Taxi to the Emerald Isle – Chapter 4
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DISCLAIMER: I am not connected to Emmerdale and its characters, which belong to ITV
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When he thought back, Aaron could not remember exactly when the wheels had come off; metaphorically speaking. One minute, he had been enjoying his job with Kelly's Luxury Cars at Kilgannon Castle, being the senior mechanic and working with his old pal Ryan; and Niall. The next, he was unemployed again and looking for work!
The first bombshell came when the police called at the Calf Pen one afternoon. They were making enquiries about Pat's twin sons; Liam and Connor Kelly. Aaron invited the two police officers to sit down, he noticed that they had "Garda" emblazoned on their jackets; another reminder that he was not in England! The officers told him that Liam and Connor had been arrested and charged with molesting a fifteen-year-old boy! They had already spoken to Ryan and were speaking to anyone who had been living or working in the castle and the grounds. They said that Ryan had informed them about the twins' assault on him and were asking if Aaron still had the photographic evidence of the incident. Aaron gave them a memory stick containing the piece of film and told them about the time that Liam and Connor had made advances to him by the swimming pool. The Garda officers said that they were sure they had enough evidence to prove the twins' guilt, especially when Aaron told them that Niall was likely to testify as well. Patrick Kelly, although aware that his sons were gay, genuinely did not have any idea of their activities and he was devastated to hear about it.
The next bombshell came when Patrick Kelly summoned his three employees to the castle. Aaron had a feeling that something was amiss; although he could not put his finger on it; as everything seemed to be fine and Pat always told them how pleased he was with their work. He sat open-mouthed in disbelief as Pat told them that he was selling his business as he wanted to move abroad with his wife and basically take early retirement. His wife had always been keen to move to the south of France and the bad publicity associated with the twins had brought everything to a head. Pat had always prided himself in having a good reputation and, although he was not directly implicated in the twins' wrongdoings, he was an honourable man and felt that his family name; and therefore his company name, had been tarnished. Pat was very apologetic to the lads, saying how the three of them had given faultless service and he gave them envelopes containing glowing references, but there was no escaping the fact that all three were now redundant. Pat said that he had spoken to the new owners, who were based in Dublin, but because they ran a similar outfit, they already had a fully-staffed servicing facility and did not have any vacancies.
Aaron could not believe what had happened; he had previously been worried that, if he had 'spilled the beans' about the twins' assault on him, he would have lost his job. Now, indirectly, the twins had caused him to lose his job anyway! Aaron was concerned about his home in the Calf Pen, but Pat assured him that he could stay there until the castle was sold and passed to a new owner. Jackson assured Aaron that he could easily afford the rent while Aaron was searching for another job, but Aaron felt that he should be contributing in some way and it was making him moody. He would sometimes snap at Jackson, but would immediately regret it and apologise to his husband. Jackson understood Aaron perfectly, as always; and would shrug off Aaron's outbursts of frustration. When Aaron calmed down after a tantrum, he would hug Jackson and kiss him, thinking that he should not take things out on his partner and realising that Jackson was his rock and would always be there for him, unconditionally. As time went on, he came to the conclusion that he was even more deeply in love with Jackson than before; the guy always stood by him through thick and thin; and he knew in his heart that Jackson loved him back, without question.
The third bombshell hit a couple of days later. Aaron was preparing a meal when Jackson flew through the front door of the Calf Pen in a panic.
"Aaron, it's my Mum!" tears were rolling down his cheeks, "She's had a heart attack!"
"Oh, my God!" Aaron was in shock. He scooped Jackson into his arms and tried to comfort him.
"I've got to go back to England!" Jackson said, "Declan's told me to go; and not to worry about work."
"Poor Hazel!" Aaron was still in a daze, "Let's pack some stuff; then we can be on our way!"
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When they arrived at the airport, they were surprised to see Ryan there. It turned out that Ryan had spoken to an old friend in Hotten and he had been told about a vacancy in a tyre and exhaust-fitting outlet. By coincidence, Ryan was booked on the same flight as Aaron and Jackson, which led Aaron to make a quip about Ryan stalking them; though he was too worried about Hazel to be in too much of a jovial mood.
On arrival back in England, the lads shared a taxi to Hotten. Ryan told them en-route that he had arranged with his mate to "doss down" on his sofa at his bed-sit, but would have to make more permanent arrangements later. He asked where Aaron and Jackson were going to stay and they told him that Paddy had offered them temporary accommodation at Smithy Cottage. However, they were not going to Emmerdale village until they had first visited Hotten General to see Hazel.
The taxi pulled up outside a row of old, terraced houses and Ryan climbed out, "I hope Hazel's OK, see you around, guys!"
"Thanks mate," Jackson smiled at Ryan, "Take care!"
"I'll give you a bell later," added Aaron, "Cheers mate!"
When the couple arrived at the hospital, they found Hazel flat out in her bed, hooked up to machines and sleeping soundly.
The doctor, a slim, middle-aged man with dark hair greying at the temples, spoke to them, "She's stable. Don't expect too much, she's very tired."
"Will she be OK?" asked Jackson, his face full of concern.
"The next few hours will be critical, but she's comfortable for now. We'll just have to hope that she doesn't have another attack," the doctor tried to reassure them.
"Is that likely?" Jackson was still very worried.
"It happens sometimes, but she's being taken care of. We've done all we can for now."
They sat by Hazel's bed and Jackson tenderly took hold of his mother's hand. Just then, she stirred and focussed on them.
"Hello Mum!" Jackson smiled, "How are you feeling?"
"I've been better!" Hazel replied with her usual good humour, "It's lovely to see you...you too, Aaron."
"I dunno!" Aaron tried to make light of the situation, "You do know how to cause a drama, don't you?"
Jackson could not get over how frail his mother looked. She had been such a strong, active and bubbly character; he could not remember ever seeing her like this before. She had also lost weight since he last saw her.
"Is there anything I can get you?" Jackson asked.
"No, sweetheart, I've got everything I need, I just feel very tired!" Hazel yawned.
"You just get some sleep," Jackson bent to kiss his mother's forehead, "I'll still be here when you wake up."
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Paddy was overjoyed to see Aaron on his arrival at Smithy Cottage; he instinctively hugged his surrogate son and was glad that Aaron did not push him away, "It's great to see you again! How's Hazel? Where's Jackson?"
"One question at a time!" Aaron smiled, "Jackson's staying at the hospital with Hazel for a while; she's resting in bed."
"I'm sorry to hear about your job," Paddy looked concerned, "I suppose you'll be looking for something new when you go back?"
"Yeah, I'm afraid so!" Aaron grimaced, "I really liked that job too!"
"Still, I suppose it's good that Jackson is doing OK with Declan's company," Paddy always tried to look on the bright side.
Later that night, after Jackson had returned to Emmerdale, the couple were lying in bed in Aaron's old room at Smithy Cottage.
"It almost feels like we're back at square one!" said Aaron, wistfully.
"Yeah," Jackson replied, staring at the ceiling, "We're back in the same house; the same bed; where it all began for you and me! Things have changed though, haven't they?"
"In what way?"
"Well, when we first jumped into this bed together, you were still coming out and we hadn't started a relationship. Now, we're married and living in another country."
Before Aaron could answer, Jackson's mobile phone rang and he picked it up to answer it, "I thought I'd turned this off!" he said.
Aaron listened in to Jackson's side of the conversation.
"Hi Declan, no, it's OK. What! Is everyone alright...Katie...Mrs O'Sullivan? What...completely burnt out...Christ! OK...yeah...I understand. Don't worry...you just do what you've got to do. OK...I'm just pleased you're all safe...'bye for now."
Jackson looked as white as a sheet.
"What's the matter, babe?" Aaron's voice was full of concern.
Jackson looked close to tears, "It's Declan's house; there's been a big fire! It's gutted!"
Aaron instinctively hugged Jackson to him, "How did that happen?"
"They don't know until the fire service have carried out some investigations. Declan and Katie were out at a restaurant in Dublin and it was Mrs O'Sullivan's night off. At least they're OK. Declan said that he and Katie would have to rent somewhere until it's all sorted out," Jackson looked pensive, "...that beautiful house!"
"What about the project you were working on?"
"That's just it; it's all been put on hold. Declan said I might as well stay here until he contacts me again. Looks like I'll be here visiting my mum for a while yet!"
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A week later, Hazel was slowly improving and Jackson was spending a lot of time with her at the hospital. Aaron often accompanied him to lend moral support, but would sometimes catch up on old friends in the village. One person who he had not yet seen was his best friend Adam. He knew that Adam's father had given up the farm and Adam himself had found a new job as a warehouseman in a supermarket distribution centre in Hotten Newtown. Aaron received a text from his old mate, giving directions to a pub near the warehouse and asking for a lunchtime meeting. They did meet as arranged and had a good catch-up.
"I wish I could find somewhere else to live," Adam said, with a fed-up look on his face, "This place I'm in now is a real dive! Just one room in a big old house in Hotten; one bathroom shared between four tenants. I could do with a place in the new town; nearer to where I work!"
"Why don't you move then?" Aaron asked.
"Have you seen how much those new places cost; even to rent; I only get a warehouseman's wages, mate; not a managing director's!"
"Did you hear about Declan's house burning down?" asked Aaron, knowing the 'history' between them.
"Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke!" Adam sneered, "Maybe his enemies finally caught up with him!"
"Come on, mate!" Aaron felt that he needed to defend Jackson's boss, "He's not all bad! He's always been fair with Jackson; plus he did put in a good word for me with Patrick Kelly!"
"Yeah; and look how that turned out! Getting you involved with those scumbag sons of his!"
"That wasn't Declan's fault! Even Pat didn't know what they were up to!"
"Yeah, I suppose!" Adam conceded, "Still, you're out of a job now though mate!"
"Tell me about it!"
Just then, Ryan happened to walk through the door of the pub. He spotted the lads and walked over to meet them, "Hey guys!" They greeted each other with a handshake.
"This is getting spooky now!" Aaron laughed, "You are definitely stalking me!"
"I often come in here!" Ryan explained, "My tyre and exhaust place is just round the corner, next to the supermarket warehouse!"
"No?" Adam gasped, "That's where I work!"
"Wow!" Aaron said, "You've been working next door to each other and didn't know!"
They all laughed. Fate had somehow thrown them all back together again!
