"Hi Mrs. Quinn" said James.
"Come in love" Mary brought James through to the kitchen.
"Mr. Quinn, Mrs. McCool"
"Hi there love" replied Sarah.
"Sir" He couldn't remember Granddad Joe's surname. Joe just gave him a nod.
"Is Michelle not with ya?" asked Mary.
She continued: "Or Claire? Or Orla?"
"No, I'm on my own. Is Erin in?" asked James.
"Yeah, she's upstairs"
"May I go see her please?"
"Sure love. You know where to go. Are Michelle and Claire on their way or...?"
"No just me" He turned and went up the stairs.
He wasn't? Erin and him weren't? Mary's mind was racing.
"Mary, you're not letting him go up there on his own, are you?" Gerry stood up and went to listen at the bottom of the stairs.
"Why not?" asked Mary. He returned to the kitchen after not being able to hear anything.
"He's a teenage boy" replied Gerry.
"I thought he was gay?" Mary was more saying it to herself than the others.
"Aye, you got a problem with the gays Gerry? Why are you so prejudiced?" asked Joe.
"I'm not. I'm just not comfortable with my daughter being up there alone with a teenage lad" said Gerry.
"I don't think he's gay Mary because Orla was telling me that Erin kissed him during assembly. I think it's quite sweet actually" Aunt Sarah returned to painting her nails.
"Here you waste of space. You should be ashamed of yourself letting your young daughter get up to God knows what upstairs with that wee English gobshite!" yelled Joe.
"You just said he was gay!" replied Gerry.
"Well, you should have made sure before you flung your wee daughter at him" replied Joe.
"Calm down! I'll go check," said Mary.
Mary climbed the stairs to the landing and put her ear to Erin's bedroom door.
"Ok one more please then I promise I will give your space hospital thing a go," said Erin.
"It's not even set in a hospital!"
"Well, I'll never know unless you finish this one" replied Erin.
"Ok then we'll watch Doctor Who"
"Ok"
Mary snuck the door open an inch so she could see. They were sat on the bed. James had a book in his hand and Erin had her head on his shoulder.
James started reading the book aloud: "Emma was almost ready to sink under the agitation of this moment. The dread of being awakened from the happiest dream was perhaps the most prominent feeling. "I cannot make speeches, Emma," he soon resumed; and in a tone of such sincere, decided, intelligible tenderness as was tolerably convincing. "If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more. But you know what I am"
Erin let out a giggle.
"Why are you laughing?" asked James.
"Because you can do the voices"
"That's just my voice"
"I know just we can't. We can't. Sounds funny if Emma was almost ready to have a cack attack wouldn't!"
Mary smiled and gently closed the door and left them to it.
