Page 105 of Just Say Yes
‘Which boyfriend is this, anyway?’ Lorcan said, once I’d returned to the room wearing a sweatshirt and jogging bottoms. I sat at the table next to him where he was pouring me a large glass of wine.
‘That’s enough, thanks. I need a super-clear head tomorrow.’
‘Mark, the plumber lad.’
Lorcan did a little movement of his head, tipping his chin.
‘Now, don’t look like that,’ his mum said, pointing at him with her wooden spoon. ‘He seems very nice and Aoife likes him. You behave now.’
‘I always behave.’
‘You scared the daylights out of one and she never saw him again.’
‘He was a little shit—’
‘Lorcan.’
‘Sorry, Mammy,’ he said and I grinned.
‘He spoke to her like she was stupid. She might be a bit flighty but she’s not stupid. I just asked him to treat her with respect.’
Now I knew where the habit had come from. Being the eldest, and having three younger sisters, Lorcan had taken it upon himself to make sure they were all treated as they should be. His conversation with Vance had been along a similar line. Perhaps it was right that Lorcan should own a castle; he certainly had a chivalrous streak and, although I could look after myself, I wasn’t objecting. Good manners and being made to feel special were never something to complain about, in my eyes.
Maria turned to me. ‘The poor lad didn’t say another word the rest of the meal. Every time he went to open his mouth, this one was watching him. It was like watching a guppy in a fish tank.’
‘I can’t imagine he’d have had anything intelligent to say. God knows what she saw in him anyway.’
‘He was good-looking, Lorcan. Sometimes that’s enough. She was only young.’ Maria turned to me. ‘Mad as anything she was with her brother. Didn’t speak to him for a month after the bloke ghosted her – is that the right word? I’m sure that’s what she said. I can’t keep up with all these terms but anyway. He didn’t call and she blamed Lorcan.’
‘It does sound like he had a point.’
‘Oh, sure he did. The boy was an eejit. Like Lorcan said, there wasn’t a lot going for him other than his looks and you’d get better conversation out of Bod than that one. But my daughter had to have her time to flounce, which is fine. She saw sense in the end. From what I heard,’ Maria added, her features creasing with concern now, ‘it was just as well. Not long after, he got a girl in the next village pregnant and refused to have anything to do with the baby. Even bragged about it. Thought he was so clever. Nasty piece of work.’
‘I didn’t know that.’
‘No. We decided not to tell you.’
‘Who’s we?’ he said, straightening.
‘The family,’ Maria said, as though the answer was obvious.
‘Why not?’
‘Because Aoife said she couldn’t bear to get a lecture on what a lucky escape she’d had and so on.’
‘I wouldn’t have done that.’
His mother fixed him with a look.
‘I might have pointed out that circumstances had proved she was better off without him but other than that…’
‘She already knew that.’
‘What else haven’t I been told? I thought we talked about everything. That was the point of having the WhatsApp group.’
‘We do, my darling,’ his mum said, bending to kiss his cheek as she passed. ‘But you took on all the responsibility for everyone when your father died and sometimes we just keep the odd thing quiet so you don’t have to worry.’
‘If it’s about my family, I want to worry.’ The jovial tone had vanished now and his mum realised this too.
