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“I told him that I know,” she finally says before letting out a long, slow breath that it seemed like she’d been bottling up for a while. “I told him that you know too.”
“Fuck, Em!” I shake my head in exasperation.
“What else could I do, Shane? He was standing right here, asking me questions about you and the boys.”
“What did he say? Did he confirm it?”
She nods her head.
“Fuck!”
“You haven’t told them yet then?”
“No. There just hasn’t seemed like the right time to do it. Every time I tried to, I just froze, you know? I mean how do you tell someone something like that?”
“I’m sorry that I burdened you with it, Shane.” She wipes a stray tear from her eye. I step closer to her and put my arms around her and she leans against me.
“Don’t be. Someone has to tell them, and it’s better that it comes from me. And now that Paul knows we know,” I sigh, “I need to tell them as soon as possible, but I want to speak to him first.”
The whistling of the kettle pierces the air and she rushes to take it from the heat.
“That makes sense. And what about Jessie? Does she know?” Em asks as she pours water into her old yellow teapot.
“No. It’s not fair to ask her to keep a secret like that.”
“Of course not,” she purses her lips and then looks up as the kitchen door opens and Aoife walks in.
“Do you have any of those ginger biscuits, Mammy?”
“Of course, petal,” Em turns and opens a cupboard. “You feeling queasy again?”
“No. I told Jessie how amazing they are,” she laughs. “So I said we should have some with our tea.”
I roll my eyes. My girl has such a sweet tooth.
“I’ll bring some through,” Em says with a smile and Aoife walks out of the kitchen, leaving us alone again.
“Did Paul leave a contact number, or tell you where he’s staying?” I ask.
“No,” she replies with a shake of her head. “As elusive as he ever was. Does he still have that old place out in Antrim?”
“Not as far as I know. My lawyer told me it was sold off years ago. Did he say what his plans were?”
“Not really. He did say he intended to catch up with you soon, so I expect you’ll be seeing him shortly.”
“Did he tell you why, Em?” I ask, conscious that Aoife or Jessie could walk into the room at any moment.
She looks up at me with tears in her eyes. “He said that he loved her,” she replies with a shrug. “Isn’t that the reason any of us do anything, Shane?”
Chapter 11
Jessie
After we’ve finished our tea and eaten some of Em’s homemade ginger biscuits, Aoife and I go into the garden. It is a truly beautiful place. Em has so many wildflowers growing. The wild jasmine smells incredible and she has promised to make me some soaps with it and send them out to New York. Seeing her and Shane together has been so lovely. I see a completely different side of him with her. He is sweet and helpful and gracious, and he rarely curses in front of her.
“How long have you known Shane?” Aoife asks.
“Umm. About nine months now.”
