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I shook my head adamantly. I didn’t want to go there to see my parents’ property burned to the ground and to know they were in there when it happened.
“Okay, well… there’s a storm coming. You can’t stay out here. Come inside, and we’ll get a servant’s room made up for you. You can stay with us from now on.”
I wasn’t sure whether I was grateful or thoroughly annoyed because I’d spent the last few years with his family instead of mine, and now they were gone.
“C’mon, son, up you get,” Patty said and pulled me from the ground with force.
Patty walked on one side of me and Callie the other, both helping me take each step. I couldn’t do it on my own, I wasn’t functioning.
They got me to a room, and Callie sat me on the bed. I was still gazing at nothing when Patty left to get something. Callie caressed my cheek, so I turned to look at her, and all I could see were her lips. She was the only good thing left in my life, so I leaned forward and kissed her, and for the briefest of seconds she kissed me back, but then pulled away and touched her lips.
“Mike, I’m sorry—”
“No… I’m sorry,” I said and looked away, resting my head in my hands.
“Mike, I’m with Niall. You had your chance, and you didn’t want me then, so I doubt you’ll want me for anything other than your comfort right now either. And that’s not fair on me, Niall, or you. I better go.”
I didn’t have the energy or strength to stop her. So, I watched Callie walk out of my new room and out of my life once more.
Patty came back moments later and sat on the bed next to me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Look, you take a day, okay? Just mess about in the garage or do whatever you need to do to get through this. Don’t worry about funeral costs. We’ll cover that and whatever else you might need.”
That’s when I broke. The word ‘funeral’ it’s so final, and I sobbed into my hands.
Patty left, and Eleanor came in.
S
he sat with me for hours while I cried and mourned for my parents.
Eleanor was nothing like Patty. She was a kind, gentle, caring, and a compassionate woman, and in that moment, she was like another mother to me. She supported me through the funeral and bought me new clothes seeing as all of mine were burned in the fire. The suits she purchased were tailored, and she even procured one of those hats, so I could be a real chauffeur.
I got back into work quickly. Being distracted didn’t help that much, but I needed to keep moving.
Seeing Callie most days made everything a tiny bit brighter. Even though we never spoke, just seeing her was enough to make me half-smile.
I was grateful that the O’Connell’s took me in. I would’ve been homeless if they didn’t, and I was appreciative of that small gesture of goodwill.
Another year passed, and I was doing better. I’d gotten into a routine at the O’Connell mansion, and in a way, it was easier for me to live and work there.
I was getting ready to finish up work for the day when Patty came over and sat on the chair next to me in the garage. “Well, Mike, it’s a happy day,” he said, and I half-smiled as I waxed the car.
“Why’s that, sir?”
“Looks like my boy finally popped the question, and Callie said yes.”
I stumbled on the spot and halted mid-wipe.
I had stopped breathing.
The one thing I was dreading actually happened.
Callie’s going to marry him.
My chin fell to my chest, and I let out a sigh and closed my eyes. “Congratulations, sir,” I said somehow, then opened my eyes and continued to scrub the car putting all my brute force into it.
Patty stood and smacked me on the back. “Good lad,” he said and walked off.
Once he was out of the garage, I clenched my fists and turned toward the wall and punched it hard, repeatedly, until my knuckles bled. The walls were caving in on me, and there was nothing I could do to escape the impending disintegration of Michael O’Leary.
