Chapter 2: The English Fella

James Maguire ran his eye over the four girls that were stood at the bottom of the garden path. He'd only met his cousin Michelle once, but could pick her out immediately from the line-up of girls in their work uniforms. Her dark hair was reminiscent of Deirdre's, flowing down onto her shoulders, released after having been tied up all day whilst she was working. He remembered little of her character from the funeral years before, though his mother always told him that she was a rude little girl. He didn't quite know how she knew any different, having only met Michelle the once herself, but he trusted her opinion. The other girls, presumably Michelle's friends, were a bit of a mystery.

A tall girl, taller than Michelle, with hair that flowed even further down, stood to the left of his cousin. She appeared to be more interested by some of the flowers in his Aunt and Uncle's front garden than his presence, not that he particularly blamed her for it. There was a smile on the girl's face too, a radiant one which he immediately came to appreciate.

Stood to his cousin's right were two blondes, the first of which was a small girl, who looked incredibly frightened by his presence. James never thought of himself as a scary young fellow, yet this tiny blonde girl appeared to have seen him as some sort of monster from a story designed to scare children. His brows furrowed at the thought of him being monstrous.

Then there was the other blonde. Her cheeks were flushed pink as if she were embarrassed, another reaction that the Englishman couldn't quite understand. Upon a first examination, it made her appear shy to his presence. Assuming that the blondes were both perturbed by him being there, he thought nothing more of the pink cheeks. But there was something different about her…

Walking down the path to greet his cousin and introduce himself to her friends, he didn't miss the snarl that was sent in his direction. It appeared Kathy was correct in her description. Michelle was just as nasty as she'd warned.

"Michelle…". He began cheerfully. "… it has been a lo-".

"Stop talkin'!" She shouted back at him.

Coming to a stop in front of the four girls, he could confirm that his mother was most certainly correct. Unwilling to dwell on the thought, he glanced to his left, noticing that the blonde whose cheeks were pink from a distance, carried an even more enflamed colour across her face as he'd drawn closer, with James still none the wiser as to why it had coloured in the first place.

"Is there a problem?" He continued to talk.

"Are ye deaf? I said stop talkin' James". His cousin snapped back.

"Now come on Michelle, I know we barely know each other…".

"Yeah, let's keep it that way!"

It had all been such a rush in leaving London, that he never found the time to ask his mother about anything he should avoid in Derry. Having left the city many years earlier, Kathy held no love for the place she called home and would keep discussion about it to a minimum in the capital. James attributed this to an unhappy childhood, though she'd often spoke of better times with Deirdre, which dented that view.

"As you wish…". James spoke again, hiding his growing frustration, utilising his gentlemanly conduct. "… but will you at least introduce me to your friends?"

"Ugh! Fine!" Michelle huffed, continuing to act with open resentment towards him. "This, is Orla… Orla, my cousin James…".

Michelle started with the girl who he'd noted to be distant earlier on. She was not acting so as he stood before her, taking an active interest into finding out who he was. The smile had stayed on her face throughout, and unlike Michelle, this Orla seemed to already enjoy his presence. Keeping in line with the gentlemanly fashion that his mother had raised him with, he sought her hand to press a light kiss to her fingers. But yet again, it displeased his bullish cousin.

"Oi! Don't ye be tryin' yer dirty English moves on her, she's taken for!"

Ignoring his cousin, James continued on to place a kiss onto Orla's knuckles, with the tall girl nodding her appreciation at him having done so. Michelle grunted and groaned at him, not that he cared. He'd only reintroduced himself to her a couple of minutes before and already he was coming to understand the type of person she was. There was going to be a lot of soaking up of abuse, that was for sure.

He moved on past Michelle, who contemplated slapping him for a brief second until she saw that Deirdre was now watching on from the door. Conflict with her mother never ended well, so she withdrew her wishful thoughts of hurting her cousin, leaving them to bubble for another time. James reached for Clare's hand too, though she pulled it away as soon as he reached in.

"Ach come on Clare, he's just bein' a gent".

The other blonde spoke up in his defence, to James's complete surprise. The air of hostility that Michelle created disappeared for a moment as this other girl spoke in a calm and reassuring tone. He nodded his thanks to her, noticing that her cheeks remained as pink as they had been from the moment she'd looked towards him as exited the house. Her words did have an effect on her friend Clare though, as the smaller of the two blondes returned her hand towards him, with James once again placing a kiss to the knuckles. He had to ignore the gagging sound from Michelle as he did…

"And you are?"

James addressed his question to the pink-cheeked blonde who'd come to his aid a couple of moments before. Perhaps she was naturally shy, he began to think to himself, as although her previous comment suggested otherwise, the girl looked away from him for a brief second. But just as soon as she did, her eyes glanced back to his once more.

"Erin… Erin Quinn".

"Erin…". He flashed her a pleasant grin as he took her hand. "… I owe you my thanks".

The next few seconds in the life of Erin Quinn became of great significance to her. James planted the kiss to her knuckles and what it did to her inside was incredible. It was as if someone had thrown her onto one of the overhead power lines, sparks flying as her emotions crashed into something new. The new sensation of having James's lips on her skin. In the seconds after, as he pulled away with a wide smile etched across his face, she couldn't shake the thought that his lips lingered on her knuckles for a second longer than they had done on Orla's or Clare's. She couldn't voice those thoughts to her friends of course; they didn't believe what she had with John-Paul, so they would never believe her if she told them what she thought about James.

Christ!

John-Paul was fast becoming an afterthought as Michelle's handsome cousin stood in front of her. There was something refreshing about James that Erin didn't see in John-Paul, David or any of the other lads from Derry. He might not have looked as muscular or as rugged as they did, but there was a charming sophistication about the English fella. He was very beau…

No! No! NO!

Erin stopped herself. It hadn't even been five minutes. Was that how easy she was?

The other three girls may not have picked up on her pink cheeks or shy demeanour, but Erin knew exactly what was going on. The concept of love at first sight was once she'd written about in some of her creative works that she kept at home, when a romantic young girl would gaze upon her hero. She was suddenly the romantic young girl… and she was gazing.

"Seeing as you aren't so keen on talking…". James spoke up to address Michelle once again. "… I shall leave you in peace".

"Good!" Michelle scoffed back, moving her arm up to point at something in the distance. "England's that way ye stuck up prick".

"Michelle!" Clare admonished her for the language.

"Thank you for the directions". He chuckled. "Alas, England is not my destination. I will be back here tomorrow morning Michelle, don't worry".

The urge to either slap or even punch James became increasingly harder for Michelle to ignore, especially as he finished his sentence off with a brand of sarcasm which she was usually known for. Luckily for James, he'd already moved to walk around the girls, exiting the property in order to get into his car. Orla and Clare were both smiling as he passed. Though she may have been reluctant to accept his gentlemanly kiss on the hand at first, Clare admired the way that the young man brushed off his cousin's insults. Orla too was coming to the conclusion that he was a good fella, though he was no David Donnelly to her, that was for sure.

"I… fuck!" Michelle cursed as James drove off down the road.

"He seems nice…". Orla commented, with Michelle turning to stare at her.

"Nice? Nice!? He's English Orla… English!"

"I don't have a problem with that".

"Neither do I". Clare agreed with her.

"Erin?"

Michelle turned to her for reinforcement in the sentiment, but the voicing of her name sailed in one ear and out of the other for Erin. She was busy watching the car disappear off down the road, unable to take her eyes off of James. Only a light nudge in the ribs from Clare's elbow brought her back into the real world, where she was scared stiff in an instant, praying that the girls hadn't noticed her staring.

"S-… sorry what was that Michelle?"

"Dreamin' about ridin' John-Paul again, pfff!" She scoffed. "James being English is a fuckin' problem isn't it?".

It was a problem for Erin. But not in the same way it was for Michelle. He was her cousin… he didn't make her blush like he had done Erin and Michelle's palms didn't begin to sweat at the mere sight of him either. But before Erin could give any form of an answer, she was saved.

"MICHELLE MALLON!"

Deirdre's roar prompted the four of them to jump out of their skins, turning around to find a face of thunder awaiting them. The other girls were spared her anger, but the language that her daughter used was completely unacceptable in the ground of their house. Keen to remind Michelle, Deirdre resorted to bellowing in order to do so.

"I WILL NOT HEAR THAT LANGUAGE FROM YOU AGAIN! DO YE UNDERSTAND ME?"

"Would have been hard not to". Michelle foolishly snorted.

Clare and Erin winced in unison at her attempt to stand up to her mother, Orla's eyes widening in surprise too. If there was one tip that any of them could have given to anyone about surviving Derry as a child, then not answering back to your mother would be the tip. Clouded with a rebellious nature however, Michelle did not always heed her own advice…

"DON'T YE BE SMART WITH ME! Ye can clean the house tonight for that!"

"Ma!"

"Wise up Michelle! Ye know the rules… and yer goin' to have to get used to yer cousin, so ye better start bein' nicer to him!"

"WHAT!?"

Michelle might have shouted it, but Erin was thinking it too. Michelle's cousin being devilishly handsome for just a short visit was bad enough, but Deirdre seemed to be implying that it would be more than just a short stay. How the hell was she going to maintain her calm?

"Ye best have a read of this".

A second later, Deirdre thrust a letter into Michelle's hands and the girls crowded around to read it.

Dear Deirdre,

I trust that yourself, Martin and Michelle are keeping well.

I must first convey my apologies to you about this. I have not had the time to notify you in advance with another letter as it has been all so sudden. My work requires me to move away onto the continent, and I can't take James with me. As much as he's a mature young man, I would fear leaving him alone in London without anyone else to watch over him in the family. Hence why you have this letter and James is stood in front of you.

I have bought a little cottage for him to live in just outside of the city, with instructions to visit you daily on his return from work. I have found him a job as a Junior manager at the Ulster Bank too, and he starts there from Monday the twenty-fourth. Other than his daily visit, he shouldn't bother you, but if you want to visit him at any point, then I'm sure James will give you the address. However, should he give yourself or the family any trouble during his stay, then you have my blessing to deliver him the strictest punishment, even if he is a man now! I'm sure you still have to discipline your Michelle from time to time too!

Regretfully, I cannot say how long I will be away in Europe, but I promise to write to you ahead of my return, whenever that may be. I am not sure of my address for the meantime, so please do not attempt to write back as anything that is posted to the address in London will not be forwarded.

Your loving Sister Kathy

P.s James comes with a car too, so do feel free to ask him to run any errands in it. I'm sure he will be delighted to help.

"Great!" Michelle shouted.

The sun was beginning to set for the evening over the skies of Derry. The big clock in the living room of the Quinn house had just struck eight as the darkness of another Friday night loomed on the horizon. The room featured its two usual guests from outside of the house, Granda Joe and Sarah, who would come round every evening from next door. Orla lived with the two of them, whilst Erin and her little sister Anna occupied the Quinn house with their parents, Mary and Gerry. With the amount of time that they spent in each other's homes, they may as well have just knocked the wall in the middle down to make one huge house for them all to roam around freely in. Though that sounded like far too sensible a suggestion for any of them to make, despite it having been made by countless other visitors in the past.

"Those wains still aren't home yet Mary!" Joe complained to his daughter.

"Ach give them time Da!"

"Time!?" Joe flared up in anger. "Alice Rafferty gave her wains time and…".

"And they ended up being pulled out the Foyle… we've heard the story twenty times before Da". She huffed in return.

Joe gave his daughter a glare, before continuing to read a book in his armchair. It was a favoured pastime for him in his older age, with precious little else for him to do outside of helping with the housework next door. On some nights he'd go off clay pigeon shooting with his brother Colm and some friends, but Colm was attending a meeting of the parish council that night and couldn't go.

The floorboards of the stairs creaked, indicating the imminent return of Gerry from upstairs, whilst also warning that Joe would be angered again, as he was not at all fond of his son in-law.

"Is Anna asleep?" Mary asked her husband.

"Aye that she is love". Gerry answered, leaning down to give her a kiss on the forehead.

"Wee Anna's gettin' good at that sleepin' like". Sarah piped up from her spot at the dining table.

There were nods of agreement from all of them. Getting Anna settled at night was a challenge, but the now three year old youngest daughter of Mary and Gerry was an angel at night. It was a relief for the two of them, with both having so many interrupted nights since her birth, which impacted greatly on their work performance in the day that would follow. Mary, along with Sarah, worked with the girls at the factory, albeit in a different section. They worked the same shifts, twelve hour shifts from Monday to Thursday, with a shorter shift on Friday for an earlier finish. Gerry worked at the ferry port as one of the train drivers down at the railway yard in the docks, shifting goods from the various warehouses to the relevant vessels and so forth. Being able to get a good night's sleep was paramount.

"Right you…". Joe got up from his armchair, addressing his words to Gerry. "… get going and find those wains ye useless shite".

"Da, language!" Mary reminded him.

"The kids aren't here now Mary… and this stupid bastard is just standin' around. Go and find them!"

"I'm sure they'll be fine Joe". Gerry attempted to reassure him, ignoring the blatantly incorrect comment that insinuated laziness on his behalf.

"Oh yer sure are ye?" Joe rounded on him. "That means nothin' to me! Christ, I trust those dirty krauts more than you!"

"Da! Enough!"

Mary was forced to get sterner with her father, which succeeded in him backing down, but not before he mumbled another comment about Gerry under his breath. It was a regular performance at home, although it was usually without the swearing, with Joe never having a kind word to say about Gerry. It was a miracle that he'd even been allowed to marry her in the first place, only being able to as their marriage came at a particularly low point in Joe's life. He'd just come back from fighting in the Great War, having volunteered when the call came, returning to find that his wife Marie passed away in his absence. He was in no position to deny Gerry entry to the family then, but had never given the man an easy time since, in the apparent belief that his son in-law from Roscommon was no good for his daughter.

Before they could lock horns again, the front door opened and the living room was soon occupied by Erin and Orla, who arrived at speed.

"You wains are back late?"

Mary eyed the two suspiciously, her wooden spoon in hand. The wooden spoon was the family misbehaviour deterrent, having kept generations of the McCool side of the family in line over the years. Anna was too young to face the spoon, but Erin's occasional rebellious outbursts called for the threat of the spoon and it usually was deployed to full usage when Orla made a ridiculous comment. On the worst occasions, it would leave a whacking great bruise on the skin of whoever was on the end of the beating, Mary herself knowing what it felt like from years earlier when Marie would use her own spoon on both of her daughters. It kept delinquency within the family to a minimum though, which had always worked and would continue to work as long as she drew breath.

"Aye Mammy, and we have news!" Erin somewhat excitedly told her.

"What's Michelle done this time?" Mary questioned, jumping to the conclusion that the news would pertain to their group's troublemaker.

"Michelle's cousin has come to live in Derry… from England".

Mary nearly dropped the spoon at her daughter's comment. Deirdre only had one sibling, but Kathy Maguire left years before to have an abortion in shame. Being close friends as they were, she'd never mentioned to Mary about Michelle having a cousin, which only served to enhance how shocking the news was to her. Then again, if he or she spoke with an English accent, then it was hardly a surprise. Having an English in the family was hardly something to shout from the rooftops.

"I didn't know Kathy had a wain". Sarah looked at the girls incredulously.

"It's true Mammy!" Orla exclaimed. "He was there when we went back to the Mallon's after work".

"He?" Mary asked.

"Aye that's right Aunt Mary, his name is James".

James. The name suddenly jolted Erin back to her emotions of earlier in the day. She was picturing his smartly trimmed hair, his perfect suit with its accompanying pocket square, his handsome face…

"And Erin was blushin' at the sight of him, so she was".

Oh no! Orla had only gone and noticed the turmoil Erin was put through at just the sight of the Englishman! She could feel her cheeks reddening in anger at her cousin for revealing the truth, a truth she didn't understand how her cousin could have realised, having barely come to terms with it herself. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see one of her mother's eyebrows raising at the comment, only heightening Erin's internal panic.

"I was jokin!" Orla shouted gleefully, with Erin sighing relief internally.

"Aye right…".

Mary didn't seem so convinced that it was just a joke. She'd seen the startled expression on the face of her daughter at Orla's comment on how she'd reacted to the presence of the English stranger. Being English would do him no favours in the city, and the last thing Mary wanted was the boy bringing their family name into disrepute by association with Erin.

"What were the eyebrows like girls?

Sarah's question took Mary away from her suspicious thoughts about James, to a different train of thought entirely. Back in the day, when they were friends with Kathy, her eyebrows were stunning, the most immaculately kept in the whole of Ireland in their opinion, if not the rest of the living world. Her eyebrows hadn't been seen or discussed in years, but naturally Sarah had come to the conclusion that the boy would have inherited the beautiful brows of his mother…. Of course she would ask as well…

"What do ye mean?" Erin's brows furrowed as she replied.

"His eyebrows… were they lookin' well? Kathy used to have the finest eyebrows around when she was yer age, isn't that right Mary?"

"Let's not discuss Kathy any more than we need to Sarah…". Mary grumbled. "… as far I'm concerned, she's a disgrace for runnin' away like that".

"Woah no Mary!" Sarah raised her voice. "Yer being unfair there. Kathy and her eyebrows… well they're different entities so they are. And this James, how were his eyebrows lookin?"

"I don't think I noticed". Orla replied slightly dejectedly.

"Me neither!" Erin was quick to add.

Except that was a lie. She had noticed when she thought about it properly. She didn't know what the measurements on the scale of judgement were when it came to eyebrows, but James' eyebrows were most definitely looking well. Then again, so was the rest of him…

NO!

Erin's mind was leading her astray again, with only the quick thinking of her left hand to pinch herself in the side saving her from any unwanted questions.

To Mary's dismay, discussions about Kathy Maguire, her eyebrows and the young fella James rumbled on for another ten minutes, with Joe and Gerry both adding their own thoughts to the conversation, the former mostly to smite the latter. Orla told them of what was said in the letter about Kathy having to move away to Europe without him, wanting to have someone to keep him in check in her absence. It all sounded very odd to Mary, but perhaps that was the way in which people lived over the other side of the sea; having never been to England, she could only presume it was. The detail of James driving a car suggested to her that he must have some degree of wealth behind him if he owned one at aged eighteen. Still, she would render her final judgement on meeting the Englishman, which was inevitable given that he would be staying for an undetermined amount of time.

The back and forth about those topics were coming to a natural end when the front door opened again. Orla raced off to it, as she knew it would be her David arriving to see her. He always came to meet her at either her house or her Aunt's next door when they would see each other. That night he'd already been to her door to find out after a minute or two that no one was in, changing course for next door after determining that she would be there instead.

They entered the living room, Orla wrapping herself around his side as David came to rest an arm around her. He was smartly dressed himself, wearing his best grey jumper that was very similar to the one that Joe wore himself that evening. It was with Orla's Granda that he shared a look, one that Gerry picked up on and couldn't quite understand. It all became clear a minute later though.

"Evening David son". Joe greeted him.

"Alright there Joe?" The young man enquired, a grin from ear to ear.

"Aye I'm grand Son". He replied to Orla's fella.

"Good. Is everyone else alright then?"

There were nods of confirmation or muttered replies from all of them. Once upon a time, Erin would have felt nervous around David, given the crush she used to have on him, but their personalities had grown apart since those days. She was happy for Orla though, as David was the perfect fit for her cousin. Sensible enough to counteract Orla's often blatant disregard for certain aspects of life, but still enough of an eejit to make her happy.

"Have ye got something to tell us David?"

Everyone else in the room, sans David and Orla, traded glances between the couple and Granda Joe. There were knowing looks on the faces of the two men, similar to the ones that Gerry identified when David arrived a few moments prior.

"Aye… that we have".