AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The sensible replies of It’s not my decision to make, Do whatever feels right for you, and Why don’t we think it through for a while? ran through my head and were all summarily dismissed. I’d already interfered and altered the timeline by challenging Niamh about all this in the first place. And anyway, I already knew what my answer was. “Honestly? I’d just tell him. Now. Whilst we’re still here,” I said.
“Really?”
“Aha. The way I see it, he’s already delighted to be reunited with you. If things had gone badly, or you needed more time, I might be a little more cautious – but I’ve seen the man with a kitten. I should imagine a baby – especially a particularly beautiful one that he’s related to – will be even better than kittens. I’m assuming you were on your way to collect Sol after this?”
Niamh nodded. “Yeah, Feargal’s mam was going to get a taxi into town and meet us at the tattoo studio. She’d normally have him all day, but she’s got a doctor’s appointment.”
“So why don’t you get him dropped off here? Let Finn meet him?”
“Oh God, are you sure about that?” she asked.
I thought about Finn; his need to belong, to love and be loved; to be back at the heart of the family he’d sacrificed everything for, and this time I didn’t hesitate when I stated, “I’m absolutely certain.”
*****
Fifteen minutes later, Niamh quietly excused herself from the room to go and meet Feargal’s mother outside the pub. She gave me a surreptitious nervous glance, and I gave her a thumbs-up and what I hoped was a reassuring smile in return.
She came back in carrying her son and walked straight over to Finn. Before he had time to say anything, she handed the baby to her brother and announced, “Tack, meet Solstice Finn Kendrick-Strachan. Your nephew. Sol, this lovely man is your Uncle Tack.”
Finn stared in amazement at the small creature now sitting in his lap, his mouth a perfect ‘o’ of surprise. Niamh looked like she might be about to cry as she waited for his reaction and Feargal came to stand protectively by her side, wrapping one huge arm around her tensed shoulders. For his part, Sol calmly stared up at his uncle with those wide, unmistakable Strachan-green eyes then gave him a huge toothless grin.
“Nephew,” Finn repeated. “Jesus, I’m an uncle. Lili? I’m only a bloody uncle! Oh, would you just look at you, little dote.” He hugged Sol close to his chest and the baby responded with a squeal of delight. In that moment I knew for certain that as far as Finn was concerned, that was that.
As I’d expected his great, generous heart had expanded unconditionally and unquestioningly to love this latest surprise addition to his family, and little Solstice Finn Kendrick-Strachan was going to be the most adored nephew in the history of Ireland.
“Oh thank God Lilith, you were right!” Niamh came out from under Feargal’s arm and gave my hand an affectionate squeeze.
I returned the gesture and smiled. “Pfft. Of course I was.”
“Lili? You knew about this?” Finn asked.
I shook my head. “Not ‘knew’, exactly. Not at first. I just picked up some stuff this morning.”
“’Stuff’.” Finn grinned and looked up at his sister. “Hah. She did the spooky shit on you, didn’t she?”
“Oh yeah.” Niamh nodded. “It was kinda weird, but I’m glad she did. I’m not sure when we’d have found the courage to tell you about Sol otherwise.”
Finn’s eyes widened in surprise. “God, really?”
“Er yeah, ‘really’,” came Feargal’s bass rumble. “Mate, there are still people round here who talk about seeing you fighting like a cornered weasel on the bare knuckle circuit years ago, and to be honest, you still look like you’d be a proper hard bastard if you got rubbed up the wrong way.”
“Why the hell would this little fella rub me up the wrong way?” Finn asked, genuinely puzzled. He offered a knuckle to Sol, who immediately wrapped his gums around it and began gnawing.
“Um, unplanned baby, unmarried mum, age-gap relationship, feckless behaviour, that kind of thing?” Niamh suggested, counting out the potential reasons on her fingers.
“Oh yeah, because my lifestyle choices make me the perfect moral compass, huh?” Finn kissed the top of his nephew’s head. “Ah c’mon, like I’d give a shite about any of that, Niamh sweetheart! Jesus, you’re happy, you’ve got a great fella there with you, and it looks like we’ve finally got a member of the Strachan clan who’s goin’ to get to grow up loved and protected.”
“Oh for God’s sake Tack, I’d just got my mascara sorted again!” Niamh sobbed and giggled all at the same time. “Here, go to your Aunty Lilith whilst I give your uncle a hug now.” Before I had time to protest, she took Sol from Finn’s knee and passed him to me before pulling Finn into yet another embrace that he returned with equal warmth.
“Um, I’m not sure…” I began, but Sol had already settled happily onto my hip. The last time I’d held a baby, I was trying to get my half-brother Daniel to stop screeching. Before his autism had been diagnosed, before the statements and the ‘special’ schools and the never-ending visits to child psychologists and behaviourists and all manner of experts, Daniel had simply been a frustrated and furious little scrap of humanity who would only be calmed if held close for hours at a time; this happy, laid-back child was an entirely different personality altogether. Sol appraised me gravely, then gave me a drool-ridden grin and stated, “Ick.”
“’Well, ‘Ick’ to you, too,” I said, and stuck my tongue out at him. This clearly counted as cutting-edge humour for five-month-olds, because he convulsed with delight.
“Ah, he likes you, Aunty Lilith. And y’know, that whole baby-on-the-hip look you’ve got going there kinda suits you.” Finn grinned at me and winked.
“I’ve got enough on my hands right now with a disgusting little rat-dog and a stroppy Irishman, thank you very much,” I responded, before he had the chance to expand on the subject.
*****
