AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I didn’t understand how people could hurt any animals, but especially dogs. They were too good for us. Humans didn’t deserve the love and loyalty dogs gave them.
I was a dog lover. I trusted them. There was something about the way a dog looked at you; they didn’t care if you were a famous rugby player or a homeless person on the streets. They only cared about how you treated them, and once they chose you as their human, you had a faithful friend for the rest of their lives. I didn’t think humans were capable of such compassion and commitment.
Bonnie and Cupcake, put out with the lack of attention they were getting, pined loudly and jumped and scratched at my back.
If it wasn’t so cold out here, and I wasn’t so bleeding sore, I would run a few laps of the lawn with them to wear them out, but it was taking everything I had in me to stay upright, so I decided against it. I took the time to give all three a belly rub, stopping to give one extra ear rub to Sookie before standing up and heading inside.
The suitcase just inside the back door alerted me to that fact that my mother was home. If I hadn’t seen the case, I would’ve figured it out by the unmistakable aroma of beef stew wafting through the air. With my stomach grumbling in agreement, I sailed through the utility room, following the delicious smell into the kitchen.
I found my mother standing at the stove. She had her back to me and she was dressed in one of those pantsuits she wore for work. Her blond hair was pulled back from her face with a fancy-looking clip, and she looked like home.
At the sight of her, I felt a weight shift off my shoulders.
My mother worked for some fashion consultancy firm based in London. She was constantly traveling for work, and I’d missed her these past three weeks she’d been away.
Hadn’t realized how much until now.
“Hey, Ma,” I mumbled, making my presence known. “How’s it going?”
“Johnny!” Swinging around with a wooden spoon clutched in her hand, Mam beamed at me. “You’re home.” Dropping the spoon on the counter, she wiped her hands on her apron and then made a beeline for me. “Come here and let me squeeze you.”
I moved in for a quick hug that turned into a full thirty-second hug.
“Ma,” I chuckled, freeing myself from her death grip. “I’m still here. Relax.”
“I missed you so much.” Reluctantly, she released me and took a step back, eyes trailing over me with that weird maternal look she always gave me. “Jaysus, you’ve grown another foot.”
I cocked a brow. “In three weeks?”
Mam returned my sarcasm with a scowl. “Don’t be smart.”
“I’m always smart.” I pressed a kiss to her cheek and then sidestepped her, my sights set on that pot of stew. “I’m starving.”
“Have you been eating?”
“Of course.”
“Properly?”
“Always.”
“How’s school?”
“It’s school.”
She didn’t ask about rugby. It was always questions about things like school, my friends, my homework, my day, and god love me, my feelings.
But never rugby.
It wasn’t that Mam didn’t care about my passion. She just always made it a point to let me know that she cared about the rest of me first and most.
“And Gerard?” My mother always used Gibsie’s first name. “How’s he doing?”
“He’s the same as always,” I replied, heaping stew into a bowl before moving to the island. “Is Da back from Dublin yet?”
My father was a barrister, a fairly prolific one at that, and spent a huge portion of his time rotating between Cork and his HQ in Dublin. It all depended on the client he was defending and the seriousness of the case. But it basically went like this: the bigger the crime, the bigger the commute.
My parents’ work commitments and schedules meant that I spent a lot of time on my own when they were traveling, and that was exactly how I liked it. Up until I was about fourteen, they would have our neighbor, Maura Reilly, come stay with me, but that was mostly just to drive me to school and training. I was mature enough to stay on my own and fairly self-sufficient. Maura still stopped by when my mother was away on business, but that was more to clean up and cook a batch of meals. After so many years living this way, not to mention endless freedom, I didn’t think I would cope with having them around me 24/7.
