"It will be interesting to see the differences from the cops back home. I'm sure they do the same stuff but maybe they do it different than at home.
Wednesday morning Connor and his two sons presented themselves to the public gate at Gardai headquarters in Phoenix Park. After a brief meeting with DSI Royal, they were handed over to a civilian employee for the tour. The boys observed the Motor Ppool where patrol units, armored cars and other special vehicles were maintained. Then they were led to a building where they were given ear protection and watched officers firing pistols and small machine guns such as the Walther MP5. Liam had noted the guards at the gate had been carrying those weapons when they came through. He'd been shooting with his da, but he'd never seen a machine gun up close let alone seen one in action.
"The indoor range was shut down for a while due to concerns about lead and toxicity but steps were taken to upgrade the range to remove any danger of contamination," Brendan the guide explained.
"Our officers back home all carry pistols and there is usually a shotgun or assault rifle in each patrol unit," Liam shared.
"Most of our officers patrol unarmed except for pepper spray and an Asp. If an armed response is needed, specially trained officers are dispatched to the scene. Much like American SWAT teams," Brendan added.
"What's an Asp?" Danny asked.
"That's a collapsible baton that can be used to strike or control an assailant. Officers are trained in its use and acceptable application," Brendan recited almost mechanically. You see, philosophically the Gardai Siochana is meant to protect the citizens of this country. We do police work and solve crimes but our primary goal is the safety of our citizens, at least in theory. In actual practice there are situations that require a strong response and we are careful about how much force is used to maintain the peace."
"Do you have a gang problem in Dublin?" Danny followed up.
"Not in the same sense that the problem exists in America but there are street gangs that give us quite a bit of trouble. Occasionally the public are impacted but usually it's between the gangs," Brendan answered candidly.
"I'm guessin' Finglas, Blanchardstown and Cabra are neighborhoods to avoid still, eh?" Connor proposed.
"You would be right Sir, but there is a heavy presence maintained by the Gardai there and we try to steer tourists in another direction. It's better than it was but it still wants helping," Brendan concluded.
They moved on to the Forensic Division and saw all manner of complex apparatus that performed chemical, DNA and metallurgic tests. Fortunately, the Coroner's office was in another complex miles away so they were saved that experience. The technicians explained how the DNA sequencing machine worked and how little genetic material was needed to complete a test. The Ballistics Lab was next and that was fascinating to both boys. They were able to look through a comparison microscope and had an explanation of how forensic ballistic science worked.
The Finger Print Lab was busy lifting and processing prints from spent shell casings used in a shooting in Finglas.
"We sent several cases over to DNA to see if the skin oils would yield any information about who might have handled the firearm. But that takes time, meanwhile we can go through the entire database in a bit over twenty minutes," a technician named Scott said brightly. These casings are from a Russian Makarov or a former Eastern Bloc country, the calibre and construction are the same but the rifling marks tell us what type of gun is involved and sometimes its source. The Bulgarian Makarovs are better made with deep rifling and a higher grade steel in the barrels."
"And you can tell all that from the bullets and casings?" Liam asked.
"That's correct, in the case of the Makarovs the Bulgarian extractor leaves a different mark on the casing and of course I mentioned the rifling already," Scott illuminated.
"That's really cool, science is really our thing and this is a whole new facet of it," Danny piped.
"Well, it's a lot of responsibility because a court case can depend on what we do, not to mention someone's freedom. We don't take it lightly but I do enjoy my job," Scott concluded.
Next, it was up to the Detective Division where they saw incident boards with pertinent evidence and pictures although the rougher ones were covered up prior to their arrival. Detectives walked the three through their process and then called in their IT assistant to explain the various databases he had at his disposal.
"Of course, not everything is on computers yet. We can only go back to 1968 at the moment but old records are being added constantly," Will laid out.
"That's further back than I go, you must have some pretty old villains, eh?" Connor put in.
Will smiled, "Occasionally a body is found or other evidence pertinent to an unsolved crime and we do quite well with those because criminals and police had no knowledge of DNA science, not to mention other sciences that aid investigations these days. In the past, someone had to go to the archives and pull a box off a shelf and then look at each document to find what they were looking for. It's much smoother now."
"I hadn't considered that," Connor nodded.
DS Royal caught up with them at the end of the tour and inquired about their impressions.
"It was really interesting, we had a great time. I especially liked the Forensic Science Building. They do so much cool stuff there," Liam prattled.
It was all interesting and the science was cool, I enjoyed seeing the officers shoot and the explanation of how they are um… deployed I think. I don't think it would work at home but I enjoyed learning about it," Danny added.
"Well, I'm glad you came and doubly so that you enjoyed the tour," DS Royal related.
"Thank you for having us, we'll want to tell Bryce about it when we return home. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to discover that we located you."
"I certainly hope so, here's another card you can give him. It has my email and he can easily contact me that way. I will need to go now, I see someone looking for me which means I have work to do. Thanks again for coming," DS Royal finished.
"Thanks for inviting us, it was a treat," Connor replied.
DS Royal walked back down the hall and they noticed the large black automatic pistol in the holster on his waist.
"Any questions?" Brendan solicited.
"Are all the detectives armed?" Liam asked.
"Only the ones in the serious crimes divisions. Things like burglary, theft and vandalism are investigated by unarmed detectives. If they need help they need only call out for it," Brendan answered.
"Thanks for the great tour Brendan, you really seem to know how things work around here," Danny offered.
"It was grand Brendan, thank you," Liam added.
Connor added his thanks and Brendan led the party to the exit.
Back at the car the boys discussed the tour.
"It was sights better than the tour at that Sheriff's training center in… what was that town? Oh La Mirada. It was mostly sweaty guys running around, although the old style police equipment was cool to look at. They had a walkie talkie the size of a shoebox," Liam giggled.
"The old cop cars were cool too. All the radio gear was huge back then wasn't it?" Danny added.
"It was the technology of the day lads, I laugh at the stuff I grew up with. Me da wasn't what you'd call an early adopter except for telly and stereo sets. The best stuff was vacuum tube operated. The tele was solid state but the stereos lived and died by the tube type amplifier. Da's last one may still be in the attic," Connor reminisced.
"Maybe we can take a look, I've never been in Shan's attic," Liam said hopefully.
"We may at that. We'll want to do that before Friday because we're leaving Saturday and making our way to New Ross; the Fourth is next Wednesday," Connor informed them. "Let's get a bit of lunch and see how Mam and Terri made out shopping, eh?" The boys agreed and Connor took them to the best pork and apple pies in town.
"Now then, here's how next week sketches out," Connor announced, addressing Terri and the boys. "We'll drive down to Limerick to visit Declan and Sadie and of course their kids. They'll follow us to New Ross on Sunday and we'll stay in town. We've managed to hire a private house within walking distance of most of the activities. There will be fireworks on the Fourth across the river. I've got a few things planned but there are concerts and shows and all manner of things to do and you can look through the circulars again and pick a few."
"It sounds like a cool place Da, it'll be fun to see how people here celebrate the Fourth," Danny put in.
"It's kind of ironic that we're more interested in Irish music and history but it'll be a lark all the same," Liam added.
"That it is lad, but once the kids find out where you're from you'll be a celebrity and doubly so because of livin' in California," Connor chuckled.
"Are there historical sites there?" Danny asked.
"Yes, there's the Dunbrody famine ship, it's an example of the type of vessel people used to go from Ireland to America during the Great Famine of the mid eighteen hundreds," Connor pointed out. "There's more information in the circulars and pamphlets on the table here."
"Is Shan going with us?" Liam asked.
"No, she has some session work in Germany so she'll be gone all week, but she'll join us for the trip north," Connor advised. I'll be picking up the minivan at six Friday. It'll be a more comfortable drive than the hatch."
Once the family meeting broke up, Connor pulled Danny aside.
"Anything on yer mind, Son?" Connor inquired.
"Just… I hope we can see some history that doesn't make me cry," Danny said softly.
"You take things to heart and really absorb what the people in the past went through. That means it's real to you and you understand how they felt. But it's all in the past and all we can do now is not allow it to happen again. I'm sure you'll see a few things that are sad but others are interesting and uplifting at the same time. We're a nation of strong minded people and we have always been that way," Connor soothed as he pulled Danny close.
"Thanks Da, I'll try to keep it in perspective but it's hard sometimes," Danny agreed.
The drive to Limerick was not without drama, although the Sienna was comfortable the M7 was not. Several miles were under construction and a lorry had jackknifed near the M8 split. After that, it was smooth going until they stopped for petrol. A busload of girls had commandeered the men's toilets as well as the women's and had to be routed out of them before Connor, the boys and other male travelers could enter. The station manager offered Terri the use of his personal lavvy since she was visibly pregnant and he had a wife that just went through that.
Declan, Sadie, Tim and Caroline greeted them warmly. Tim was thirteen and Caroline was seven. Tim was Declan's son from his first marriage.
"So, your lot all live in California, eh?" Tim asked.
"So we do, but I was raised here as you know. We haven't seen each other in a while, right?" Liam allowed.
"I'm a Cali kid, been there all my life," Danny added.
"Liam, Aunt Maeve said you finally got that crazy woman out of yer life. I know she was makin' you miserable on a regular basis. Are you doin' okay now?" Tim probed.
"Yeah, she's history, she pissed off to Iceland with her partner and their girls. So yeah, I'm good," Liam replied.
"Maeve says yer both good with a guitar, would you like to see mine, we can take yer bags up and I'll show you my room. You'll be sleeping there tonight," Tim suggested.
"Sure, let's go," Liam agreed.
The room wasn't as large as Danny and Liam's at home but it was comfortable and neat.
"Do you always keep your room this clean?" Liam asked.
"Usually, but I let it slide sometimes. It's twice the size of John's and he has more stuff. But they didn't use bedrooms for anything but sleeping when this house was built. It's mostly original from the 1880's plus it's listed so we can't do a lot to it. At least it has the mod cons. If you look out the window there's a great big Chestnut where the outside bog used to be," Tim giggled lightly.
"Speaking of, where's the lavvy?" Danny asked.
"Across the hall on yer left, Danny," Tim directed.
"He seems nice, is he just yer brother? I mean y'know, were you friends first?" Tim stumbled.
"Yes, I fell in love with Danny the first day. It would take an hour to explain why. Are you still comfortable having a gay cousin?"
"After what we got up to last time? You bet. I'm cool with people being gay but I'm straight meself. And to be honest I shy away from real swishy kinds of people even if they're straight. It just bugs me, but I try to stay polite," Tim struggled a bit.
"Seems fair, I'm not all that fond of effeminate guys either. But maybe they actually want to be girls, I don't know. I try not to judge, it's all I can do," Liam agreed.
Tim had two guitars, a Korean made Martin Classical and a Rannacke steel string with a pick up.
"I've never seen that brand, how is it?" Liam asked.
"It's a local brand, it plays pretty nice. Give it a try," Tim offered.
Liam strummed the guitar and it sounded good so he began to play a few blues riffs to get the feel of it and then played his favorite Big Bill tune. When he finished Tim was awestruck.
"That was feckin' amazin', yas play like a pro. I mean I'm not bad but yer way ahead of me," Tim observed.
"Let's hear you play a few then, I'd like to hear you play," Liam replied.
Tim pulled a pick from his shirt pocket and began playing a Creedence classic, Down on the Corner. He played the song flawlessly with a few embellishments.
"Hey, that sounded good," Danny said from the doorway.
"I was startin' to think you fell in, Danny," Liam chuckled.
Danny grinned and sat down on the bed next to Tim.
"Would you like a go?" Tim asked?
"Sure," Danny said taking the proffered guitar.
Danny took his measure of the guitar and then started playing The Dirty Blues, a slow mournful tune.
"You too, eh? I might have known. Liam just knocked me flat with a cool blues tune and you come in with that sultry thing there. If I could learn that I could really pull the girls," Tim speculated.
"Anybody special?" Liam pried.
"Amy Flaherty, she's a feckin' goddess."
"Aah, there it is then. Look, I know yer damn good with classical, you can use that skill to finger pick and we can help. We can skype and work stuff out together, we don't need to be in the same room. And Shan will gladly teach you anything she can. You could take a train up and stay with her for a few days and she'd give you a foundation ta build on," Liam proposed.
"You think she would? Cos I could grab a coach for cheap and it's not a bad ride when traffic isn't complete shite," Tim agreed. "I'll call and ask her if it would be okay."
"And we can help while we're here, Liam taught a kid the Rondo ala Turca basically in one day and he was a fairly new student," Danny added.
"I can play that pretty well, once I learned what I didn't need, it was easy," Tim responded while reaching for his Martin.
He played the song and he was indeed proficient.
"So you figured out that the tabs aren't always helpful. All those bar chords when you only need two or three notes. If you can play that, you can play blues, Tim," Liam insisted.
"Well, I'm ready for a lesson any time, but first let's walk down to John's, he's my best mate," Tim suggested.
"Yeah, we could do with a stretch, it was a long drive," Danny volunteered.
They walked down the street to a smaller cottage and knocked at the door. A tall gangly boy with wild ginger hair answered the door.
"Heya John, these are me cousins, Danny and Liam; guys this is John, me best mate and coconspirator," Tim grinned.
"Nice ta meet yas, come on in, Mam is at market and Da's still at work. Anything ta drink, lads?" John asked.
"I'm good," Liam answered. Danny and Tim echoed the same.
"I was playin' Red Dead and I'd offer to have you join in but the Wi-Fi went wonky, so I'm boned," John lamented.
"No problem, I'm shite at gaming and so is Danny, we spend most of our time on music and Danny's a potter; pretty feckin' good too," Liam rejoined.
"Not even GTA?" John asked.
"Nope, me mam wouldn't stand for it, I never had a play station until we moved in with Liam and he only has a couple games and one of those is the Simpsons," put in Danny.
All the boys laughed and the subject moved to sports and activity.
"We like mountain biking, trail riding and football. Danny might go league this next year," Liam shared.
"Do you mean American football or football?"
"Same as you play here, I'm a center forward on the school team," Danny allowed.
"Oh, right then that's good. Sorry, I couldn't picture you wearin' all that gear," John chuckled.
"That would look funny," admitted Danny.
After an hour, the boys headed back to Tim's and inquired about dinner plans.
"We'll not have the girls cook tonight, but pizza, cod and other take away is available close by," Declan declared.
"Let's vote it then," Caroline piped.
The vote was split between cod and chips and pizza so they ordered both and Connor joined Declan to retrieve it.
The drive to New Ross was considerably smoother than the day before although there was more traffic in town. But they reached the house and were impressed by the outside.
The inside was almost palatial, six bedrooms, two of which had en suites. The boys picked the room in the back, it had French doors that opened to the pool area.
A baby grand caught Danny's eye in the salon, it was an Althea made in Germany and it looked quite old. It sounded great.
"Is it okay to play the piano?" Danny asked Connor.
"I don't see why not. We're paying for the privilege," Connor supposed.
Danny sat down and began playing the Sonata 11 that he had been working to perfect.
The mild weather had allowed them to leave the front door open and air out the house which had been sitting closed for some time. A light tapping and a call of "hello" emanated from the area of the front entrance.
"Yes, can I help you," Connor asked the woman in her fifties.
"Mr. Dennehy?"
"That's me, what can I do for you?
"I’m Sandra Malley, I'm the owner and agent for this property."
"Well then, please come in," Connor invited.
"I was walking by and heard the piano, I have to say it sounds wonderful. It does my heart good to hear it being played again. It was my late husband's. Is it your wife playing?" Sandra inquired.
"No, that would be my son Danny, he's very careful with instruments so you needn't worry," Connor assured.
"Oh, I'm not worried about that, it's the tenants that don't play that do the most harm. They use it as a table and spill things on the cover, that's why there was a cloth cover over it, those old finishes are fragile although that one survived the war in Germany. My husband's grandfather bought it and sent it home from Leipzig," Mrs. Malley explained.
"It's a wonderful piano, I would imagine that both my sons may get some use out of it while we're here. Although Liam prefers Beethoven and boogie woogie," Connor shared.
"My husband loved Fats Waller and Jellyroll Morton," Sandra recalled.
Would you like to take a seat and listen and perhaps meet Danny?" Connor offered. "And may I offer you a cool drink?"
"That would be lovely, thank you, and I would love something cool please. Oh, I should say I can't have alcohol anymore," Sandra confided.
"How about an Arnold Palmer, it's just iced tea and lemonade, I fancy one myself," Connor offered.
"That sounds delicious," replied Sandra.
Connor ambled off to the kitchen and poured two glasses from the chilled pitcher. He heard the music end as he walked back to the sitting room where he found Danny speaking with Sandra.
"I asked my da before I started playing," he heard Danny explaining.
"That's fine dear, you play quite wonderfully, it has been a long time indeed since I heard anyone with your touch play that piano. Thank you," Sandra gushed.
"What's up Danny?" Liam inquired.
"Oh, this is Liam my brother, he plays piano also."
"I'm Sandra, I was just complimenting Danny on his playing. Your father told me that you play as well, but your taste runs more to jazz and blues, is that right?" Sandra queried.
"Well yes, but I won't do anything to harm the instrument," Liam replied.
"I'm not concerned about that," Sandra explained about her late husband's love of jazz, boogie woogie and blues and Liam began to understand.
"Well, let's try this, it's one of Jelly Roll Morton's early tunes called New Orleans Joys." Liam began playing and Sandra listened with rapt attention.
"That was wonderful," Sandra praised when Liam had finished. "My husband loved Jellyroll Morton's music but he also played quite a bit of classical piano as well."
"I like just about anything you can play on piano, Beethoven, Schuman and Chopin; I could play any of those for quite a while. I don't mean to boast, I just enjoy playing," Liam explained.
"I notice you don't use music, do you play mostly by ear?" Sandra inquired.
Liam responded, "Mostly, I use the sheet music for a performance but my main instrument is guitar, I don't have one along so it's piano or nothing for now."
She had just finished her Arnold Palmer when her mobile bleated. It was business so she answered. She listened to the caller, said something in agreement and disconnected. "I'm afraid I must pop off, one of my holiday guests can't seem to get into the house."
Liam and Danny walked her to the door and were surprised to find nearly two dozen people on the pavement apparently listening through the open door and windows.
"Hey boyo, who was playin' the piano in there, eh?" a man called out.
"My brother and I, it's a really nice piano and we wanted to try it out," Liam answered, trying to be polite.
"You should come play the public piano in the old village, you'll have no shortage of listeners," a cute teenage girl chimed.
"We'll give it some thought, thanks," Danny replied.
The crowd dispersed just as a Gardi patrol team walked by.
"Any problems here?" one officer queried.
"No Sir, we were just playin' piano and some folks stopped ta listen. There's no harm done," Liam answered.
"Oh, sorry we missed that. Well, carry on then," the officer replied and they walked on.
Declan pulled their hatch to the curb in front of the Sienna and the boys waved hello.
"What was that all about?" Declan asked. "We had to go round the street and try again. We couldn't see the address for all the people on the pavement and street."
"We were airin' out the house and had the door and windows open in front and then Danny tried out the piano; the lady that hires this place out stopped in and asked about the music," Liam began.
"She was very nice," Danny took over. He explained about Sandra and her husband and then Liam playing jazz, "But then she had to go help someone get into a house they were meant to stay in."
"So yer local celebrities now, eh?" Declan chuckled.
"I don't know, I guess. But we'll close the windows before we use the piano again," Liam declared.
Liam opened the door for Sadie and offered a hand getting out of the car.
"Tim lad, you could take a lesson from yer cousin there," Declan grinned.
"I was trying to get Caroline dressed again, my sister's going to be a stripper when she grows up!" Tim countered.
"She'll grow out of that same as you did, Tim. It's just a kid thing," Sadie contributed.
Tim flashed red in the cheeks but recovered quickly. He pulled his sister after him as he climbed out.
"Let's get the bags in and we'll show you our room," Liam offered.
Declan popped the hatch and the boys grabbed the luggage. Caroline wanted to carry her own and nearly had a meltdown when she found out she couldn't share a room with the boys.
"There's a lovely little room just for girls and you'll love it," Sadie coaxed.
Tim carried Sadie's case up the stairs while Danny and Liam lugged his case and guitar to the boys' room.
"This is posh!" Tim exclaimed. "And it opens on the pool! Sooo cool! It'll be tough keeping Caroline out of here though."
We can keep the doors to the terrace bolted when we're not out there. But I don't think she'll be that much trouble. There's a family of girls stayin' next door and one of them is about her size. I'll bet they'll be over to swim or she'll be over there to play. I don't know if they have a pool.
A knock was heard at the front door and being the closest the boys went as a group to answer.
At the front door, they found the cute girl from earlier.
"Hi again, I'm Fionna and we're next door. I just wanted to tell you that I really liked the music and I can remember the old man that played the piano when I was younger. I've always wanted to play it but I never asked."
"Well then, this could be your lucky day, let us check upstairs and get the okay and then you can give it a go," Liam suggested.
Liam shot upstairs and found the adults sitting in a small lounge just off the landing.
"Cozy," Liam chirped. He explained about the girl and what they proposed to do and received permission to invite her in and play the piano.
Caroline met him at the top of the stairs wearing only panties.
"You'll want to put on more than that, there's a stranger downstairs," Liam advised.
Caroline started to protest but her mother called her and when she did appear downstairs, she was wearing shorts and a tee.
When Liam arrived at the piano, Fionna was gone. He looked inquiringly at Tim and Danny.
"She ran next door to get her music," Tim sighed.
"He told her it would be a sure thing," Danny spouted.
No sooner had he said it, Fionna was back with her portfolio. Tim's eyes never left her, he guided her to the piano and pulled out the bench.
Liam and Danny exchanged glances and grinned.
"Would you like some iced tea or lemonade, Fionna?" Liam offered.
"Oh yes please, I'm a bit parched," Fionna replied.
"Come give me a hand Tim, would yas?" Liam requested.
Reluctantly, Tim followed and in the kitchen, Liam rounded on him. "Yer completely out of yer depth Tim, she lives a hundred and fifty klicks from you and she's older by a year or maybe two. I understand you have to try but try not to look pathetic in the process, eh?"
"Pathetic? How do I look pathetic, I'm just being friendly," Tim defended.
"You've had a tent in yer trousers since she walked through the door, she may have noticed by now. Just take it down a notch, girls don't fancy desperation," Liam finished. "Here, you take two and I'll take two."
Liam led Tim back to the piano where Tim nearly blew it completely by starting to put Fionna's glass on top of the piano. Liam looked daggers at him and he cleared his throat.
"Here's yer drink Fionna, I'll put it on this table for you," uttered Tim.
"Thank you, I'll have a sip now before I start," Fionna said graciously.
"Hello, I'm Caroline. I had to put on clothes because you're here. Do you play piano?"
"Would you like tea or lemonade, Caroline? Danny interrupted.
"Lemonade please, Caroline smiled.
"Here, have mine, I'll get another," Danny offered.
Danny gestured to Liam to follow him.
"Let me go fetch some napkins," Liam vamped and followed Danny.
"She likes you," Danny informed Liam. I mean she fancies you, do you understand? She's been pumping me for info about you since you went for drinks."
"Shite, Tim's going to want to murder me, what did you tell her?" Liam asked.
"I told her you had someone and you were very loyal, I decided against telling her you were gay or that I was and that we were in love. And besides that we're both twelve and she's fourteen," Danny related.
"That'll have'ta do, won't it. Let's go rescue what's left of Tim's self-esteem," Liam suggested.
Liam grabbed a stack of paper napkins and the two boys walked back to the piano.
Fionna was playing a nocturne by Chopin, Opus Nine Second Movement, a tricky E flat number that tripped up seasoned pianists. She was doing quite well. Even Caroline had ceased fidgeting and gave full attention.
When she had finished she relaxed, tears running down her cheeks. Tim did something unexpected, handing her a paper napkin; a very sensitive caring gesture. Fionna took it and dried her eyes and cheeks.
"How attractive," she chuckled lightly.
"No it's fine, I get pretty emotional about my music when I play sometimes. Especially when it comes off as well as you just played the Chopin nocturne," Tim soothed.
"What do you play?" Fionna asked.
"Guitar, I'll be in a master class next term," Tim told her. "What will you play next?"
"Oh um, I hadn't decided. Satie maybe or Liszt's Leibestraüme. I like them both," Fionna dithered.
"I'd vote for the Liszt, at least the first movement. It's a very pretty piece," Tim said decisively.
"Thanks, I always have trouble choosing," Fionna affirmed.
Once again, she began playing quite expertly and the room was silent except for the music. Fionna played the first and second parts of the piece, but when her mobile buzzed, she stopped.
"That'll be me ma tellin' me to come home, I told her I'd watch Astrid while she does her marketing. Yer mams should do theirs today as well, things run short during this week. They stock up on crisps and beer but staples run short, and bread too," Fionna warned. She read the text and nodded, "Well, I'm off. Thanks for letting me play, it's a truly grand instrument,"
"Why don't you bring your little sis back for a swim? We were all thinking of going in and Caroline needs a bit of drowning," Tim chuckled.
"I'll ask me ma and let you know, I'll need a number though," Fionna advised.
"Have mine, I'm only in Limerick," Tim held up his phone with the number showing.
"Okay then, I'll let you know. It was nice meeting you, Caroline." Fionna waved and was out the door.
"Are we really going swimming?" Caroline yipped?"
"Yeah, Mam said we could go in for a while so go get yer suit on and leave it on, got me?" Tim warned.
"Oookay," Caroline groaned and then charged up the stairs to change.
"What a waste, here I am a one hundred percent stud and she fancies you, Liam," Tim grumbled.
"Y'know what? Forget what I said. You made contact and it was sincere, you have a connection through music. I don't know what can be done over such a distance but you could end up with a friend at least," Liam counselled.
"I guess," Tim agreed. "Let's go change so we can swim."
Tim was nude when Fionna texted that they would be over in ten minutes and for reasons he couldn't explain he used his free hand to cover his groin.
"Ten minutes and they'll be here, one of us should tell the bosses," Tim suggested.
"I'll go," Danny volunteered. He found all the adults and Caroline in the kitchen." Caroline hopped with excitement. "We invited Fionna and her little sister over to swim, I hope it's okay."
"I don't see any harm in that, how old is the sister?" Sadie asked.
"I didn't ask, young enough to need a sitter. And Fionna said it would be a good idea to do the marketing today or early tomorrow," Danny relayed.
"We were just discussing that, can you three keep an eye on the two little ones and off the big one?" Sadie followed up.
"I think so, Tim seems to be okay, so yeah, we'll protect them," Danny grinned.
"Make sure Carry keeps her bottom on, or her mam will deal with her," Declan added.
"Ma, there's a cabinet with towels and robes in the hallway, can we use them?" Tim asked.
"Yes, that's what they're there for. Sandra told me about them," Connor replied when Sadie gave him a questioning look.
Caroline and Astrid were instant friends being the same age. Neither girl really understood the need for a swim suit but both kept the bottoms on to avoid punishment. Fionna wore a trunk-like bottom and a modest flowery top piece. Still she had the makings of a nice figure for her age.
Tim had calmed down and embraced reality and the older kids played and chatted while they watched the younger girls splashing and being silly. Tim still watched Fionna carefully, but his attitude seemed to have changed.
Liam and Danny stretched out on a larger floater until they were unceremoniously tipped into the water by Tim and Fionna.
"Carry dear, yer gettin' a bit pink, time to come in," Sadie called.
"I should get Astrid out and take her home, me ma will be back soon if not already and want help with the shoppin'," Fionna announced.
"I hope you enjoyed yerself, we enjoyed havin' yas here," Tim smiled.
"Thanks for the invitation, and for includin' me sis," Fionna grinned back.
Fionna patted dry and then saw to Astrid who giggled the entire time. Astrid hugged Caroline and took her sister's hand for the short walk home.
Liam took a walk around the back garden and noticed a gate at the back. He pulled the handle and the gate opened easily. It opened onto an alleyway behind the house and he could see it was where residents parked their cars. There were two empty spaces behind a pair of gates that were attached to the fence. He made a mental note to tell his da about his discovery. Connor had been aware but chose to park out front until they were done driving for the day. Declan decided to drive nose in because of the van's rearward visibility and Connor could back in once the van was ready to park.
The rest of the time in New Ross flew by. Liam and Danny both tried out the public pianos. They attended concerts and met other kids their age. They were invited to show off a bit on the guitar, mostly at Tim and Fionna's instigation. But Liam turned the tables on Tim and asked him to demonstrate his skill on a borrowed guitar in a little park by the river.
The actual Fourth celebration was different than at home, less patriotic banter and flag waving and more about Irish Americans making the place their home. The Irish represent one of the largest segments of immigrant population and they served in the military services as well as law enforcement and civil jobs. In addition, they took part in building the U.S. rail system and were active in every segment of the nation's economy, one of the speakers related. The evening was capped off by a fantastic fireworks exhibition which backlit the Dunbrody famine ship.
Fionna and Astrid had become a fixture with the families and her parents had attended a dinner at the hired vacation house. Fionna and Danny played piano for the guests including Sandra and then Liam was called on to liven things up a bit. He obliged and when they were done with music, the four older kids sat around the poolside and chatted.
"It's sad you have to leave tomorrow but you are on holiday after all. Thanks for giving me your emails, maybe we can Skype or something," Fionna said hopefully. "Where are you going from here?"
"Waterford for us, we'll be looking at crystal and museums. Archeology is a shared interest in our family. Danny will be visiting a few pottery shops; you should see some of his work. He's the only student in our school that's ever done a salt glaze in ceramics class," Liam rambled.
"Sounds like fun to me, but I'm kind of a wonk, so that's a factor," Fionna admitted.
"Everybody's a nerd about something, Da says. Our science teacher says the same thing," Danny informed her.
They all laughed.
"I'll see you all in the morning, but I better join me folks and go on home. Astrid is dead to the world and we need to get her to bed," Fionna smiled.
They all rose and she hugged and kissed each boy in turn. It seemed that Tim got a bit more attention and that was fine by Danny and Liam.
"She gave me the address of her school, it's only thirty kilometers from home and I can take a bus," Tim hooted.
"Well let's get some sleep then, we've a drive tomorrow and things to do," Liam tugged Danny along with him.
"Sorry you guys haven't had much privacy, you must be looking forward to being alone," Tim whispered.
"We've stolen a moment or two here and there, as long as we're together we're happy," Liam assured him. He helped Danny undress and got him into bed, he was out in seconds.