The picnic cooler had been tossed aside. Taking advantage of the privacy of the garden, Chibs sat astride the stone bench with Aoife on his lap, her legs curled around him so that he could feel the heels of her shoes on his tailbone. He was kissing her slowly and deliberately with his fingers threaded in her soft hair. Aoife was tracing lazy patterns on his neck with her fingernails, causing him to shiver. They were so lost in one another that he didn't even register that his phone was vibrating and ringing. Finally, on the 3rd series of rings, Aoife broke the kiss and plucked it from his cut, holding it out to him. "Fuck it," Chibs muttered as he leaned forward for another kiss. Then Aoife's phone began to play a tune he didn't recognize. She put a finger to his lips as she answered, mouthing "Rois." Chibs' phone beeped again, and Aoife slid back on the bench so that she could hear while he opened his it.
"Aye?" Chibs answered, wishing he could hear what was making Aoife's face pale.
"Chibs, it's Juice. I've been going through the information on the prepay cell phone that you brought to me, and the guy was making a shit-tons of calls to hospitals and nursing homes in the area. Didn't you say Aoife's aunt was in the hospital?" Cold fear clutched Chibs' heart. He looked up at Aoife who seemed equally terrified at the conversation she was having.
"We have to go," she hissed urgently, pocketing her phone.
"Juicey, keep looking. I appreciate it. I gotta go." Chibs closed his phone. "What's wrong, love?"
"That was Aunt Rois. Mum called her and complained that no one at St. Dymphna's is listening to her about the man who kept calling. Even with Mum's issues, Rois is worried. She said what Mum is saying sounds legitimate."
"Then let's get you to your Mum."
Chibs drove as fast as he reasonably could. He felt the tension in Aoife as she pressed herself to his back. When he swooped into the parking lot at St. Dymphna's, Aoife was off the bike before he had even unstrapped his helmet. "Love," he caught her hand and pulled her back. "Don't think you need this." He pushed the button on the strap underneath her chin and removed her helmet. He hung both helmets on the handle bars. "I know this wasn't the way you wanted me to meet your Mum, but I'm here for you."
Aoife smiled weakly. "I know." She cupped his cheek with her hand. "And I love you for that." She let her hand drop and catch his, intertwining their fingers, and they hurried through the sliding doors.
"Good afternoon, Miss McIntyre," the cheerful young man at the front desk greeted her. "Here to see your mother?"
"Yes, Luis," Aoife acknowledged him with a nod, flashing something from her wallet. He handed her a visitor's badge and looked expectantly at Chibs. "Oh, I'm sorry. This is my boyfriend Filip. He'll be coming back to see Mum with me. I'll also need the forms to add an emergency contact for Mum." Chibs glanced at Aoife. She nodded in confirmation that she meant him, and he took her hand and squeezed it.
"Of course," Luis slid another visitor's badge across the counter, followed by a sheaf of papers. He picked up the phone behind the counter and said a few words. A moment later, a nurse in dark blue scrubs emerged from behind a locked door and gestured for the two of them to follow.
Chibs followed Aoife awkwardly through a series of locked access doors, aware of the peering eyes following his steps as he walked into a courtyard with a garden. The nurse lingered at a station next to the door. He knew Aoife's mother the moment he saw her. She had strawberry blond hair but they had the same blue eyes and freckles. Aoife gripped his hand tighter as her mother's eyes fell on them, and they both watched as Colleen's face brightened into a wide smile. "Oh, praise be," Aoife whispered. "She knows me. She's having one of her lucid days." Colleen put down her knitting and stood from the bench as Aoife strode up with her arms outstretched. "Mum," Aoife said as she embraced her mother.
"My baby girl," her mother whispered. Colleen released Aoife and glanced uncertainly at Chibs. "Who's this?" she asked suspiciously.
"Mum, this is my boyfriend Filip." Colleen extended her hand uncertainly, and Chibs took it gently and kissed it. Colleen's expression relaxed into a shy smile.
"Aren't you sweet?" she murmured.
"Mum, Aunt Rois called me today. She said you told her someone was calling you." Colleen's eyes filled with fear. She picked her knitting up from the bench and began frantically working the needles. Aoife gently put her hand on her mother's back and guided her to sit on the bench. "It's okay, Mum. I'm here now. You tell me, and I'll take care of it." Colleen glanced fearfully up at Chibs and shook her head. Aoife sighed. "Mum doesn't know you well enough yet," she started to explain.
"'S alright, lass. I'll go sit right over there." He pointed at an empty picnic table where he could still see Aoife and Colleen. He watched them while they spoke, heads together. He really wanted a cigarette, but there were no-smoking signs every fifteen feet, and this was not the time or place to thumb his nose at authority.
Aoife called Chibs over after about 10 minutes. He could see the steam coming from her ears. "Sweetheart," she said in a fake sweet voice. "Would you keep my mother company while I go have a word with her physician and an administrator?" Chibs sat down on the bench, giving Colleen space, and asked her gentle, mundane questions about how she was doing and her knitting project.
Aoife held her mother for a long time when they were saying goodbye. "I took care of it, Mum. You shouldn't get anymore harassing phone calls. If anything happens, you call me or Rois right away. Okay?" Colleen nodded, and Aoife kissed her on both cheeks. "Love you, Mum."
"Were there any survivors?" Chibs asked as he handed Aoife her helmet.
"Aye, but not for their lack of trying to get me to kill them. Mum is only to receive calls from people on a pre-screened list. Calls have triggered bad episodes in the past. Mum told me whoever was calling was specifically asking her questions about the family. She's a little fuzzy on the timing because she ended up having a really bad spell after one of the calls and was sedated. I'm surprised you couldn't hear me yelling out here. I also provided them a little refresher course on the special conditions of Mum's file." Chibs gave her a quizzical look. "One of the reasons I chose this place is that they deal frequently with famous people who need additional security. Mum's demographic file is locked for most of the staff. It was the best way to protect her since she can't do it herself. I told them if they screw up again I will pull my mother out of their facility and sue the pants off them." Aoife's eyes flashed with fire.