DISCLAIMER: see Prologue. The title from this chapter and the lyrics you'll find later (in italic) are both from the Kelly Family's Father's Nose. I only changed the baby's eyecolour because Jim has brown eyes.
Chapter Six: Ay guaguito de la Irlanda eres, bonito
Sebastian was lying next to the pool when Jim returned his sweater, "Thank you again."
"You're welcome." Sebastian frowned, "I own a helmet, too."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Your eye. Did that happen during PE?"
"Ah okay. No, I bumped my head on the bedroom door."
"I see." Sebastian closed his eyes again, "Where's Sorcha?"
"School nurse. She sprained her finger catching a ball. Or so she says."
"Yeah, most probably that. Well, Mrs Powers will make sure to report her to the headmaster if she fakes it."
"Mrs Powers? Carl's mother?"
"Yeah. She's the school nurse. Hopefully Sorcha's good at faking this. She really can't have detention this weekend."
"Why, you're going somewhere?"
"Dublin. Football Game. Ireland versus England."
"Oh yeah, I forgot." Jim had heard about the game when Brook had placed his bets last week. "Well, let's hope Ireland trashes the English."
"Oh they will, believe me. You're going, too?"
Jim shook his head, "No ticket. Or the money to buy one, for that matter."
"We have a spare ticket. My ma has to stay here because my Nana broke her hip. I'm sure my da wouldn't mind another Irish kid."
Jim sighed, "It would be cool. But as I said, I don't have the money to buy the ticket."
"Well good thing my da got them for free. I'm sure he wouldn't want you to pay, since you're a friend of his favourite little girl."
"That's really nice, and I would love to go, but I don't want to impose…" Jim felt his heart ache. Going back to Dublin, even if it were just for one night, would be wonderful. And he would be out of Brook's reach for the weekend. It was so tempting. But Brook would never allow it. "But thank you."
"Sure."
When Jim got home later that evening, his mother was on the phone with somebody, "Oh yes, I am sure. Of course. That's really nice of you. Of course, yes. Good-bye, and thank you." She hung up. When she saw Jim standing in the door, she gave him a smile, "That was Mr Moran. A nice man. He asked me whether we would allow you to go to Dublin for the weekend with them. Watching the big game."
Jim felt a massive relief that it had been his mother on the phone, not Brook, "I told his son I can't…"
"Yeah, he said so. But he told me that, when his son told him there was this kid who is from Ireland couldn't afford the ticket and therefore declined, he decided he would call." Her voice was a whisper now, "Thank God Richard is at a business dinner tonight. Anyways, Mr Moran said you really don't have to worry about the money. If you want to join them, he'd be happy to take you along."
"I can't accept that."
"I know, that's what I told him you would say. Come with me." She motioned him to the master bedroom. "I asked him how much the ticket costs." She sat down on the bed and fumbled on the slatted frame. Finally, she brought out a small wad of bills. "Here, take this. It's enough."
"Where did you get that from?" Jim asked, although he knew the answer already. His mother had been working again. With Jim in school and Brook at work, she had about eight hours where nobody was watching her. How she had made the connections when she knew nobody here Jim didn't know. He just knew one thing, "I can't take this money. This is yours."
She shook her head, "It's ours, Jim. I earned it because I want us to leave at some point."
"Mam, I cannot…"
"Jim, please." There were tears in her eyes now. "You have suffered so much during this last year. He hurts you so much, and you take it because you want to protect me. And I cannot protect you. Please, take the money and go. You're so young... You shouldn't be living like this. But we can't leave just now. You deserve some time off."
"What do you think he will do if he notices I'm gone, with people he doesn't know, back to Ireland to have fun? He will take it out on you, and I won't be here to protect you."
She wiped away the tears, "Jim. Sweetheart. You cannot always protect me. I know you want, but it's time you start thinking of yourself. What can he possibly do to me that he hasn't done in the past? I will get over it. But you… Please, Jim, do me a favour and go. I feel so bad for you, it would really ease my conscience if you went." She ran her hand over his head, "My little one. I never meant for this to happen. If your father was still with us, none of this would ever have happened." She planted a kiss on his front. "You are so much like him. He would have enjoyed this game tremendously. He would have drank with his friends and chanted for his country. Please, Jim. Go."
And finally, Jim nodded, "I will. Thank you, Ma. I'll get you the money back, I swear." He could feel tears standing in his eyes too. He had not for a second thought of his mother as a bad mother. But she had. And that hurt him. "You're not a bad mother, you know that. He's the bastard. And one day, I will make him pay. I will make him pay for everything he did to you. And he will beg me to kill him because he can't take the pain anymore."
"Jim, don't. Don't talk like this." She held his head to her shoulder and started humming. Jim didn't know the song, and he didn't understand a word of it for it was a foreign language. But it was soothing nevertheless, "Dieciséis añitos Te espere, bonito, y tu llegada me, rey, hico feliz, y tu vida fue como un milagrito… y tus ojos marrones me conquistaron... A tus canticos los pájaros te responden, cielito mio... ya sonríes al pueblo, hijo de rey..." She was rocking Jim back and forth as well as she could with him being almost her size. It had been years since she had done this the last time. After his father's funeral. When both of them were sitting at home, and Jim had asked her if his father had left them because he didn't love them anymore. She had shaken her head and whispered that father had loved them so much, and still loved them. Then she had started crying, holding her son, knowing that there would be many hardships coming their way, but promising to herself (and to Sean, whom she was sure was watching them right there and then) that never ever would she let Jim forget that both his parents loved him dearly, and that she would protect her son who looked so much like her beloved husband from any harm. She had failed. She had allowed Brook to take over everything, even going as far as cutting Jim's hair. And here he was telling her she wasn't a bad mother. But she would change it. She would sell her body again, earning money, so that at some point they could leave this hellhole. "And you got your father's nose… your father's nose…" She was now openly crying.
But so was Jim. And it would be the last tears he ever shed.
If anybody needs a translation, send me a PM.
