8 IRELAND

Joe was knackered. After having dropped Jess home at 4:15 AM he had gone home, had a light breakfast and headed off. It was a 5 hours drive to get to Fishguard in Wales and he had to be there 2 hours before the ferry departure time, at 13:00 PM. From Fishguard it was only 3 and a half hours to cross the St George's channel and he slept the whole time being exhausted by the sleepless night. From Rosslare it was a 3 hours drive to Kinsale, 30 min south of Cork and by the time he got to his parents house it was 6:00 PM and he was barely awake anymore. The closer he got to the house the more he started getting nervous. Even though he had been talking with his dad for the past 6 months and things had been going well they had parted on such a bad note that he was afraid of how the reunion was going to go. He remember clearly yelling at his "You are such a BASTARD, I hope to never see you again" and slamming the house door shut. His whole family had been present at the moment of the fight, over 4 years ago. He had only been 17 then and had been making it on his own since. He had had some rough years but the Hounslow Harriers girls team had been a game changer for him, it had given him back purpose and a direction in life. His dad had already pronounced himself proud of what his son had been doing, of how he didn't give up on football and how he was helping girls make their dream come true.
He was still thinking about all of this when the front door opened and his mum came running out: "Joseph" she screamed, overwhelmed with emotions. She enveloped him in a tight hug and started sobbing on his chest. "Mum" he cracked too. His brothers and sisters were all around them and started hugging them too. Emotions were running very high. Then his dad came out of the house: "Son" he said. Patrick was worried that Joe hadn't fully forgiven him. He had been a terrible father to his firstborn. He had pushed him too hard and had broken him. It had taken Patrick years to make peace with it and he wasn't sure Joe had yet. Joe looked at him straight in the eyes. He could see Patrick's thoughts and fears in his eyes and to see his father soo troubled after so many years was all that it took to finally make it okay for Joe. "I forgive you" he told him. At that Patrick started crying and went to hug his son too. The two man hugged tight and then Patrick led him in the house, with an arm on his shoulder, overjoyed that his eldest son was back.

Homecoming had truly been amazing. The whole family couldn't stop talking and laughing and catching up on everything that had happened in the 4 years that Joe had been away. Gael, Joe's mum, had cooked a massive welcome home feast and they were now all in the living room, sitting in front of the fire. Joe couldn't believe how much he had missed out on. His siblings were so grown up and so much had happened. He wished he had been there for them, he was their older brother after all, and he felt as if he had let them down. He kept asking them all sorts of questions about their lives and was contempt with sitting back and listening to their replies. He knew that soon was going to be his turn but he was too tired to get into it now. Eventually Joe fell asleep on the couch while the others were still talking. They had all noticed how wiped out he was and that he had massive sleep bags under his eyes. They all wanted to know what was going on but they waited for Joe to tell them. In the mean time they related everything that had happened back home during his absence. When they noticed he was falling asleep Connor helped him to the room they were sharing, half carrying him. Joe was more asleep than awake while he quickly stripped down to his boxers and collapsed on the bed. Connor covered him with the blanked and in so doing noticed the hickeys on his neck. He smiled at that and couldn't wait for his brother to wake up to find out who was behind them.

When Connor made his way downstairs his parents had also gone to bed and the rest of the siblings quizzed him on his smirk. "Well let's just say that I am not sure how much sleep our dear Joe is getting back home. Judging by the number of hickeys on his neck I think he his spending most of his nights quire preoccupied haha". At that they started speculating on who this mysterious girl might be. They knew, from their dad, that it was a girl that had convinced Joe to reach out to Patrick, but that Joe hadn't talked about her yet. They were definitely going to find out tomorrow!

The next morning Joe was woken up by his four siblings. They all got on his bed and started tickling him. "Hahaha oh my god stop it you four, stop it. I am your big brother, you gotta do as I say" he tried, unconvincingly, to stop them. "Oh my God Connor you were right, look at his neck" Keela chuckled. "Joe is in love Joe is in love" Brendan started singing and teasing him. "What are you all talking about" he muttered. "Have you not seen it brother?" Connor asked, trying to keep a straight face. "Seen what?" Joe asked. "Go check yourself out in the bathroom big brother" Siob encouraged him. Joe slowly got up, unsure of what to expect, and still very very tired "Did you guys have to wake me up at the crack of down?" He asked. At that all his siblings started laughing. "Joe, it's noon! Mum sent us up here to make sure you were still awake and to get you down for lunch. You have been sleeping 14 hours straight!" Said Keela. "We understand you must have been very tired though, judging by your conditions" Connor teased him. "Let's go find out what are you guys talking about…"Joe muttered and he went to see his reflection in the mirror.

His eyes immediately noticed the many love bites he had, several on his neck but some also further down his body. He went crimson, then red, then scarlet. That was so embarrassing. He hadn't noticed it before, it must have been last night, when he and Jess had gotten very intimate… He wondered how many he had left on her body, and where!?
He looked like he was going to combust and his brothers couldn't wait anymore, "so who is it?" "what's her name?" "do you have a photo?" "can we meet her" "how long have you been together?" "do you love her?" Joe was under attack and knew that there was no way he was going to get out of this without giving them some answers. "Let me put some clothes on first" he said. "Oh why, mum and dad would surely love the show" Siob laughed at him and she glared at her. "You guys can't tell them about this!" He said moving his hand up and down his body. "You know what they are like, traditional and all" "Don't worry big bro we won't talk" Connor said "as long as you answer all of our questions!" Oh good, I am being blackmailed now Joe sniggered. He let out a big theatrical sigh and sat down on his bed, with a t-shirt on. "Let's get started then!"
"What's her name?" "Jess"
"Who is she?" "She is a footballer. I used to be her coach but I am not anymore"
"Woah isn't that like, illegal?" Brendan asked. "Well it would have been if I had still been her coach but I haven't been her coach since last summer and we only got together after that" he explained

"Who is her coach now? Or does she not play anymore?" "No she plays and she is amazing. She got a full scholarship to play university soccer in the States and go to uni there. She is going to be living in California for the next three years" he explained.

"Oh wow so you guys are doing the whole long-distance thing?" Siob enquired. "Yes we are. It's not easy but I love her and she loves me and we are making it work".
"Do you have a photo of her?" Keela's turn. "Yes, of course, let me get it". He got his wallet and took out a photo of Jess and him they took one night in his car.
"Wow she is beautiful!" They all said, "is she Indian?" "Yes exactly"
"I didn't think Indian girls could go out with white guys?" Siob, always so on point. "Well, we are still working on that…" Joe didn't really know what to say. They were gonna tell her parents but now they couldn't and ended up having to be a secret. It sucked.
"What do you mean?" Siob wasn't gonna give up "are you guys a secret or something?" All the 4 Irish in the room were waiting for Joe's answer and he could tell: "we are not a secret secret, I mean, you guys know, and I'll tell mum and dad. Some of her and my friends know too. I guess we are just a secret to her family for now?" He hoped that was going to be enough to get them to leave it alone. All the opposite, it only got them more interested!
"How the hell did you guys manage that" Brendan said pointing vaguely at his neck and chest, "if you can't ask her out?"
"I think I can answer that for you Brendan" said Connor, "I am sure you have all noticed how sleep deprived our dear brother looks" he teased " I bet that they sneak around at night while her parents are asleep!" And with that he turned to Joe waiting for a confirmation. He didn't know what to say. He was their older brother and wanted to set the example. They hadn't seen each other for 4 years and didn't want to give them the wrong impression, that he was sneaking around and sleeping with Jess behind her parents' back. He didn't want them to get the wrong impression about them. "Listen, it's not as easy as that. We were gonna tell her parents the day she got back from Cali, we really were, but then her best friend's mother, who is more like a sister to her parents, died and we couldn't face them anymore. We didn't have another choice!" His tone was a little desperate and hurt and his brothers and sisters realised they had been pushing him too hard. "Oh bro, it's okay, I am sorry we brought the Spanish Inquisition on to you. Clearly you really love this girl and she sounds special. We would love to meet her one day!" At her words Joe relaxed and smiled at all of them, "she is special, I can't wait to introduce her to you all" and with that they kept talking all 5 together, crammed on his bed till their mom come up to get them down for lunch. She walked in the room to find all her five children squished together talking and chatting and the scene warmed her heart. Whoever it was this mysterious girl that got her Joseph back to them, she sent them a heartfelt thank you and wished to meet her soon.