“What’d you do when he said that? Your father-in-law, I mean.” The package proved to be difficult, and when Donal turned his back to grab a frying pan for the stove, he tore at the corner with his teeth.
“Well, I’m pretty sure I went white with fear,” Donal laughed. “Ye see, Brigid’s da is a short man, shorter than me, anyway, but he’s built like a fireplug. He worked the docks for years, and I’d seen him take down men three times his size when they spoke ill of his wife down at the pub. I knew he could lay my scrawny arse out like I was a gnat buzzing about his ear. So I did what any Irish man would do. I stood up, apologized, and made for the door. Without any supper, mind ye.”
“And she married you anyway?”
“She had to,” Donal said. “I loved her. With all of my heart. But see, my family… the Morgans… they’re not one for joking and laughing as much as the Finnegans. No, we’re a more sober family, so while her da was joking with me, I didn’t have it in me to understand that. The Finnegans, they’re a clan that spends most of their time having fun, so it took me a while before I was comfortable around it. By the time my first boy, Connor, came along, I knew that’s the kind of house I wanted him to be raised in. Someplace he’d feel warm inside, able to laugh. Do ye understand me?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Miki replied, frowning.
“What I’m saying to ye, Miki boy, is that I know how ye feel about being caught in the storm of this family, and if ever it gets too much for ye, you come over to me, and I’ll stand in front of ye until the winds die down a bit.” Donal put his hand over Miki’s wrist and gave it a loose squeeze.
“They’ll take some getting used to, and they’ll have to get used to you too. Push back if ye need to. Some of mine are a bit dense, and they need a bit of a slap across the brain sometimes to get them going,” Donal continued. “Ye got a good one there with Kane. He’s got a good heart. My temper, though, so I apologize to ye for that, but he’ll never do more than raise his voice at ye. And then probably feel bad about that afterwards. If I’ve taught them one thing, it’s that they’re strong, stronger than most. They’ve got to take care with that. Ye’ll never have to worry about him taking a hand to ye.”
“I’d kill him if he did,” Miki snorted. “He’s got to sleep sometime.”
“Good for ye.” Donal beamed. “Just remember that snarl when my bride comes at ye with her succotash. Love her to death, but that shite’s nasty. Don’t let her feed it to ye. Once it passes yer lips, she’ll be shoving it down ye for the rest of yer life.”
“Got it. I didn’t even know it was real,” Miki conceded, passing over the unwrapped cheese slices. The sizzle of meat hitting the hot frying pan was followed by the heavenly aroma of burgers cooking, and Miki’s mouth watered. “Can I ask you something?”
“About Kane?” Donal glanced at him, and Miki nodded. “About him being gay or a cop like his da?”
“Gay,” Miki murmured. “I can’t see him being anything but a cop.”
“True,” the man replied as he added rings of onions to the pans to grill. “Even as much as he loves making things, he’d rather wear a badge if he had to make a choice. Go ahead. Nothing ye can ask that someone else hasn’t already.”
“How’d he know he was gay? I mean, for sure?”
“Okay, I was wrong, that is something I haven’t been asked before.” Donal grinned. “How’d he know he was gay? Simple, Miki boy. He likes men. Easy as that. A man’s body makes him sit up and look. Kane’s the easy one. He knows himself and what he likes… what he wants. He brought ye here, or at least didn’t butt heads with his mum about it. He’d have taken ye out before my bride could take a breath if he didn’t. Kane wants ye here, in the place he learned to live and love. That’s how I know that yer someone special to him. Quinn, now… that one’s got a bit of trouble in his heart, but he’ll find his way soon enough.”
“And you’re okay with that? With them liking guys?” Donal was an aberration. Even as free-spirited and open as the city was, Miki never really knew any parents okay with their sons loving men. Damien’s parents treated his sexuality like it was a mole on his nose, something to be ignored and not mentioned in public.
“Miki, I can tell ye one thing for sure,” Donal said, waving the spatula in the air to make his point. “I taught my sons to be men. I don’t care who they love. I care about how they act. The moment they stop having manners or treat someone poorly, then we’ll have words. Other than that, I only want them to be happy, and if you make Kane happy, then all I have to say to ye is welcome to the family. Now pass the salt, boy. I’ve got to season the meat, or it’ll be like eating a stale cracker.”
Chapter 19
Her tears are long gone, stained with ice and despair,
And no one knows why. ’Cause they sure don’t care.
A rose on her stone gave me grace from above.
The dirt on my hands is as cold as her love.
—Dirt and Stone