Page 79 of Changing Tides
Joey turned. “And what if he’s not?” They wiped the tears from their eyes. “Or if he needs full time care? I can’t work and look after him, Donie. I know you see it as my job, but I can’t be all things for everyone.” Their head thrummed with pain.
Donal squeezed their shoulder. “I’m sorry you have to take so much of this on. You think it’s about us being the boys. But it’s not, Joey. You’re the eldest, and smarter than both of us put together. We turn to you because we trust you to steer us straight.”
“But you can still clear off afterwards, and get on with your lives, can’t you? I’ll always be here.”
“Because you’ve chosen to be. We’ve never assumed you’d always stay. If you didn’t, we’d have to work out Dad’s care between us. It’s not all on you, I promise.”
Joey shrugged. Donal’s words were one thing, but the reality was that their brothers lived thousands of miles away, while Joey was right here, dealing with it. “Let’s see how bad this is.”
“Deal. But you’re coming home with me tonight. Liam can do the night shift, and we’ll come back tomorrow to see the doctor.”
“I want to stay.” The exhaustion of the drive and the earlier conflict with Marianne warred with their desire to be with their dad in case he needed them.
“Let us help.” Donal pulled them up from the chair when Liam returned. Together, they stood at the end of the bed as Joey swilled strong coffee and forced down a blueberry muffin.
“Okay. I’ll go home.” They held out the keys to the van. “Who needs these?”
Liam grabbed the bunch. “Kasia loaned us the hotel van, but you’ll need to drop that back. I’ll drive down and fetch you from the morning ferry.”
Joey managed a quick kiss to their dad’s clammy forehead before Donal pulled them to the door.
They didn’t remember much of the journey until they were home in bed, staring at the place where the model boat had once stood. They lay still, trying to pull their thoughts out of a jumbled mess and into some kind of order.
Their dad was going to recover, but how dependent on them would he be after this? And what were they going to do about Marianne? Joey didn’t like how they’d left things, although they’d had no choice but to come home when they got the call. The thought of no longer having Mari and Denny in their life was like a deep bruise inside their chest, but how could there be a future for them together?
Their life was full of questions yet bereft of answers. They squeezed their eyes shut and waited for sleep to overtake them, tears soaking the pillow long before they finally drifted into restless dreams.
THIRTY-ONE
“Thanks, Mary.”Marianne propped her elbows on the table and stared down at the omelet. Her stomach flipped. She’d drunk too much at the party last night, and reliving her argument with Joey had kept her awake most of the night. There was an empty feeling inside, with a side order of acid indigestion. She had to get her act together before Denny’s birthday party today.
“Elbows off the table, Marianne.”
She started as her mother entered, and then resumed her slouch when she remembered she was a grown adult, and she didn’t care about her mum’s table manners standards. She didn’t care about much this morning, if she was honest.
“Morning, Mum.” She stifled a yawn and picked at the omelet.
“Where’s your friend? Is Joey not coming to the party today?”
“No, their dad was taken ill, and they had to leave immediately.” The neat pile of Joey’s clothes in her bedroom had reminded her this morning of how different things had been twenty-four hours ago. She suppressed a groan when her mum sat down opposite. She didn’t need an inquisition.
“I hope it’s not too serious. How will you get back now?”
Marianne chewed on rubbery egg before swallowing and washing it down with a long slug of water. “I guess I’ll need to take the train. I’ll book it later.”
Her mum poured them tea. “Take my car. You’re an adult, Marianne. You should have a car.”
“I had a car, Mum. I had to sell it to pay off my wife’s debts.”
“But you’re getting back on your feet. You must be able to afford a car by now.”
Marianne hadn’t even thought about it on the island. But now it looked like her life was changing, she’d need to think about it.
“I’ll take the train back. Denny will love it. I’ll think about buying a car before the end of my contract.”
Her mum shrugged. “Take mine for now. Mary drives me around. I don’t use it.”
Mari suppressed an eye roll. Her mum’s gleaming silver Mercedes sat on the driveway, another token of how respectable she was. Marianne doubted anyone cared.
