Page 63 of The Girl with the Irish Secret
‘Thank you very much, young lady,’ Jack said and gave Naomi the flowers. ‘And yes, they are for Auntie Vi. Because I want to say sorry for not replying to her emails and to celebrate a few things.’ He looked at Vi for a moment with a fond smile. ‘You look lovely.’
Vi was suddenly aware of her wet and dirty shirt and the soap suds in her hair. ‘I’ll just go and get Liam into his pyjamas and tidy up a bit. Naomi, show Jack into the living room. I’ll be back in a minute.’ She carried Liam back up the stairs, dried him off and put his pyjamas on. Then she left him in his room to play with his teddy for a moment while she quickly went into Lily and Dom’s bedroom and found a blue cotton sweater in Lily’s wardrobe and changed into it before she brought Liam back downstairs.
‘Coca Pops,’ Liam said when she arrived at the bottom of the stairs.
‘Okay. Just a sec,’ Vi said, and put him on the floor. She ran into the kitchen where Naomi was taking a crystal vase out of one of the lower cupboards. ‘Thanks, sweetheart,’ she said and took the vase from Naomi. Vi filled it with water and put the flowers – a lovely bouquet of red and pink roses and white daisies – into it and set it down on the kitchen table. ‘They’re lovely flowers, Jack. Thank you.’
Liam pulled at the legs of Vi’s jeans. ‘Coca Pops, Auntie Vi. Now.’
‘Say “please”,’ Naomi ordered.
‘Pleeease,’ Liam repeated.
Vi lifted Liam onto his chair and glanced at Jack, who was standing in the middle of the floor, looking at them with an amused smile. ‘I’ll just sort the Coco Pops,’ she said. ‘Then I’ll put them to bed and…’
‘It’s okay,’ Jack said. ‘I have plenty of time. Is there anything I can do to help?’
‘Thanks, but I’m on it.’ Vi busied herself cleaning up the ketchup stains and then got out the Coco Pops and milk and filled two bowls. As soon as the children had finished, she told them to go upstairs. ‘Just a quick story, and then I’ll be back,’ she said to Jack.
‘I want a long story,’ Naomi protested.
‘Hey, I’ll tell you a story,’ Jack offered. ‘It’s a true story too. Very exciting. Do you want to hear it?’
Naomi nodded. ‘Tell it to me now.’
‘Not until you have your pyjamas on,’ Jack said. ‘I’ll wait here and when you’re ready I’ll come upstairs and tell you the story.’
Naomi seemed to consider this option. ‘Okay,’ she finally said and started towards the stairs. ‘I’ll give you a shout when I’m ready.’
‘Me too,’ Liam shouted and started to run after Naomi. ‘I’m in my jammies already.’
Vi laughed and ran after them, making sure Liam didn’t fall down the stairs. She glanced over her shoulder at Jack, who had started tidying the dishes on the kitchen table. ‘You don’t have to do that.’
‘I know but I want to be useful. I’ll be up in a minute.’
When Naomi and Liam were tucked up in Naomi’s bed, Jack sat on the edge and looked at them. ‘So,’ he started, ‘I’m going to tell you about a lamb that was born on our farm in England when I was a little boy.’
‘What was its name?’ Naomi asked.
‘Lucy,’ Jack replied and then went on to tell them the story about his pet lamb and what happened on the farm. His voice was low and monotonous and it didn’t take long for both children to nod off.
Vi carefully picked Liam up and put him to bed in his room, switched off the light and tiptoed back to Naomi. She tucked her in and closed the door as gently as she could. Then she followed Jack down the stairs and into the living room. ‘Thank you,’ she said to him. ‘You’re a genius. Sit down on the sofa and I’ll get you something to eat. I was going to heat up a pizza and you can share it with me if that’s okay? It’s all I have, I’m afraid.’
‘Perfect,’ Jack said and sat down on the sofa, staring out through the window across Ventry Bay where the reflection of the moonlight glittered in the dark water. ‘This must be wonderful in daylight.’
‘It’s amazing.’ Vi found the pizza in the freezer and turned on the oven. ‘I loved the story of the pet lamb. What happened to her in the end? Lambchops?’
‘No.’ Jack shook his head and grinned. ‘I made it all up. I never had a pet lamb.’
Vi let out a giggle. ‘You’d better not tell Naomi. She believed every word.’ She put the pizza on a tray and pushed it into the oven. ‘I had no idea you were so good with kids.’
‘Neither did I,’ Jack said. ‘I just improvised. I don’t know much about children, to be honest.’
‘Then it’s even more impressive. Do you want a glass of wine? Dom left a bottle of chianti out for me. Said I’d need a drink after dealing with the kids. I realise now he was right.’
‘Just a glass for me,’ Jack replied. ‘I’m driving and I don’t want to risk being caught by the Irish Guards. They look friendly but I’m sure they can be pretty tough if you misbehave.’
‘That’s true.’ Vi wiped the table and put out two placemats followed by wine glasses and cutlery. Then she opened the wine. ‘The pizza should be ready in a minute.’
