Claddagh and Chaos (14 page)

“Oh, now don’t fret, little Christi. I did this to all my kids and they’re perfectly fine.”

My wife, however, was never one not to have a word to add, responded, “Well, that definitely explains several things that are odd about your son.”

Declan was still laughing as Da looked oddly at her, taking in her comment and trying not to laugh, I could safely assume. Christi never missed a beat, asking if he would like something to drink, while taking Declan back into her arms. He declined, of course. Declan fussed for a minute until Christi excused herself to go and nurse him.

I told Da I would meet him in his car and made my way to the nursery to say goodbye to my family. Watching Christi rock and nurse Declan was a sight I wanted to forever hold in my mind. I smiled at the sight of them together, the rocking chair gently swaying as she sat confidently and hummed to him. Over the past six weeks, Christi had slowly returned to the Christi I’d fallen in love with. Her confidence level had returned and she was once again even-tempered. She had also been driving me crazy with need every time she paraded around our bedroom naked, her gloriously full nursing breasts on display. Sometimes, I would swear she did it on purpose, forbidden fruit as the big exam had not happened, yet.

Her eyes left our son’s face and locked with mine. Her smile was huge and genuine.

“You do remember that I have my check up today, right?” she questioned, her eyes turning dark with lust.

I could only smile at her. She had definitely been doing the naked parade on purpose.

“Why, Mrs. Malloy, are you suggesting something?”

Her coyness was refreshing as she switched breasts. Her bottom lip became a prisoner of her teeth as her eyes again met mine beneath her thick lashes.

“I’m suggesting that you should make certain you’re home before I fall asleep this evening.”

I chuckled as I took in her Cheshire grin.

“It’s a date, Mrs. Malloy.”

Growing up, I learned that you could tell what kind of mood my father was in by what car he chose to drive. As I exited the house, I instantly knew this would be an interesting day as he sat behind the wheel of his brand new Chevy Camaro. Ma had mumbled something in Gaelic that I didn’t quite catch and knew I didn’t want to. When he had brought this car, he was in the mood to fight.

He didn’t even give me time to fasten my seat belt, before he peeled out of my driveway. I buckled up and then threw on my shades, placing a new attitude behind the lenses.

“Damn it, old man! If you get me killed, Christi is gonna kick your ass.”

He only huffed as he pressed the gas pedal harder.

“Six weeks are just about up, aren’t they?” he asked, as he plugged in his iPod.

“As a matter of fact, Christi goes to the doctor today.”

“That’s what your ma said. She didn’t sleep last night and was up all night getting the house ready for Declan.”

I smiled as I looked out the side window. Ma had volunteered to keep Declan for us any time we wanted her to. Christi had suggested that she keep him while she went to the doctor’s office and maybe did a little shopping. Ma had cleared her schedule and had been working hard to convert one of the bedrooms into a nursery and playroom. Judging by my father’s admission, she had put things into high gear.

It wasn’t long before my father pulled along the curb in front of Mrs. O’Leary’s shop. Not much had changed since the last time I’d visited. Mr. O’Leary had passed away several years prior. Their son, Sean, had come home and painted the outside of the building, but he had no desire to work in the bakery and his wife refused to move to the big city. Mrs. O’Leary never batted an eye as she continued to run the bakery by herself.

I could remember my mother ordering all of our birthday cakes from here and I knew she’d already ordered the cakes for the upcoming christenings last week. I paused as I reached for the door of the bakery. I noticed a car slowly coming down the street, its stereo thumping. My grandfather used to say that the speakers in these people’s cars were worth more than the whole car. I chuckled as I removed my shades and stepped into the shop.

Once inside, I felt like a ten-year-old boy again. The smell of fresh bread, sugar, and spices engulfed me. Once Declan was older, I would bring him here. I wanted him to have great memories to pass along to his own son.

“Well, would ya look at what the wind blew in.”

I smiled as Mrs. O’Leary stood behind the counter, her hair still bright red and her lipstick matched. Her white frilly apron wrapped around her neck without a spot of dirt on it. Her eyes were bright as she made her way around the counter, headed for Da.

Da was a good two feet taller than her, but she still managed to bring his face down to her level and kissed each of his cheeks.

“Mr. Malloy, how are ya this fine mornin’?” She said in her thick Irish accent.

“I’d be perfect if you’d call me Thomas,” he corrected, then kissed her cheeks in return.

“Oh, now, and are me old eyes deceiving me?” She turned to my direction.

“No, Mrs. O’Leary.” I smiled as I made my way over to her. She might have been a small woman, but she could hug like a grizzly bear.

“Where’s that new baby of yours? Home with his ma as he should be, I’d imagine.”

I smiled and nodded as she took my face in her hands, kissing both my cheeks as well.

“I want to see that new baby, ya hear me?”

“Yes, Ma’am. I’ll tell Christi we need to come visit.”

“Not too soon, mind ya. Ya keep that baby wrapped up tight. Keep the evil spirits away until he’s blessed, good and proper, in the church.”

Mrs. O’Leary was a good woman, but she believed in the old ways. In her time, things were done differently. I would have to be careful what I did or said around her today.

“Now, let me get ye gentlemen something good and nourishing into ya.”

She moved behind the counter and began making a pot of tea and arranging different pastries on a platter.

It wasn’t until she moved behind the counter that I noticed a pretty blonde-haired girl arranging bread in the display. Her blonde hair was pulled tight into a ponytail, her skin very fair and her clothes quite minimal. She reminded me of Christi at an early age, minus the dark hair of course. She was clearly shy since she refused to make eye contact with me.

I joined my father at one of the little café tables that sat in the shop.

“Megan, be a dear and take this to the Malloy men.”

The shy girl complied, but she kept her head down as she placed the tray on our table.

“Thank you, Megan,” Da told her.

She only smiled and abruptly left to return to her work. Once she was behind the counter, Mrs. O’Leary, with a cup of tea in her hand, joined us at the table.

“Thomas, I cannot tell ya how good it does me poor old soul to see ya here today.”

“It’s my honor.”

“Poor Megan, just hasn’t been the same since the last time those hooligans came into me shop. Had to pull out me shotgun, I did.”

I could just picture her with a big old, rusty gun that she more than likely brought over from Ireland with her. I, for one, wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that gun.

“Can you tell us what happened?”

She took a sip of her tea as she began her story.

“Megan came to me nearly eight months ago. She didn’t have two nickels to rub together and had a new wee one to feed. She came into me shop to get out of the rain and I offered her a cup of tea. She told me she didn’t have any money, so I told her it was an old pot and I would have to be rid of it, anyway.”

I looked at the shy girl again. She looked like she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in weeks, months maybe.

“I offered her a job here and a place to stay in Sean’s old room. I couldn’t ask for a better worker and the poor baby, quiet as a church mouse.”

“Did she mention where the baby’s father was?” my father questioned.

“She told me he’d run off in the night. Left her with not a dime or a care.” She shook her head as she took another sip of her tea.

My cell phone vibrated in my pocket. I retrieved it to find a text from Tonto.

My brother, Dustin, is in town. He’s looking for work. Can I put him to work at the club?

I typed a reply.

Bring him to the bakery, I want to talk to him myself first.

I placed my phone back in my pocket as I looked around the room. Da continued to talk about the punks who had been harassing the local businesses. She told us of the last time they had been in this shop. Seemed they had scared Megan so bad that Mrs. O’Leary was convinced she would turn and run. She said that the ringleader had taken a fancy to Megan and would touch her in a way that wasn’t appropriate. Megan had been so scared she cried for hours after they left.

“Thomas, I don’t worry about me self so much, but Megan has been through too much and I fret that this will cause her harm.”

Da only shook his head as he continued to drink his tea.

I noticed that my black SUV had pulled up behind my father’s car. Tonto exited first, followed by a dark-haired man I remembered from when Christi was kidnapped. They rounded the car, pulled out a cigarette, and began to smoke. He got points from me for doing that outside and away from the store.

The bell over the door chimed, as a group of men entered the shop.

“Sweet Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” Mrs. O’Leary spoke, her tone exasperated.

I looked back at the men who had walked into the shop. The first was wearing his hat backwards, his hair looked to be slicked back with either too much gel or not enough soap. It looked like he was trying to grow some facial hair, but his punk-ass balls hadn’t dropped yet, so he wasn’t having any luck. His tennis shoes were untied and his jeans were six sizes too big for him. He was trying hard to look like a gangster, but failing miserably. I had seen his type countless times; trying to be a badass, only managing to break a few laws and ending up with a record. The bitches who followed behind him looked exactly the same.

The leader moved calculatedly around the counter and stood there, waiting for poor Megan to look up.

“How can I help you gents today?” Mrs. O’Leary questioned, confidence and strength in her voice.

“I came to talk to my girl today,” he replied, his voice full of arrogance, his eyes never leaving Megan. His smile was sinister and I could almost see, by the way he licked his lips, the plans he had for her.

Da stood and made his way over the group of men, his cup still in his hand.

“Yes, well, the young lady isn’t on the menu. Try picking something that is or get the hell out.”

The young punk only snickered as he reached for Megan’s hand. She stood trembling as her eyes danced from the punk to my father.

“Mind your own business, old man,” the punk tossed back at Da.

The bell above the door chimed again as Tonto and Dustin came into the bakery. I made eye contact with Tonto and gave him a warning look. He closed the door and placed his arms across his chest, Dustin followed suit.

Megan had looked to see who had entered and locked eyes with Dustin.

“I told you I’d be back for you,” the punk told Megan. “I know you missed me, baby? Why you frontin’?”

Megan’s eyes never left Dustin’s and, for a second, I wondered if Dustin was her baby’s father. The look they had for each other was off. It wasn’t with surprise or distaste, it was with wonder and intrigue.

Da stepped closer, once again warning the punk. “I won’t tell you again, the lady isn’t here for you.”

The punk then turned his attention to Da and attempted to grab his shirt. I said attempted because quicker than you could blink, Da had the punk’s face slammed into the wooden countertop, blood gushing from his broken nose. Dustin jumped the counter and had Megan wrapped in his arms, kissing the top of her hair.

I pulled my gun and had the remaining punks with their hands held in the air. Tonto had his gun to the back of one of the remaining punk’s heads, daring him to move a muscle.

Da jerked the guy’s hair back and held his face where he could talk to him.

“I won’t tell you this twice, get the hell out of this neighborhood and don’t come back! If you do, I’ll personally place a fucking bullet in your fucking brain. You got me, motherfucker?”

He didn’t give him a chance to answer, as he tossed his body to his gang. Tonto opened the door and began shoving the men out, one by one. Dustin continued to hold tightly to a sobbing Megan.

By the time we left the bakery, I had a new employee, Da had two boxes of cookies, and Dustin had a dinner date with Megan. All in all, it had been a hell of a day.

We headed to the office to tie up a few loose ends. By the time we had everything in order, it was close to eight o’clock in the evening. Da dropped me off at my house and wished me a goodnight. I had no doubt it would be.

I secured the door, set the alarm, and made my way up the stairs and into Declan’s room.

He was tucked in his crib, sleeping away. I leaned over and kissed his chubby cheeks. He woke up momentarily and must have mistaken me for Christi, as he tried to suck on my nose. I chuckled at him and placed his pacifier in his mouth. He fell back to sleep instantly. Guess ma wasn’t keeping him tonight; maybe the word from the doctor wasn’t good. Maybe she wasn’t fully healed. I would wait, blue balls and all.