Chapter Six – Kristy
Kristy O'Malley tossed the last of the baseball equipment into the back of her Chevy Tahoe and slammed the rear door shut. She shook her shoulder length hair out from it's her Boston Red Sox cap as she climbed up into the SUV. Kristy glanced into the rearview mirror making sure both kids were still buckled up.
"Liam! Stop bothering your sister!" she demanded as she drove out of the parking lot.
Seven year old Liam flopped back into the seat with his arms folded across his dirty baseball jersey. "But she kept looking at me!" he argued sticking out his tongue at five year old Erin.
Kristy rolled her eyes and sighed as she headed onto the freeway. You'd think after babysitting all those years and having so many brothers and sisters, she'd get used to the petty squabbling. She took a quick glance at herself in the rearview mirror to make sure she wasn't too dusty and dirty after helping coach Liam's baseball team.
"I'm huuunnngrrrryyy...." Erin began to whine.
"We'll be at Mammy and Papa's restaurant soon," Kristy replied.
"Is Daddy going to be there?" Liam asked. Kristy tried to mentally calculate Sean's schedule. His baseball training would end around six and by the time he got cleaned up and out of the stadium, he should be back at his parent's pub, "Gold Eire" by seven.
While sitting at a stoplight, Kristy put on a quick swipe of lip balm and studied her appearance. She was twenty-eight and still looked fresh and young. No major wrinkles, a healthy glow from all the time spent outside, soft brown hair, still in shape by keeping up with two young kids and traveling frequently with Sean. Her husband Sean was a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.
Kristy had met Sean while she was a physical therapist hired for the team as soon as she graduated from Stoneybrook University. She was working every evening on massaging and icing his shoulder. They got to talking and found they had a lot in common. They both loved sports and came from big families. Sean's parents ran a pub in downtown Boston which was overflowing every evening with the local neighborhood. Many of which were Sean's extended Irish-American family. Kristy felt that she fit right in with the loud, boisterous bunch. Stoneybrook wasn't too far away and she took the kids to visit frequently. She and Mary Anne still talked on the phone a lot and visited whenever possible.
Kristy pulled into a parallel parking spot in front of the pub and the kids quickly got unbuckled and ran into the restaurant to greet their grandparents and get some warm soda bread. When she walked into the restaurant she was met with loud talking and laughing, a soccer game aired live from Dublin on the televisions, and her in-laws greeting her from behind the dark wooden bar.
"Kristy, love," her father in law Eammon greeted her with a hug. Her mother in law, Eileen pulled her a pint of Guinness as she sat down at the bar.
"Excited about your reunion?" Sean's sister Mary Bernadette asked.
"Oh yes!" Kristy exclaimed. "I haven't seen a lot of them since high school! I'll drive down the day before to help Mary Anne out with the last minute details. She's been organizing and planning this for months and knowing her, she won't need too much help, but I know we'll both be a bit nervous. I appreciate you keeping the kids, Eileen."
"That'll be no problem, my love, and that's the truth!" Eileen declared. "Eammon and Mary Bernadette can handle the pub and we'll have a great time together while you're in Connecticut and Sean's at his away game in Texas. Won't we, kids?" she smiled ruffling Erin's hair. Erin smiled up from her bowl of cabbage soup.
Kristy took a drink of her Guinness and started to watch the game on the large television. However, she couldn't really concentrate on penalty shots and red cards when she had the big reunion to look forward to. She hoped Mary Anne wasn't stressing out too much.
Kristy O'Malley tossed the last of the baseball equipment into the back of her Chevy Tahoe and slammed the rear door shut. She shook her shoulder length hair out from it's her Boston Red Sox cap as she climbed up into the SUV. Kristy glanced into the rearview mirror making sure both kids were still buckled up.
"Liam! Stop bothering your sister!" she demanded as she drove out of the parking lot.
Seven year old Liam flopped back into the seat with his arms folded across his dirty baseball jersey. "But she kept looking at me!" he argued sticking out his tongue at five year old Erin.
Kristy rolled her eyes and sighed as she headed onto the freeway. You'd think after babysitting all those years and having so many brothers and sisters, she'd get used to the petty squabbling. She took a quick glance at herself in the rearview mirror to make sure she wasn't too dusty and dirty after helping coach Liam's baseball team.
"I'm huuunnngrrrryyy...." Erin began to whine.
"We'll be at Mammy and Papa's restaurant soon," Kristy replied.
"Is Daddy going to be there?" Liam asked. Kristy tried to mentally calculate Sean's schedule. His baseball training would end around six and by the time he got cleaned up and out of the stadium, he should be back at his parent's pub, "Gold Eire" by seven.
While sitting at a stoplight, Kristy put on a quick swipe of lip balm and studied her appearance. She was twenty-eight and still looked fresh and young. No major wrinkles, a healthy glow from all the time spent outside, soft brown hair, still in shape by keeping up with two young kids and traveling frequently with Sean. Her husband Sean was a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.
Kristy had met Sean while she was a physical therapist hired for the team as soon as she graduated from Stoneybrook University. She was working every evening on massaging and icing his shoulder. They got to talking and found they had a lot in common. They both loved sports and came from big families. Sean's parents ran a pub in downtown Boston which was overflowing every evening with the local neighborhood. Many of which were Sean's extended Irish-American family. Kristy felt that she fit right in with the loud, boisterous bunch. Stoneybrook wasn't too far away and she took the kids to visit frequently. She and Mary Anne still talked on the phone a lot and visited whenever possible.
Kristy pulled into a parallel parking spot in front of the pub and the kids quickly got unbuckled and ran into the restaurant to greet their grandparents and get some warm soda bread. When she walked into the restaurant she was met with loud talking and laughing, a soccer game aired live from Dublin on the televisions, and her in-laws greeting her from behind the dark wooden bar.
"Kristy, love," her father in law Eammon greeted her with a hug. Her mother in law, Eileen pulled her a pint of Guinness as she sat down at the bar.
"Excited about your reunion?" Sean's sister Mary Bernadette asked.
"Oh yes!" Kristy exclaimed. "I haven't seen a lot of them since high school! I'll drive down the day before to help Mary Anne out with the last minute details. She's been organizing and planning this for months and knowing her, she won't need too much help, but I know we'll both be a bit nervous. I appreciate you keeping the kids, Eileen."
"That'll be no problem, my love, and that's the truth!" Eileen declared. "Eammon and Mary Bernadette can handle the pub and we'll have a great time together while you're in Connecticut and Sean's at his away game in Texas. Won't we, kids?" she smiled ruffling Erin's hair. Erin smiled up from her bowl of cabbage soup.
Kristy took a drink of her Guinness and started to watch the game on the large television. However, she couldn't really concentrate on penalty shots and red cards when she had the big reunion to look forward to. She hoped Mary Anne wasn't stressing out too much.