Chapter Two #2
She turned and walked out. My eyebrows rose. Mum wasn’t someone who ran away from a conflict.
I followed the sound of rummaging into Mum’s room. She was pulling a wooden chest from the depth of her wardrobe when I entered.
“What are you doing?” I asked, confused. The chest was covered in dust and the lock was rusty. Nobody had opened it in a long time.
Mum’s fingers shook when she opened the chest. Stacks of letters were inside. Pushing them aside, she pulled out a passport. She held it out to me. When I came closer, I realized it was a U.S. passport. I stared down at it with a frown. “Take it,” Mum whispered.
I took it out of her hand and opened it. My eyes grew wide when I read the name of the person the passport belonged to:
Aislinn Killeen
I stared at Mum. “Is this forged?”
“No,” Mum said, her eyes full of despair.
I shook my head. “I don’t understand. I—” I swallowed. “I thought I was Irish.”
“You are. But you are also American.”
“How … I can’t …”
Mum sank down on the soft bed and patted the spot beside her. I plopped down, my heart beating wildly in my chest.
“You know how I told you that my parents died when I was only a teenager?”
I nodded. Even though Mum rarely talked about them either, she’d mentioned their passing once or twice.
“It’s true that Uncle Gulliver took care of me from age fourteen.
He worked in the Irish parish in New York for a while, and when I had to move in with him, that meant moving to New York.
” Gulliver was twelve years older than Mum.
I knew he took care of Mum for a while but not that she’d lived in the States with him.
How many more secrets did she keep from me?
“I wasn’t quite honest about my parents, though. I didn’t get along with them so I moved in with my brother. They hoped he’d get me in line for the future.”
“They’re alive?”
Mum closed her eyes briefly. “I don’t know. I ceased all contact with them and Gulliver over a decade ago.”
I was stunned. I couldn’t believe Mum had lied about something that concerned me. She’d kept my grandparents from me!
“Your uncle has always had connections with the mob. When he moved to the States, he immediately started working with the Irish mob there, becoming their confessor.”
Mum paused, looking increasingly uncomfortable. “You and your sister were born while I still lived in the States. I only moved back to Ireland when you were ten months old.”
I blinked. “Please don’t tell me my father was part of the Irish mob.”
Mum chuckled. “He was just an everyday thug who wished he were part of the Irish mafia.” Mum paused, and I could tell she was keeping things from me again.
“But due to your uncle’s connection, I came into contact with the Devaney clan on occasion, and trust me, you don’t want to get involved with them.
Don’t ask them for money or help. No matter what your uncle says, stay away from them.
They might seem like the quickest or easiest solution to finding your sister, but trust me, the longer way is the only valid option. ”
I nodded, not so much because I intended to give Mum the promise she wanted, more to indicate I was listening. I had no intention of asking any shady figures for help, but if the Devaneys were the only way to Imogen …
The name Devaney was infamous in Dublin. Now Mum’s insistence about never getting close to any of Devaney’s men made even more sense. I wasn’t really surprised that the name carried power in New York as well.
“Did you and Uncle Gulliver fight because he was working with the mob?”
Mum huffed. “Working with those monsters, your uncle forgives the unforgivable on a daily basis, but he couldn’t forgive me for getting pregnant out of wedlock.”
I’d heard the story before. Mum’s resentment of Gulliver had only grown as we struggled to keep our heads afloat in Dublin. He wasn’t rich but had far more money than us, and most priests, which could now be explained from his association with the Devaneys.
These new discoveries did nothing to decrease my worries. If someone promised Imogen a quick way to fame, even if it was a Devaney, she’d take it.
The River Liffey rushed beneath my feet as I stood on the Ha’penny Bridge. The Liffey was a constant in my life, something that never changed. Whenever I come here, it’s rippling soothed whatever worries plagued me.
Closing my eyes, I took another deep breath.
Unlike Imogen, I never wanted to leave our hometown behind, at least not for more than a short vacation, but she wanted to see the world, always on the lookout for something bigger and better.
Now, I was following her to the big city that held nothing I wanted, to save her, possibly from a fate she didn’t even want saving from.
I’d gathered most of the spare money I’d earned in the last two years waiting tables at Merchant’s Arch for a one-way ticket to the States.
Whatever remained would have to buy me a return ticket.
If I didn’t find a job quickly, I didn’t have enough money for more than a couple of nights in a cheap hostel.
If Uncle Gulliver didn’t take me in, I’d be stranded on the street. Mum might not like it, but he was my best option, mob confessor or not.
I finally packed my suitcase the evening before I was set to leave for the States. I’d pushed it off until then because I foolishly hoped that Imogen would call or even appear on our doorstep but of course she didn’t.
My flight was leaving in the morning so I needed to get everything done. The door creaked. I turned to find Finn poking his blond head in. He looked at the suitcase with trepidation. “Hey, what’s up? Do you want me to put on another episode of Peppa Pig for you?”
Mum had left for work two hours ago and I had no other option than to sit Finn in front of the TV so I could get some work done.
He gave a tiny shake of his head and kept staring down at my suitcase, which was piled messily with clothes.
I still intended to fold them and sort them into categories, but would probably just end up throwing the suitcase shut to be done with it.
“W-w-w-w—w-w-will you co-co-come b-b-b-b-back to us?” Finn whispered. That he stuttered in my presence showed how much this topic bothered him.
I pulled him against me. “Of course, I’ll come back. Why would you ask something like that?”
He gave a small shrug. He was still young so Mum and I thought he didn’t realize that his father and Imogen left him, but his words made me wonder if he understood more than we wanted.
My eyes burned. “Oh, Finn. Imogen got stuck in New York and she needs my help to return to you, that’s why I’m leaving, and you know I can’t be without my little cuddle bug for long.
” I hugged him very tightly and kissed his cheek.
“I’ll call you often, okay? And before you know it, I’ll be back with Imogen. ”
I really hoped it was true. I didn’t like to lie to Finn, even if it was to console him.
I wasn’t even sure if Imogen wanted to be found and if she did, would she even consider returning to Dublin?
She had never accepted her role as a mother, and while she’d tried to spend time with Finn, she’d always been more like a sister to him.
Would she even care if I told her he missed her?
She probably wouldn’t believe me, in order to protect herself and her vision of the future.
I was furious on behalf of Finn. I didn’t understand how she could be so selfish.
“Will you help me sort my socks? I can’t do it alone.”
Finn pulled back, dragged his sleeve over his nose, and nodded.
He loved to help me with chores, and it was always a good way to distract him when he was sad or upset.
With his tongue wedged between his lips in utter concentration, he began to pile socks and tights in one corner of the suitcase.
Tears burned my eyes. This was only a short-term goodbye, but I was still inexplicably sad.