“I’m taking part in a study, actually. They’ll see me every few months until…” She swallowed. “Well, until I can’t anymore. But I want to do what I can.”
He shook his head, almost like his body was rejecting the information. He simply stared at his mother, unable to form words or do anything more than the automatic functions that kept him standing and breathing.
“The doctors have said it’s not a good idea for me to be living in an isolated place, and with all the appointments I’ll have, being so far away from the city will be tough.”
“You’re moving back to Boston?”
Merrin nodded. “Yeah. I’m moving in with Mom.”
He wasn’t sure if he was more surprised by the announcement or that she’d called Orna “Mom.” But his grandmother and mother living under one roof wouldn’t exactly be a piece of cake—that was a lot of personality for one house. “How does Gram feel about that?”
“To be honest, I think she’s happy to have someone at home with her. Not that she’d ever admit it.” Merrin rolled her eyes. “We’re a stubborn bunch, aren’t we?”
In spite of his mixed feelings and the heavy weight of the conversation, Ronan laughed. “It seems to be a defining family feature.”
“I wanted you to hear all of this from me,” Merrin said. “I told Keira a few weeks back, but I asked her not to say anything, so don’t be angry at her.”
Keira, unlike him, had probably answered her phone instead of avoiding the calls as they came up. Guilt flashed through him. Sure, he felt justified in his anger toward his mother, and he couldn’t give up the memories and hurt so easily. But knowing she’d been trying to reach him with such awful news…
“I’m sorry,” he said. Whether it was for not picking up the phone, or holding a grudge, or for the news itself, he wasn’t sure.
Merrin opened her mouth to respond, but the sound of metal on metal drew his eyes to the front door. The lock flicked, and it swung open. Audrey was carrying a big box in front of her, so big she could barely see over the top.
“Hey Ro!” she singsonged as she walked in, bumping the door with her hip to close it.
Ronan went over to Audrey to help her with the box, and as they lowered it to the ground, Audrey looked up and caught Merrin’s eye. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize you had someone over.”
“It’s okay.” Hmm. He had not expected to make this kind of introduction. Ever. “Audrey, this is my mother, Merrin. Merrin, this is…my girlfriend, Audrey.”
Both his mother’s and Audrey’s eyes shot up. Girlfriend? Ugh. They hadn’t even talked about putting a label on it. First he jumped in with the house key, and now he was using the G-word before knowing if it was the right time.
What are you doing, man? It’s like you’ve never dated a woman before.
“So nice to meet you.” Audrey stuck her hand out and flashed her trademark beaming smile.
“Likewise.” His mother returned the gesture, and then everyone stood around awkwardly for a moment. “Well, I should get going. I don’t want to interrupt your plans.”
“We’re only having dinner,” Audrey said. “You’re welcome to join us.”
“That’s very sweet, but I have to get on the road. I’ve got a long drive back home.” Merrin looked at Ronan like she wanted to say something more, but the moment of truth they shared earlier had evaporated like a puff of smoke. “I’ll call you soon, Ronan.”
He nodded and watched his mother leave, hands hanging uselessly by his sides. Audrey’s gaze flicked to him as the door shut, her sunny expression morphing into one of concern. “Everything okay? Should I not have asked her to stay? Sorry, I… It’s an automatic thing.”
Automatic, because Audrey was wired to care about others. And he was wired to keep people out. If Audrey knew he’d ghosted his own mother these past few weeks, she’d probably be disgusted. Here she was, caring for her brother and sisters and even the father who treated her like shit.
She wouldn’t walk away from a family member, no matter how bad things got.
He raked a hand through his hair and went to the stove, grabbing the wooden spoon and stirring the sauce, jabbing at the bits that had started to stick to the bottom because he’d left it unattended too long.