December
"You want to what?!" Dorothy asked while Connor and Murphy stood in the hallway and they had silly grins on their faces.
"We wanna take Lou t'work with us," Connor said.
"Aye, we talked it over with our boss. He said no t'her actually doin' anythin', but he did say we could show her around," Murphy said.
"What about Dixon?" Dorothy asked.
"He can stay here."
"Aye, we'll be Lou's eyes," Connor said.
She knew Louisa was getting bored, but she also knew her being Louisa's guard would be over if her superiors found out she had been letting the twins take Louisa outside.
"Come on, Dorothy! You must want a break!" Murphy said.
"Aye, there has t'be summat you wanna do," Connor said.
"I walk Dixon when he needs to go out," she reminded them.
"What if you need food?"
"We have food and other things delivered."
"What about Christmas?"
"What about it?"
"Have you gotten any presents yet?" Murphy asked.
"Aye, it might cheer Lou up if she got summat from Father Christmas," Connor said. She saw the sad look in their eyes as she sighed then she slowly shook her head.
"How do they do that?" she thought.
"It's jus' fer a few hours. I promise we'll bring her back in time fer lunch," Connor said.
"Wait right here," Dorothy said. She walked back in the apartment when she closed the door and the twins looked at each other. A few seconds later, she opened the door as Louisa walked out and Louisa reached out her right hand. Connor took Louisa's hand when Murphy and Connor gave Dorothy a hug and she watched them lead Louisa down the hallway. She gave them a wave after they got into the elevator then she looked down at Dixon sitting next to her right leg.
"I am in such trouble," she whispered as she and Dixon walked in the apartment and the door closed behind them.
Murphy moved by the others at the meat packing plant as he frowned and he nodded when someone called his name. He and Connor had been showing Louisa around when their boss told them to get to work and Murphy had been telling her what he was doing.
"Where th'hell did she go?" he whispered. He had gone to help some of the guys and he had left Louisa with Connor. "Connor!?"
"Aye?" Connor asked as he used a large butcher's knife to cut into a piece of beef.
"Where's Lou?"
"What do you mean where's Lou?! Isn't she with you?!"
"No, I left her with you!"
"Oh shit."
"We gotta find her or Dorothy will have our hides."
"Why will Dorothy have your hides?" Louisa asked while she and two of the female workers walked closer and Murphy felt his heart slamming in his chest. She was wearing the same white overalls as the other women as well as rubber gloves and covering over the white sneakers they had given her and Murphy admitted she looked cute with the plastic cap covering her hair.
"Where'd you get to?" Connor asked.
"I had to go to the bathroom."
"Yeah, you were busy so Stacey and I took her to the ladies' room," Debbie said.
"Why didn't you tell me!?" Connor asked while he looked at Louisa.
"I did. I guess you didn't hear me," Louisa said. Murphy and Connor glanced at each other as they had a silent conversation and Murphy rolled his eyes.
"Thanks fer takin' care of her," Murphy said and Debbie nodded. Debbie and Stacey walked away as Murphy gave Louisa an angry look and he was glad she couldn't see him. "As fer you…."
"Are you glaring at me?"
"Aye, I am."
Locking eyes with him, she stood her full height and Connor smiled.
"I don't get why you are so angry with me."
"I had no idea where you were an' this place can be a little dangerous."
"Would you be this angry if I could see?!"
Murphy felt like she had punched him in the gut while he walked closer and he leaned his head down until they were nose to nose.
"Aye, I would."
"I bet you look really cute when you're angry," she flirted and a blush moved over his cheeks. Connor hushed the other men who were snickering and Murphy puffed out a breath of air. He knew he couldn't stay angry with her as he arched his eyebrows up then he smiled.
"Don't scare me like that again."
"Ok," she said. He gently placed his hand on her right shoulder as they walked off and Connor had a smug look on his face.
"He's got it bad," one of the men said.
"Aye, he has," Connor said when he noticed the time on the clock on the wall. He quickly went to catch up with Murphy and Louisa and he called Murphy's name.
"What?" Murphy asked.
"We gotta take Lou home," he said and Murphy looked at the clock.
"But I don't wanna go," Louisa said.
"Hey, we promised Dorothy we'd have you home by lunch. Do you want her not allow you t'see us again?"
"No," she said with a shake of her head.
"Then let's go."
Louisa said her goodbye's as they went to change their clothes and Murphy slid his right arm around her shoulder as they walked down the sidewalk.
"You're not gonna tell Dorothy I lost you, aye?" Murphy asked.
"Only if you don't tell her you let me use the meat grinder," she said.
"When did you let her use th'meat grinder!?" Connor asked.
"It was when you had t'help Frankie cut up that big slab of beef," Murphy said. Connor's eyes bugged out when he shook his head and their laughter filled the air.
The snow fell outside the window as the cold air whistled through the cracks and Murphy pulled the blankets up.
"You awake?" Connor asked from his mattress.
"Aye," Murphy said.
"Are you gonna ask Lou t'McGinty's for Doc' Christmas party?"
"Are you gonna asked someone?"
"I might."
"I'd need t'see if Dorothy will let me."
"We can bring her. She and Doc seem t'be gettin' along."
Murphy became quiet as he sighed and Connor sat up.
"Ah," Connor said as he crawled across the cold floor then he knelt next to Murphy's mattress. "Now I get one of th'reasons why you don't wanna ask her out."
"What? Are you talkin' about th'fact she's blind? I'm not like that!"
"I'm not sayin' you are."
"Then what the fuck are you talkin' about?!"
"I'm talkin' about yer temper. Every time you see her, yer mind focuses on how she became blind not that she is blind. It makes yer blood boil. It makes you wanna go find that bastard an' beat th'shit out of him."
"You're right."
"Are you gonna ask her out?"
He could just see Murphy nodding his head as Connor crawled back to his mattress, got under the covers and soon the sound of Connor's snoring filled the air.
Christmas morning arrived with more snow and icy winds as Louisa opened her eyes and sighed. She moved the blankets back when she reached down and Dixon walked to her, placing its head in her hand. She carefully got up as Dixon led her to the window and she reached her hand out. She could feel the coolness of the glass as she sighed and Dixon panted.
"Would you like me to describe it?" Dorothy's voice said after Louisa heard her walking to her and Louisa shook her head. Dorothy knew Louisa was feeling sad about not being with her parents or her twin as Dorothy sighed and she led Louisa away from the window. They heard the sound of Christmas music coming from the twins' apartment as Dorothy rolled her eyes and Louisa smiled.
"At least someone's having a good Christmas," Louisa said in a soft voice. Dixon's head rose as the sound of someone knocking on the door made Dorothy look at the door and she walked to the door. She looked through the peephole when she softly laughed and she unlocked the door. She opened the door to see Murphy in the hallway and he was wearing gray flannel pajamas bottom, a white undershirt and his bathrobe. On the top of his head was a Santa's hat and he gave her a big grin.
"Merry Christmas!" he said, lightly bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"Merry Christmas. Where's Connor?" Dorothy asked.
"He's makin' breakfast. You hungry?"
"We just got up."
"Then go put yer robes on an' let's go."
"I don't think so," she said and he looked passed her to see Louisa standing at the center of the room. He carefully moved by Dorothy when he walked to Louisa and he stood in front of Louisa.
"Merry Christmas, Lou," he said, but she didn't answer. "You wanna go have some breakfast?"
"No, thank you," Louisa said with a shake of her head.
"Then I guess you don't want yer present," he said and she frowned.
"You got me a present?"
"You have t'come find out," he said with a grin.
"But I didn't get you or Connor anything."
"That's not true," Dorothy said. She walked to the counter when she leaned down and she picked up the gift bag.
"When did you go shopping?" Louisa asked.
"It was when Connor and Murphy took you to work."
Murphy looked at Louisa when she reached out her left hand and he slid her arm around his right arm. Dorothy and Dixon followed them as they left the apartment and Dorothy closed the door. They walked down the hallway when they walked inside the twins' apartment and Dorothy was surprised to see Christmas lights hung on the walls, a small tree decorated with small ornaments sitting on the coffee table and Christmas music was playing on the radio.
"Merry Christmas!" Connor said while he stood at the stove and he was wearing his bathrobe and a pair of green flannel pajamas bottoms. He had a Santa hat on his head and he gave them a big grin.
"Merry Christmas," Dorothy said. She watched Louisa let go of Murphy's arm as Louisa carefully went toward the smell of food cooking and Connor placed his hand on her right shoulder so she didn't walk into the stove.
"What're you making?" Louisa asked.
"It's a tradition MacManus' Christmas breakfast," Connor said.
"Need any help?"
"Nope. I got it under control."
She turned while Murphy walked to her and he helped her go to the couch. Just as he sat her down, the phone rang and he picked up the receiver as he held the receiver up to his right ear.
"Hullo?" Murphy asked, sitting down next to Louisa.
"Murphy, is that you?" Annabelle MacManus' voice asked.
"Aye, Ma, it's me."
"Is that loser of a brudder of yers up yet?"
"Aye, he's makin' breakfast."
Dorothy went to the stove as Connor handed her the spatula as he ran to the couch and he took the receiver out of Murphy's hand.
"Hey, Ma! Merry Christmas!" Connor said as he helped Louisa up so he could sit next to Murphy then he gently pulled Louisa onto his lap.
"What's so fuckin' merry about it!?" Annabelle asked and the twins smiled.
"Aw, Ma, don't be that way."
"Did you get my pressie?!"
Murphy got up when he walked to the small pile presents sitting on the table when he found the package that had arrived two days before from Ireland and he picked the package up. He went to get a knife to open the package then he went to sit on the couch and he showed Connor the package.
"Aye, Ma, we go it." Connor said.
"Well, open th'damn thing!"
Murphy used the knife to open the package when he opened the top and he removed some old newspaper before he removed a dented cookie tin. He opened the dented cookie tin then he looked inside and he frowned.
"Uh, Ma, did you send us some ginger nuts?" Murphy asked.
"Aye, I did."
"Um, they're all broken," Connor said, looking at the broken gingerbread cookies.
"Fuck."
"That's ok, Ma. I like 'em broken," Murphy said as he picked up one of the broken pieces then he placed the broken piece in his mouth. He tasted the whiskey spreading over his tongue as he smiled and he placed a broken piece in Connor's mouth. Connor nodded as he chewed then he swallowed, but he lightly smacked Murphy's hand when Murphy tried to feed a broken piece to Louisa.
"You still there!?" Annabelle's voice asked.
"Aye, we're here," Connor said.
"What are you gonna do fer th'rest of th'day?"
"We're gonna spend it with Lou."
"Who th'fuck is Lou?!"
"Do you remember Louisa O'Shea?"
They listened to the silence then they heard a snort and Connor shrugged.
"You talkin' about that girl Murphy fell fer when you were sixteen?"
Connor saw the blush moving across Murphy and Louisa's cheeks as he smiled and Murphy shoved him.
"Aye. Her."
"What about her?"
"Well, she's here in Boston."
"Is he….?" she asked, but the last part of her question was lost due to static.
"Ma, we lost th'last part."
"Never mind. Is she there?"
"Aye," Connor said and he helped Louisa hold the receiver.
"Merry Christmas, Mrs. MacManus," Louisa said.
"Merry Christmas. And call me "Annabelle". Is my worthless son bein' good t'you?" Annabelle asked.
"Aye, he is," Louisa said as she carefully got off Connor's lap and Murphy helped her sit on his lap.
"Well, if he gives you any trouble, you tell him he'll have t'deal with me."
"I promise t'treat her like an angel," Murphy said. Louisa was stunned when he said that and they heard Annabelle snicker.
"From what I remember, she was no angel."
"Aye, she was jus' as bad as we were," Connor agreed.
"Well, I called t'wish you Merry Christmas. Be good. If you can't do that, try not t'get caught."
Annabelle ended the call as Murphy reached down to put the receiver back on the cradle and Connor got up off the couch. He went to help Dorothy serve breakfast as Louisa leaned back against Murphy and Murphy looked at her. He silently admitted he liked seeing her with her hair messy and he liked how cute she looked in her ice blue bathrobe and white flannel nightgown.
"Breakfast's ready," Connor said. Murphy watched Louisa carefully get up as he followed her and he helped her to the table. They sat down then they started eating and Connor nudged Murphy's foot with his foot. They locked eyes as they had a silent conversation and Murphy nodded.
"Uh, Dorothy, Doc is havin' a Christmas party at McGinty's t'night an' we were wonderin' if you an' Lou would like t'go with us," Murphy said. Dorothy looked at the twins then at Louisa when she took a sip of coffee then she sat back in the chair.
"I don't see why not," Dorothy said.
"When's the party?" Louisa asked and Murphy helped her find the glass of orange juice. He noticed she didn't seem angry about him helping her and she brushed her thumb over his fingers.
"It's not until eight. So, we'll pick you up around seven thirty," Connor said and Dorothy nodded. After they finished eating and Connor and Murphy washed the dishes, they sat on the couch and the recliner and Connor handed out the presents.
At seven thirty on the dot, the twins arrived at the apartment and Murphy was stunned when he saw Louisa. Dorothy had done Louisa's hair and makeup and Louisa was wearing a red, sleeveless dress with a V-cut and matching shoes. Murphy swore Louisa was shimmering in a white light and he swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Are you alright, Murphy?" Dorothy asked. Nodding, he slid Louisa's arm around his right arm after Dorothy helped her on with her coat and they headed down the hallway.
McGinty's
The bar was crowded with the usual crowd as well as their family members as Christmas music played and Doc was wearing a Santa's hat. Connor held the door open as Dorothy, Dixon, Louisa and Murphy walked by him then he followed them toward their usual booth. Murphy was describing things to Louisa as she nodded and Doc walked over with a tray of drinks and food in his hands.
"M-m-m-merry Christmas," Doc said, placing the tray on the table.
"Merry Christmas, Doc," Connor said.
"Look like everyone in th'neighborhood is here," Murphy said.
"Aye. Chr-christmas is th'busiest d-day of th'year. Fuck," Doc said as he placed the glasses of whiskey and beer, silverware and plates of food the table then he looked at Louisa. "You loo-look very pretty t'night, lass. Shit. Fuck."
"Thank you, Doc," Louisa said. Doc gave Dorothy a nod as Dorothy smiled then he walked away. Murphy helped Louisa find the glass as she took a sip of beer then she placed the glass on the table. "Where's Rocco?"
"Oh, he's around," Connor said when the door to the back room opened and Rocco, dressed as Santa, walked out with a cloth sack over his right shoulder.
"Ho-ho-ho! Merry Fucking Christmas!" Rocco said. The children gathered around Rocco while Murphy explained what Rocco was wearing and what was going on. Smiling, Louisa leaned toward Murphy and he moved his left arm so she could rest against him. Connor watched Murphy's arm slowly wrap around her as Connor took a sip of beer and he nodded his head at his twin.
"Where are we going?" Louisa asked as Murphy led her to a certain spot then he looked up. Mistletoe was hanging down from the ceiling on a red and green ribbon and he took hold of her hands. He looked deeply into her sightless eyes and she titled her head to one side. "Murphy?"
"Do you remember th'first time I kissed you?" he asked and her sightless eyes locked with his.
Ireland – 1988
The wind blew through their hair as sixteen years old Murphy and Louisa stood in the alleyway to the local cinema and he felt his stomach churning. Connor had told them he and Norman would go inside then they would let them in through the side exit, but they had been standing in the alleyway for the last ten minutes.
"What's takin' them so long?" he grumbled.
"Dunno," she said. He frowned as he flexed his fingers into fists and she saw the anger in his eyes. "Are you ok?"
"Aye. Why?"
"You look like you wanna hit summat'."
"Sorry," he said, lowering his head. He thought for a few seconds when he lifted his head and she waited for him to say something. "Uh, Lou, is it ok if I do summat?"
"What do you wanna do?"
He moved a little closer when he gently lifted her chin up then he leaned down to kiss her lips. Her lips were petal soft. He moved back as she gave him a slightly stunned look and a blush moved over her cheeks.
"Why did you do that fer?" she asked.
"I jus' wanted to. Was it that bad?"
"No. I liked it. It's jus' I never kissed a boy before."
"Oh."
"Did I do it wrong?"
"No, it was great."
"Do you….? Do you wanna kiss again?"
"Aye."
He leaned in for another kiss as she placed her arms around his waist when Norman and Connor ran by with two security guards following them and Norman shouted for them to run. Moving back, Murphy and Louisa looked at each other then they started laughing,
"Where'd you go?" Murphy asked with concern in his voice.
"I was remembering the first time you kissed me. It was when we wanted to go to the movies, but we only had enough money for two tickets. Connor came up with some plan to sneak us inside and he told us to wait in the alley. That's when you asked if it was ok to do something."
"Aye, I remember," he said as a wave of shyness swept over him and she reached her hand up. She touched the back of his neck as he lowered his head so their foreheads touched and she felt his warm breath on her skin. "I had kissed girls before, but none of them kiss like you did."
"You were th'first boy I ever kissed," she said as her accent kicked in.
"Well…," Murphy said as he looked up at the mistletoe then back down at her. "Is it ok if I kiss you?"
Louisa lifted her arms as he placed them around his neck then Murphy leaned down and he gently kissed her lips. Her lips were still petal soft. He felt her moving closer as he held her and the kiss deepened. When they moved back, he thought he saw a flicker of light in her sightless eyes and he smiled.
"Merry Christmas, Lou."
"Merry Christmas, Murphy," she whispered and she placed her head against his shoulder. He placed his chin on top of her head as he glanced over at Connor and Rocco and his twin gave him a smile and a thumb's up.