Something Found (13 page)

Collin slowed the car down and they pulled into the off-license. “Need anything else?”

“Nope.”

“Would you prefer red or white?”

“Get a bottle of both just to be on the safe side. It’ll look nicer when we get there.”

“Right. Be back in two minutes.”

Emily watched Collin disappear into the store and fidgeted, uncomfortable with the thoughts in her head. “Do you think he’s the type to stop his father from dating someone?” It was a half-hearted attempt. Emily knew it as soon as the words were out. She didn’t even make the effort to think of a response. But it bothered her that she was seeing less and less of Jeremy. Then another thought occurred to her. “Do you think my mom loved the bastard as much as Joseph loved Colleen?” There was no anger in her voice when she referred to her father as the bastard. It was simply how she knew him.

“I do,” she heard the whisper of an answer.

“Maybe he even loved her back that much at one point, before he broke her heart,” she said doubtfully.

The evenings were getting darker earlier. It wasn’t long before Emily could barely make out the green hills in the distance and then even the hedges that lined the road began to disappear. By the time they arrived the sky had gone black. Speckles of stars could be seen intermittently as clouds passed by.

Collin pulled into the drive that led up to the house and parked the car. “We’re here,” he announced and gave Emily’s knee a gentle squeeze.

Orla had inherited the little house with its half-acre of land from her grandmother. Her grandmother hadn’t actually lived in it for the last three years of her life and it was in quite a state when Orla moved in. But she had had great plans for it. She cleared it out one room at a time, carefully combing over her grandmother’s possessions, saving those that were too much a part of the place to get rid of. Then she modernized the kitchen and the bathroom in a way that blended with the old feel of the house. It took her two years to finish it all but the end product was well worth it. Emily thought it was one of the coziest most comfortable houses she’d ever been in.

Though they were unmarried Brendan and Orla had been together for seven years and were completely harmonized to each other. While Orla concentrated her efforts on the inside of the house Brendan turned his attention to the outside. He had done all the landscaping creating a little path that led up to the front door as well as planting rose bushes in the front of the house. In the back he’d been more practical putting in a vegetable garden.

Brendan was there, opening the door for them, as they walked up the path. He was a little shorter than Collin and his body was a little thicker, not fat just stockier. His hair was a reddish brown and he had a short well-trimmed beard. His smile came easily lighting up his face. Emily had noticed that it was his smile that made him attractive. When he wasn’t smiling his features were rather plain. But women’s heads turned when his lips turned up and his eyes came to life.

They could feel the warmth of the fire before they even stepped inside. And the smell of the home cooked meal floated out to them. “Come in. Come in.” Brendan waved them in enthusiastically then reached for the bag and their coats. “Must have been a long hard drive from the city,” he joked.

It still amazed Emily how small Ireland really was. A thirty-minute drive at home barely got her out of the suburbs, much less to a place that felt so remote. Where Orla’s house was settled there was hardly any traffic and there was only one neighboring house. She felt as if they were alone out in the middle of the country. The handmade stone bridge with a trickle of a river nearby added to the effect.

“Make yourselves at home,” Brendan ushered them over to the couch and chairs. The main sitting room had no television in it and Emily loved that about the place. Instead the furniture was placed in a semicircle around the fire. “Orla, they’re here,” he called into the other room.

“I’ll be right out,” she called back.

Emily noted how perfect the arrangements were as she seated herself. There was a large coffee table in front of the couch and end tables within easy reach of the chairs. There were woolen blankets strategically placed throughout. Beautiful handmade slate mirrors as well as two haunting paintings of the sea hung on the walls. There were enough plants to give the place life, but not enough to make it feel crowded. The floors were wood with thick rugs over them. Behind the couch was a dining table extremely similar to the one Collin had bought for their own place. It was made of the same thick sturdy wood and it was long enough to easily seat eight people.

Orla walked into the room wearing jeans and a t-shirt. She was one of those people who never seemed to get cold. She was the same height as Brendan, tall for a woman, with curly red hair that she kept up in a ponytail. She always seemed to be wearing a calm expression whether she was smiling or serious.

“Are you hungry now, or should we wait a bit?”

“Oh, let’s wait a little while,” Brendan answered for them. “Let everyone get settled and catch up first.”

Collin and Emily had seated themselves on the couch. Even though they were the married ones they were still the newer couple and the closeness was expected of them. Orla and Brendan sat opposite each other in two large comfortable matching chairs. They seemed connected even over the distance.

“I’m so glad you came,” Orla said warmly. “It’s just over the road, but sure, some people couldn’t be bothered to drive this far.”

“I could come here every weekend,” Emily said enthusiastically. “I don’t know of a more welcoming place to visit.” Emily caught the lilt in her voice and wondered if the others noticed it. She never tried to pick up the accent, but every now and then the sing-songy lyrical quality of their speech infected her own.

Orla smiled at the compliment. “Well we’ll see that you spend a good many of them here.”

Collin had known Orla since birth. Her mother, Margaret, was his mother’s best friend. Orla was two years older than Collin and more on par with Kevin’s age but that had never really mattered. Collin had always been told that Orla was his cousin and it wasn’t until his teen years that he realized she wasn’t. But he never stopped thinking of her that way.

Margaret had continued to check in on Collin’s family after his mother passed. She took all four children in when their father occasionally needed a break. And their families stayed close throughout the years. Collin had told Emily that she and Joseph still met up for a drink a couple times a month.

Collin was the one who introduced Orla and Brendan. Brendan was a good friend from school and Collin had initially invited him to come along on a few of their outings, but before long Collin was the one being invited, or not. Collin had never really felt like a third wheel, but all the same it was nice to have Emily in his life to balance things out.

“So how’re you settling in?” Orla asked.

“Good. Good,” Emily said easily, already relaxed. “A few bumps here and there,” she added honestly, “But over-all I feel like I’m starting to get the hang of things.”

“I knew you would,” Orla said warmly. “I’m sure you miss your family and friends. But you’ll settle in here soon enough. And how’s the house?”

“Perfect,” Emily answered without hesitation. “Collin couldn’t have picked a better location. And the house itself is great. He did a wonderful job with the furniture and everything.”

Orla gave Collin a warm smile. “Yes, he’s very good at that sort of thing.”

Collin blushed and Emily wondered why.

“Not as good as I could be,” Collin responded, looking at Orla meaningfully.

“And what do you think of Cork?” Brendan asked, changing the subject.

Emily thought about it for a minute before answering. “It’s different.” The words hung there before she hurried on to explain herself. “Well obviously, but I mean it’s not like the suburbs where I grew up and it’s not a big city like Chicago. But it is big enough to have everything you need and have its own feel. I like it, but I’m still getting to know it.”

“Emily’s been out exploring. I think she walks for hours when she goes, or else she’s spending more time in the pubs than she’s letting on,” Collin joked.

Emily’s eyes widened and she laughed uncomfortably.

“Nothing wrong with that,” Brendan smiled at her warmly.

“And how’s business going for you Orla?” Collin inquired. He didn’t ask it as an idle question. He showed real interest.

“Oh, the same as usual. Steady. We’ll get the usual Christmas crowd. It’s nice having Sara though. I don’t know what I’ll do when she finishes college and quits. I like knowing I can come in late sometimes and pop out and run errands if I need to. But she wants to cut back her hours now that classes have started up again.”

Orla’s shop was a cute little place squeezed between two bigger buildings. In it she showed her expertise at arrangement. She sold a variety of different things ranging from candles and incense, to special organic foods, to clay pots and handmade mirrors like the ones on her walls. Joseph had given her a loan when the bank wouldn’t give her enough, helping her to set it up five years earlier. Since then she had done enough business to pay the loan back in full and live quite comfortably.

“I live a simple life,” she said looking at Emily, “but it’s a happy one.”

“How ‘bout your work?” Collin asked Brendan.

“It’s steady. Not as busy as it once was, but steady, luckily. And the tinkering in the shed is going well too.”

Brendan worked for his brother’s painting business. When they started it was just himself, his brother, and a cousin. But it had expanded enough to include three more people. Brendan was still in demand but it also gave him time to work on the kind of painting he really enjoyed. He had become quite good over the years. First just giving his paintings away to family and friends, then selling some in Orla’s shop.

“I keep telling him he should focus more on his tinkering and less on the rest, but he insists he isn’t good enough yet,” Orla chimed in, pride written all over her face. There was no doubt about what she thought.

“But then I wouldn’t get to see Declan at all. My brother,” he explained for Emily’s benefit. “His wife isn’t overly fond of me. She thinks I’m too laid back. That I should be pushing Declan to make the business bigger. She never seems exactly thrilled to see me. I still don’t know how he ended up with her.”

“And what about you Collin. When am I going to see you back in my shed doing what you should be doing?” Orla’s tone held all the affection of a disapproving big sister.

Emily could almost feel her ears perk up. She didn’t know what Orla was talking about. “Huh?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Collin said firmly.

“Do you see that table there?” Orla pointed at the dining room table behind them.

Emily nodded, “We have one very similar to it.”

“Of course you do. Collin made them both.”

Emily’s jaw dropped. She looked at her husband in disbelief. “You made them?!”

Collin nodded shyly. “Yes, but they’re not as good as they could be. If you look you can see the flaws.”

“Those aren’t flaws,” Orla corrected him, “That’s called being hand crafted. That’s what makes them more valuable. They’re not photo copied productions of each other.” Her voice held frustration. This was obviously a continuing topic of debate. “Why don’t you give up working at the furniture store and do what you love. Or even do it part time?”

Collin looked pained. “This is not something I need you talking about in front of wifey here. As per usual you’re not helping Orla.” Then he smiled wistfully. “You make everything sound so easy but it’s not. Look, I’m glad it worked for you, but things like that don’t work for everybody. I couldn’t just walk away from Dad’s business. Besides, I’m used to the steady income. It wouldn’t be such a great idea when the paychecks weren’t coming in anymore.”

Emily felt a stab of guilt thinking of her own unemployed state. It wasn’t fair of her to put so much financial pressure on Collin.

Orla grunted, not satisfied with Collin’s answer. But she didn’t persist when Brendan pointedly changed the subject.

“Well I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m hungry,” he announced. “Orla made stew and fresh baked bread. I hope that sounds good to everyone.”

They drank well into the night, telling stories of their past. Emily added a few of her own, which they all listened to with interest, but mostly she was content to sit back and listen. Brendan pulled out a bottle of whiskey when the wine was gone and they started in on that. It wasn’t long after that Emily removed her shoes and curled up under a blanket with her head in Collin’s lap. She fought to keep her eyes open, but she was no match for the whiskey.

“She’s a sweetheart,” she heard Orla say.

“I’m glad you stuck it out,” Brendan added. “You two seem well suited.”

Then Emily drifted off completely.

Emily woke the following morning to a pounding head. Her tongue felt large and dry in her mouth. Her stomach was churning and she didn’t know where she was.

“There’s water next to you. It’ll help,” Collin said, sounding as miserable as she felt.

“What-?” she didn’t even know how to finish the question. “Where-?”

Collin’s short dark hair was a mess and his grey-green eyes were also red. When he spoke his breath was atrocious. “We’re at Orla’s. You were smart and fell asleep around three. I stayed up ‘til, uhm, later. Maybe not the best place to go after yesterday’s chat.”