Following Wavy up the sidewalk with the flowers in my right hand and the bottle of wine in my left, I felt like an asshole making her go first. She rang the bell and stood in front of me like a shield. Donal stood behind us like he wasn’t even involved. He was still working out how he fit in.
When the door swung open, it was somebody I didn’t know. A young guy with a ponytail and a pink polo shirt. He didn’t know us, either, but he let us in.
“Merry Christmas! I’m Brice Standish. I’m Leslie’s husband,” he said.
“Who is it, Bri—?” Leslie came into the hallway and stared. I hadn’t seen her since she was a teenager, but grown up, she was narrower in the face, more like Val than Brenda.
“Hey, Leslie,” I said.
Then Amy walked in and said, “You came.”
She headed straight to me and I thought she was just going to take the wine, but after she had it out of my hand, she put her arms around me. Surprised the hell out of me. I knew Amy didn’t hate my guts the way Brenda did, but I hadn’t figured any of the Newlings would be happy to see me. Wavy had her fingers hooked into my belt loop, and she didn’t let go when Amy added her to the hug, so it was the three of us holding onto each other, which was weird but good. That’s how we were when the storm door opened behind us.
Where my hand was on Amy’s back, I knew the second she saw Donal. She shivered and took a step back from me and Wavy. Then one of her hands came up over her mouth.
“Donal,” she said. “It’s so good to see you.”
“Donal.” That was Leslie, and she looked like she was gonna cry.
Amy tried to hug him, but he was all bristly teenager, crossing his arms over his chest and ducking his head. He wouldn’t even say hello.
“Is everything okay, Leslie?” Brice said.
“It’s fine. These are my cousins, Wavy and Donal Quinn. And this is, uh…”
“Jesse Joe Kellen,” I said.
Still smiling, Brice stuck his hand out to me. I shifted the flowers and we shook.
“Not Barfoot?” Leslie said.
“Nope. The judge changed it. It’s Kellen. Now, Brice, you better step back,” I said, as I let go of his hand.
“Why’s that?”
“You don’t wanna be standing too close to me when your mother-in-law realizes I’m here. Maybe she’ll just call the cops, but there’s a good chance she’ll try to kill me. Either way, you don’t wanna get caught in the crossfire.” Like always, my nerves kept me talking.
Brice laughed like it was a good joke, but Leslie gave me a nervous smile.
“The flowers are gorgeous. Let’s put them in the dining room in the good crystal vases,” she said.
Vah-zes. Turned out they were fancy glass, and too small for the flowers, so I used my pocket knife to cut down the stems.
“It’s like Hell’s Angels Floral Arrangements,” Brice said, staring at the tattoos on my arms while I messed with the flowers.
A mistake, wearing a T-shirt, except that Wavy liked to see her name running down the inside of my forearm in three-inch letters.
“I wasn’t ever in a gang. I pretty much managed to get into trouble all on my own,” I said.
“Who was at the door?” Brenda Newling walked into the dining room, drying her hands on her apron. Behind her was a tall redheaded woman I didn’t know. Right when I needed it, the bourbon kicked in.
“Hey, Brenda. It being Christmas and all, will you at least give me a head start before you call the cops?”
21
AMY
He actually called my mother Brenda. I waited for Armageddon, while Mom gaped at her prodigal niece and the much-maligned and long-reviled Jesse Joe Kellen. A flush crept up his cheeks, as he folded his knife and put it in his pocket. We were all holding our breaths, expecting a scene, but then Mom saw Donal.
I sympathized with the shock in her face. At fourteen, he was taller than Wavy and even thinner. Everything about him was defensive, his shoulders hunched inside a gray hooded sweatshirt, and his hands jammed in the pockets. He may have been Sean’s son, but he looked so much like Liam I felt like I’d been punched in the stomach. I can only imagine what Wavy felt when she looked at him. Like seeing a hybrid of someone you love and someone you hate.
In the awkward silence, I could see Mom trying to feel a bunch of things at once—anger, annoyance, relief, and then—when she looked at Donal—love and guilt. However he’d been brought back to us, we were all at fault for how he was lost.
Mom came around the table and tried to hug him, but he backpedaled, scowling. I think he might have escaped out the front door, except that Kellen laid a hand on his shoulder and kept him there.
“You’re just in time! Dinner’s ready!” Trisha said. She stood there looking beautiful and welcoming. I was so glad I’d invited her.
“I’ll put more place settings out,” Leslie said.
She added three more places to the table, while Trisha and I got kitchen chairs to make up enough seats at the dining room table. Then we started carrying in the food. When I brought out the ham, Trisha was shaking Kellen’s hand.
“Hey, Trisha. Good to meet you,” he said.