gone?” Mom asked, still standing by the front door.
“She’s gone,” I confirmed.
“Thank Christ,” Mom muttered, walking back to her room. “I need a drink.”
Richie found me on the couch sometime later, my hands still shaking as I stared blankly at the blank TV screen.
“How’d it go?” he asked, dropping down beside me.
“Incredible,” I rasped back. I still couldn’t believe it. “I wish you could’ve seen her. My mom should’ve been on the stage. It was fucking masterful.”
“That’s good, right?” he asked tentatively.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Yeah, it is.”
“What’s wrong, baby?”
“I really wish you could’ve seen her,” I repeated, looking over at him. I wasn’t even sure how to explain what I was feeling. “But I’m glad the kids didn’t.”
“Why’s that?” he whispered, his eyes on mine.
“Because it was like looking back in time,” I whispered back. “Like when we were little. She was charming and self-deprecating and warm. She was my mam again for a few minutes. If she hadn’t gotten so many things about the kids wrong—Aisling isn’t the picky eater, Ronan is—I would’ve worried I’d fallen into the Twilight Zone.”
“So, she’s still in there somewhere,” he said thoughtfully.