Emilie Richards – The Parting Glass (страница 7)

“Okay, we’re going in together. Don’t walk too fast and leave me behind.” Megan took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

“I love you,” Casey said, and Peggy echoed it.

Megan’s eyes filled with tears. “Just go, okay?”

They started down the aisle. She took a step over the threshold and into the back of the church. Like one body the assembled guests rose. From the corner of her eye she saw a lone male figure step into the aisle. Then, as naturally as if he had rehearsed the scene for hours, Rooney Donaghue, shirt buttoned properly, clean shaven and smiling, came toward her and held out his arm.

chapter 3

None of the Donaghue sisters were sentimental, but despite that reputation, Peggy choked back tears during the ceremony. Megan was radiant as she joined her life with Nick’s, and even though Peggy hadn’t spent much of her adult life in church, the familiar rhythms of the wedding Mass touched her. But nothing touched her more than seeing her father take his rightful place at his oldest daughter’s side.

That glorious glimpse into the sacred exploded the moment she opened the door into the Whiskey Island Saloon.

“Ice machine gave up the ghost.” Barry, their bartender, pushed past her on his way outside. “Going for ice.”

“I—”

“And the band says they need more room to set up than you gave them,” he shouted over his shoulder. “So I moved tables out of their way, only now there aren’t so many tables—”

“I—”

“And there’s trees down all over Cleveland, so there’s no hope of getting a crew in tonight to cut it up. We roped off the area around the kitchen so nobody’ll park near the piece that’s still standing. But we can’t even get the car towed until…” His voice trailed off as he disappeared into his car and slammed the door.

Peggy wondered exactly what she was going to tell Niccolo and Megan when it came time for them to make their getaway and Casey’s car—if her tire was fixed by then—was waiting for them at the curb instead of the Honda.

“Peggy?” A strong hand ushered her all the way in. She looked up to see Charlie Ford, one of their loyal patrons. “The bakery just called. The cake’s all set up, but they forgot the petty cash, or something like that.”

“Petit fours. I thought maybe they had just put them in the kitchen.” She was beginning to panic. This was a crowd that would expect sweets before the cake was cut.

“Said they’d be by with them shortly. Not to worry.”

“Easy for you to say.”

Charlie’s eyes sparkled. His only son lived in New York, and the staff and patrons of the Whiskey Island Saloon were his Cleveland family. “And Greta says she’s going to quit if she has to stuff one more piece of cabbage.”

Greta was Megan’s treasured kitchen assistant and a fabulous cook in her own right, as well as a dedicated employee. “She always says that. Anything else?”

“Kieran went down for a nap about an hour ago, and the sitter left. The baby monitor’s in the kitchen with Greta.”

Peggy had expected that. The sitter had other obligations, and they had agreed to this compromise, knowing how regular Kieran’s nap time was. The older woman was one of the few outsiders who was willing to look after Kieran at all. How blessed it was to let someone else assume her son’s care for a few hours, and how impossible that would be beginning tomorrow.

But that was the way she had wanted it.

Charlie clapped Peggy on the shoulder. “Say, have you heard the one about the Irish priest who got stopped for speeding on Euclid Avenue? See, the cop smells alcohol on the good father’s breath and notices an empty wine bottle on the floor, so he knows he has to ask him about it. ‘Father, have you been drinking?’ he says. And the priest says, ‘Just water, my son.’ So the trooper picks up the bottle and holds it out in front of him. ‘Then what’s this, Father,’ he says. The priest throws up his hands. ‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph, he’s done it again!’”

She groaned. “Charlie, you’re the worst.”

He grinned as he disappeared into the growing crowd.

Peggy went straight to the kitchen. Greta was supervising a crew of cousins and customers who were setting food on platters and taking it out to the bar for the reception. Behind her, Peggy could hear the front door opening and closing regularly, and she knew that soon enough the saloon would look the way it did on St. Patrick’s Day.

“Everything going okay in here?”

Greta looked up, her moon face glowing with perspiration. “Did you know Nick’s family was bringing food?”

Until she’d seen them at the church, Peggy hadn’t even known Nick’s family were bringing themselves.

Greta waved one hand behind her toward the steel counter on the far wall. “Piles of it. They dropped it off before the wedding. His mother gave me instructions, like I don’t know how to heat up covered dishes? Why didn’t somebody tell me? I’ve been cooking for a week.”

“Nobody knew they were coming, Greta. I’m sorry. But I can guarantee everything you cooked will get eaten. Every single bit of it, and they’ll lick their plates.”

“Manicotti like you never seen. Sausages and peppers. Meatballs!” Greta grimaced. “All of it pretty good, too.”

Peggy put her arms around her for a quick hug. “Soldier on, okay? The Donaghues will eat their weight in corned beef. You can count on it.”

“They better!”

“No sounds from upstairs?”

“Not a peep, and I’ve got the monitor turned up all the way.”

“Just let me know.” Peggy heard the unmistakable pop of a champagne cork and sprinted back into the saloon and behind the bar. “Sam, who told you to start opening that?”

Sam Trumbull, another loyal customer, gave her a cock-eyed grin. He was a little man, with a chronic thirst and a line that could convince any stranger to buy him a drink in ten seconds flat. “Somebody put me in charge. I can’t remember who.”

There was just enough champagne for one good round of toasts right before the cake was cut. Before that the guests would have to settle for the excellent wines Niccolo had chosen, Barry’s mixed drinks, or the best Guinness in Cleveland.

“Not another bottle,” she warned. “Not until I tell you to. It’s going to go flat.”

“I just thought I’d check and see if the temperature was right.” He held out the bottle. “Want to see?”

“One glass, Sam. That’s it. Then pour the rest of it for—” She turned and pointed. “The man and woman over there. That’s my aunt Deirdre and uncle Frank.”

He looked disappointed, but he nodded.

The wind was rising outside, and Peggy checked the saloon clock. “I hope everybody gets here before this storm really breaks. It rains, then it stops, then it rains….”

“Cleveland spring.” Sam lifted his slight shoulders.

“Well, once they’re all here, it won’t matter.” She looked up as the door opened and Jon and Casey came in, followed by a large contingent of distant Donaghues.

Casey found her and pointed behind her, mouthing, “They’re coming,” enough times that Peggy understood. “The wedding party will be here pretty soon,” she told Sam. “Remember, don’t pop those corks until I signal. Promise?”

Casey managed to thread her way over to the bar as Peggy exited. “Where’s Kieran?”

“Upstairs sleeping. The baby monitor’s in the kitchen.”

“You’ve got a lot of people here that want to help you.”

“Kieran doesn’t need a lot of people, Casey. He needs a quiet environment and my full attention.”

“If this sojourn in Ireland doesn’t work out, you know you can always come back, right? Nobody will say ‘I told you so.’”

The door opened again, and this time Megan and Niccolo came through it, just behind Rooney. Behind them were the olive-skinned, regal members of Niccolo’s family. Peggy knew they were Andreanis because they were the only people in the saloon she didn’t know by name.

“Are they behaving themselves?” she asked Casey. “Nick’s family?”

“Actually, they’re charming. His mom’s a little reserved, like she’s here against her better judgment, but the rest of them are great. And can they tell stories. The trip from Pittsburgh’s worth a book. Maybe the Italians and the Irish are cousins under the skin? They’re going to get along with everybody.”

“And how’s Rooney doing?”

“He’s here, isn’t he? And it looks like Aunt Deirdre’s corralled him. She’ll make sure he’s fed and happy and not given anything to drink.”

Megan made her way toward her sisters. She was stopped, hugged and kissed by everybody between them.

“Other people have nice, quiet receptions,” she said. “Sit down dinners. Chamber music.”

As if on cue, the Celtic band—the lead singer was a second cousin on their mother’s side—began to play. The noise level doubled.

“Other people don’t have this much fun!” Peggy hugged her. “You doing okay?”

“We had to park down the street. Uncle Den claimed there wasn’t any room in the lot, not even for the bride and groom.”

Silently Peggy blessed her mother’s only brother and refused to meet Casey’s gaze for fear she would give away the truth. She just wondered how long it would take before someone mentioned the tree to Megan or Nick.

“Who invited all these people?” Megan shouted.

“You did!”