Page 135 of The Secret We Keep
There’s no point in trying to deny the way they’re treating me isn’t making me feel all warm inside. And even though no part of me wants to ruin this moment, still I go ahead and ask, “Did I miss something?”
The silence of the room is instantaneous.
Both my mum and Jerry look towards the man sitting next to me.
“No,” Mum starts, but stops when Dad sucks in a breath.
“We’re happy,” he insists.
I look between all of them, checking I haven’t accidentally woken up in somebody else’s house. Everything looks similar. But this doesn’t feel real. “Happy? That I’m hungover?” I check I heard right, also aware that I won’t be drinking again anytime soon.
Mum laughs. “In a way, yes.”
Jerry huffs. This must be killing him.
Dad gives my hand a gentle squeeze. “We’re happy that you’re happy.”
I check his expression. “You’re happy that I’m happy?” I ask, not fully registering.
He inhales. “Yes. I admit, I’ve been too hard on you.” Heat rises to the back of my neck. My shoulders tense. “Seeing you handle life with the joy you have, even falling in love, it makes me proud.”
A thick lump lodges in my throat. “Dad?” I croak out, eyes pinching. “In love? You think I’m in love with Paddy?”
Dropping his head, Dad laughs under his breath. “I know that boy’s in love with you.”
I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m awake. “What makes you say that?”
Finally dishing up four plates, Jerry brings them to the table one at a time.
Dad lets go of my hand and sits straighter as Mum brings over a jug of orange juice and a concoction of painkillers.
“How he was with you last night. Making sure you were okay. I… I’m sorry I thought he was bad for you. I can see now that he isn’t.”
Seeing his eyes narrow and a look of regret fill them, I lean closer to him. “You spoke to him? The other night, I mean.”
Mum pulls out a chair and sits down.
Dad taps his fingers on the table. “I did. And this,” he gestures around the table, “is us trying to say we’re sorry we stopped you from doing what makes you happy. You will always be our little girl, it’s just overwhelming.” He swipes his eye as Jerry sits.
I rub a hand on his arm, unsure of what to respond with, but my emotions take over, and I’m wrapping my arms around him. “Love you.”
He hugs me back, long and heart-felt. Considering we’re never this affectionate, neither one of us wants to let go.
Finally, I break away, and Dad nods as though the world is right again. I swallow the mass of tablets, grateful, my heart full, but my head now banging.
Jerry coughs. “Dad, did I tell you about the new deal I made last week?”
“Yeah,” Dad says bluntly, not looking at Jerry. “So, Morgan, tell me about last night. How was the game?”
I try not to smile as Jerry’s mouth drops open. “Are you serious?” Jerry snaps. “I land a huge marketing campaign, and you don’t want to know, but Morgan gets drunk for the first time in years, and suddenly you care?”
“Get over yourself, Jerry,” Dad says, and I am left unsure of what to do or what to say.
“I heard they won,” Mum says in my silence.
I look at her, shaking myself out of my daze. “Yeah, they did well.”
“And the O’Keefe’s. Are they all okay now after Siobhan’s run-in with Pete?”
