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"Can I have toast too, please, Ailbhe."
"Sure thing. Tea too?"
She nods as she goes back to her seat.
"I'll have the same, thanks, Al," Ruairi says with a grin. "Do you need a hand?"
I shake my head. "Nah, I'm good. Mikey, what are you having?"
"Toast," he says. "I'll get the milk and jam out of the fridge."
"Oh, I want blackberry," Fiona tells him.
"I want strawberry," Evie cries. "Please?"
I love that she is always so polite. It doesn't matter who she's talking to, she will always say please and thank you.
"Ruairi?" Mikey asks.
"Christ, how many fucking jams do you have?"
"Fiona loves blackberry," I tell him. "Evie and I love strawberry, and Mikey loves raspberry. I think there's even marmalade around somewhere."
He raises a brow. "Domesticated, aren't we?"
"Someone has to be," I reply, unable to keep the bite out of my tone. I know he’s just messing, but damn, it hit me deep. I didn't have a choice. For the sake of this family, I had to step up and look after everyone.
"I'll have strawberry too, Mikey," Ruairi says, not responding to my jab. "Has everyone got everything ready for school?"
The girls nod as I start to plate up the toast. It's Mikey who answers him. "All our homework is done. Ailbhe makes us sit at the table when we come home from school and do it before dinner. She helps if we need it. She also gets up before everyone to ensure our school lunches are ready."
Evie smiles as she nods. "She makes the best lunches ever. Everyone is jealous of my sandwiches, Ailbhe has shapes for me."
I laugh. She loves to see what shapes I make her. It's a game to see if she can guess what today's shapes are. She doesn't know that I bought new shape cutters the other day. They were on sale and I couldn't resist, not when I know how happy she is to have them.
I place everyone’s breakfast on the table and start to make the tea and coffee, listening to them all talk. It's loud and chaotic, but everyone's smiling, and for me, that's all I could ever ask for.
I take a seat once everything is ready, and I'm shocked when Evie climbs onto my lap and carries on eating as though nothing's happened.
"Are you okay, sweetie?"
She nods as she eats her toast.
I hold on to her and leave her where she is. She's comfortable and obviously needs the comfort.
"Are you working tonight?" Ruairi asks me.
"Yeah, I'm working all weekend. I'm off on Monday. How long are you here for?"
He glances around the table and sees that everyone is watching him, waiting for his answer. We've all missed him.
"Not sure yet. I'm here for a while," he replies and goes back to eating.
His answer was evasive, and I'm left wondering why he's not going back to college. Has something happened?
I glance up at the clock and see we've been eating and talking for a while. Everyone's finished eating. They've just got their drinks left. "Okay, kids, finish up your drinks. You need to wash up and get dressed."
"I don't feel well," Fiona says with a pout. I give her a look, and she sighs and gets to her feet, shuffling out of the kitchen with everyone following behind her. My sister is forgetting who she learned it all from. I hated school, but I hated my home life more. The arguments between my parents made me want to leave, so I revised like crazy to get the grades I needed to escape. I never expected to still be here, but I am, and I'm going to ensure the kids have a happy home.
