Page 36 of An Angel's Share
Eventually, Mae and Christy take little Lara up to get ready for dinner. Dermot takes Ryan to look at the animals in the field and then off to get ready for dinner as well.
Seamus looks to Marshall, then asks, “Do you want to gosomewhere quiet, Rua? To discuss this ‘private family business’?” Seamus smirks, raising his eyebrows up.
She looks around at us four left at the table, peers towards the house, then shuffles her chair nearer to her daddy.
My heart starts to thump. Right, then. It looks like the shit is hitting the fan tonight, not tomorrow. This woman is on fire.
16
Aoife
Fucking Liam!How dare he question me in that tone of voice. Who the hell does he think he is? Calling my authority into question. Bringing Patrick in to back him up. My blood is boiling. He needs to be brought back down to earth. This meeting cannot come soon enough.
I may have just used the guise of private family business to deliberately exclude Liam, and now, looking around the table, I decide his time is up.
Marshall knows about the baby, and Jonno cannot wait for my daddy to know, but is my dad up to this? Will he agree with my plan to dump Liam? Or will he be turned by Mammy and insist I carry on with the ridiculous show for the longer term.
Shuffling my chair closer to Daddy, I look at Jonno. His face is impassive, but relaxed. I decide to go for it.
“I’ve met Jonno before.”
My dad’s eyebrows go up. He did not expect that to be what comes out of my mouth. Daddy looks over at Jonno,trying to gauge his reaction. Good luck with that. The only time I’ve ever seen major emotion from him is when we’re alone.
Marshall casts a raised eyebrow at Jonno, he obviously knows a bit about it.
“In America,” I add.
I continue to look steadily into my daddy’s eyes. They get wider and wider, as he moves from that statement to the ‘American sperm donor’ story I told them when I first came home. He looks at Jonno, who is still sporting his relaxed demeanour.
“Where in America?”
“California. When I went to look at the cask storage site and meet my university friend,” I answer quickly. Well one out of two truths is not bad. Again I look across at Jonno, his face has changed to blank. Marshall’s concerned. “Jonno and I had a very brief but intense affair, and the result was the baby.” Stick to the truth as much as possible. Well… maybe not. “I tried to find him and him me, but due to outside circumstances, we didn’t find each other, then.” Daddy looks a bit incredulous at that and at Jonno. “Jonno tracked me here.”
Daddy looks at Marshall, clearly asking him with his eyes if he knew.
“I didn’t know, brother.” Marshall puts his hands out towards his eldest brother. “Not until yesterday. I wanted these two to tell you. It was not my story to tell.”
I carry on with my half-baked half-truthful story. “But obviously, when he arrived, I was just getting engaged. And everyone told him the story we had concocted about Liam being the father of the baby. And us coming back from New York in love.” I stop to let Daddy try and process everything. Take in all the truths and lies.
“And Jonno knows the truth now? That Liam is being paid to pretend to be your fiancé?” He sounds incredulous.
I nod at him. “I’ve told him the truth about the baby as well. He is the father of this baby.” I place my hands on my stomach, protecting the most important thing at this table.
Daddy sits back, and says nothing. Jonno’s face is still blank, but he is regarding Dad and Marshall carefully.
Suddenly, Dad’s face lights up. “Thank God. Does this mean we can call it off with that imbecile? I’m so relieved.” His smile is intoxicating, and my eyes fill with tears. I feel wholly relieved. It’s as if a dead weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
Daddy then spins his grey gaze onto Jonno. “Are you stepping up to support my daughter and your baby, Jonno?” His tone is commanding now.
“Yes, absolutely. I’ve told Aoife I’m here for her and the baby. Whatever she wants that to look like, I’m here for her.” He gazes across at me, his eyes telegraphing his feelings. And for the first time in a long while, I feel completely seen.
Marshall’s smile lights up the evening sky. My daddy looks like he’s been freed from some awful jail. It’s smiles all around.
“When are we telling him?” Dad is obviously as keen to dump Liam as I am. He’s rubbing his hands together in glee.
“I was going to do it before the meeting. But to be honest, the meeting is going to be hard work. If I can hang on, I would prefer to do it after. But if he continues to disrespect me, I’ll do it earlier. I can’t tolerate it much more. The only issue is Mammy. She wants me to continue with him, but I really don’t like him, Daddy. And I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but since the engagement and the pregnancy announcement, his attitude towards me has gotten worse, not better. It’s as if he thinks I’m an object to be placed andleft. Shouted at and spoken to like a little kid. It’s ridiculous.”
Daddy is nodding his head in agreement. “How do you want to get rid of him?” Clearly Daddy is moving on quickly, he’s onto logistics.
