Chapter 4
FOUR
Joey scanned the shore. They could swear they’d heard their name being called over the throb of Queen Maedbh’s engine as they pulled around the east side of the island. A few families explored the rock pools, but one figure was waving with both arms. Beside them, a small figure waved, too, though with slightly less coordination.
Joey pulled a little closer to the rocks before they recognized Marianne Browne and her son, Deniz. They waved back, trying not to appear as thrilled as they felt. They indicated toward the stone quay nearby and went to moor the boat, wondering what had brought Marianne to the island. She’d come to Inishderry a couple of times to record video footage for her social media channels, but she’d never visited with Denny before. Joey had met him plenty around the restaurant though, and always made time to talk to him. Marianne had confided that she was worried he wasn’t talking much yet, but he seemed a happy enough kid.
“Hey, what brings you to Inishderry?” They strode down the dock as Denny ran toward them, his little arms outstretched. They picked him up, but held him at arm’s length. “I smell of fish, Denny. Remember I told you I catch them for my job?”
Denny giggled and wriggled until Joey put him down. The boy kept his little hand in theirs as they waited together for Marianne to catch up.
“Deniz, we’ve talked about you running off like that.” There was a hint of gray around Marianne’s pale complexion and the lines between her pale blue eyes were deeper than ever. She was still beautiful, but Joey’s heart tightened to see her so worn out.
Denny ignored her and tried to drag Joey toward the boat. They hoped Marianne had a spare set of clothes for Denny as they scooped him up and sat him on their hip. “Hang on a minute, your mama’s talking to you.”
Denny wrapped his little arms around Joey and stared at his mother with big eyes. Marianne’s expression softened and she pushed his curly brown hair out of his face. “Hey, sweetpea, you’re supposed to stay with Mama when we’re out, remember?”
He nodded and held out his arms to her. Joey handed him over. “I’m sorry, I should’ve taken my coat off.”
Marianne took a sniff and looked up smiling. “Believe me, he’s smelled a lot worse.” She settled him and turned back to Joey. “It’s my fault, anyway, just turning up.”
“So why are you here? I’m going out to the oyster bed this weekend, but the weather isn’t looking good for filming.”
“My life isn’t only about food and social media.” Her smile was weak, and Joey wondered if that was true.
“I’ve taken a rare weekend off before the busy season and I wanted somewhere to take Denny. Where better than your beautiful island?”
The thick gray cloud gradually obscuring the rest of the island suggested it might not be beautiful for much longer. Joey checked out their clothing. They both wore lightweight jackets. “Where are you staying? Can I drop you back to the village?”
Marianne shuffled Denny onto her hip and looked away for a moment. “I’ll be honest, Joey. I came looking for you. I just wanted to apologize in person for the billing issues.” She looked around. “Isn’t your cottage nearby?”
Joey’s cottage was their stronghold. From the weather, and from the world when things got too much. No one visited except their brothers and their closest friends. And it was so basic, they couldn’t let Marianne see how simply they lived. That thought surprised them. They didn’t usually care about such things, but what Marianne thought of them somehow mattered.
They realized Marianne was still waiting. Eyebrows raised, a slight smile had broken through her tense expression.
“It’s not uh…child-safe. There are hooks and needles for mending the pots and all sorts of knives. Denny wouldn’t stand a chance.” They grinned to lighten the refusal and Marianne’s easy smile let them off the hook.
“Sounds like a house of horrors. Okay, you’ve convinced me. I’m staying at your lovely friends’ hotel. If you run us back, I’ll buy you lunch in return.”
A hundred reasons to say no ran through Joey’s head. They liked to take Sunday off whenever possible, but if they took time out to have lunch today, they’d need to work tomorrow.
“That would be grand, thank you.”
It was worth it to keep an important customer happy, wasn’t it? If they didn’t dig too deep into their motives that sounded perfectly reasonable. The wind picked up, blowing a fine mist of rain toward them. “Let’s get you two into the wheelhouse. It’s not very comfortable, but it’s dry.”
They took hold of Denny and stepped back onto Queen Maedbh. Marianne followed close behind.
“Boat.” Denny spoke for the first time since Joey had found them.
Marianne’s eyes widened, but Joey nodded encouragingly. “That’s right. Do you want to drive?”
Denny giggled. Joey turned and helped Marianne down into the boat. “Be careful, it’s slippery and you don’t want to land on your ass in this.” They indicated the puddles in the bottom of the boat, then scolded themself for their language in front of Denny.
Marianne laughed. “I’ll be careful.”
“Ass,” said Denny.
“Lucky me to have a child who could run and climb when he was barely a year, but is looking likely to get to two with a vocabulary that consists of any curse word that’s uttered within a mile of him.”
Marianne took Denny back from Joey and sat him on the plastic seat in the wheelhouse. “I’ll hold onto him.”
“Just till we get out into the bay, and then he can take the wheel.” Joey released the ropes and gunned the engine to get away from the dock. The wind wasn’t too bad, but they closed the door to the wheelhouse to keep Marianne and her son as warm and dry as possible.
“Now.” Joey shifted a nearby crate onto its end and pushed it in front of them at the wheel.
“Are you sure about this?” Marianne lifted Denny onto the makeshift step, and he grasped the wheel in his tiny hands, giggling with joy.
“Denny boat.”
“He talks more when he’s around you.”
Joey looked up in surprise and Marianne held their gaze. Joey had seen her pale eyes turn to ice when things went wrong on her TV show, but right now they were soft and searching. “Have you ever thought about having kids?”
They blinked and turned back to guide Denny in steering the boat toward the harbor entrance. This wasn’t a conversation they wanted to have with anyone, least of all Marianne. “I rarely think about relationships, and never about starting a family.”
As the sea got choppier, they lifted Denny down and passed him back to Marianne. “Thanks for your help, Denny. I’ll take it from here.”
Marianne was still watching them closely as she settled Denny. “Why not? You’ve got so much to offer.”
They let out a bitter laugh. “I’m a virtual hermit scraping a living on a rock in the Atlantic. I’m beating off the offers.” That’s not funny. It’s pathetic . Marianne stayed silent as they gave their full attention to steering into the harbor. They moored at the little dock right in front of the hotel just as the rain beat down in earnest.
As soon as they’d tied up, Joey pulled up their hood and lifted Denny in one arm, helping Marianne up onto the dock with the other hand. They ran together up the path to the Waterside, laughing as Denny shrieked and tried to bat away the water from his face.
They tumbled in through the doors and came to a standstill in the reception area, dripping water.
Tierney Walsh, co-owner of the Waterside and Joey’s oldest friend, jumped up from where she was working at a laptop, her dark curls bouncing as she grabbed a pile of towels. “Hey, that was bad timing. Use these.”
Joey took a proffered towel and rubbed it on Denny’s hair. He let out a shriek and tried to launch himself from their arms.
“Sorry. Here, let me take him.” Marianne had removed her coat and hung it to drip on the coat rack. Between them, they got Denny’s coat off and dried his hair as best they could.
“Are you back for lunch?” Tierney addressed Marianne but threw Joey a sideways glance.
“Yes, please, a table for two and a high security kid’s chair.” When Marianne put Denny on the floor, he made a beeline for the stairs.
Joey wondered where Marianne found the energy to parent a challenging toddler alongside her all-consuming career.
“Hey, come back here.” They scooped him up and followed Marianne into the restaurant.
Once seated, Marianne looked around. “They really did a good job of this place, didn’t they?”
“Yeah, and their investment has paid off. People come to Inishderry just to eat at the Waterside.”
Marianne turned. “That must be good news for you, too?”
“It’s not enough to keep my business going, but I’m not sure what I’d do without their custom now.” They grinned. “Other restaurants are also very important to me.”
“Only if they pay their way.” She put her hand on Joey’s, and they felt a tingle they tried to ignore. “I truly am sorry about the mix up.”
“It’s fine. All sorted now.” They really wanted to ask for cash payments on delivery from now on, but looking at Marianne and her drawn face, they couldn’t bring themself to say anything. Hopefully, whatever cash flow problems Batiya had were now sorted.
Their server came to take the order. “I’ll have the Caesar salad, please.” Marianne turned to Joey. “No offense, but I’m a little tired of seafood.”
“None taken. Even I have moments when I just want a juicy steak.”
When they’d ordered, Joey saw Kasia poke her head through the kitchen door, before retreating quickly.
“Excuse me a moment. I need to speak to Kasia.” Joey headed for the kitchen.
They pushed open the door as Kasia was saying, “I don’t care what it looks like. Marianne’s married. She came with her wife to the launch, remember?”
“Well, they look like a happy family to me.” Tierney noticed Joey in the doorway and grimaced. “Sorry, we weren’t gossiping.” She grinned. “That kid does seem to like you.”
Joey struggled for something to say. It felt like a joke they weren’t party to. “Marianne’s a friend. And a customer.”
Kasia nudged Tierney before she crossed to Joey and wrapped her arms around them. “Ignore Tierney. It’s lovely that you enjoy spending time with them.”
Joey felt the need to explain further. “I didn’t even know she was coming to Inishderry. I just saw them on the beach earlier.”
“Yes, Marianne said it was a spur of the moment decision. She rang me yesterday and asked if we had a room. I’ve put them in one of the cottages, so they’ve got some space.” She pushed Joey toward the door. “Go and eat your lunch. If we can’t convince Tom to stay, it might be your last chance to enjoy his food.”
Joey turned back to Tierney. “Don’t say stuff like that, okay?”
Tierney shrugged. “I’m sorry, it was just a joke.”
Joey went back to Marianne, wondering why they were so annoyed at Tierney’s assumption. They wouldn’t want anyone to think they would mess around with someone who was married. Although, it did feel good, and natural, to be with Marianne and Denny. But it wasn’t right. They would eat lunch, go back to work, and leave Marianne to her weekend.