Page 76 of Changing Tides
“Will you come with me to the party tomorrow, Mum? Joey’s going to drive us there.”
“I’d rather not.”
Marianne had always wished her mum would make more effort with Amira’s family, but she’d never hidden her disapproval.
“It’s Denny’s birthday, so it would be nice if you came with us.”
“Can we not have our own party today?” Her mother fussed with her tea, and the clinking of the spoon on the crockery made Marianne clench her jaw.
“Well, Amira and her mum want to have Denny for a sleepover, so I’m taking him there this evening.” She poured acup for Joey and watched as the cup all but disappeared inside their large fist. “But I won’t be far if anything changes.”
“So, the in-laws get priority, even though Amira has made no effort to see Deniz for months?”
“Please don’t speak like that in front of Denny, Mum.” Denny picked at the pearls hanging around her mother’s neck, thankfully oblivious to the conversation. “Let’s make the most of our time now.” Marianne stirred milk into her own tea and hoped the conversation would be over.
“Down.” Denny wriggled until her mum let him down to the floor where he made a beeline for Joey. They glanced at Mari and then scooped him up onto their lap. He settled there with his arms wrapped around their larger one.
Her mum frowned. “He doesn’t appear to be suffering from the absence of his other mother.”
“He’s happy, Mum. He feels safe and loved, and whatever else is going on isn’t his problem.”
“I just hope he settles with Amira and her family or tomorrow will be a long day.”
Marianne rubbed her eyes. She suspected it was going to be a long day, anyway. The biggest part of her wished she was alone with Joey and Denny, back on Inishderry.
“Thanks for waiting.”Marianne stretched her arms above her head in the confines of the van. Her shoulders crunched with the stress of the day.
“How did it go?” Joey glanced at her before pulling out into traffic.
“It wasn’t too bad. Amira’s mother was as passive-aggressive as ever. Denny was happy to see them both, which helped. Or happy to see the cake for tomorrow at least.”
“Well, he’s with his mummy now, so you can focus on visiting your friends.”
She placed her hand on Joey’s hard thigh, needing the contact to ground her. “They were always business acquaintances more than friends. But good contacts for you. I’m going to try to fit in a meeting with Imelda before I leave. I want to look at all my options.”
Joey stroked the back of her hand, and she felt it everywhere. “It’s supposed to be a party. Can’t you put aside career plans until tomorrow? I’m looking forward to a fun evening out with you. It’s our first date away from Inishderry.”
“I know, and I’m looking forward to showing you off. But not one of those people got in touch after the business folded. It’s made me reassess things.”
“And if any of them had been in a similar situation, would you have checked in?”
That was a good question. She’d never stopped to evaluate her relationships before this. She’d had friends in the food industry since she’d started out, and she’d taken them at face value. When she’d moved to Galway, she’d been disappointed to hear little from her big city friends, but she’d put it down to them being as busy as she was.
“I don’t know. But Iamlooking forward to catching up. It’s so difficult for chefs to socialize with the hours we work.”
Joey pulled into the car park indicated by the GPS, and they got out. “Where are we going? Don’t we need to go home to get ready?”
“Soon, but I want to take you somewhere first.” She was looking forward to seeing Joey’s reaction.
They turned a corner, and she led Joey by the hand to a shop front covered in graffiti. Joey’s eyebrows drew together as they turned to her.
“This is the barbershop I told you about. You’ll love it. I made an appointment with Mac. They’re non-binary too.” She faded off when the frown didn’t leave Joey’s face and they ran a hand through their hair.
“I thought you’d be pleased. I promised you a haircut.” She was confused by Joey’s lack of enthusiasm.
Joey smiled, but it didn’t reach their eyes. “Yeah, thank you.”
She squeezed their hand. “Are you sure? You don’t look very happy.”
