Page 16 of After Indigo Irish Nights
Eoghan and Fergus both put up their fists and grinned like loons. “We do!”
“That’s wicked cool,” Kathleen said with a laugh. “I’d pay good money to see you two fight.”
“That can be arranged, dear Kathleen,” Eoghan said, patting her hand. “At the club, we mostly spend our time chatting, dancing around in the ring—”
“And drinking,” Bets and Fergus said at the same time.
“It’s easier to take a punch in the face if you’ve had a whiskey,” Eoghan said philosophically. “I’ll be sure to remind Declan of that.”
“Go off and tell him now before you forget,” Bets told the older man with a wink. “I want to talk to Kathleen without you interrupting.”
“Me interrupting?” He waved a dismissive hand at her and made a rude sound. “I don’t know what she means, Fergus.”
“I do, cousin,” he said with a snort. “You suck up more air than a vacuum some days. Let’s leave the women be and go speak of our grand Irish boxing traditions with Cormac and the others.”
“God help us, but it will keep the men occupied, which is what we wanted,” Bets said as she took Eoghan’s vacated chair. “Now… I’m sorry your things haven’t come yet, Kathleen. I’ve been at the delivery company for days.”
“I told her, Bets.” Ellie grabbed a sweat-lined water glass devoid of its former ice. “She’s trying to live in the moment, but I know my girl. The minute we stop partying, she’ll be at her work calendar, fretting over timelines.”
Kathleen pursed her lips before saying, “Itisa big project for four months. I had it laid out to my last day here.”
“We’ll make it work,” Bets said, giving her a reassuring smile. “And if you need to stay longer to finish, we have the money. No need to ask the Arts Council for more.”
Ellie and Kathleen shared a look before her new artist said, “It’s not that I don’t appreciate that, but I don’t want to delay my return for too long. My pop is getting up there, and while he won’t admit it, he’s slowing down. Plus, my brothers will be as lost without me as I am without them, although we’d all rather have our faces bashed in than cop to that.”
“Kathleen is the only girl,” Ellie said, resting a hand on her friend’s arm. “They’re a tight family.”
“I probably wouldn’t have come if Ellie weren’t here,” Kathleen said, nudging her friend gently with a smile.
Bets nodded, thinking they sounded like a real nice family, the O’Connors. “Understood. We’ll figure it out. Is there anything else I can get you as we wait?”
“Some sheet metal and a hammer?” Kathleen said, miming the action of it pounding on the table. “I’m joking. Mostly. I’ve finalized my design, as you know. When do you want me to share it with the village? There was some talk of doing it tonight, and Brady has the printout in the back.”
“Let’s do it,” Bets said, her feet tapping under the table as excitement rushed through her.
“Right now?” Kathleen asked with shining eyes.
“There’s no time like the present.” Bets stood up and clapped her hands until the talking died down. “If you have a minute, Kathleen would like to share her design with everyone. This is something we’ve never done before, but given that she’s locked and loaded, we thought it might be fun to get the village excited. Hint: I think you’re going to love it.”
Kathleen’s chair scraped the pub’s ancient floor as she rose. “Since I was lucky enough to have a back door into your village, so to speak, through Ellie, I talked with some of you about what made Ireland great. What symbols or figures loom large. This country has one of the most powerful reputations for magic, as you all know.”
“Did they suggest the fairies to you?” someone called out.
She didn’t miss a beat before saying, “They did, but I thought you might want a bigger metal sculpture than a mere sewing thimble.”
People roared with laughter, and Bets found herself charmed. She’d only met Kathleen once in person before—when the young woman had flown in briefly for the reception celebrating Ellie’s donation to the center—but they’d talked on the phone and emailed back and forth. The young woman was snarky and no-nonsense, and Bets was delighted to have her with them, if only for a short time.
When the crowd quieted again, Kathleen continued. “A leprechaun seemed too obvious and a giant shillelagh sticking out of the earth, well… Too phallic.” She winked, sending them into fits of laughter again. “The one thing people kept coming back to were the days of the pirates. Not far from here is the home of the female legend, Grace O’Malley, as you know, and I got to thinking… Wouldn’t it be a wicked pissah if I built a pirate ship with the Irish sea cresting at her hull for all to see?”
There was a stunned silence.
“I have the drawing right here,” Brady declared, crossing to her with the rolled-up design in hand.
When she unrolled it, a few people gasped while others got soft smiles on their faces. Someone started humming an old pirate shanty Bets’ boys had loved to sing growing up.
“I can already see it rising above the ground, dear Kathleen,” Eoghan cried out, pressing his hand to his chest in his charming dramatic way. “It’s going to be grand, girl. Thank you for bringing it to our village. In fact, let’s thank all our Yanks for coming to Ireland and bringing their artistry with them.”
He started to applaud and others joined in, until the whole pub was rocking with clapping and whistling.
