Claddagh and Chaos (17 page)

The many tea parties Katie begged her brothers to have with her and her dolls. It only took one time of Patrick joining her and from then on they sat at her table every time she asked. It wasn’t until she went off to college that she was ready to part with her tea set.

The many nights Connor stood out there looking at the stars through his telescope. I thought for sure he would be an astronaut as much as that boy knew about the planets.

I moved away from the window and began walking toward the stairs. This had been a long week and I was really starting to feel it. I was finally able to relax and analyze my thoughts. As I passed the door that led to the hallway, I stopped and placed my hand on the doorframe. It was here, on the children’s birthdays, we would have them stand with their backs to the frame and document their growth. I smiled as I remembered Connor and Declan running neck and neck for several years. Connor eventually won, ending up half an inch taller than Declan and Patrick.

When the kids were growing up, I always encouraged them to follow their dreams, even if it meant they didn’t follow in their father’s footsteps. When Declan decided he wanted to major in business, I knew he would run the family one day. Declan had a shorter fuse than Patrick and they worked for years on calming him down. When Declan brought Kate home, I knew he’d found his other half. It took a lot of sleepless nights to get her skin toughened up, though. By the time they were married, she fit right into her role. Declan became frustrated when Patrick didn’t immediately turn everything over to him. He kept telling his father he was ready to be a leader, but Patrick insisted he wasn’t quite ready yet.

I would always remember the day Declan had his eyes opened to the fact he still had a lot of learning to do. Thomas and Nora had been away on vacation. On the trip home, a man driving a large truck had a heart attack and died at the wheel. Unfortunately, his truck then crossed the center lane and ran head-on into their car, killing them instantly. Once Declan heard the news, he went ballistic. He wanted the family of the driver to be held accountable for his grandparents’ death. Instead, Patrick did something that caused Declan to see things in a different light, changing him forever. Patrick went to the widow of the driver and gave her the money to bury her husband. Declan was a different man after that, and Patrick said he was finally ready to lead the family a few months later.

Connor was never interested in running the family. From the time he walked across that stage at his high school graduation, he set his sights on becoming a physician. When the kids would come home from college for the holidays, usually with someone in tow, Connor never did. He told me he didn’t want anything or anyone to distract him.

He had just finished his residency and was interviewing with several hospitals in Chicago for a job. Having just finished a tour of yet another hospital, he decided to stop and grab a bouquet of flowers for me. He walked into the florist shop and ran into a young girl. Her name was Elizabeth and he said the moment their eyes met, he was in love. He brought her over for dinner after a month of dating her. He confided in me that he was nervous she wouldn’t want to be with him when she found out what his family did. I told him to be honest with her and that I would be happy to speak with her if she had any questions. He took her out in the backyard when he told her. She laughed and said she had known from the beginning; she told him you couldn’t live in Chicago and not know who and what the Malloys did. They were married two years later.

Katie was the apple of her daddy’s eye. From the moment we found out she was a girl, he did everything he could to spoil her rotten. Patrick was so proud of her brothers for always protecting her. Patrick didn’t know, but I was well aware of all of the fights and property damage they caused over the years. He was such a love for taking them to the store and replacing items before I discovered they were damaged. Sometimes I had wished they would have broken a few more, just so I could get an upgrade.

When Nora died, Katie asked me how the family would survive. I explained to her that we would take everything we had learned from Nana and keep the family together. Whether by accident or divine intervention, I slid easily into the role of matriarch of the family. By the time Katie had her first serious boyfriend, I was just as feared and respected as Nora had been while she was still alive.

Katie never dated anyone her brothers deemed their friends. She didn’t want to cause any riffs in their circle of friends. When Frankie and Shamus married, they had a son six months later. Seamus was the most beautiful baby, with his green eyes and dark brown hair. Seamus went to a different school than Katie, so they only saw each other at family gatherings. Seamus received a football scholarship to the University of Georgia and led them to several national championships.

When he was chosen in the first-round draft picks for the NFL, he came home and asked to talk with Patrick. It seemed Seamus had harbored a long-standing crush on our Katie. He had kept his feelings hidden, thinking Katie would have to marry the man of her father’s choosing. Once he felt he could take care of Katie in manner she deserved, he decided life was too short and needed to make his feelings known.

Patrick gave him permission to date Katie. When we left the two alone together, Patrick took me into the garage and wrapped his arms around me. He told me he was happy Seamus was smitten with our daughter and he hoped they would have a long and happy life together. He then kissed my neck and said he couldn’t wait to chase me around the house naked again like he did before the kids came along.

Seamus was drafted by the Chicago Bears and then led them to a Super Bowl championship. During their courtship, he treated Katie like a queen. He gave her the shamrock necklace and he made it a point to keep his image clean when being seen in public with other women. Katie insisted on working as a teacher, specializing in children with learning disabilities. When Chicago won the Super Bowl, during Seamus’s interview, he was asked that famous question of ‘what he planned to do now that he had won the Super Bowl?’ Seamus looked into the camera and asked Katie to marry him. I had watched as a single tear ran down Patrick’s cheek.

Katie’s wedding made Paige and Caleb’s look like an afternoon tea party. Seamus had many friends and so did Katie. He took her to a private island for their honeymoon and built her a house not far from ours. Katie taught school for five years before she and Seamus decided to start a family. No one ever spoke of Seamus’s mother’s past; it wasn’t important and Frankie was a different woman.

After Patrick officially ‘retired,’ he and Declan began working out together. They would run every morning and did various other fitness activities. I was thrilled as I got to enjoy the benefits. Patrick and I continued to have a very loving relationship, and despite our age, we still made love several times a week. It was nice to have the house to ourselves and we took full advantage of that, I could assure you.

Declan and Kate had a son, Aidan, and he was a carbon copy of his father. Unfortunately, Kate developed a severe case of endometriosis and had to have a hysterectomy. She cried for days after that. On the third day, I went to her house and told her to stop it. She had a loving family she needed to get herself together and quit dwelling on what she could have lost. It was then I knew Nora was still with us.

Declan had asked for help in molding Aiden into a leader for the family. Patrick, of course, puffed out his chest with pride. They worked together for several years, giving all of their years of knowledge and experience to him. Patrick went to bed each night with the assurance that his family was in good hands when his time on Earth was over.

I crawled into bed after setting my teacup on my nightstand. The bed felt cold and sterile tonight. I tucked the covers over me as I turned to my left. Patrick’s pillow still had his distinct scent that had comforted me all these years. Last Monday night, we had prepared for bed as we always had. Patrick was his usual handsy self, letting me know I was in for some major loving. Patrick had always been an amazing lover and that night was no different. However, when I woke that Tuesday morning, Patrick was gone. He had died peacefully in his sleep. The smile on his face was enough to assure me he had died happy.

We buried him two days later. He now rested beside Thomas and Nora. His funeral was attended, not only by his friends and family, but by members of rival families. One came up and told me Patrick had been a fair man and would be remembered fondly.

Declan insisted I sell the house and move in with him and Katie. I refused; this was my home and I didn’t want to live anywhere else. I didn’t regret a single thing I had experienced during my time with Patrick, even when I had tried to divorce him. It showed me that his love for me was true and it made our bond stronger. Connor had told his guests at his wedding that he wanted a marriage that was half as happy as his parents. I believed he would have it.

I closed my eyes and ran my hand over Patrick’s starched white pillowcase. He was the only man I had ever loved and the most amazing father to our children. He gave me so much during our time together, not just love and support, but heartfelt advice. Not to say we didn’t fight, but the fights we did have helped to make us stronger. It cemented the cracks that others tried to wedge between us.

I kissed my fingertips and placed my hand on his pillow. My hands now wrinkled with age, my hair much more silver than red.

“I love you, Patrick,” I whispered as I closed my eyes. We had told each other every night, whether we were together or apart. He would always be locked in my heart and nothing, not even death, could take that away.

I closed my eyes and drifted into a restful slumber. My eyes suddenly opened as a feeling of complete and utter peace filled my body. I rose from the bed and glanced down at my hands, gone were the wrinkles and in their place was the porcelain skin I’d had as a young girl. I crossed my bedroom to look in the mirror, only to see my wrinkles and silver hair had vanished and I looked the same as I did on my wedding day. I stared at my reflection as I raised my hand to touch my face. I smiled, my skin was once again soft and supple. I glanced back into the mirror to find a young Patrick leaning against the doorframe of our bedroom. He was dressed in linen pants and his shirt was open all the way. As I turned to face him, the room faded away and was replaced with a white sandy beach. Patrick crossed the sand and took me in his arms.

“Fancy meeting you here, Legs.” His voice was as silky as ever. His hair the same as I remembered from all those years ago. I wrapped my arms around his neck and placed a soft kiss to his lips.

I looked into his deep green eyes as I said, “Patrick, forever is a long time, quit calling me Legs.”

So much goes into the creation of a novel. From the first glimmer of the idea, to the outline and character development. So many factors to consider and research to be completed. Then the cover is designed and the words are made perfect by faceless professionals who take great pleasure in correcting every comma, making certain the correct name is capitalized. Then there are the readers, some devour every word, while others take their time and savor every emotion. All are important, for without one the entire journey is pointless.

I can write a million tales of love and lust, but without my editor, Elizabeth Simonton, you would not be able to understand what I am trying to convey. Once Elizabeth is finished with her infamous red pen, my battered words are bandaged and sent to another valuable person who, once again, takes my hard work and dissects it like her sixth grade science project. As hard as my job is to write my thoughts, it is hers to tell me what doesn’t work and where I failed. D.J.White took my words and told me exactly where I failed, just as Elizabeth gave me commas and semicolons. D.J. gave me inspiration and solutions to the excessive and over used words. Ladies ... I thank you.

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