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“Are you still talking to me?” were the first words that came out of Claire’s mouth when I answered her phone call later that night.
I was just finishing mopping the kitchen floor before bed, having cooked the dinner and washed all the dishes. Balancing my phone between my ear and shoulder, I poured the water from the mop bucket down the kitchen sink and quickly tucked the mop and bucket away in the utility room.
“Considering I just answered your call, I’d say it’s pretty obvious that I’m still talking to you,” I replied in a hushed tone.
It was gone eleven at night, but my father was still in the living room watching some match on the television, and I knew better than to disturb him.
“I’m so sorry,” Claire groaned down the line. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you today, I swear. I was just sick of listening to those two droning on about Johnny and wanted to put them in their place.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Grabbing Johnny’s jacket out of the tumble dryer, I flicked off the kitchen light and padded out. “I’m not mad,” I added, my voice barely more than a whisper.
“Can you talk right now?” she questioned.
“Yeah,” I whispered, creeping toward the staircase. “Just give me two secs.”
“Okay,” she replied.
Holding my phone to my chest, I tiptoed up the staircase, avoiding every creak with expert precision.
“Okay, I’m back,” I told her in a more audible tone once I was safely inside my bedroom with the door locked.
“You’re sure you’re not mad at me?”
I shook my head and flopped down on my bed. “I’m really not.”
“Oh, thank god.” Claire sighed loudly. “I’ve been a wreck all evening worrying about it. I won’t be in class tomorrow and I was afraid you wouldn’t pick up when I called.”
My heart sank. “You’re not coming to school tomorrow?”
“I have that hockey blitz with the school,” she explained. “But Lizzie will be there.”
At least there’s that.
“Well, I’m not mad.”
“You’re sure?”
“I have good news,” I said, deciding on changing the topic. Otherwise we would end up going back and forth all night. “I forgot to tell you last week, but I think you’ll like it.”
“Spill your beans, Lynch.”
“Mam signed the forms. I turned them in the other week.” Exhaling heavily, I said, “I’m allowed to go to Donegal with you after Easter.”
I had to hold the phone away from my ear for a few moments while Claire squealed her excitement out of her system.
“This is the best news ever,” she gushed. “You have no idea how happy you’ve just made me. I thought I was going to be trapped in a foreign county for two days with Lizzie and Pierce,” she continued to say. “And you know how screwed up their relationship is.”
“A foreign county,” I snickered, then grunted when a sharp pain ricocheted through my side.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just my stomach,” I replied, stroking the curve of my belly. “It’s been bothering me all day.” Worrying my lip, I added, “I hope I’m not coming down with something.”
“Then you better take some acetaminophen and get the hell over it,” Claire retorted chirpily. “Because we’re going to Donegal, baby! Woo!”
“After Easter,” I reminded her.
“So?” she shot back. “It’s still the best news ever.”
