Page 52 of Merrily Ever After
“Okay, I don’t have time for either of you right now,” Liam interrupts. “El, your mam will be home in a few hours.”
“But I’m bored.”
“I can hang out with her,” I say, pulling her into my side. “I don’t mind.”
Liam gives me a look, clearly suspicious. He should be.
For a price, I mouth with a smile. Elsie is adorable. But she’s also a lot. She takes after me in that respect. And I know if I don’t distract her, she’s just going to follow her dad around all day, ensuring he gets nothing done.
“Can you make me a mermaid dress?” Elsie asks.
“Sure can,” I tell her.
Liam huffs. “Fine,” he says to her. “You can hang out with Hannah, who will bow to your every wish and command …” His eyes go to me. “And I’ll get started out here.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I grin.
Andthat’scalled girlhood.
*
In the end, I think Liam gets the less tiring job. I love Elsie to bits, but nine-year-olds are not for the faint of heart. At least I don’t have to make her a dress, though. Or not in one afternoon. She soon loses interest in standing still, and we spend the rest of the day playing board games and styling her hair until her mam and brother come home. With their help, we make dinner and eat it in front of the television.
Mairead and Padraig disappear to practice lines for his Christmas play, but Elsie insists on watching a movie. She ends up falling asleep halfway throughMeet Me in St. Louis, which would be fine if she hadn’t fallen asleeponme, meaning I can’t move or else I’ll be a monster. So I just stay there as the movie finishes and the credits roll and a documentary about rivers starts that’s actually kind of interesting.
It’s late by the time Liam finally comes to find us, his eyebrows rising as soon as he enters the room.
“Who are you and what have you done to my daughter?”
“It’s called a sugar crash,” I tell him, putting a finger to my lips. I’m not really worried. If she didn’t wake up with the ads, she won’t wake up now. The girl is out like only kids can be.
Liam takes a seat in the armchair next to us, his eyes on his sleeping daughter. “You have a good day?”
“I’m working on her film knowledge. We’re up to 1940s now.”
“You always did like the classic stuff.” He slumps a little, resting his head back against the cushion. “Especially the Christmas ones.”
“They’re the most romantic,” I say, twirling a lock of Elsie’s hair around my finger.
“I suppose so.”
My eyes drift across the mantelpiece, taking in the framed photos of me and my relatives smiling back.
“Can I ask you something?” I say, focusing on one of Liam on his wedding day. “How did you know Mairead was the one?”
He doesn’t roll his eyes at the question. That’s what I’ve always liked about Liam. He never teased me like the others. Never made fun. He took everything I said seriously. Even when I was a kid.
Now, he looks thoughtful, and it takes him a second to answer. “I don’t know,” he says finally. “I guess when she came into my life, it never occurred to me that she wouldn’t be a part of it. It just felt right. Easy.”
I frown at that. “Nothing’s easy,” I say, thinking of all the logistical problems Daniela and I are facing. “Especially relationships.”
“I’m not saying we didn’t fight. We had a lot of decisions to make and sometimes we disagreed. But we talked them out. We made them together. The kids. The house.” He shrugs. “Even the proposal.”
I give him a look. “We’re not even going to get into that,” I warn. The man didn’t even propose. They had aconversationabout marriage and agreed on a budget and timeline. Tragic. “Didn’t you ever do something romantic for her?” I ask. “Something big and stupid?”
“You mean besides agree to buy that camper van?”
“You’re so—”
