Page 33 of Daring Destiny
As soon as they find out she was Connor’s realtor, it’s game over. Ma leans in, grilling her about the real estate market, Seamus pontificates about different Seattle neighborhoods. Da chimes in with stories of construction projects. Astrid is engaging and animated, making them feel like they’ve known her for years. Her social skills are flawless.
Though I’m listening, I’m silently fuming. My family is dancing around the problem right in front of us.
Cillian. How can we continue to blow off his behavior? Pretend like everything’s fine. It pisses me off. I haven’t been in town much over the past several months, but it’s clear my Irish twin is in trouble. Are none of them taking it seriously? I take a bite of the pork but it tastes like nothing. I’m too worked up.
Beneath the table, Astrid clutches my hand to remind me she’s here with me. She leans in and whispers into my ear, “You okay?”
I turn to her, astonished at how perceptive she is. “Uh…I guess.”
“Say what you need to say.” She squeezes my fingers and nods toward my family.
That’s all I need to hear.
“When’s the last time Cillian was here?” I put my fork down and glance around the table.
Ma looks sideways at Da. “He was supposed to be here tonight.”
“Yeah, but you know he never shows up these days,” Seamus mutters, his eyes flicking to mine.
“We’ll talk about it another time.” Da fixes me with a look as if to say he’s not keen to discuss Cillian’s problem with Astrid here. Like it’s none of her business.
Astrid hasn’t taken her eyes off me during this exchange, but now she looks around the table. “How about we finish dinner and I’ll do the dishes while you all have a family chat.”
“Ach, no.” Ma pats her hand. “There’s no need…”
“There is.” Seamus points his fork at her before taking a bite. “Thank you, Astrid.”
“It’s no trouble. I totally understand.” Astrid squeezes my fingers before releasing my hand, resuming her meal.
It hits me all at once.
Astridmeantto divert attention from the Cillian situation because, unlike me, she knows how to read a room. It didn’t even occur to me to exercise discretion about a sensitive and private subject matter. Da wanted to respect his son’s privacy. I should have picked up on his cues.
Astrid saved the day and it hits me like a club to the head.
We’re not opposites at all.
Maybe we’re two halves of the same whole.
thirteen
Astrid
A Couple Hours Later
ThequiethumofBrennan’s car nearly lulls me to sleep.
My belly’s full. I haven’t eaten this much in years. Good God, if I ate Maureen McGloughlin’s food every day, I’d be three hundred pounds in no time. I’m content and comfortable.
Andexhausted.
It’s nearly nine p.m. We’re driving back to my place as the late-spring sky darkens into deep navy. The city lights twinkle as we cruise down the nearly empty road on the way to my houseboat. Despite a bit of family drama toward the end of the night, I enjoyed my time with Brennan’s family immensely. It sure was a far cry from dinner at my house the night before.
I glance at Brennan. His jaw is still tight as he focuses on the road. He hasn’t said much since we left. I can tell he’s still thinking about what went down after dinner.
“So.” I break the silence in an attempt to snap him out of his mood. “You haven’t said a word. How’d it go with your dad and Seamus? Your mom told me you guys needed to ‘hash things out’ when she came in to do the dishes with me.”
Brennan shakes his head. “Classic Ma. She always bails when it comes to talking about alcoholism. It’s like she wants to bury her head in the sand.”