Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Ciarán
In the last couple of weeks, we’ve found more details about my da’s bio family. The biggest thing is that they’re still here in Ireland. They live in Galway which is two-and-a-half hours south of us. We’re packing for a trip to go down there. All six of us are going. I got an address for them and we’re going to see if they’re still there.
“I’m nervous. I don’t know why, but I feel like a little boy,” my da grumbles.
I chuckle.
“It’s a big deal, Da. And I have a really good feeling about it.”
“I do too.” Fionn nods.
“The journal that Sister Katherine kept was really nice. The way she talks about Liam and órfhlaith makes me excited to meet them. I think they’re going to be so happy to meet you.” My mam sniffles.
“Oh don’t cry, éireann,” Da says as he hugs her.
I love watching my parents together. They love each other unconditionally. I’ve never heard them fight or say anything mean to each other. I’m sure they’ve gotten into fights, but it’s never been in front of any of us.
“I’m just so happy for you, Cian. This is what you’ve been waiting for. To meet your birth parents. And now, knowing that they always wanted you? I’m just so happy.”
We all stand in a circle and hug my da. Since we were babies, da has always said that he wanted us to be close. Fighting is okay, but find a way to forgive each other. When someone is important to you, you’ll always find a way to forgive them. Even if it takes a bit. I remember when we were little, we’d fight. Like all siblings do. Then our da would stick us in a room together and say ‘find a way to be okay again.’ We’d stare at each other for a while. But in the end? We always forgot why we were so mad and just started playing again. Before we were let out of the room, da or mam would come in and ask us why we were fighting and if we worked it out. So many times we couldn’t remember why it started. But we always hugged it out after.
“Okay, are we ready to go?” Fionn asks.
“Almost done packing the food,” Aisling yells from the kitchen.
“You know we can buy food on the way,” áine teases.
“Sure. But what if you get hungry and there’s no where to stop? You’ll be thankful for my snacks then,” Aisling says as she sticks her tongue out.
“You’re so weird.” áine laughs.
“Okay, car’s packed,” Da says as he comes back into the house.
“Adventure time!” we all say as we pile into the car.
“This reminds me of when all of you were little. All the trips we would go on to show you Ireland.” Mam smiles.
“I loved our adventures. We should keep the tradition going,” Fionn says.
“I like that idea. This is the start to our new family adventures. And now we have our phones to take all kinds of pictures.” Aisling chuckles.
“Remember the old Polaroid camera Mam used to have? I think I still have some of those pictures,” I say as we all laugh.
“I loved that camera. It was fun to have the memories in my hand as they were happening.” Mam laughs.
“I’m pretty sure you can get an updated version of it,” áine says.
“That would be fun. Maybe you can help me find one when we get back.”
áine nods. “Of course, Mam.”
The drive to Galway is nice, we stop off a lot to grab drinks and to just take our time in our new adventure. I also think Da is driving slower because he doesn’t know what to expect when we get there. I’m really glad we’re all here for him.
When we get to Galway, we check into our hotel first and freshen up. Our rooms are all next to each other. Fionn and I are sharing, as are Aisling and áine. It’s about three in the afternoon and it’ll only take fifteen minutes to get to the address we found. If I’m being honest, I’m a little nervous too.
“Okay, I guess I can’t put this off any longer. Are you sure you all want to go?” Da asks.
“Yes! We wouldn’t let you do this alone, Da.” áine rolls her eyes at him.
Da laughs. “You’re great kids. Let’s go.”
No one talks on the way to the house. It’s like we’re all holding our breath. We drive up to the property to see a guard house in front of a gate. The gate says ‘Cimaruta MC, Galway.’ What’s a Cimaruta MC? A guy steps out of the guard house.
“Can I help you?’ he asks.
“We’re looking for Liam and órfhlaith Kearney,” Da tells him.
“Who are you?” he asks as he looks at all of us in the car.
“It’s a private matter,” Da says.
“Give me a few minutes.”
We watch him go back into the guard house. We can see him pick up the phone and talk to someone. It’s a few minutes before he comes back to the car.
“Go up the driveway. There will be someone waiting there to help you.”
“Thank you,” Da says as he drives into the gate.
As we’re driving, we can see a scattering of houses. There’s one big house that appears in front of us. There are a lot of motorcycles parked around it.
“Um, is this safe?” Aisling whispers.
“I’ve heard of the Cimaruta MC. They’re a motorcycle club, they used to be into guns and drugs. But lately they’ve been doing things differently. Not as many arrests for criminal activities,” Fionn says to us.
“So what you’re saying is that our grandfather is part of a criminal gang? Or, okay. An ex-criminal gang,” Aisling says as she looks around with wide eyes.
Da parks and a huge guy comes up to our car.
“You’re looking for Liam Kearney?” he asks as he stares at Da.
It doesn’t feel like he’s staring at him in an angry way. It’s more like he’s trying to figure out how he knows him.
“Yes. Is he here?” Da asks.
“What’s your name? And why do you need to see him?”
“No offense, but the why part is really between me and Liam. But my name is Cian ó'Ruairc.”
The giant nods. “Please wait here.”
“This place is really nice. But that guy is really scary.” Aisling giggles.
We watch the door and wait for him to come back out. I wonder if Liam is in there? After a few minutes, we see the giant appear again and an older man is with him. He looks like my da. Only older. Holy shit. I hear my da suck in a breath.
“Cian?” Da’s look-alike asks.
My da looks at him and nods.
“Holy shite. I dreamt of this day but never thought it would come. Your mam…she’s on her way here.”
Liam embraces my da as I watch his tears fall. Even the giant is sniffling as he watches. I can’t believe we found my granda and he obviously loves my da already.
“This is my family. My wife, éireann, our children, Fionn, Aisling, áine and Ciarán,” Da says.
Liam hugs each of us tightly.
“You’re all beautiful.” Liam sniffles.
We all watch a car pull up to the driveway and stop next to our car. Liam walks over to the car and helps a woman out. Aisling and áine strongly resemble her. As she gets closer, I can see the tears falling down her face. She walks over to my da and embraces him.
“I never wanted to give you away. You were always wanted.” She sobs as she holds him.
We all follow Liam into the house and then into a large living room.
“Do you live here?” my mam asks.
“We do when we’re in Ireland. We spend a lot of time in Lake Renegade, Illinois.”
We sit down with Liam and órfhlaith. They’re a very good-looking couple and I can see all of us in their faces.
“I know you must have so many questions for us. And you can ask anything you want. Nothing is off limits,” órfhlaith says to Da.
“Why did you give me up? You said you didn’t want to. So why did you?”
“We were only seventeen and our parents wouldn’t give us permission to get married. They told us we either give you up or we were on our own. And we still had a year of school, there was no way for us to take care of you. I regretted it every day since. I’m so sorry, Cian. There was a Sister, Katherine. We talked every day and she even snuck your da in to see me before I gave birth to you. She promised to find you a good home. Please tell me you had a good life.” She sniffles.
“I did. My parents were good people. They had a son, Colin, and a daughter, Finola, before they adopted me. My parents passed away when I was in college. But I’m close to my brother and sister. I can see that you’re still together, do you have any other children?”
“We do. You have a sister, Caitríona. She’s two years younger than you and lives in Lake Renegade with her husband, Giacomo Bastianini. They have two sets of twins, Celestino and Francesco, and Isabella and Luciana.” Liam smiles. “In fact, if you’re up for it, she wanted us to do a video call with her as soon as we can. Would you like to do it now?”
“That would be great.” Da smiles.
“Give me one minute to call her.” órfhlaith smiles. She walks to the side and gets on her phone.
“You all look like Kearneys,” Liam says proudly. “You don’t know how long we’ve wanted to find you. We never thought of contacting Sister Katherine. I’m so glad you did. We need to take a trip to Lake Renegade. Are you all able to take a few weeks and come with us? Maybe even a month?”
“We have a dental practice in Donegal. But I’m sure we can arrange a month away. There’s another dentist that we can refer our patients to for emergencies. We work together for situations like that.”
Liam’s smile gets even bigger.
“We need to plan this. To have my whole family together is a dream come true.”
órfhlaith comes back over.
“Caitríona, this is your brother, Cian.”
“Omg. You look like Da!” Caitríona exclaims. “And you do too!”
We all laugh. I’m guessing she’s talking about me. Da introduces all of us and Caitríona introduces us to her family. We spend the next hour talking and laughing. It’s like we’ve known each other our whole lives. We’ve made plans to go to Illinois next month. I’ve never seen my da so happy.