Chapter Four
Alannah
At my vanity, I work my way through my reply to Grandmam’s latest letter.
I’ve answered her questions about school and how I’ve been, and asked after everyone back home.
That leaves the part I’ve been waiting to write.
I pause, pen in hand, and smile as I lower it back to the page.
Now I can finally tell her how things have been with Ronin and me.
Ronin finally finished the work he’d been doing on his Cadillac, and last week he drove me to the shore in it as a surprise.
He remembered I told him on our first date that I missed the sea.
Can you believe that, Grandmam? It was lovely.
Standing there with the water in front of me, I almost felt like I was home again.
And he’s promised to take me to the fair at Castle Island this weekend—
There’s a knock at my door. “Alannah, love, are you busy?” Mam asks as she opens it and stands in the doorway.
I cap my pen and look up at her. “No, Mam. I’m only writing to Grandmam. What is it?”
“The Byrnes are coming for supper tonight.”
I’m already standing before she can ask for help. Mam’s forever remembering things at the last minute, so I go over to her, thinking through what she might need. “What do you need me to do?”
Her face softens with relief. “You’re a gem, Alannah,” she says, looping her arm through mine as she leads me down the stairs.
“We need something for dessert, and Eileen loves your apple tart, so I was hoping you’d make one.
The potatoes still need peeling, and the table needs setting.
” I smile as she talks, her list growing with every step.
The next few hours disappear as I help Mam get dinner ready and the house fit for company. By the time everything’s finally in place, I’m sent upstairs to change. I pull on a green dress and I’m fixing a satin headband in my hair when her voice carries up the stairs. “Alannah! The Byrnes are here!”
I take one last look in the mirror, swipe a quick coat of lip gloss across my lips, and head downstairs.
The hall is already full by the time I reach it.
Eileen spots me straight away and wraps me up in a tight squeeze, telling me she’s missed me.
Cormac greets me next, pausing his conversation with Da long enough to pull me into a quick hug before going back to it.
Once Ronin finishes greeting Mam, he crosses the hall to me and wraps his arms around me, kissing the top of my head. “You look nice,” he says, his voice low enough that only I can hear.
I look up at him, heat climbing into my face before I can stop it. “Thank you,” I whisper.
Da gestures toward the sitting room. “Come on, then. Let’s sit for a bit.”
Everyone starts in that direction, talking as they go.
Ronin stays beside me, and I end up on the love seat with him, close enough to feel the warmth of his thigh against mine.
Once we’re seated, Eileen turns to me with a smile.
“How are you finding the new school, Alannah?” she asks. “Settling in all right?”
“Yes, Mrs. Byrne,” I say. “It’s going well.”
It isn’t entirely true. Mam and Da moved me to an all-girls school after Ronin and Mick graduated.
Since coming to Boston, I’ve never been just another girl at school.
I was either someone to be wary of because of my family’s connection to the Byrnes, or a way to get close to them.
And without Ronin and Mick in the halls anymore, a few of the boys started getting too bold, cornering me between classes and crowding me like they thought I wouldn’t say anything.
That was when they pulled me out and sent me here.
It’s not like the girls at my new school are much different from the ones at the old one. But I’d still rather be there. At least now I don’t have to worry about some boy trying something stupid.
While we’re talking, Mam excuses herself to check on dinner. When she comes back, she’s smiling. “Everything’s ready,” she says, waving us toward the dining room. “Come and eat.”
We get up and follow her. Da and Cormac take their seats at one end of the table, Mam and Eileen beside them.
I slip into the chair beside Ronin and I’m still smoothing my napkin over my lap when the front door opens and shuts with a bang.
Heavy footsteps come down the hall before Mick appears in the doorway, shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows.
“Sorry,” he says, not sounding sorry at all. “Work ran late.”
He makes his way around the table, giving Eileen a kiss on the cheek before shaking Cormac’s hand.
He claps Da on the shoulder as he passes, then leans down to kiss Mam’s cheek before dropping into the chair across from me.
He looks past me and lifts his chin at Ronin, but doesn’t so much as look my way.
Mick has never cared much for me. To be honest, I’m not sure he likes many people, but he knows how to be civil when it suits him. With me, he rarely bothers.
The dishes are passed around the table, serving spoons scraping against china as everyone fills their plates.
Once everyone is eating, I catch bits and pieces of the conversations around me.
Mam and Eileen are comparing plans for their gardens this year, while Da and Cormac talk about the shipments coming in this week.
Ronin sits quietly next to me, eating while the others talk, until Da asks him what day the Cork shipment is due.
I look over at Ronin. He’s just taken a bite, so he looks at Da while he chews, waiting until he can speak. Mick doesn’t give him the chance. “End of the week,” he says to Da, loud as ever, like he was the one asked.
Da reaches out, and I know what’s coming. Mick never learns. It’s like he can’t help himself. I look down just before the smack rings out. “Shut your gob,” Da says. “No one asked you.”
Ronin swallows, then answers Da like nothing happened, and the conversation picks up around me again. I keep my eyes on my plate and push my food around with my fork, my appetite gone. I always feel awful when Da gets angry with Mick, even when Mick is the one who pushes him to it.
“Alannah,” Eileen says, and I look up. She gives me a kind smile.
“I was just telling your mam about the prettiest dress I saw in a shop window on Newbury Street just the other day. It was ivory, with lace over the bodice and long sleeves, and the waist came in just right. The moment I saw it, I thought of you. When the time comes, we’ll have to go back and have a look. ”
Mam is already nodding. “Oh, I can’t wait,” she says. “We’ll make a day of it.”
Even with more than a year left before the wedding, I can’t help getting excited listening to Mam and Eileen make plans.
They mention a few more dress shops we’ll have to visit, then move on to flowers.
Winston’s comes up right away; neither of them would trust anyone else with the bouquets.
The more details they talk through, the closer the wedding feels.
As they keep talking, I feel Ronin looking at me. I look over, and he smirks as he holds my gaze, making my stomach flutter. Then he gives me a quick wink and reaches for the potatoes. He knows exactly what he’s doing, and I duck my head, fighting a smile.
By the time the apple tart is served, I’m a bundle of nerves from sitting next to Ronin while Mam and Eileen carry on about the wedding.
Ever since that wink, he’s found small ways to keep teasing me: his foot nudging mine, his fingers grazing my hand when he passes me a dish, that smirk coming back every time I look at him.
Now his hand is on my knee beneath the table, his thumb moving in tiny circles over the fabric of my dress, and I’m so distracted that I almost jump when Mick shoves his chair back, the legs scraping against the floor as he stands.
“Right,” he announces. “I told the lads we’d be in. ”
Da looks up at him. “You’re leaving already?”
Ronin stands too. “We said half nine.”
“I’ll walk you out,” I say, getting to my feet.
In the hall, Mick’s already shrugging into his jacket, moving toward the door before he even has one arm all the way through.
I hang back while Ronin takes his coat from the hook, but he doesn’t put it on.
He steps closer instead, his free hand coming to rest at my waist as I look up at him.
“Are you sure you can’t stay longer?” I ask.
Mick looks over at me, his lip curling. “You’ve had your time. Go have your tea with the mammies, Alann—”
Ronin’s hand comes off my waist, and before Mick can finish, he cuffs him on the back of the head hard enough to make him lurch forward.
“Ow—what the—”
“Watch your mouth,” Ronin says.
Mick mutters something under his breath, rubbing the back of his head.
Ronin turns back to me, his voice dropping. “I’m sorry, doll. I promised him.” He pauses. “Saturday, though. I’m still taking you to the fair.”
“Saturday,” I say, fighting the urge to ask him to stay again.
He leans down and presses a kiss to my cheek before following Mick out. I close the door behind them and stand there long enough to hear the car pull away.
From the dining room, Mam and Eileen’s voices carry over the quiet clink of teacups. Down the hall, Da and Cormac are in the sitting room, their voices lower now.
I roll my eyes at Mick’s parting comment about tea with the mammies and head back to the dining room to do exactly that.