Page 41 of A Merry Irish Christmas
It seemed her first impression of Evan couldn’t have been more wrong.
‘You really think we can make this stretch to two?’ Mary slid a bubbling family-sized dish of fish pie out of the oven. It smelled divine.
‘I don’t know.’ Evan side-eyed it as he took glasses out of the cupboard. ‘I was planning to bulk up while I was here.’
‘Well, I guess you’ll just have to fill up on Chocolate Kimberleys.’
‘We’re all out of those. I scarfed the last of them while you were upstairs this afternoon.’ He looked sheepish.
‘Ah, but I know where the secret stash is buried.’
‘There’s a secret stash?’ His eyes widened excitedly.
‘Stick with me, kid.’ Mary smiled and tapped her nose knowingly as she poured them both wine. She was surprised how comfortable she felt with Evan as they sat and ate. ‘By the way, your secret’s out,’ she said.
Evan looked wary.
‘I know you’re not the Grinch.’
His features relaxed. ‘What makes you think that?’
‘I may have googled you.’ She held up a hand defensively. ‘I know I shouldn’t have, but we’re going to be living together for the next few days. I thought I had a right to know if you were the sort of person who’d steal Christmas.’
‘Okay, fair enough.’
‘And I saw those pictures of you visiting children in hospital.’
‘Oh yeah.’ He ducked his head, smiling shyly. ‘It’s something Ido whenever I can. Being Spider-Man comes with a lot of responsibility.’
‘Well, you do the catsuit proud.’ She raised her glass to him. ‘It obviously means a lot to the kids.’ Her heart wrenched once more at the thought of those children’s faces, lit up with joy. ‘So you’re actually like the anti-Grinch.’
He shrugged. ‘It’s not a big deal. I like doing it. It’s fun. The kids are great.’ He smiled, his face suffused with warmth. ‘They’re always excited to see me – just some asshat dressed up as a superhero. It’s so damn easy to make them happy. How could you not?’
It clearly made him feel good, but she knew there were plenty of people in his position who wouldn’t do it, just the same.
‘Anyway,’ he said, ‘how do you know the Grinch isn’t my real persona? Maybe I’m only an altruistic vigilante when I put on the Spidey suit and then I go home to my cave of gloom, take it off and spend the rest of my time hating all of humanity.’
‘Hmm.’ She narrowed her eyes, as if she was weighing this up. ‘Nah, I don’t think so.’
‘So what do you do, Mary?’
‘Recruitment. I work at Bright Walker – it’s a small boutique agency, and I head the financial services division.’
‘Impressive. Do you like it?’
‘Yeah, I love it. It’s a great company. My family don’t really get it, but I’m good at what I do, and it’s very rewarding.’
‘Is that what you always wanted to do?’
‘Well, not always. I mean, no kid dreams of working in recruitment, do they?’
He smiled. ‘I guess not. It’s not up there with president, firefighter, astronaut…’
‘Superhero,’ she said, waving at him. ‘Look at you, all grown up, living every kid’s dream.’
‘Yeah, it wasn’t mine, though. I mostly wanted to be an architect.’
‘That’s pretty sophisticated for a child.’
