Ambush

Chapter 18

Returning home was trickier than I expected. I was greeted by the combined force of Mary Catherine’s and my grandfather’s anger over my foolish idea to drive all the way to Buffalo while I was still recovering.

The doctor was mildly annoyed, but she seemed like a doctor used to dealing with stubborn cops.

It was all worth it to see Brian and ease my mind. Even if only temporarily.

Now I was ready to spend an extra couple of days with the family, who seemed to like having me around during the day.

Chrissy, the youngest, still liked to lay her head on my lap while I read to her or she watched TV. Shawna, a year older, was content to just hang near me. I liked that.

Trent and Eddie tested my ability to play rough. They quickly realized I was more fragile than usual when a stitched wound on my stomach started to leak blood. The wrestling match ended quickly, but I appreciated that my boys still enjoyed roughhousing with me.

The twins, Fiona and Bridget, were involved in a project on the dining-room table. It was some kind of quilt that Bridget had started, but she had quickly gotten in over her head. Mary Catherine rescued her and recruited Fiona to help her finish.

Ricky enjoyed making me special lunches that always had a decidedly Cajun flair. For a kid who’d been raised in New York City, Ricky knew his way around jambalaya and gumbo. If you would’ve told me one of my kids would get upset because he couldn’t find fresh okra in the city, I would have thought you were crazy.

But I had slowly reconciled myself to the fact that both Jane and Juliana, my pretty teenage girls, had their own lives. All I asked was that they remain good students and study during the week so that they would have time to go out on weekends.

Juliana had been sitting quietly in the recliner at the end of the couch, petting our cat, Socky. I could sense that she was waiting for a chance to talk with me without an extra set of ears around.

Her long dark hair twisted over her shoulder and made me realize just how beautiful she was. When we adopted her, she was only two months old, and even when she was just a toddler, her bright brown eyes and brilliant smile always lit up a room when she walked in.

I stood up, gently nudging Chrissy to the side. I said to her and Shawna, “You can watch TV for thirty minutes.”

Chrissy’s eyes lit up. “Anything we want?”

“Within reason. If you’re going to go off our usual routine of TLC or public TV, try sticking to a cartoon or something that won’t make you stay up at night.” I knew that would be enough to hold these two in place.

I caught Juliana’s eye and motioned her out to the balcony.

It felt good to step out into the fresh air. The wound on my head was healing, and the cool breeze on my face made it feel better. I wrapped an arm around Juliana. Holding my daughter near reminded me of her mother.

Maeve had built this family. There was no way I would ever let it fall apart.

I started the conversation. “I know you want to talk to me about your TV job. And I want to say how proud I am of you and how lucky that producer is for having found you.”

Her smile was enough reward for holding back my five hundred questions. She wrapped an arm around me and gave me a quick hug.

Juliana said, “Thanks, Dad. With everything that’s going on I was worried what you thought about it.”

“I heard about your audition. They picked you out of two hundred young actresses.”

“I did the audition on a whim. I couldn’t believe they picked me. All the filming will be in Brooklyn, and it won’t interfere with school in any way.”

“You know I’m going to be visiting the set, right?”

“Come on, Dad. It’s not like I’m a baby.”

“You’re my baby.”

“So I’ll be the only member of the cast who has a chaperone?”

“I don’t know about that.”

She looked at me, thinking I meant I wouldn’t be visiting the set. Instead I said, “Maybe other cast members will have chaperones as well.”

You can’t always be the fun dad.