Page 6 of Ivy

“There isn’t anything to talk about, Mrs. Doyle. I like Ivy, but she doesn’t want anything to do with me. She’s been hurt in the past and is scared to let me get close to her. She has a young son who is important in her life, and he has seen more than any six-year-old child should see.”

“He should be the center of her world. A mother’s job is to guide and protect her children. Woo her, Luke. Make her see the man you truly are, not the man you let everyone see.” With that, she removes her pale pink blouse and turns her back to me. I’m tattooing her shoulder blade with a design Ivy produced for her. I get to work on the tattoo and let Mrs. Doyle’s words sink in. Can I really woo Peaches? How the fuckdoyou woo a girl? Damn it, I’m going to have to go home and seek advice from the four most important women in my life: my mum and three sisters.

*****

I pull up outside my parents’ house and turn the engine off to my black BMW 4 series. This car a fucking dream to drive. My parents live in a typical semi-detached house in a cul-de-sac, where children, now home from school, are running around, playing sports and wreaking havoc on their bikes and scooters before the weather gets too cold. I don’t spot my sisters outside playing, so they must be in the house.I walk up to the house and open the door, calling out to my family as I do.

“The L-man is here. Where’s ma posse at?” I yell, like I’m a gangster or some shit. Screams come from everywhere in the house before three crazy kids come running towards me. My six-year-old niece, Polly, and three-year-old niece, Tia, who belong to my sister Ellie and her husband, Rob, come running around the corner first. Right along with them is my six-year-old nephew, Josh, who belongs to my other sister, Michelle and her husband, Jason. Ellie and Michelle are twins, who happened to get pregnant at the same time with their first two babies. They all come crashing into my legs and try to tackle me to the ground, but they don’t succeed. They never do. I pick up little Tia and throw her over my shoulder. Polly and Josh sit on my feet and wrap their arms around my legs. I lift them up and start walking towards the kitchen where I know the rest of my family are waiting. The kids scream and tell me to stop, but I keep going and act like a troll dragging the kids away.

I enter the kitchen and see my mother and two sisters sitting around the table. A high-pitched screech fills the room, dragging my attention from my sisters. My one-year-old nephew, Rory, screams from his highchair. I smile because that little boy is all me. My mother always comments about how much he looks like me and not his parents.

“Okay, you bunch of misfits, off you go.” I gently lower Tia to the floor as Polly and Josh climb off my legs and get to their feet.

“Uncle Luke?”

“Yeah, Polly Pocket?” I answer.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” She giggles behind her hand. I laugh and lean against the kitchen counter.

“I don’t, Pol. But maybe soon.” I wink at her before grabbing a water from the fridge. My sisters and mum are fussing over the party for my nan’s ninetieth birthday. The old girl is still going strong. She is as sharp as a tack, that one. Nothing ever gets past her. She’s the type of lady that will tell you how she feels about something. She never holds back. My nana Lilly was born with no filter.

“What’s her name? Do we know her? Tell me, tell me. I want the details.” Ellie rapidly fires off questions. Everyone is looking at with me curiosity in their eyes. I chuckle and shake my head at the women in my life, but I answer her questions, knowing they won’t let it go otherwise.

“Okay, you bunch of nosey parkers. Her name is Ivy, and she’s twenty-eight. You don’t know her; she’s new to the area. She moved here a few months ago with her son.”

“Her son?” my mum pipes in. She loves kids, hence the number of grandkids she has already. They keep on at me to get started. It was never my thing, until a dark-haired beauty walked into Castle Ink. Ivy has made me change the way I see things. It’s strange how despite only knowing her for a short amount of time, she has had such an effect on me.

“Yeah, Mum. She has a six-year-old son. His name is Carter and he’s pretty wicked. You guys would like him,” I say, pointing to Polly and Josh. I’ve spent some time with Carter when he’s come to the studio, but I would like to spend more with him. A way to show Ivy that she can trust me one-hundred-percent with her heart.

“Oh, I think he would get on great with my little munchkins. You will have to bring them round,” Mum says. My stomach knots a little thinking how much work it would take to get Ivy just to sit and talk to me. I shake my head and explain a few things. My family don’t ever hide anything. No secrets are allowed in this house.

“She won’t come here, Mum. She’s had a very messed up past.” I take a few breaths and continue, “She lost her mother not too long ago to cancer. She took care of her through it all. But that’s not the worst.” I nod towards the kids.

“Polly, Josh, Tia, why don’t you guys go and play in the garden. Uncle Luke needs some adult time,” Michelle tells them as she sets Tia down from her lap. The three kids run out into the vast garden, the garden my dad is very proud of.

“Thank you.” I breathe out. My voice drops to an almost whisper when I continue to tell my family about Ivy. “She was also in a very abusive relationship. He would hit her, but never in front of her boy. He told her she was worthless, that she wasn’t enough for any man but he was putting up with her. He even threatened to take her son from her, which is why she stayed.” I remember the night Dex and Jay told me a few things about Ivy and her past. That night I was in my home gym until two a.m. using the punchbag to vent my anger. I will kill the son-of-a-bitch if I ever see him.

“So, what made her leave?” my sister asks and I sigh.

“Her ex hit the boy. That was the final straw for her. She upped and left him, took Carter and came to Castle Ink.” My family all look at me with confusion on their faces. I chuckle.

“Umm, son. Why Castle Ink?” my dad asks as he enters the room.

“Well, as it turns out, Dad, Ivy is Dex and Jay’s half-sister. Their dad had an affair with her mum. Ivy’s mother didn’t know he was married when she was with him. There’s only three months between Jay and Ivy.”

“Oh, my God, that is crazy. I bet that was one big-arse shock to the system,” Ellie says.

“You got that right. When Ivy came through the door of the studio and asked for the boys, we all thought Addy was going to kill Dex. Ivy’s son is a spitting image of Dex and Jay. Addy thought he may have been Dex’s son.”

“I would have paid good money to see Addy kick Dex’s arse.” Michelle laughs.

“Hell, me too.” I laugh with her.

“Bless her heart. That poor girl has been through hell, Luke. You must bring her here. Bring her to Nana Lilly’s party.” I shake my head again, but they are relentless, if nothing else.

“Fine, Mum. I’ll ask her.”

“That’s my boy.” She pats my cheek and gets up to finish dinner for us and the kids. I stay until Ellie and Michelle take the kids home, and then I head to my house. I bought it when I moved back a few years ago. I’d moved away because the town was suffocating me after everything that happened with Tina.

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