Something I didn’t like but couldn’t quite read flashed through his eyes before he asked, “I gotta know now, you’ll let us stay with you?”
I told him the straight up truth that would never change from that day until eternity.
“My home is your home until the day I die, honey. You don’t even have to ask.”
He looked like his face was about to crumble before his jaw went hard, he nodded, looked beyond me then he turned and walked toward the hall, probably to get his coat.
“Amy.”
I jumped again and turned the other way.
Mickey was there.
He was staring down at me.
And again, I could get no read.
“I’m so sorry that—”
“Baby.” He grinned and my heart leaped. Then he gathered me in his arms and my heart melted. “You give good date. You give fuckin’ awesome holiday.”
And again, I burst out laughing.
*
My phone on my nightstand rang.
Sitting in bed, staring into space, I jumped, turned my head to it then grabbed it immediately.
I took the call and put it to my ear.
“Hey,” I greeted.
“Hey back.”
The weight had come back even though we’d managed to have a semi-decent meal (all because of Cillian, Lawrie, Mickey and, I was proud to say, me). The food was delicious and by the time the drama was all done and we ate, it was nearly time for Mickey and his kids to meet Rhiannon.
They left half an hour early.
That was when the weight settled hard on me.
“You hit Dove House?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I answered. “It was a good diversion. Hard to be in a bad mood around folks who were left behind on a holiday and were delighted with any company.” I paused, “And cupcakes.”
He didn’t chuckle or give me anything to lift the weight.
He queried, “You chat with your kids?”
“Yeah,” I repeated. “Before Dove House. Not much more there than what you already heard. Martine is gone. She’s filing for divorce. Conrad has been offered a position in Austin that he’s considering taking, Auden says to get away from Martine, but there’s also another reason. Auden shared that they came to Maine because Conrad followed this woman who came to the house. This he learned during Conrad and Martine’s fights. She’s a neurologist and she’s moving to Texas. Conrad wishes to leave behind the mess he made of his marriage with Martine and follow her.”
“Jesus,” Mickey muttered.
“They both want to stay behind with me because they’re pretty ticked at their dad but also because they’re in school and they already had to move once, get the lay of the land, make friends. They’re not excited about another move.”
“I’ll bet,” he said.
“That’s it,” I told him. “Obviously, I’ve told them I want them with me. I phoned Conrad and we made a date to have lunch tomorrow.”
“You want me there?”
Oh God.
God.
The weight started shifting.
I closed my eyes.
“Thanks, Mickey,” I whispered and opened my eyes. “I think I should do this just him and me.”
“I’m on call, you need me.”
“You sure?” I asked.
“Fuck yeah,” he answered. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Ash and Pippa,” I told him hesitantly.
“Baby, I can’t say I don’t got an issue with your girl. But the way you laid her out, thinkin’ things are gonna change at school on Monday. Ash shared. Whatever went down in your girl’s room, she’s actually more worried about your daughter than she’s pissed or fucked up about what she did. She says this Polly kid is a fuckin’ mess, a freshman and she rules the school, within months of it starting, through sheer venom, which was apparently the way in junior high too. She’s gonna strike at Olympia and it isn’t gonna be pretty.”
“Wonderful,” I mumbled.
“Girl like that needs a lesson more extreme than the one you delivered to your daughter, babe,” he told me. “She hands it out, you go to the administrators. This shit needs to be stopped. I talked with Ash about that too. She said that would not be good in the way of the high school world, but I don’t give a fuck. Kids don’t dictate the way it is. This isn’t Lord of the Flies. Shit goes down that’s unacceptable, adults step in. This little bitch doesn’t back off Ash and steer clear of Olympia, she can’t continue her bullshit. She doesn’t do both those things, her rule is over.”
“They seemed to be getting along okay during dinner,” I noted hopefully. “I mean, Ash isn’t super talkative and it was a little awkward. Pip was obviously embarrassed and didn’t know how to behave because she’s usually really social but that wouldn’t be appropriate. But it wasn’t the Antarctic.”
“Don’t wanna hurt you, Amy, but I’m not thinkin’ those two are gonna be in the same crew. Ash told me her friends think your girl is a bitch by association so her eyes may have been opened to the way of things but it’s not likely they’re gonna open arms to her.”
“Right,” I murmured.
“She’ll find her way with better guidance from a mom who gives a shit than a dad who’s all about his dick.”
That, I hoped, would be true.
“Just to say, not to take any of the blame off Pippa, who deserves it—” I started.
“You kinda made that clear,” he interrupted me and I heard humor in his tone, which gave me hope.
“Yeah, I definitely did that,” I agreed. “But anyway, during our chat in my bedroom, Ash shared that the struggles she’s experiencing aren’t just about being picked on at school. It’s about her mom.”
“No offense, but no shit, Amy.”
I took no offense and soldiered on, hesitantly, “Also looking after her mom in the way you did when you were married, hiding it from Cillian.”
There was a moment’s silence then a soft, wounded, “Fuck.”
I hated to have to go on but this was his girl so I couldn’t hold back.
“And me.”
“Come again?”
“The reason for the shopping trip. The change in your circumstances your ex-wife who you loved, who also loved you, would react to.” I explained.
“Fuckin’ great,” he muttered.
“I think Rhiannon is adjusting to that,” I told him, thinking I didn’t want to go back on my promise to Rhiannon but I could no longer hold back in sharing what could give the Donovans some hope after all that had spilled out that day.
So I was setting up to tell him his ex had made the colossal step toward recovery…for her kids.
“You guys sittin’ at my bar, drinkin’ tea, think you’re right,” he agreed.
“Ash wanted her mom to know I was cool,” I kept explaining. “I think she wanted her to know that everyone was moving on and it was good and she was trying to make it so her mom moved on with the rest of us.”
Mickey didn’t say anything.
“Anyway, how was the visit with Rhiannon?” I asked, hoping he’d give me a natural lead in to share about his ex-wife.
“Get this, the woman is in AA.”