Page 61 of One Day and Forever
‘Erm, am I seeing things or is that my dad over there with that blonde lady? And does she have her hand on his knee?’
‘I think I can confirm both of those things,’ Alice replied, her surprise obvious, although he could see that she didn’t know what her reaction should be. Neither did he.
‘Well, this is a first,’ he admitted, scrambling for the appropriate response. He’d only ever seen his dad with his mum and hadn’t even contemplated a world in which his dad met someone else. Looked like he should really have thought about that before now.
‘Do we stay or go?’ Zac asked, floundering.
Alice came in with words of wisdom. ‘I think you should stay. He’ll have been waiting for you and he’ll be glad to see you made it.’
Zac knew that she was probably right, and it only took a few steps for them to reach the bar.
‘Dad?’
If he’d been worried about interrupting them, those fears were now gone. The sheer relief on his dad’s face told him everything.
‘Son! So glad you made it,’ he said, patting Zac’s arm like his life depended on it. Cillian wasn’t usually one for overly tactile greetings, so Zac sussed that it must be a reaction to the flamboyant woman on his left. Before he could say anything, she beat him to it.
‘Ah, you must be Zac! I’ve heard all about you. I’m Jacinta. I was just keeping your dad company until you got here. Such a lovely man.’
As she slid off her bar stool, she patted his dad’s knee again and Zac could see his dad didn’t know where to look. Zac struggled to keep a straight face.
‘Well, Cillian,’ Jacinta purred. Yep, that was the only word for it. ‘It was a pleasure to meet you. Don’t forget you have my details. It would be smashing to hear from you next time you’re in Glasgow.’
‘I’ll keep that in mind, Jacinta. You have a terrific time in Hawaii.’
‘Oh, I will! All the glorious “S” words – sun, sea and…’ She paused, threw his dad a provocative pout, and Zac thought his father was about to faint with embarrassment. ‘Surfing!’ she added with a cheeky wink, before giving them another wave and going off in the direction of the other side of the lounge. The whole place was packed with passengers from the delayed flights, so he soon lost sight of her.
‘Making friends, Dad?’ Zac asked, finally giving in to laughter.
His dad’s flustered expression said it all. ‘Son, I was bloody terrified. And my ears are bleeding. I’ve never met anyone like her. I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’re…’
Zac saw his dad pause, as his gaze shifted, and he realised for the first time that Zac wasn’t alone.
‘Hello, Cillian,’ Alice greeted him. ‘Zac invited me up to join you, but I promise I won’t be offended if you’d rather I didn’t.’
After a split second of hesitation, when Zac genuinely thought it could go either way, his dad surprised him, by getting up to hug Alice. ‘I’d be very happy for you to join us, Alice. It’s been too long.’
Relieved, Zac pulled up another bar stool, leaving Alice to take the one that Jacinta had just vacated. Zac was nearest to the bartender, so he took the lead. ‘Alice, what can I get you to drink?’
‘A gin and tonic please.’
‘Dad, another pint?’
‘Please, son.’
‘So how have you been, Alice? You’re looking well…’ The two old friends kicked off their own conversation as Zac, with his back to them, waited to catch the bartender’s eye. He was grateful for the couple of minutes it gave him to think. He wasn’t going to raise anything that had happened today with his dad, he decided. This wasn’t the time or the place, and his dad had already had a rough day. A rough year.
To his surprise, though, it was his dad who went straight to the elephant in the room.
‘I’m sorry I didn’t come over to speak to you at the funeral this morning, Alice. I think emotions were just running too high and all I could think about was Morag. You know, it was one of the biggest regrets of her life that you two lost touch.’
As Zac ordered the drinks, he heard Alice say, ‘It was mine too. I was heartbroken. And I don’t think I ever understood why. Was there a reason behind it, Cillian?’
In all his life, he’d never once known his dad to lie, so he listened in.
‘To be honest, Alice, it was never you. She just couldn’t be near that… that… arsehole, McLenn. I can say that now because I read in the papers that you’re not with him anymore.’
‘No. I managed to leave him about six months ago.’
