My Irish Sweetheart

Chapter 5 - Interesting...

Chapter 5 — Interesting... 
A few months, several dates, and countless late nights spent at each other's homes later, Cillian had said he'd like his parents to meet me...which he quickly amended by saying: "It'd be better than them reading about it in a paper or seeing it on telly..."

I'd agreed readily enough — I wanted my folks to meet him and see how happy he was making me — but, now that we were actually driving to see his family, the thought of meeting them and what they might think of me had me absolutely terrified.

"Hey, relax," Cillian's voice ripped me from my thoughts as we pulled into his parent's drive, his hand laying itself gently over mine. "They'll love you."

"If you say so..." I smiled timidly as he pulled the handbrake on, but my hand halted above the doorhandle as I took a moment to actually look at his parents' home... "It's beautiful..."

"It's home..." Cillian shrugged then smiled a little. "But it is lovely..." he trailed off as two young woman and a young man streaked out the front door towards the car. "Oh, here we go then..." he grinned as he stepped out of the car, and I followed suit hesitantly. "Hey!"

"Cillian!" the two young woman called excitedly just as they reached him, pulling him into a conjoined, tight hug.

"Heya." The young man clapped Cillian on the back as he pulled out of the girls hug and embraced the young man. "What on Earth brings you to this part of the world?"

"Oh! Forgive me! I thought at least Ma had told you." Cillian chuckled then turned and gestured to me, still half hiding, behind the car. "Guys, this is Shan." He motioned for me to come over to them and I did so, but hesitantly. "Shan, my sisters Sile and Orla," he paused while I said 'hello' and shook their hands. "And my brother, Paidi."

"Pleasure to meet you." I smiled shyly then glanced at Cillian briefly. "Cillian never told me he had siblings..."

"Oh, shocking!" Sile play-slapped Cillian's arm. "How could you not talk about us?!"

"Because there's too much to tell, and you'd rather embarrass me in front of Shan anyway." Cillian shrugged, smirking.

"Fair enough." Sile grinned and took hold of my hand. "Come on then! Mammy and dad are dying to see who Cillian brought home!"

I swallowed as I was pulled over the threshold and towed towards a rather warm lounge room; left awkwardly with Paidi as the others went to fetch their parents.

"So..." Paidi ventured as we waited, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Is 'Shan' short for something?"

"Shannon..." I answered with a slight nod. "Um..."

"And... what is it you do?" Paidi quirked an eyebrow as he looked me over. "A lighting assistant perhaps? Or a set designer?" he looked me over again. "A writer?"

"Of a sort." I cocked my head to one side for a moment. "I've had a few short stories published over the years, for sure... but, I'm a singer-song writer for the most part."

"Oh..." he trailed off as voices approached, looking like he was holding a comment back.

"And yourself?" I asked as I saw Cillian round the corner. "What do you do?"

"I'm a design engineer." Paidi replied with a hint of a smug smile, and it irked me.

I narrowed my eyes slightly but managed a small smile. "Business is booming then, I see." I teased, secretly pleased when he narrowed his eyes back at me.

"It'll pick up." He replied stoically.

"What will pick up?" Orla asked as she entered the room behind Cillian.