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We spoke of our childhoods, my life growing up in Dublin, hers as a child living in near poverty in Southie. I learned why Kiki was so important to her, how she’d ended up living with Claire as a last-ditch foster child, how they’d become like sisters to one another.
When the dinner was finished, we moved the conversation over to the couch in front of the fireplace. Dessert was served—bread pudding with an Irish whiskey glaze.
“I have to admit that this dish was made by my ma,” I said, passing Claire a plate as I returned to her on the couch.
She took the plate, cutting off a small bite of the square of pudding with her fork and dabbing it into the dark brown pool of glaze on the side. She popped the bite into her mouth, closing her eyes and letting out anmmmof satisfaction.
“Wait,” she said, her eyes flashing with realization. “You said that your mother, sorry, your ma, made this?”
“Mmm-hmm. Specially for tonight.”
“Then that means she knew that you had a date tonight?”
I chuckled, impressed with how quickly her lawyer’s mind had put it all together.
“It does mean that. But let me say in my defense that I was powerless.”
She raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Is that right? Hard to imagine a man like you ever being powerless.”
“When Ma wants to get information, there’s no stopping her. I went over with the intention of getting the stew recipe and that was it. Before I knew it, she’d pried the details out of me and was whipping together some of her famous bread pudding while we shared a bottle of whiskey.”
Claire laughed. “The way she interrogated you… she doesn’t happen to be a lawyer, does she?”
I cracked a smile at this comment. “She’s not.”
“Maybe she missed her calling.” Claire turned her eyes to the fire for a few moments, as if debating whether or not to say whatever it was she had on her mind. “What about your dad?”
I shifted in my seat a bit, instinctively reaching for my glass of wine.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “Lawyer brain again, always wanting to get as much information as possible. Totally none of my business.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s not that. I don’t mind telling you about him.” It was the truth. All the same, the words surprised me as they came out of my mouth. I never liked to tell others about my family history. With Claire, however, it was different. If anything, it took restraint not to tell her everything about me.
“The life I lead,” I said. “This sort of business that my brother and I are in, it started with my da. He worked for Eddie back in the day, Eddie running operations out of Boston, Da doing the same in Dublin. Da started off as a low-level street guy, made his way up the ranks until he was one of the most feared men in Dublin.”
Claire took my hand, as if sensing that the story was about to take a dark turn.
“His success was at the expense of his family, however. He loved the life, loved being the big man, loved coming and going as he pleased, loved giving the finger to the law whenever he could. And he loved women. Ma was one of the many he loved, but the only one he had children with.”
Another sip of wine. “He gave the life of a family man a go, delegating responsibilities to his underlings, trying to stay out of danger as much as he could. This only lasted for a few years until he cracked, started going out again, staying out all night, running around with whatever woman caught his eye.”
“I’m sure your mom didn’t take too kindly to any of that.”
I let out an amused snort. “Not in the slightest. The number of times he’d come home drunk smelling of whiskey and women only for Ma to greet him with a smack upside the head… I lost count over the years. But believe it or not, they were committed to Kellan and me. Da wasn’t the best father in the world, but I knew he loved me.
“Then one day he went out and… never came back. Kel and I were worried, of course. By then we were old enough to glean that his job, despite how much he tried to keep it from us, was something outside of the law. Ma tried to ease our worries, telling us that he’d be due back any day now, that there was nothing to be concerned about. When Eddie showed up at our door; however, having come to Ireland all the way from Boston, I knew that something terrible had happened.
Claire watched me with eyes of total concern. She took my hand, holding it tightly as I prepared to tell the rest of the story.
“Da was dead. Some low-level punk from some piece of shite no-name gang in Dublin took him out trying to make a name for himself. Eddie had arrived to break the news, to tell Ma that Da was gone, that the thug had been found and was being dealt with in the most severe manner possible. What’s more, Eddie had come to tell us that he’d be taking us under his care in Boston. We were to move that very day.”
“So, he wasn’t just your boss, he was also your guardian.”
“That’s right. Eddie had his faults, but he cared deeply for Da and his family, not wanting us to know any more suffering than we had to after Da’s passing. What’s more, it had been no secret that Eddie fancied Ma. But he never acted on it, never made so much as a passing flirty comment out of respect to our family. Once Kellan and I were grown, we found ourselves drawn into the life, of course. Eddie had even offered to pay for our college educations in an attempt to dissuade us, but there was no talking two boys with veins pumping full of piss and vinegar out of following in their da’s footsteps.”
“What did your mom say?”
“Wasn’t thrilled about it, of course. But I sensed she knew it was inevitable. Eddie was there for us, keeping us out of harm’s way as best he could. Turned out Kel and I had a knack for the life, we both had our da’s instinct and our ma’s keen, intelligent mind. Didn’t take us long before we were Eddie’s two right-hand men.”
