Shenanigans

Hitch was home from Cornell for the weekend. The dorm had been too noisy to study, and he was tired of seeking refuge in the school library. He was halfway through his final semester at Cornell and needed a quiet place where he could concentrate. His sleep had been interrupted by nightmares from his Army days, an occurrence that seemed to happen more frequently when he was stressed and he was stressed about everything—his classes, a big project that was giving him difficulty, upcoming mid-terms, his loneliness without his teammates and an emptiness that could only be filled with Isla who was still dancing in England.

Not having Friday classes, he decided to drive home to Manhattan and make use of the solitude of his father's study. It would be nice to have a change of scenery and have some home-cooked meals for a change. Mostly, he just wanted peace and quiet and the opportunity to focus on his classwork without interruption. He relaxed as he drove the familiar roads in anticipation of leaving the stress behind for a few days.

Upon arrival, he discovered his parents and younger sister were at the luxury apartment they owned on Fifth Avenue. He thought it odd but dismissed it from his mind as he made himself comfortable in the study where he was soon deep in mathematical equations, Thermodynamics, and Design. After several hours of blissful peace, Saunders, the family butler, brought him some coffee and Irish soda bread on a tray.

"Martha thought you might like to get an early start on the weekend festivities," he said as he sat the tray on the desk. "She knows how much you enjoy her soda bread."

"What celebration?" Mark looked up in confusion.

"Why Mister Mark," Saunders was taken aback, "We thought you came home for all the St. Patrick's Day activities." In his quest for solitude, he had totally forgotten St. Patrick's Day was on Sunday. That meant the huge parade down Fifth Avenue would be held on Saturday. Now he understood why his parents were at the apartment. It provided the perfect spot for viewing the parade from the various balconies and windows. His mind briefly took him back to all the activities his mother conducted to make the day festive while he was growing up. His father referred to it all as Nora's Shenanigans and she always surprised them with new ways to celebrate.

"I'm afraid I totally forgot about St. Patrick's Day," Mark admitted biting into the delicious soda bread spread with orange marmalade. He savored the taste and enjoyed the aroma. It too brought back memories of helping Martha in the kitchen baking round loaf after round loaf. She let him use the knife to mark a cross on the top of each loaf and sprinkle the sugar. That triggered more memories of the food that would be plentiful: shortbread, scones, Shepherd's Pie, lamb stew, corned beef and cabbage with potatoes and carrots, potato cakes, colcannon, smoked salmon, potato candy, and his mom's decadent New York chocolate mint cheesecake.

Friends would come and go for various parties and get-togethers, including the MacKenzies who played the bagpipes and Isla would play Irish melodies on the harp. Mark and his mother would provide piano accompaniment for the singing of Irish folksongs, and everyone would brush away a tear or two when Isla's father would sing, Danny Boy.

He thought of the times Isla and her brother Duncan would join him and his sister, Meg, in making elaborate traps in the hope of catching a leprechaun. They made a special leprechaun bait with marshmallow, honey, and oats to lure the unsuspecting imps into the traps. They would find the trap sprung but never managed to catch one of the wee folk, who gratefully left behind a few gold foil-covered chocolate coins in his place.

Then there were the scavenger hunts with clues leading to pots of gold, prisms hung at the windows to make rainbows dance upon the walls, word puzzles and a Pin the Nose on the Leprechaun game. He smiled when he remembered the breakfasts: a stack of seven small pancakes, each a color of the rainbow, green tinted milk to drink and a platter of fresh fruit arranged by color in the shape of a rainbow with sliced bananas for clouds at each end. Watching the parade was the highlight of the day and now he was old enough to enjoy the Guiness and Irish coffee for the adults.

"Will you be dining in this evening?" Saunders' voice brought him out of his reverie. It took him a moment to realize where he was. Looking at the open textbooks, he made a quick decision.

"No, Saunders," he announced, "I think I'll grab my green sweater and join my family for the weekend." He polished off the remaining soda bread, gathered his books, packed a small bag, said goodbye to the stress that had been plaguing him and went to have a more relaxing weekend chasing rainbows and leprechauns. He was ready for some shenanigans.