Page 39 of Prudence
I firmed my jaw. “Get me her number.”
“Whose number?”
“Deirdre’s mother’s. I’d like to speak to her about her careless decision-making,” I grunted as I went to grab my phone from where it sat next to the sink.
“Um, I don’t have it …”
“I’ll get it from Nuala, then.” I turned from the room, dialling my sister while Gigi called, “Wait, Dad, please don’t …”
I shut myself in my bedroom, and Nuala answered on the second ring. “Hey, bro. What’s up?”
“Can you send me Milly’s number? I need to discuss something important with her regarding our daughters.”
“Oh, no. You sound mad. Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine. Will you send the number?”
“Only if you promise not to be a dick to Milly. She’s already mentioned you’ve been rude to her on more than one occasion.”
Fuck, why did that make me feel like the worst piece of shit in the world? Had I upset her that badly? The idea made my conscience pipe up. “Not being overtly friendly doesn’t mean I was rude, Nuala. Now, just send me her number.”
I hung up before she could berate me further, and a moment later, her text came through. I quickly programmed Milly’s number into my phone before I hit Call. She didn’t answer, and it went through to voicemail. I figured she might not answer since it was a strange number, so I sent a text.
Hi, it’s Derek. I need to talk to you about this concert the girls want to go to.
No sooner had I sent the text than my phone lit up with a return call.
“Hello, Derek? Sorry I didn’t answer. I never answer numbers I don’t recognise.”
“That’s fine. You’re right not to. There are a lot of scams out there.” A silence fell before I cleared my throat. Being on the phone with her had me feeling an emotion I couldn’t pin down. I’d just sat through an entire meditation class with her, but there was something intimate about speaking over the phone. “So, about this concert.”
“Right, Deirdre just told me about it, and I was looking up the venue. I don’t mind letting her go since they’ve never played a show here before.”
“And you’re okay with them going into the city alone?” I asked in disbelief. “Dublin isn’t a safe place for two young girls at night. I thought you’d have more sense than—”
“Hold on for a second,” she interrupted. “I didn’t say anything about them going alone.”
“But Gigi said …” My words fell off as I realised what was going on. My daughter had been trying to play me. “Okay, now I get what’s happening here.”
Milly was quiet a moment before guessing, “Did Gigi say I agreed to it to try and pressure you into saying yes?”
All I could manage was an irritated grunt of assertion as Milly gave a quiet laugh. “Oh, the wiles of teenage girls. A couple of years ago, the mother of one of Deirdre’s friends back in London and I discovered they’d lied to us about going to watch movies at each other’s houses. Instead, they’d taken the Tube to Leicester Square to visit M&M’s world. They were only thirteen. I nearly had a coronary. Thankfully, we were able to get to them before anything terrible happened.”
“Bloody hell, I would’ve grounded Gigi for a year if she’d done that.”
“Look, don’t be too hard on her about the concert. Deirdre is completely besotted with that band, too, and would do anything to see them live. It’s just the age they’re at. They don’t want their parents cramping their style. Anyway, I’m happy to go with them if you’re not up for it. I could just hang out at the back and watch over them from afar. That way, they can have fun without the burden of a parent watching their every move up close.”
I ran a hand over the scruff growing on my jaw. “That does sound like a better idea. I’ll buy the tickets.”
“Okay, sounds like a plan. I better go, but keep me posted.”
“Will do. Goodbye, Milly.”
“Bye, Derek.”
Slotting the phone into my back pocket, I returned to the kitchen and found Gigi sitting exactly where I left her, looking chagrined. “We’re not going to discuss the fact that you just lied to me, but don’t do it again.” Her face was etched in apology as she bobbed her head. “Here’s what’s going to happen. I’ll buythe tickets tomorrow morning, and Deirdre’s mam is going to go with you—”
“Aw, but—”
