Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 102834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
“A chardonnay if they have one,” I replied, and Derek snagged the attention of the bartender.
“A glass of chardonnay and a San Pellegrino, please.”
I peered up at him. “You’re not drinking?”
My question seemed to take him off guard momentarily before he answered, “No, I, uh, I’m driving.”
“Ah, right, yeah, best not to chance it.”
The bartender was quick to deliver our drinks to us while Derek handed over his card. A few moments of somewhat awkward silence passed. I faced forward, taking a sip of my wine as I studied the bottles of liquor behind the bar, aware of Derek’s attention on my profile.
“My sister tells me you’re starting a new job at the end of summer,” he said then, breaking the quiet.
“Yes.” I placed my glass down. “I secured a teaching position in the radiography programme at UCD. That’s the area I ended up specialising in.”
“What made you decide to start teaching?” Derek’s brown eyes were keenly focused as he rested his arm on the bar, his body turned towards me.
I blew out a breath. “I worked in a very busy hospital for almost ten years, and life had started to feel like a bit of a hamster wheel,” I answered honestly. “I felt like Deirdre was growing up so fast, and I was barely getting to enjoy my time with her. I applied for the teaching position on a whim, never imagining I’d get it, but when I did, it was a surprisingly easy decision to move home. It meant getting to be close to my parents again, and with both of them in their seventies now, I feel better living nearby. My sister, Jane, is in Kilkenny, which isn’t a million miles away, but it’s still a long drive for her to reach Mam and Dad if anything happened. Donna has an apartment here in the city, but she’s not very reliable when it comes to our parents. She’s never been the kind of person who’ll check in on them or show up first during an emergency, you know? She’s more the kind to tell you she lost her phone and then appear days later after someone else has taken care of all the stressful stuff.”
“That sounds a little selfish,” Derek commented.
“It is, but I think she just finds it difficult handling tough situations. She tends to check out if she gets overwhelmed.”
“And what about Deirdre’s father? Is he going to come live here, too?”
I was surprised he asked the question since it was veering into pretty personal territory. I took a sip of wine before I answered, “No, he’s staying in London. He’s a surgeon, so his work is his life. He’s always been good to Deirdre, though. Colin and I, we weren’t together for very long. I met him about two years into my college career. He was the son of one of my aunt’s acquaintances, and we were seeing each for a couple of months before I got pregnant.”
I paused, unsure why I was telling him all this. Strangely, though, I wanted to him to know a little about my life, what had happened during the years we’d been apart, and I wanted to know about his life, too. I hoped that revealing some things might encourage him to open up in return. It would be nice to get know him again, especially with Deirdre and Gigi becoming so close.
“I’m sorry,” he said then, taking me by surprise.
“For what?” I questioned, confused.
He cleared his throat. “For what I said that night when you came to collect Deirdre. It was low of me, and I just wanted you to know that I didn’t mean it. I’ve gotten to know your daughter over the last few weeks, and she’s a testament to you. She’s an incredible young woman, and having her around has made the world of difference to Gigi.”
His compliment made my cheeks heat a little. “Well, um, apology accepted. And the pregnancy wasn’t planned, obviously, but yeah, I don’t regret it for a single second. Although I do still think of the irony of two medical students failing to use proper contraceptives,” I laughed softly, and the faintest smile touched Derek’s lips. “Things didn’t work out between me and Colin romantically, and we split before Deirdre was even born, but we’ve always managed to remain good friends. Colin’s a great co-parent, and he’s always been happy for me to have the main custody of Deirdre while still doing his best to be present in her life.” I paused to shrug. “It works for us.”
When I looked to Derek again, he was studying me in a very intense way, and I found myself blurting, “What about you and Gigi’s mother? How did you meet?”
He blinked himself out of whatever thoughts he was having and sat back a little. “Paloma and I met when I was travelling around Europe the year I finished college. She’s originally from Seville in Spain, but we met in Bilbao. I was staying there for a few days, and she was travelling through with a group of musicians who were touring the country.” He paused to rub at the stubble on his jaw.