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Patrick tilted his head curiously. “In what way?”
“He’s always looking for the one. Like last year. He starts dating Stephanie Bell, swears she’s the girl for him, then gets his heart broken. Like we couldn’t all see that coming. All the dude wants to do is fall in love like you and Grandma Sunday.”
“I see.” And this was why Patrick asked to join Colm at this booth. His precocious fifteen-year-old grandson was wise beyond his years, sarcastic, intelligent, and funny. “And you don’t have those same aspirations?”
“Heck no. I’m gonna be young while I’m young. Not planning to settle down until I’m forty, at least. Paddy will probably elope three seconds after high school. Not that that’s so surprising.”
“Because of his tendency to fall in love too fast?”
“No. Because he doesn’t have my way with the ladies. That’s why he falls so fast whenever a girl pays attention to him. Always been that way. Did you know he actually paid for his first kiss?”
“Paid for it?”
“Yeah. Kelli charged him a quarter when we were in fifth grade.”
Patrick chuckled. Kelli Peterson had been Padraig’s best friend since elementary school, the girl a familiar face at Tris and Lane’s home and even here at the pub. “Is that right?”
“Yeah. She charged a couple other guys too.”
“Quite the enterprising young lady. Am I to assume you didn’t pay for the same?”
“Pop Pop,” Colm said with a cocky grin. “First of all, it was Kelli. Gross.”
Patrick had always found it interesting how very different Colm was from his brother. While Kelli and Padraig were truly the best of friends, Colm seemed to view the same girl with genuine disdain. He’d always wondered if those feelings were based on personality differences or if Colm felt jealousy toward Kelli, unhappy about sharing his twin brother.
“And secondly,” Colm continued. “The ladies should be paying me to kiss them.”
Patrick hid his mouth behind his hand. It wouldn’t help Tris and Lane’s cause if he laughed, though he was thoroughly amused by Colm’s cockiness. The boy wasn’t lacking when it came to confidence. “So no long-term girlfriends for you?”
“Nope. I’m free as a bird and plan to stay that way.” Colm leaned back, slouching slightly in the booth, assuming a look that couldn’t be called anything other than pure teenage male confidence. If Colm was walking right now, he’d be swaggering. Patrick was familiar with the look because he’d seen the exact same thing in Colm’s father, Tris, when he was young.
Glancing toward the bar, Patrick wondered if Tris realized how close this apple had fallen to the tree. Lane had suggested more than a few times that Colm and Tris butted heads as often as they did because they were birds of a feather.
“Free as a bird, eh?” Patrick repeated. “Well, then your name certainly fits you.”
Colm rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I’m a freaking dove. You know how lame that is, right?”
Patrick had gotten into the habit of telling his young grandchildren the meanings of their names, sharing stories of past namesakes who’d gone on to do incredible things. Colm had been incredibly unimpressed by the meaning of his name, and even less enthusiastic by the story of the namesake, St. Columba, whose monks created The Book of Kells.
“The dove represents peace, Colm. That’s a wonderful thing.”
Colm, who’d been in the process of pulling a notebook out of his backpack, paused. “Lochlan gets Viking. Finn gets warrior, and I get peace. Lame,” he repeated.
Patrick chuckled, aware that in this instance, he didn’t have a leg to stand on. “Your mother found the name in a baby book. Be grateful she went for Colm rather than her first choice.”
Colm frowned. “What was her first choice?”
“Peter. She thought Padraig and Peter sounded cute together. Your father put his foot down.”
Colm appeared surprised. “I never knew that
. What does Peter mean?”
“Stone.”
“I’ll take the dove.”
Patrick nodded. “Wise choice.” They fell silent for a few minutes as Colm opened his notebook, then reached back into his backpack for a textbook. While Patrick knew Padraig didn’t have much homework, he was certain the same wasn’t true for Colm, who was taking all honors classes, unlike his twin, who viewed high school as something he simply had to tolerate for four years.
